Resident urges safety review before hearing on proposed pyrotechnics storage at Thompson Pit

Linda Zollmer, an Edgewater property owner, used the public‑comment portion of the Sawyer County Public Safety Committee meeting to urge coordination among law enforcement, emergency management and the zoning committee before a scheduled conditional‑use hearing on the proposed siting of eight shipping containers of pyrotechnics at the old Thompson Pit off Highway 63 in the Town of Hayward.

Zollmer told the committee she had emailed committee members, the zoning committee and the county administrator and described the site as mixed use with sand mining, commercial storage and the proposed pyrotechnics storage. She said the town of Hayward plan commission had reviewed conditions forwarded by the county zoning committee and that the applicant did not agree to some of the plan‑commission’s requested conditions.

Zollmer said the applicant indicated they would not install fencing around the containers or a camera system, and she urged the county to convene law enforcement, emergency management and responders to suggest appropriate conditions should the zoning committee approve the site. She cited the county Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meeting on April 16 as an opportunity for multi‑agency discussion.

"This is not just a zoning matter. I think it's a public‑safety matter," Zollmer said in public comment, asking the county to consider conditions that would protect residents and first responders.

Committee members did not take formal action at the meeting; Zollmer’s remarks were entered as public comment and staff noted the upcoming LEPC meeting as a venue for further coordination.