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MEMORANDUM DATE: December 5, 1989 TO: City Administrator David Hartley FROM: Planning Assistant Sylvia Frolik RE: Danny's Aluminum Processing CC: Community Development Director Mark Banwart Police Chief Mike Auspos Officer Jim Singewald Fire Chief Bruce Hoeke Merland Ono/Hakanson Anderson Community Development Technician Steve Lutmer Dan Karst, Danny's Aluminum Processing The purpose of this memo is to respond to your Inbox memo to me on November 28, 1989 regarding any City action being taken with respect to recent police/fire incident reports initiating from the site of Danny's Aluminum Processing at 14050 Basalt Street N.W. On Monday, December 4, 1989, a meeting was held at City Hall. Persons in attendance were Mark Banwart, Merland Otto, Bruce Hoeke, Dan Karst, Joe Karst and myself. We reviewed various areas of concern raised in the police/fire incident reports. Dan Karst indicated that most of the problems at the site are the result of 'working the bugs' out of the baghouse that was installed at the facility. The fire problems and odor problems were caused by fiberglass spacers and collection of flamable materials in the hoppers. Since the incidents, the fiberglass spacers have been replaced with steel ones. The equipment supplier recommends emptying the hoppers once every six weeks; they are now emptied daily. In addition, the baghouse did not have a temperature sensor that would shut down the blower if the heat reached a danger point in the hoppers. Consequently when a fire started in the hopper, the blower would continue to feed the fire with oxygen. A temperature sensor has now been installed that will automatically shut down the blower if the temperature reaches a danger point. With regard to £mding a 'red hot' pile of melted down aluminum dumped outside the building, this is the standard operating procedure for cool down. The melted material is dumped onto a cement slab for cool down and the dumping area is at least 60 feet from any pound cover that could catch on fire. Naturally, the red glow from the meltdown material is more noticeable in the evening. Regarding an incident of an open burning at the site, Mr. Karst explained that his employees are accustomed to working in Elk Pdver where open burning is still permitted. All employees have been informed that there is no open burning in Ramsey. In addition, a lugger tub has been installed at the site for collection and transport of non-burnable materials. Regarding reports of odors smelling of burning plastic, Mr. Karst feels they were mainly due to the problems experienced with fiberglass spacers in the baghouse, which have now been replaced with steel. There are minor amounts of plastic attached to aluminum vehicle parts that do get into the furnace; Mr. Karst is continuing to seek out more causes and cures to the plastic odor other than the fiberglass spacers.