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Show PAGE 4 THE ZEPHYRJANUARY-FEBRUAR- F 1993 Y closed-dodecisions, and questions as to why Grand renovation, and suspicions of conflicts and other hospitals are being GIVEN the while for construction state BORROWING money County is But until they are openly answered. been hasn't money. Which, if any, of the stories are true time selling a business-as-usuand frankly aHHmwd, the hospital board will have a difficult referendum in the future. or facts & opinions of the month's news summary by Ken Davey FACT Grand County voters turned down, by referendum in" November, extending the life of the current Allen Memorial Hospital District's ability to impose property tax to operate the facility. The vote was 1y420 in favor, and 1,780 against. In fact, die difference was greater than that of the change of government initiative. The hospital district was established in the early 1980s, and the resolution included the power to impose property tax separate from that of the county itself. That original resolution also limited the taxing power to a period of 10 years, and required voter approval OPINION Board members were surprised and shocked when voters said no. They believed the vote was a mere formality, the only sure thing in a year of change. After all, everybody wants a hospital, everybody believes we need available medical care. If local residents came out against continuing the existing situation, well, it had to be a misunderstanding, it had to be not a difference of opinion, but a question of ignorance. Voters just didn't know as much as hospital board members. And so they concluded that in fact most people thought the hospital board referendum was a request for additional funding, above and beyond the already established tax rate. If people realize it's just a case of reaffirming what already exists, they are sure to reverse their vote and let the board put this embarrassing moment behind them. It won't be that easy. because they It is true that some voters said no to the hospital district taxing But board if the members at tax time. a or new that are any they against any thought it was ta, understand the to think that a majority of residents weren't smart enough referendum, they are in for a shock far greater than the one they received on November 3rd. Most people in town do want a hospital, and most are more than willing to pay for it. But the past three years here have been rilled with controversies, which dearly have not been resolved. Early in 1990, the previous hospital board forced the resignation of the hospital administrator, and hired Lutheran 1 lealth Services to manage the facility, first on a temporary bads, and then contract. on a long-terThe hospital did not have a good reputation. Local residents were leaving Moab for medical procedures, and the board at that time felt the hospital administration was failing to address the problem. LI IS did not get off to a great start, incurring the wrath of a sizeable percentage of the hospital staff, and firing or encouraging the resignation of some employees. But after the rocky beginning, things began to sort themselves out; the company began implementing a number of procedures to professionalize the operation from streamlining billing operations to launching a study of future medical needs in the community. Then the county commission decided to get involved. In January of 1991, the commission abolished the hospital board, and dismissed LI IS. Uttering dark statements about possible corruption and misuse of funds, charges that were never substantiated, the commission took over operation of the hospital itself, hiring a new administrator and then handpicking a new board. Now, nearly two years later, there are still many Moab residents who take their medical business, their most important business because it deals with life and health, out of town. There are concerns about the doctors, their abilities and their manners. There are stories of no heat on cold nights at the extended care home, of elderly patients locked out of the building overnight. There have been the well publicized problems of the hospital construction and m never-endin- g HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE RIM TEAM ...SEE YOU IN '93 al FACT The Columbia Gas Development Corporation announced they had successfully tested another horizontal well in the Big Flat area, northwest of Moab.. The well was tested as capable of producing over 1,200 barrels of oil and dose to 900,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day, though actual production would be far less, once the well is set up for collection. Columbia has drilled 3 other wells in the area, and two are considered good hits. The first Columbia strike, in the spring of 1991, inspired widespread speculation of a "boom" in the area, and soon a host of other companies began bidding for federal drilling rights and exploratory drilling. The key to the interest was a better understanding erf what is known as the Paradox Formation, an underground layer of rock about 7,000 feet down that geologists had long assumed contained significant stores of oil and gas. But the oil is contained in scattered cracks and fissures known as fractures, rather than in large pools. Consequently, traditional vertical drilling was often ineffective since the oil was scattered in small pockets over a large area. But with horizontal drilling, a company is able to drill straight down, then turn and run parallel to the ground, only thousands of feet down. The drill passes through a number of fractures, allowing a number of them to be drained of their oil OPINION The Columbia property tax bill on their two operating wells in 1992 was about $88,000. Of that money, about $53,000 goes to the Grand County School District, with the rest split among the other taxing entities. The county itself will receive about $17,000. That is a lot of money from one company. Another well put into production would increase that amount significantly next year, though still far less than the $200,000 per year per well estimate made by county officials. But it does put the potential for oil and gas development into perspective, and it shows that it is an industry that, when done right, can be useful and beneficial to a community. In the past county leaders have jumped to the conclusion that the best way to aid that development is to scream bloody murder about environmental restraints, and demand that the federal government do everything in its power to stop the conservationists who push for analysis of impacts. They felt that by insulting die concept of environmentalism, they would encourage oil companies to drill in the county. That's ridiculous. What makes oil companies want to come to Grand County is not a letter from the commission telling them what great guys they are, but oil in the ground, and oil in the ground that they can get out of the ground. That's where the oil "boom" in Moab still remains a debatable point. There is oil, but companies have not yet proven to themselves that the liquid can be profitably extracted. Now Columbia seems to be doing pretty well. After all, 3 (if this latest well does prove to be a good one) out of 4 in an industry where the standard is about 10 percent success rate is awfully impressive. But with the horizontal drilling process, a higher rate of return is NECESSARY, because of the huge cost of the drilling. A typical vertical well can be drilled for about half a million dollars. But the horizontal wells cost somewhere between 3 and 4 million a piece. Oil companies d are pretty about how much their operations actually cost, but knowledgeable oil here heard have and passed on rumors that the horizontal wells in Grand County have people run up to as much as $5 million. That's ten times the average cost. For a well to pay for itself, it has to pump a lot more oil for a lot longer to be profitable. And that's why even now, oil companies and federal employees working in the industry remain, if not skeptical, at least hesitant about proclamations of a boom. The new county council will look at the oil industry. They should look at the potential gains that can come from development. They should also look at the potential pitfalls, including environmental damage to the area of the world they live in and want their children and grandchildren to live in. And that means looking at other oil producing areas, such as Aneth on the Navajo reservation, to see ways that damage done can be avoided here while at the same time allowing the industry to exploit the oil reserves. But most of all, if they want to be sure they give the industry and the environment a fair shot, they should be urging the federal and state governments, who own most of the land containing the deposits, to rigorously and fairly apply the laws and regulations. Oil companies see mitigation expenses as a cost of doing business, the same way a restaurant owner sees proper ventilation and a gas station sees safe and secure underground storage tanks as a cost they can accept, as long as they know in advance what the requirements are. tight-lippe- |