Document text
Medford City Council Thursday night approved a new contract to allow a rock pit operator to continue to use the road leading to Prescott Park. Instead of a five-year contract the council on a 5-3 vote approved a two-year-contract with a two-year option to renew. Some Medford residents opposed the idea of allowing too many gravel trucks to use Roxy Ann Road because of potential conflicts with pedestrians and cyclists. However, the council agreed that Burl Brim Excavation has done a good job improving the road, which has encouraged more use of the park. “We’ve kind of created the monster because we’ve created better access,” Councilor Kim Wallan said. But Councilor Tim Jackle, who voted against the new contract that will return to the council for a second reading, urged the council to do something different because of the competing interests. Other councilors who voted “no” include Dick Gordon and Clay Bearnson. “The idea that trucks and pedestrians are using this bothers me,” Jackle said. Mayor Gary Wheeler said Brim Excavation has done a good job maintaining the road, but he said a rock quarry needs more than just a short-term contract to properly plan for the future. “It’s not a cheap operation to run,” Wheeler said. Medford resident Eric Palmer told the council that he had seen trucks speed up and down the road. “I myself have been run off the road with a child in a stroller,” he said. But Mark Kirms of Medford said he has ridden up Roxy Ann on many occasions without incident from the trucks. “I’m never afraid of them,” he said. “They are not the concern of safety that the automobiles are.” Kirms said park users often drive up or down the road at speeds far greater than the 15 mph limit Randy Jones with Mahar Homes, one of the owners of the quarry that has been operation for 80 years, said that he has never made a promise to turn the rock pit over to the city after it played out, a contention that he said one of the residents has made. Brim said he anticipates that the supply of rock from the pit could run out in 15 years, depending on the economy. He said there are plans in the works with the city to potentially pave the road. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.