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Show THE ZEPHYRAPRIL 89 PAGE 4 an interview with the grand county commission On February 28, The Zephyr conducted its first interview with the Because of a prior commitment, David Knutson was interviewed separately. The responses have been edited for clarity and space; a complete recording of this interview is on file with The Zephvr. Zephyr: There are currently two major road projects proposed for Grand Countv - the Trough Springs Road and the Book Cliffs highway. Do vou support these projects and will economic benefits justify the Grand County Commission. costs? Feme: Yes, I support both of them. The Book Cliffs will provide a road from northern Utah and Yellowstone, where they can come directly through the Canyonlands. And the Trough Springs Road, I believe, is the one proposed by the BLM, and I think thatll be a nice loop for people to take to the anticline overlook and then return to Moab. The only thing that will cost Grand County is the improvements on the (Egg Ranch) road that connects with it. Merv: On the Book Cliffs Road, it seems to be a sound scheme. Ive been up in the Vernal area and its been an awful sweat to get down to here. It has good potential for tourism, and there are a lot of oil and On the gas areas in that region that could benefit Grand County I feel its a good idea. Right now, we have two dead Trough Springs, end roads. Connecting two roads to make a loop sounds like good sense to me. Dave: I do support both of them. First on the Book Cliffs Road, that cost will be borne by the mineral lease monies that are going to the road district. Those monies come from lease monies paid by mineral exploration companies. That money goes to Washington and then 50 comes back to Utah. The state tries to get some of the money back to the areas that were impacted, such as the cost of roads. The taxpayers pay for it, but dont really benefit. Now, with a blacktop road (and the state pays half of the cost) the production costs for the oil field will go down. The tankers can get in there better on a surfaced road, it increases you exploration, that produces more mineral lease money which brings more money to the county, so thats a revolving type of thing. Also, that will allow the tourists to come right from Flaming Gorge and funnel them right into Moab. So its good for tourism. Now the Trough Springs Road, the BLMs going to build that. I support that because it better serves the infrastructure for tourism. Personally, Ive got a minor problem because it goes across one of my favorite places to go four wheeling. But if it serves tourism and the BLM builds it, I wont oppose it. Zephyr: Recently, the County hired an assistant building Inspector. Does the county need two inspectors in these economically depressed times? Merv: No, we dont And actually, Im unaware that an assistant building inspector has been hired. Feme: I believe the City hired him, because Corky was not able at the time to inspect that. Merv: I dont know anything about that. Feme: I do know that Tom said that because Corky was tied up with something else, that the City had to hire someone. Dave: As far as I know, the County has not hired an assistant building inspector. Note: The Zephvr has learned that Corky Brewer hired an assistant building inspector to do on-s- ite inspections at the new motel under construction. Part of the salary is paid by the motels owner and the electrical contractor. What is the justification for prioritizing the Community Zephyr: ... AUTOMOTIVE Darin J. Carei General Manager Parts Service Accessories 241-241- 4 QUALITY SERVICE ON ALL IMPORTS 1359 Motor St. Grand Junction, CO 81505 Development Block Grant (CDBG) money to Green River City. Instead of other projects that have been on the waiting list for years such as the Mill Creek Project? Feme: I was on the fence and went ahead and voted for this, but it seems Green River had things going that would mean money for the County right away. They have this project and all they needed was the water. And that was the reason - monies Into the County, not immediately, but soon. The City, had it received it, would have used it for planning only, for the Mill Creek Project Merv: Neither Feme or I was on the Council of Governments and I know theres some discussion as to whether the C.O.G. was legal or not, but all the information weve received from upstate, prior to the forming of C.O.G. was that the Mayor of each municipality or their representative would be present Dave would be our representative and we supported the Green River project it was a late entry Into the race. I think we would have gone with the parkway had it not been for Green River. But here was an immediate generator of funds. The parkway has been on the books for 20 years. Whats one more year? Green River offered the greatest rate of return. Dave: My priority Is that more good can come to the County out of the Green River project; if they can get that industrial park going, and some businesses out there, itll generate taxes and jobs. As far as being planned for years, for the last 2 years, I dont know how many bus rides Ive taken to Green River while theyre trying to sell that piece of property. First, it was the prison; theyve always got somebody out there (trying to sell to) and have been for a lot of years. Also, we have a tendency to forget that Green River, Thompson, Castle Valley are all part of Grand County. The two biggest motels in Grand County are in Green River, the biggest truck stop is in Green River. They give in tax dollars a lot more than they receive in dollars. Next year, Ill support Moab Citys project, whatever it is. And Ill stick by that. Zephyr: In 1986. the Countv Attorney earned $24.000.00 a year and hired one secretary. In 1989. the Countv Attorney receives $31.000.00 a year, employs a Deputy County Attorney for $18.000.00 and hires two secretaries. The questioner recognizes that drug monies oav the deputys salary, but what are the statistics that support the need for such an increase in staff in the last two years? Feme: Im not sure how to answer this because we had nothing to do with this. This was done before we came in. I do know there arent many attorneys in town who can handle that. Zephyr: But in terms of prosecution of cases, has there been a substantial increase that would support the staff increase? Feme: I believe so. I cant give you statistics, but I have a feeling there has been. Merv: That is what Ive heard too. The amount of work that is being done is far greater than what was done before. Now I am not criticizing anyone that was in there before, but previously the man was overloaded and could not get as much done as they are able to do now. I think the standard is satisfactory. I believe my self that with the salary being paid then, that its hard to believe an attorney was available at the salary that was being paid. Feme: This is something that Id like to watchdog. Dave: Part of the reason I pushed for increases in salary for the County Attorney is because when she first came in, the state paid an extra $5,000.00 to the County Attorney through the URESA program (Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement Support Act which, among other things, obligated county attorneys to collect delinquent child support for other states.) The state did away with that program. That part of her salary was gone. Well, you could say, so was her obligation, but to get it wasnt a whole lot of work, it was mostly a little paperwork. ... HE ri't c. robbins portable customized sound system & D .J. service Musicraft welcomes the fresh air of the Zephyr, and invites you to check out the fresh sounds of Musicraft, portable parties at a price you can live with. |