December 23, 2025 – Town of Farmington, Wi – Neighbors around the Town of Farmington including a subdivision on Green Lake received a notice in the mail this week about an upcoming public hearing as the town board considers a request for a ‘Mineral Extraction operation off of Trading Post Trail.’ The notice is posted below.
The Farmington Town Board will consider a request for a conditional use permit for a sand mine at the site. Town Chairman Doug Neumann said the proposal involves a company already operating in the town and moving from one nearby location to another.
“I appreciate the concern, but the company’s been doing business in the town for a couple of years already,” Neumann said. “We haven’t had any issues.”
According to Neumann, the current sand mining operation on the Chris Elby farm is nearing completion, and the company is proposing to shift to a different parcel nearby. “There’s an active site right now on the Chris Elby farm and that site is wrapping up there, and they’re just moving to a different location,” he said. “It’s on a different parcel, but it’s nothing different than what’s been happening the last three years.”
Neumann said the proposed site is on property owned by Chris Elbe, but not directly connected to the existing farm operation, Golden “E” Dairy Farm.
Neumann also emphasized the company is subject to multiple layers of oversight. “They have to follow all the DNR permitting and county permitting,” Neumann said. “They have more regulation than just our conditional use permit.”
When asked about the company’s track record, Neumann said early concerns the town board had did not turn into problems. “We were pretty nervous when it first came out, but we haven’t had any issues with them,” he said. “They’ve been super cooperative and communicate.”
The notice reached a wide group of residents, particularly in the Green Lake subdivision, because of shared ownership of a nearby common area.
“There’s an adjoining parcel that is considered a common area of the subdivision,” Neumann explained. “So, everybody that lives there technically is part owner of it. That’s why so many notices went out.”
Specific conditions, including operating hours and noise limits, would be addressed during the conditional use permit process, Neumann said.
He encouraged residents with concerns to attend the public hearing in January 2026.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources notes that sand mining has been part of Wisconsin’s landscape for more than 100 years, with modern operations regulated through state, county, and local permitting processes.
Click HERE for more details on the DNR website
