Lannon Stone Seeking to Expand Quarry Operations

Third generation Lannon Stone owner Hans Dawson promises to work closely with neighbors as the company seeks to expand its quarry operations.

“The Dawson family will never leave residents high and dry if something happens to your home as a result of our work,” Dawson said Thursday.  

Lannon Stone recently purchased the quarry from Vulcan, which had sold its last four remaining quarries throughout Wisconsin. Lannon Stone purchased the 380-acre quarry at the corner of Highway 74 and Lisbon Road on June 20.

Dawson is now looking toward the future, and has plans to expand the quarry operations over the next several decades. The quarry boundaries would creep closer to residential neighborhoods, and has left some homeowners concerned.

A few residents asked questions and voiced their worries about the project. Residents were most concerned that blasting operations could have a devastating impact on their wells – not to mention the noise. A few others were worried that a plan to divert a stream would leave their basement soggy. 

“I just want Lannon Stone to keep an open dialogue with all members of our subdivision,” said Brian Maas. “This is just a small cross section of the people that live there.

Dawson attempted to allay most of the concern Thursday, and promised to continue to work closely with residents. He said Lannon Stone plans to construct 20-foot berms around the perimeter of the quarry to reduce sound pollution, dust, and unfavorable sight lines. The boundaries would also be setback 400 feet, which is twice the distance mandated by the state.

“Our blasting is usually the first thing that is noticed by the neighbors. The vibrations are actually the ground shaking, and we move a very large volume of air at one time,” Dawson said.

He added that Lannon Stone would also continue to implement a well monitoring program that Vulcan already had in place. And if anything were to go wrong, Lannon Stone would foot the bill construct a 250-foot well with no cost to the owner. 

Over the next 50 years, the quarry will first expand eastward toward farmhouses off of Lisbon Road. Dawson said they also plan to dig the quarry about 50 feet deeper in its existing footprint, but would eventually expand northward toward a small subdivision.

The plan is still early in the process in terms of approvals from village leaders. Village staff will prepare an agreement outlining some of the neighborly proposals in Dawson’s plan, which would be reviewed in August. 

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