Dorr Township Board members continue to field noise complaints from Moline area residents near the Green Valley agribusiness and now Trustee John Tuinstra has offered to send a letter to the company and to Grand Elk Railroad asking they operate only during daytime hours.
Green Valley set up shop two and a half years ago on 146th Avenue near the railroad tracks, not far from 14th Street and supposedly agreed to hook up hook up to Dorr-Leighton Township sewer services with the potential of 45 employees on at least a seasonal or part-time basis.
But trains that come to and go from the business sound their warning whistles for long periods and when they back up, an annoying screeching noise is made that’s so bad, one local woman said, it makes her house vibrate. Molly Parker in 2014 suggested the business move the switch further away from residences, perhaps to behind the old asphalt facility or old co-op building, but officials said that would be very costly.
One woman complained that the excessive noise awakens her daughter in the middle of the night and she needs more sleep to go to school.
Another woman said, “Nobody knows what it’s like unless you live here. Sometimes it’s so loud I can’t even talk on the phone.”
Supervisor Jeff Miling pointed out that the railroad by law has to sound the whistle to let motorists know they are approaching and a fine for not doing so could be as much as $10,000.
Tuinstra said it’s his understanding Green Valley soon wants to build an addition at its facility and may need site plan review. He suggested the Dorr Township Planning Commission have another hearing and let residents come to the meeting to make demands about the noise.
“The Planning Commission then could write a new site plan,” Tuinstra said. “This is a chance for us to do something as a board for our citizens.”
“It’s not Green Valley’s tracks,” Miling pointed out at the Township Board meeting Thursday night.
Tuinstra, who has been the board’s liaison on the issue for the past two and a half years and who has said he thought progress was being made, commented, “They (Green Valley and railroad officials) seem to be solid Christian people… in fact the man’s name is John Christian… I don’t think we’ll have a (legal) problem.”
I’d like them to pave the road and fix the sewer,” said Treasurer Jim Martin, who noted the company still hasn’t had a proper sewer hookup to the Dorr-Leighton Authority.
Trustee Terry Rios said site plan review could be used as a way to delay further operations of the train and company. She said township officials and professional Code Inspections could examine the current site plan agreement.
But Miling passed along his misgivings, saying., “I don’t think I could support this because I don’t know the legal ramifications.”
Clerk Debbie Sewers said, “Our goal is to decrease the noise.”
Miling replied, “And we hope this letter (from Tuinstra) will do just that.”
As much as I commiserate with residents and the noise problems, they do live near the train tracks. I used to live near train tracks and heard every train going by. The noises they describe I heard also, the train would drop cars off and move back and forth. signaling with air horns, warning possible traffic at multiple crossroads.
The business has no jurisdiction over how the train operates, so it is not their within their responsibility. Trains are loud and obnoxious at times, but you chose to live near the tracks. Maybe train officials could help in this situation, but I’m sure it is what it is and not much can be done to change it, train traffic is not quiet.