A group of five Middle Jam Road property owners met with officials of a local firm to exchange views regarding proposed expansion of a Gorham gravel pit.

The pit, owned by R.J. Grondin & Sons, is located in the Middle Jam Road area of the towns of Standish and Gorham. Recent plans to expand the Grondin pit up to the lot line of an adjoining pit owned by Peter Busque prompted the meeting. The Busque pit is in Standish and the Grondin pit is located just over the line in Gorham.

The five homeowners who attended the Monday afternoon discussion were Steven Carpenter, Jonathan Cooper, David Page and Mary Snell, all of Gorham, and Lu Bauer of Standish. Cousins Kenneth and Larry Grondin spoke for R.J. Grondin & Sons.

“We thought they would be most concerned with the truck traffic along Middle Jam Road, but their biggest issue was the removal of the buffer strip between the two pits,” said Larry Grondin. “The meeting went well, and we spoke for over an hour. It was a cordial meeting, and while they did not hear what they wanted to hear, we were willing to discuss ways to work on the aesthetics around the pit entry.”

Larry Grondin told the group about the history of the gravel operation and also about the plans for expanding the pit. The company plans to excavate to the lot line between the Grondin and Busque pits, but the exact timetable and phasing in of that expansion has not been finalized with Gorham. The Grondin pit is nearing its final phase of gravel extraction.

Asked what the company intends to do with the pit when the operation is finished extracting gravel, Larry Grondin said, “At this point we have no idea. This is not great for development. We will figure that out when we get there. My cousin lives at the top of the hill, and he would have first option if he were interested. In the long term it is hard to say.”

Neighbor Lu Bauer said, “Everyone was cooperative at the meeting. What we didn’t want was to have the buffer removed so that we can look straight across to Route 35. While we failed to save that, we did gain cooperation to make it look more livable. Ken Grondin suggested the company might move some of the dirt around the entry area to create a wall that the trucks will go around.”

Other concerns discussed at the meeting were the wildlife trails, and the ongoing recreational uses of the unposted pit for all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, and hiking. The Grondins have no plans to introduce new restrictions for the access to their operation.