The Oneida county board next week will have mining-related resolutions to discuss: a change in the county's current mining rules, and whether to approve an advisory vote to allow metallic mineral exploration in the town of Lynne.
During a committee meeting this week, the final touches on the county rules changes were approved and sent to the board. The committee has been working since the state law change was signed by Governor Walker last fall eliminating the Mining Moratorium law. That change motivated local governments to get their rules updated. The committee also forwarded a resolution for the full board to ask Oneida county voters whether to allow the lease of county forest lands in Lynne for mining exploration, prospecting, bulk sampling and mining.
Supervisor Ted Cushing, who also is chair in the town of Hazelhurst, says he talked to people in his part of the county and says an advisory vote should be done..
"....Everyone I talk to thinks we should do a referendum. The taxpayers own that property. All of you out there, all of us sitting here, we own that property, and the only way to do this properly is to poll everybody...."
If approved by the county board next Tuesday, a non-binding, advisory vote would be presented on the November 6 general election ballot. A yes vote would give the thumbs up to mining, a thumbs down vote would say forget it.
