Communication between the City of Morrison and its local residents about the ongoing construction of the McNeilus Steel plant continues to face serious challenges. This time residents whose homes are next to the large construction site faced a wall of sound and light last week after hours and all night long in the days leading up to the Christmas holiday weekend.

This recent failure to notify citizens about the unorthodox timing of the concrete pour is only the most recent point of contention between Morrison homeowners and the City.  Litigation has been filed against the City of Morrison by a group of a dozen Morrison citizens whose homes are being affected by the steel behemoth’s installation into the community.

“I woke up in my front room to bright blinking lights in the middle of the night and all kinds of beeping noises,” said Jennifer Burks who lives with her family directly across the street from the site. “I literally thought McNeilus Steel was doing some kind of Christmas light show to make amends with the townsfolk. ‘We’re here to be good neighbors. Here’s a light show’ type thing. In reality they were pouring concrete all night long.” 

Burks contacted the Warren County Sheriff's Department and they informed her that in fact the City of Morrison had given the developer permission to not only work outside the hours of 7 a.m.-6 p.m., but also to work throughout the night. She and local neighbors had not been informed about the after-hour construction which violates Morrison anti-noise regulations Zoning Code 11-402.

Gerald and Cecelia Ward, whose property is across the railroad tracks from McNeilus and sits slightly to the northeast of the site, say Morrison is clearly breaking anti-noise regulations.  The Wards are not named in the suit, but they have been doing their homework regarding the city’s application of zoning laws and codes since they purchased their home a year ago. 

“At the very least, we feel the City could show a lot more sensitivity to its residents,” says Cecelia. “We don’t understand the urgency of having to do this all night long. We do understand that pouring concrete takes time, but residents received zero notification about it. This is on top of litigation that other citizens have pending concerning the manner in which the City and developers have handled the zoning of the steel plant from the beginning.”

Lea Ray, originally from Morrison, whose father Lavell Whitehead’s house is directly across the site on West Maple Street, says “Promises made are already being broken. The noise is incredible. The constant beeping of trucks backing up is enough to unnerve anyone, but now the neighbors are informing me that they have been kept up all night because of the noise. All of them are enduring it till 5 a.m.” Ray worries about her elderly father who is basically at the mercy of the site right across from his driveway.

"This quiet little steel plant was presented to the community (that has tripled in size already and has more expansion planned) will be running a third shift at some point and the area will be lit up like a Walmart parking lot. All of this when there is a perfectly suitable industrial park right up the road,” Ray said.

Nearby resident Adam Bouldin is frustrated with the ongoing inability of the City and McNeilus to inform its residents. “No notice was provided to our council or the local neighbors prior to this incident. As we have documented and shown on many occasions previously, the City of Morrison representatives do as they please without any concern for the community or the citizens affected. It is truly sad that a small community can be in an active lawsuit with its  own citizens and still push the boundaries of the written laws/codes, continually ignoring its tax-payers, voters and neighbors all for their perceived ‘better vision for our community,’” Bouldin said.

Morrison Town Attorney Daryl Julian acknowledges the City of Morrison needs to improve its communication methods. He says they have been working closely with Craig Johnson, the attorney representing the beleaguered residents, and feels they have been making good progress. 

Despite this progress, he says some wires have been unintentionally crossed as the construction crews have entered a new critical stage in pouring concrete outside of regular hours. 

“It is understandable that the unavoidable intensity of this overnight work has aroused concerns as to lighting and excessive noise,” explains Julian. “It is important to point out that the construction firm was an integral part of our pre-construction meetings, and it was clearly established at that early point that these activities were anticipated and unavoidable. While of limited duration, the company has a permit to complete these concrete pours outside of regular hours, then return to normal business hours.” 

Julian hopes the town’s website will be a conduit going forward for future news or changes to McNeilus and its construction policies as they develop. He has reached out to key persons who can help make this happen including working with Johnson on how to inform residents in a sensitive and timely manner.

“Most importantly I should stress that these are limited short-term construction activities after which construction will resume under normal business hours,” emphasized Julian.

Sue Anderson, Morrison mayor, also acknowledges that the city and McNeilus are working on streamlining their communication for the benefit of its residents. “There is nothing more important to me than Morrison and the well-being of its residents. I do believe a certain amount of growing pains are to be expected whenever a small town has to make big changes. It’s a work in progress and I hope we can all cooperate to make sure we are at least using our city’s website in the future. I want to make sure affected residents get this kind of news in advance. I don’t want any of our Morrison citizens to feel ignored or inconvenienced.”