About 35 people showed up to Wellesley council Tuesday night for an information meeting on the proposed expansion of Jones Feed Mill in Linwood.
Owner Jeff Jones has applied for a zoning change amendment to add a premix plant behind the existing mill. The zoning change amendment is for 20 acres of the 71-acre lot at the southeast corner of Manser Road and Alfred Street.
Jones plans to construct a 40,000-square-foot blending, packaging and distribution centre with warehouse space and an adjacent parking lot. The mill currently trucks in mixed feed; with the new plant, they would be making premix for hogs, beef and dairy on site. The premix plant would employ an additional 25 people.
“Our intention now is just to make those products at the mill,” Jones told the assembled crowd.
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Township planner Steve Jefferson told the crowd that there would likely be no increase in truck traffic, as there are currently trucks coming to drop off feed. The mill produces 60,000 tonnes of feed per year and sells another 2,000 tonnes of premix. The premix plant would produce an additional 4,000 tonnes, Jones intends to install a silencer on the exhaust system to lower noise levels and build a berm between the plant and the houses along Manser Road, with the height of the berm to be determined by an acoustical engineer.
None of the people at the meeting opposed the plan, but a few had questions for Jones.
A small section of the property abuts Manser Road, and one resident wanted to know if Jones planned to use it for an entrance to the new plant. Jones told her he intends to use the existing entrance from Albert Street to keep the site secure.
Another resident wanted to know what type of materials Jones would be bringing on the site to make the premix. Jones told him that 90 per cent of the material would be salt, dicalcium phosphate and lime, with no chemicals being brought on to the site.
Council was advised to defer discussion of the matter until after the formal public meeting is held.
