Art Wilson said he has cleared up a lot of the problems at his mine on Linehan Road in Mound House and is once again seeking a special-use permit for a milling operation there.
The Mound House Regional Advisory Council voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend approval of the special-use permit.
Wilson built the mill and began operating without getting the proper permits more than a year ago. When he realized he was violating county code, he filed for the special-use permit.
However, after complaints from neighbors about the smell of burnt molasses emanating from his facility, county commissioners denied his request and he began the permitting process all over again.
Molasses is used to bind the ore in the milling operation that is used to create decorative rock.
Wilson said he has installed a $43,000 system to control emissions.
Additional equipment will maintain stable temperature for the dryers that dry the product. Overheating of the dryers is what caused the burnt molasses smell.
Another complaint was that the entrance from the mine on Linehan Road was badly damaged with no culvert, causing water to run across the road to the school bus stop.
Wilson showed the council a letter from Ken Dorr of the V&T reconstruction project advising him to hold off on extensive repairs because the railroad will be built through the area, and the road will be torn up anyway.
Wilson said he did plan to make some temporary repairs and remove old equipment some have called an eyesore.
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Another winner at the Mound House meeting was developer Phil Cowee, whose request for a zone change for property in Mound House north of Highway 50 near Newman Lane was approved.
Cowee wants to change the zoning from RR-2 with Mobile Home overlay to a variety of zones, including C-2 commercial near the highway, multi-family residential, which he described as four-plexes or apartments, farther north, along with mobile home park development.
His plan, he said, is to provide housing for people who work in Mound House, where affordable housing is not always available, as well as to get traffic off of Highway 50.
"Most people who work here have to drive in from Dayton or Carson City," he said.
He also plans to connect Calcite Drive to Cash Street, for an east-west alternative to the highway, and will also build a sewage plant.
• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.
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