Tinsley Asphalt has planning approval to operate a rock quarry in Decherd, Tennessee.
Peter Tinsley, president, Tinsley Asphalt says the quarry will be “ economically good for the county,” the Herald Chronicle reports.
Tinsley is optimistic the Franklin County Commission will approve the rezoning request despite opposition from area residents who remain opposed to Tinsley resurrecting the issue that was defeated nine years ago by the county commission.
The legal fight for the quarry began in 2008 and was strongly opposed by residents of the Greenhaw neighborhood who said it would diminish property values and destroy their quality of life in the rural area.
Peter Tinsley, Tinsley Asphalt owner, said: “We feel that education is on our side…A lot of people are fearful of things they don’t know about.”
“We want to be as good of a neighbor as we can be,” Tinsley said. He said the financial savings the county would have from having a local quarry would be a tremendous financial boost to the county.
Total savings to the county would be about $2.36 million per year on the asphalt and aggregate gravel products combined. He said the expected savings on asphalt is about $10 a ton. Franklin County now pays $77.77 per ton. The reduced price would be about $67 per ton, Tinsley said.
Franklin County purchases 80,000 tons per year, meaning the savings would be about $860,000 annually on asphalt alone, with expenditures reduced from $6.221 million to $5.36 million, Tinsley said. On aggregate rock, used to gravel roads, the savings is estimated at about $5 per ton, he said.
The county applies about 300,000 tons annually, meaning that savings would be about $1.5 million annually. Franklin County pays $2.85 million on average annually for 300,000 tons of aggregate at $9.50 per ton.
Another economic plus Tinsley highlighted is the county has a 15-cent-per-ton mineral severance tax the quarry would pay. At present, that money is going elsewhere because Franklin County imports quarry products, he said. That means Franklin County would get an additional $57,000, based on 380,000 tons of annual rock product coming from the quarry.
Tinsley said his employees live in Franklin County and support its economic well-being. “We’re raised here and live in Franklin County,” he said. “All of our families are from here, and we spend our money here. We’ve got local folks doing business here.”
