Notified — Questions of campaign contributions and an expected Pueblo gravel pit appeal
April 28, 2017: Fremont Paving owner donated $10,000 to Pueblo County Commissioner candidates in 2016.
This week PULP is tackling another aspect of the gravel mine that has been the root of a divided community in Eastern Pueblo County and the center of a fight between locals and farmers and a Fremont County-based company.
The Pueblo County Planning Commission recently approved the permit needed by Fremont Paving to operate on Colorado State Board land near 40th Lane, close to Avondale. But the opposition plans to appeal to the board of county commissioners. If that happens, there are questions whether a commmisioner should recuse himself from the decision, as his largest contribution came from the owner of Fremont Paving.
The quiet politics behind a proposed gravel pit in Eastern Pueblo County
The fight over permitting a gravel mine in eastern Pueblo County, near what’s typically called Badger Hills, did not stop short of politics.
John P. Ary, owner of Fremont Paving, donated to two candidates in the 2016 Pueblo Board of County Commissioners race — the two candidates, Republican Brian Mater and current commissioner Garrison Ortiz.
Both candidates received $5,000 from Ary.
Now that the Pueblo County Planning Commission has approved the permit, an active opposition group led by some farmers and residents near Avondale say they’ll appeal the decision to the board of county commissioners.
That leaves the question whether Ortiz, whose biggest campaign contribution came from Ary, should recuse himself from the decision, should an appeal actually happen.
Ortiz told PULP he will discuss the issue of the gravel mine and whether he will recuse himself from the decision when the appeal is formally announced.
But even Ary anticipates the appeal to be more than an empty threat.
“Oh I’m sure there will be an appeal,” Ary told reporters after the decision was made on April 24. “But, yeah, we’re ready. We have quite an extensive team. We have numerous people who have worked on this project and a handful of people who have worked on this project all 20 years.”
When PULP asked whether the gravel mine was a factor in donating to Mater and Ortiz — two candidates from different parties running agianst each other — Ary simply replied, “We were trying to get the right people elected to do the job.”
The Colorado Secretary of State campaign finance website does not indicate that Ary has donated to Sal Pace or Terry Hart in previous elections — they are the other sitting Pueblo County commissioners. It also doesn’t appear that Ary has ever donated to commissioners in Fremont County, where his P.O. Box is located and company is based.
Mater, who owns a roofing business and builds homes on the side, publically supported the mine, the past candidate told PULP, because more supply could mean lower costs for his business. On a foundation alone, Mater said he was spending an extra $500 in concrete because of several reasons, one being the increasing price of gravel.
Beyond business, Mater said he supported the mine because of the money that would go toward education. The land the mine will occupy is property of the State Land Board — which is basically a trust that effectively operates as a leasing company in order to generate revenue for beneficiaries, primarily Colorado’s public schools.
It’s expected that over the lifespan of the Badger Hills mine — 10 to 15 years — $1.8 million would end up going toward education.
The opposition group claims that the amount is minimal, given it’s over the course of at least a decade.
Additionally, Mater said he didn’t see additional trucks going through town much of a problem.
“The trucks will still come through town,” he said. “We just wouldn’t see the tax benefits.”
Basically Mater’s outlook was that if the mine wasn’t going to be in Pueblo, it’d likely be somewhere east of Pueblo.
When asked about contribution Mater recalled Ary telling him, “I’m going to donate to you because you’re a Republican, but I’ve got to cover my bases.”
The opposition group has 10 days from the date of the commission’s decision, April 24, to appeal the decision.
The fight over the mine has been controversial over the impacts the opposition group worries the mine will have on the surrounding community.
Here’s what we do know:
- Economic research from a CSU-Pueblo professor says the closer a gravel mine is to its source the more economic sense it makes. Hauling gravel is expensive.
- The state has deemed the land of no significant ecological integrity. Fremont Paving is required to reclaim the land.
- Pueblo County confirmed to PULP that it would consider buying gravel from the proposed mine. It is already buying out of the existing mine on 36th lane.
Read more about this mine in this previous edition of Notified:
