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Show JULY 28, 1987 L, lly Brian Cray The woman on the telephone was calling newspaper columnists about an urgent matter of public importance. We need your support if we are to stop the devastation, she said. What devastation? I asked. "Are more children dying in SriLanka? A different type of devastation," she answered. Im speaking of the plan by the LDS Church to close the Hotel Utah. You are aware of the traditions of that venerable hotel and you realize the sites historic importance. And so were asking you to join us in pressuring the LDS Church to rescind the closure. Now how can you help us? "I cant. She was shocked. Are you no longer published in the newspaper? she asked. If Oh, Im still published. But neither am I the owners of the Hotel Utah feel it should be closed, Im not going to argue. But youve seen that gorgeous hotel, havent you? Yes. But the owners have seen the balance sheet. They say theyre losing great gobs of money keeping it open. If 1 open up a lemonade stand and lose great gobs of money, the sensible thing for me to do is to close it. But were not speaking of a lemonade stand, Mr. Cyclops. Were talking the Hotel Utah!" Sure. But were also talking about private enterprise. The only difference between closing the lemonade stand and the Hotel Utah is in the magnitude of the closure. But thousands of Americans have enjoyed the Hotel Utah. Youre right. But not enough of those thousands are enjoying it now. Otherwise, the place would be a Financial goldmine. But its part of our heritage. So was Billys Conoco and Tire Repair. But it went under, moved in across the street. too, when a Thats an absurd comparison, Mr. Cyclops. with no No . . . Whats absurd is a bunch of financial risk making decisions for the owner who is losing his shirt. If your group wants the Hotel Utah to survive, then pass the hat and buy it. But the LDS Church wont sell it! And thats their right. After all, they own it. But think what it will do to our tourist image. Oh, I know what closing the hotel will do. It will allow other hotel owners to make some money. The Mormon Church has been criticized for competing with private owners. Now youre criticizing the Mormon Church for not competing. You cant have it both ways. But were talking history. Many American presidents have stayed at the Hotel Utah. Youre right. But Calvin Coolidge ate a mustard and pickle hot dog at a greasy spoon called the Grabateria and no one complained when that shut down. Youre an impossible person to convince, said the woman. All you think about is money. No, all Im thinking about is the poor guy who is losing it. In this case, that poor guy happens to be the LDS Church. Sure, the church could afford the loss . . . But why should it? And who are you to ask the LDS Church to subsidize a hotel simply so you can eat a bowl of soup in the mezzanine twice each year? So I cant even ask you to contribute any money for our Save the Hotel campaign? Well, let me see . . . Ive got an historic $20 gold piece I might contribute. Thank you, Mr, Cyclops. We could sell that piece and buy a e newspaper ad. Oh no, you cant sell it, I said. Like the Hotel Utah, it has great historic significance. But youre welcome to look at it. Thats what people have been doing to the Hotel Utah . . . Theyve been looking at it and staying somewhere else. feeble-minde- I : : ; r ' : d. full-pag- Veteran fireman named as Laytons fire chief LAYTON Laytons new Fire Chief is Allan Peek, the former fire marshal and chief, of the fire prevention and investigations division for Ogden City. Mr. Peek will replace retiring chief John H. Adams. A native of Weber County, Chief Peek is a graduate of Weber High School. He has worked for Ogden City for 23 years. He has been the Fire Marshall for the last five years. Chief Peek attended Weber State College and Utah Technical College. He has attended hundreds of hours of fire training programs. For the past 1 years, Chief Peek has taught in the Fire Science program for Utah Technical College. He has instructed members of all northern Utah fire departments from Sale Lake County north. The has made him well acquainted with the different departments. Although has has not been directly associated with the Layton agency through his teaching, he knows most of the staff currently with the Layton Fire Department. Chief Peek claims close ties with Davis County. His ancestor, Richard Peek, was a pioneer settler of South Weber. His father, Harry Peek, now lives in the family home in South Weber. The official appointment of Allan Peek to the Fire Chief position took place at the last Layton City Council meeting. City manager Bruce Barton noted he was selected by a committee comprised of the Bountiful Fire Chief, members of the Layton City staff and Councilman Bob Stevenson. The council approved the committees recommendation and officially appointed Mr. Peek to this position effective July 27, 1987. In response to the appointment, Chief Peek said, One of my goals in life was to be the chief of a fire department. I am glad that this opportunity has occurred in Layton. I believe in fire prevention and I hope to have a quality fire department that is considered to be the best in the state. 1 Kaysville is getting a new senior citizens center. Layton isnt. Of course, under the countys regional approach to such facilities, it will be considered as a center to serve all of central Davis County. That means not only Kaysville but also Fruit Heights, Layton, Syracuse and Farmington residents who are interested. The decision favoring downtown Kaysville site was reaffirmed by the council on aging last week. Layton Mayor Richard McKenzie was, needless to say, hardly jumping for joy but seemed like more than just a good sport over the whole thing. Kaysvilles not that far (from Layton), he said, expressing not only his own feelings but those of senior citizens who heard the news at their Tuesday luncheon in Layton. I dont see things being split between a center in Layton and another in Kaysville as a good solution, he stressed. Both facilities would have to be smaller and that would only mean additional taxes on everybody. Layton providing its own, separate facility would mean citizens would be taxed twice for the county program and a city operation, he continued. I believe three senior citizen centers in the county are adequate, he added, although expressing disappointment at the decision. I felt like they (council on aging) had made their decision to it put in Kaysville before his meeting with them. An announcement that Kaysville had been chosen was made about a month ago. I thought the issue was cut and dried but apparently the council was willing to listen to another pitch from Layton. There was no good reason (for Kaysville to be chosen over Layton) other than the cost of land, Mayor McKenzie said. 8 sites in the Kaysville-Layto- n The council on aging scoured area before making a selection. Some of those sites could be had for a hefty $100,000 price tag, however, and when Kaysville offered the southeast portion of its Municipal block for free, it was hard to pass up. As Mayor McKenzie said at the meeting, maybe Layton just didnt make its sales pitch hard enough although specifics on land available and what the cost would be, if any, always appeared sketchy, at least as far as I was told. Kaysvilles Silver Age meal site as its officially been called has blossomed in the six years or so since it set up shop in the old Brough home. Director Patsy Seach has used her vivacious, personality to make the most of what has long-ag- o become a rather crowded facility. As Alice Johnson, county council on aging director notes, special holiday meals sometimes draw 100. That means eating in two shifts. The pool table has to be covered and made into a table and every other inch of the old home used for such occasions, she notes. Kaysville has a population of seniors within walking distance of that center, which is in the heart of downtown. state survey, Layton has 2,270 According to a seniors over the age of 60 while Kaysville lists just over 1,000. Thats a pretty sizable number. But as Ms. Johnson empha 16-1- hard-worki- just-comput- Note: This is the second in a series of articles discussing master plans, planning and zoning ordinances. Layton is now in the process of revising its master plan and zoning ordinances. These articles should give citizens insight into the planning and zoning process and answer questions about the responsibilities and powers city governments have. LAYTON A tour of any growing town shows there are in the placement of curb, guttering and sidewalks. There are two main reasons why certain housing areas are without these off site improvements. First, the house was constructed before these improvements were required by city ordinance. In the case of Layton and most Davis County cities this would be before the 1950s. The other reason for the absence of improvements is a system of lien wavers that Layton and other cities use. A lien waver or postponed agreement allows the city council to waive on a temporary basis the incon-sitanci- es construction of curb, gutter or sidewalk until after 75 of the frontage in a prescribed area is developed into a residential neighbor- hood. Lien wavers are designed to allow a home, built in an agricultural area, to forego improvements because they seem unnecessary to service just one home in a rural setting. Often council approval is given for lien wavers because no one else along the street has sidewalks or because the lot sizes are large and the homes are arranged in a more natural setting. As the term implies, a lien waver or a postponed agreement does not relieve the homeowner of the reimprovesponsibility of off-sit- e ments. It just postpones the time when these improvements are to be made. The lien is recorded on property titles in the county records. of the . When an area has 75 frontage developed residentially, the council has the power to call the wavers and require property owners to pay for the installation of improvements. This is not automatic. The calling of wavers is up to the council. This means the decision becomes very political and council members frequently are to take a stand. Look around Layton. Notice how many streets are totally developed and there is no sidewalks and frequently no curbs and gutters. Councils who grant lien wavers are considered the good guys. A few years later councils who call in lien wavers are labeled bad guys. No one wants to pay for e improvements through a special service district several years after they have moved into their home and forgotten the terms of the lien waver. After a courageous council bites the bullet and calls in lien wavers, the process to get improvements completed is rather lengthy. First, a notice of intention is mailed to each property owner in the proposed special improvement district. This describes the scope of the work and the estimated costs. Second, there is a public hearing before the council. At this time a resolution can be passed specifing the district. At the public hearing off-sit- LEADING EDGE PRODUCTS LEADING EDGE PRICES nsm 00082 Microprocessor MHz and 7 16 MHz) 360kb floppy disk drive 512K RAM expandable 760K on motherboard Open socket for 8087 One BEEE Fully Configured Model "D" with single floppy disk drive. 20MB fixed disk dnve and to mg with SpetlinQ 54 3 council determines they are needed. In areas where developement has taken place before lien wavers were used by the city or were not required, it is even more difficult to get the curb, guttering and sidewalk improvemen completed. A VIEWPOINT IN A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Hearing held; budget fixed Continued from Page 1 red to the county employment and training department. The sheriffs department transfer of $16,112 in state money to purchase medical emergency equipment was approved by the council. Also, a state donation to the Davis County Library of $561 was transferred into the library working budget to purchase books. A budget change for the buildings and grounds department to transfer $2,363 in funds to cover payroll costs of a transfer of an employee was also approved. The commissioner approved putting $109,077 funds in escrow for the purchase of the Mutton Hollow Regional Detention Pond. 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WAy suffer needUuty y gentle, natural chmtprmtu ran helpf Call now for an appointment mv ! ond M a O f(xwrvw urtd uw Im T w LomcWwv logo ! (. t v rvxxji tg mttt ininM, , y i WWW tiC frodurli a me iti rwn m na fcWwwv Mywy I MaWmoA iKirauy a tartemowt Wtnflriooq kanMI MocWOI m at mnw toronyuw ximnwa no obligation. FOR' A NA PPOINTMENTlCA North Main St., Layton, Utah 84041 (801) 773-787- 8 - Cwt more than a linear frontage. The next step is to have the work done and give a final notification of costs to property owners. A Board of Equalization is set up comprised usually of members of the city staff, a city councilman and possibly a lay citizen who has no interests in the district. If property owners have complaints about the cost of the project, they can appeal to the Board of Equalization. Finally, a second resolution is passed by council action establishing the costs of the project and the interest rate. Property owners have the option of paying the entire bill up front or having as assessment attached to their property tax over a period of several years, depending on the costs of the project and the needs of the people. Many people dont realize that once they have committed themselves to a lien waver, they are required by law to pay for the improvements if and when the city Configured Model "D" One 5Y 360kb floppy disk dnve One Leading Edoe" Infinite " Memory Drive leatunng Bernoulli Technology Two 20MB removable Infinite Memory Cartridges Leading Edge Word Process mg with Spelling Correction keyboard e GW BASIC iwvtnp special service district must be formed with the consent of the malished through a bidding process or jority of property owners. The maif the city does the work, through jority is determined by frontage of the city engineers estimates. An property owned not by a numerical assessment roll is made. Property majority. owners are notified of the amount they will be required to pay. This is based on the frontage of the property and extra expenses like corEXPRESS YOUR ners of lots that may cost a little the council actually constructs the district. Third, costs are estab- Fully Seiectnc-styl- 7 Johnson says. But the goal is to serve those interested in the many different ways requested. Layton has had a solid program of its own offering a quite a variety of offerings from the old Verdeland Park School. As Mayor McKenzie said again recently, that building could be razed if and when Layton builds a new or expanded municipal center. It really cant feasibly be remodeled and looked to be in fairly bad shape when I first visited there a decade or so ago. For geographic reasons, it wouldve been ideal if the center could have been built in the Mutton Hollow area. Thats assuming there are utilities, eash access by bus and car and everything else. Unfortunately, what looks good on a map doesnt always translate into reality.' Such appears to be the case with that idea one that was studied long and hard by the council on aging. So lets hope the new center can benefit as many as want to take advantage of it. The council on aging operates bus service for those needing it that would include Layton as well as Farmington Fruit Heights, Ms. Johnson stresses. Meals will continue to be provided to those homebound seniors no matter where they live in the county. The second highest number of recipients currently are from Layton, she indicates. Maybe someday the county will have sufficient population for centers in Kaysville and Layton. Maybe Centerville and North Salt Lake will have facilities too. Ms. Johnson notes, there are actually more senior citizens in South Davis with one center although North Davis has more people overall. I hope Layton seniors will accept the decision and provide input and participation, as Mayor McKenzie reiterated. The centers offer interesting, varied, sound programs in my opinion. And if you just want to go relax and socialize, thats there too. Onward and upward! BOSE monitor Mooday-Saturda- couldnt possibly serve everybody if they came," Ms. Leading Edge Word Process Correction expansion slots Serial and parallel pons Color Graphics and Hercules'" Monochrome Graphics Emulation Battery backed clockcalendar monochrome 315 North Main, Kaysville546-361-y Summer hours 9 a.m. to 0 p.m. We "pr (4 77 Four 6 center. Curb, gutter irregularities explained $995 Zonal Hybrid Geraniums sized, not everybody can or will use a senior center. Many are still working far past their 60th birthday. Others wouldnt be caught dead there even if theyre in their late 70s or early 80s. Still others are homebound and cant be transported to the ImxMl 1 1 H LL |