OCR Text |
Show Cyan Magenta Yellow Black A10 Sanpete Messenger/Gunnison Valley Edition Wednesday, January 12, 2005 Pretty Shield again Spring City ponders lot sizes, special asks for county OK improvement district, impact fees Centerfield (Continued from A2) Governmental funds expenditures—general government: $7,187; public safety: $65,504; streets and highways: $83,290; culture and recreation: $23,414; total: $259,395. The council passed a resolution to allow the creation of a municipal building authority. The council decided to create a building authority to help fund the Old Rock Church project. A public hearing will be held Feb. 20. Then the bylaws and articles of incorporation need to be adopted. In 1953 the state passed the Utah Building Authority Act, which allows cities to create a nonprofit corporation for public purposes. Boy Scout Haden McAfee attended the council meeting to meet requirements for his first class badge. January 7, 2005 The following position has been declared open: 1st Grade Paraeducator (To work approximately 19.5 hours per week, no benefits) School: Gunnison Valley Elementary Requirements: No Child Left Behind requirements must be met. Call School for information To Apply: Complete District Application Form (can be found at: www.ssanpete.k12.ut.us) Submit a letter of qualifications/resume Deadline to Apply: January 18, 2005 Return to: Grant Hansen, Principal Gunnison Valley Elementary 682 South Main, Gunnison, UT 84634 435-528-7880 South Sanpete School District is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or disability. 1/12G 800 E. 700 E. 600 E. 500 E. 400 E. 300 E. 200 E. 100 E. 600 S. Staff writer SPRING CITY—Discussions about the lot size referendum, the special improvement district and impact fee studies continued at the first Spring City Council meeting of the year. Lawrence Gardner, a member of the Planning and Zoning Committee, submitted a document for the city council to review that resurrects the previous zoning ordinance that was voted down by Spring City residents in a November referendum. Changes to the ordinance include 1.06-acre lot sizes instead of the controversial half-acre lot size that led to the referendum. Another change of note combines the Historic Main Street Committee with the Historic Preservation Committee. The combined committee would be an advisory subcommittee to the Planning and Zoning Committee. The ordinance requires half of the subcommittee members to be residents of Spring City while the others should be property owners. The Planning and Zoning Committee broadened wording in this section of the ordinance to include individuals who might not qualify as residents under current definitions. The document also contains appendices of the outcomes of more recent zoning surveys and a sample temporary use permit. Part of the document also addresses home businesses. Interested parties can review the document at Spring City Hall. The council will discuss and vote on the document’s adoption soon. Also under review is a rough draft for a special improvement district that the council has been considering for the Packer and Alger subdivisions. The docu- ment proposes to improve needed water, sewer, and electric lines, as well as curbing, sidewalks, gutters, street signs, street lights and roads. Improvement costs will be assessed to property owners in the area. The total cost of the listed improvements is estimated to be $561,000 or over $16,000 per lot. Mayor John Thomas emphasizes that the rough draft is only a starting point. The council intends to cut back according to feedback from individuals who own property in the affected area. The draft provides a mechanism for protest or consent to the special improvement district, stipulating that protests describe the property that the person owns and that the protest be made in writing and that it meet on a deadline yet to be determined. The proposal will be revised and a public hearing will be held following the protest/consent deadline. The council will then accept or reject the proposal to establish the special improvement district. The improvement district has been discussed for the past three months. People living in these subdivisions are welcome to attend upcoming city council meetings to keep abreast of the process. Updating the council in another ongoing discussion, Gordon Miner of Hansen Allen and Luce (HAL) presented a proposal for developing a multi-system master plan that could be used by the city to assess impact fees and guide future development. If contracted, the study by HAL would provide a master plan for Spring City’s drinking water, sewage lagoon, and electrical power systems, a capital facilities master plan, and an impact fee analysis report. According to the work plan, 500 S. MANTI—Sanpete County Commissioners have set a work meeting for Jan. 12 to resolve issues regarding the possible $3 million bond and impact fees for the Pretty Shield youth home southeast of Mt. Pleasant. At their regular meeting on Jan. 4, the Sanpete County commissioners were approached by Gordon Birch, Pretty Shield’s chief operating officer, with Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibilty (TEFRA) papers — papers that would allow Pretty Shield to begin preliminary marketing processes to sell the bonds. Under TEFRA regulations, governments are required to hold a public hearing before issuing bonds. The county has already held their TEFRA hearing. Birch said that signing the TEFRA was just a preliminary step that just allowed the underwriters to move forward, and which would authorize the sale of the bonds. H o w e v e r, commission chairman, Bruce Blackham and Sanpete County Attorney Ross Blackham said the wording in the document would obligate the county and could be considered final approval. Also, in a separate interview, Ross Blackham said TEFRA is an “intermediary step” in the bond process that merely indicates that the County is moving in the direction of bonding. However, Ross Blackham said that the county was, at this point, “not ready to take that intermediary step.” Ross Blackham and the commission will work with the school’s bond attorney to resolve the issue. The commission also expressed reservations regarding the school’s impact on area roads and the fire district. The commission set the work meeting to determine whether the school’s demands on county road and fire resources will require additional impact fees. Jim Nichols, who lives near the school’s land, asked if Pretty Shield would be helping with the road. He said the road was in terrible shape now and big trucks going up there would make it even worse. Proponent and area land owner, La Monte Christensen By Holly Nicholes 400 S. Staff writer said if it wasn’t for Pretty Shields, he would be selling 60 lots and the increase in traffic would worsen the road anyway. Birch told the commission that the state recently approved water and sewer for the school, however, county zoning administrator Lee Holmstead said the sewer was okayed by the state, but that as of the time of the meeting, the water wasn’t. Another Pretty Shields representative claimed the state board of health did okay the water and presented a letter to verify it. Birch pressed for water approval, but the county held off for confirmation from the state. In other business, Ephraim Canyon Road engineers Jones and Demille presented the commission with a change order for the road project that could increase project costs by $60,000. The change would require the county to replace badly eroded water mains for Ephraim City that cross the road in five different locations. Jones and Demille representative Brian Barton told the commission that the poor condition of the water mains was discovered when road contractors accidentally struck the pipe. When the contractors fixed the pipe, they found that the line was badly eroded. Barton explained that Ephraim City has done very little with the pipeline over the years and wasn’t even aware of its exact location. Barton said the city had patched it over the years, otherwise had very little to do with it. Barton said that to replace the main in each of the five locations where it crosses the road cost about $12,000 per location. Barton recommended fixing the pipe, saying it was better to repair it than have it eventually break and damage the road. The Commission agreed, but felt that Ephraim City should help with some of the costs. Barton said he had talked with the city about replacing the pipes, but the city felt they wouldn’t have to fix the pipe if the county wasn’t doing the road project. The commission tabled the change order until commissioner Mark Anderson opens talks with Ephraim City about the issue. This was only the second change for the project. Barton said the first one saved $17,000 on the original plan. 300 S. By C. R. Truitt Existing Roads Proposed Roads Map of special improvement district being considered. the total cost of the study is estimated at $40,000 to $50,000. Miner suggested that the city could mitigate 50 percent of the cost through the Community Impact Board (CIB), which provides matching grants. The remainder of the cost could then be made part of the intended impact fees. The city council will consider the HAL proposal. In other actions, the council approved the lowest bid made by Tom Crisp for roadwork in the cemetery. The council also needs bids for tree removal and is assessing the cost of improvements to the closets, doors and lighting in the halls of the city building. The feasibility of getting more electrical outlets in the gym area is also being looked researched. Also, the city is looking for a new animal control officer. David Allred again sought guidance from the council on how to deal with structures that people have built without getting appropriate permits. He indicated that building without a permit was a class B misdemeanor and suggested that notices to that effect be put occasionally into city mailings. Fines may be imposed for building without a permit, but the council did not have a ready solution to the problem. Court mulling deputy’s suit against county over demotion, back pay By John Hales Staff writer MANTI—Sanpete County Sheriff Kay Larsen and Deputy Rick Howe are awaiting judgment in a civil trial in which Howe contends that he was wrongfully demoted in rank after Larsen took office in 2003. Last Thursday, 6th District Court Judge Kay L. McIff heard the case, which was filed in summer 2003, brought by Howe against the sheriff and the county commissioners at the time: Bruce Blackham, Greg Dettinger and Claudia Jarrett. Howe, through counsel Russell Monahan of Salt Lake, contended that he was wrongfully reduced in rank and pay shortly after newly elected Sheriff Larsen took office early in 2003. Former Deputy Tim Herbert received a similar demotion at the time and is a party in the case, although he no longer works for the sheriff’s office. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a labor union for government workers, also joined the suit. Sanpete County Attorney Ross Blackham defended the county in the suit. Howe and Herbert are seeking damages of lost income since the pay reductions, and Monahan is requesting that the judge order the county to comply with state statutes regarding the sheriff’s office. Howe, Larsen, former Sanpete Sheriff Claude Pickett, and two of the then commissioners— Bruce Blackham and Dettinger— testified at the trial. Herbert did not appear due to unforeseen health circumstances. In presenting his case Monahan held that at the time in question state law required the county to have a “Deputy Sheriff’s Merit System” to govern administrative policies and procedures, including demotions. The county did not install the merit system until August 2003, after the lawsuit had already been filed. The merit system statute prevents arbitrary reductions in rank by specifically enumerating the reasons that deputies may be demoted: (1) neglect of duty; (2) disobedience of a reasonable order; (3) misconduct; (4) inefficiency, or inability to satisfactorily perform assigned duties; and (5) any act inimical to the public service. By their own testimony, Bruce Blackham and Dettinger both admitted they were aware as early as 2001 that the county needed to establish the merit system. Monahan contended that since the county commission knew of the requirement but did not implement it until two years later, the county is liable for lost wages to Howe and Herbert. The statute allows counties 90 days to form merit commissions. Defending the county’s delay in appointing merit system commissioners, Dettinger explained that the county commissioners were a little gun-shy about getting involved in the sheriff’s department policy matters because of a letter they received during the early part of Sheriff Pickett’s administration, which began in 1999. Dettinger said he worked with Pickett to update the policies and procedures of the sheriff’s office. Shortly after receiving a draft of policies worked up by Pickett, Dettinger also received a letter from the Utah Sheriff’s Association saying, in effect, that the sheriff is elected equal in authority to the county commission, and that the commission had no right to interfere in creating policy for the department. Dettinger described the letter as “threatening.” So, when the need to establish the merit system for the sheriff’s office arose, commissioners asked Pickett to work on it, but didn’t press the matter. Further questioning showed that there was confusion as to who was responsible to form the merit commissioners, although Monahan pointed out that the state statute clearly puts the burden on the “county legislative body”—the county commission. By the time Larsen succeeded Pickett, the merit system was still not in place, so Larsen reorganized his leadership structure in the same way previous administrations had done. Demotions for Howe and Herbert came out of that restructuring, although Larsen said the moves were not disciplinary in any way. The county commission approved those changes even though they knew the formation of the merit commission was still pending, a fact that Monahan emphasized. During final arguments, McIff questioned Monahan about the 90day requirement the statute places on counties to install merit commissions, saying, “It’s not an easy thing to do in a small county” like Sanpete, and asked if the county shouldn’t have been allowed reasonable time to do so. Monahan responded that all other counties have the same requirement, and that “two years is not reasonable.” McIff will consider the case before issuing a judgment. KATHY LIN EGGLESTON / MESSENGER PHOTO Showing kids how a paper works Small acts of service often go unnoticed. For printer Lloyd Call (center, back), it has been thirty years of quiet service giving tours of the Sanpete Messenger newspaper office to hundreds of scouts and other youth groups. Call likes to show kids how the old offset presses work, as well as the latest innovations including the Internet that helps the staff produce the newspaper quicker and more efficiently. Moroni troop 551, with leaders Eva Thompson and Jennifer Christensen (back), and scouts Austin Christensen, Brad Michie, and Sade Thompson, who visited the Messenger office last Wednesday learned that sometimes heroes work unwaveringly behind the scene to help make the world a better place. |