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Show Wednesday, October 25, 2006 Sanpete Messenger/dunnison Valley Edition A14 Stretched too thin: County Ephraim library bids higher than expected cannot fund Indianola Board stepping up fundraising to fire station through CIB meet the $600,000 shortfall By C. R. Truitt By Ben Fox Staff writer EPHRAIM—The Ephraim Library Board is stepping up fundraising efforts since bids for the rehabilitation of the Ephraim City Library came in higher than the city anticipated. Bids came in ranging from $1.69 to $1.99 million, about $600,000 more than the city was planning. "The city needs at least another $450,000 committed by' December ... for this project to move forward," Councilwoman Penny Kittelsmd said. The city has about $950,000 committed for the project ($750,000 from a bonded loan, 5100,000 from a grant from the Eccles Foundation, $60,000 from a Community Development Block Grant and about $40,000 from various other sources). Although it won't be easy to raise the extra money, Kittelsrud said, the library is worth the work. "We can't keep patching things up. We need to make the building workable for the next 70 years. The library is the heart and soul of our downtown." The library board has some ideas on how to save money and, if absolutely necessary, cut some comers. Kittelsrud said one contractor had told the city he could save about $300,000 by hiring a different stonemason while still using the same quality of stone. Contractors said they would try to find other areas of the bid that that could be reduced without jeopardizing the integrity of the project. "There are ways, like a n y other project, to save money," said Ephraim City Manager Richard Anderson. "Instead of going with the very best you can save money by going with the second best." The largest chunk of the money, according to Anderson, will most likely come from the CIB. The city has applied for a grant for $300,000. If the city receives CIB funds they still need $150,000 to come from private fundraising. Although money for the library is not all in place, the city will probably accept a bid this week. Library groups have already done some large fundraisers. Friends of the Library have raised about $30,000 from the sale of its "Taste of Ephraim" cookbook. The Ephraim Home and Garden Show pulled in $2,000 this Staff writer The Ephraim City Library Board mulls over how to raise $150,000 from donors to complete the funding for restoration of the Carnegie Library on Main Street. last summer. And two library yard sales raised a combined $3,000. Mayor Cliff Birrell has taken on a massive fundraising effort and rallied a citizen's group to aid in the mustering of the monies. The group has compiled a list of possible businesses to request donations from (mostly out of county with some sort of tie to Ephraim). The reference desk, computer comer and most sections of reading materials will soon be named for donors. Various donation levels will receive different designations in the library. Fairview to participate in desigm project By C. R. Truitt Staff writer FAIRVIEW—Fairview will be one of five Sanpete cities to participate in a Utah State University community design project. Kim Hyatt, a professional architect living in Fairview for the past 18 months, was at the Fairview City Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 17 to explain the USU student design program. More than 150 students will come to Sanpete with assignments to design traffic control applications, suggest better street configurations and identify needs of historic Main Streets. Hyatt said these services would usually cost $100,000, but the students are in training and are only charging each city $1,000. The students will prepare graphs and other documents to give to the participating communities. Other communities participating in the project are Mt. Pleasant, Spring City, Ephraim and Manti. In other news, the council also heard that a new city hall in Fairview is a possibility. The council scheduled a public hear- Far from home? Check up on local news at www. S anpeteMes senger. com ing for Thursday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. in the dance hall to discuss the matter. Also, the council passed a resolution to establish a policy for sewer line extensions. The policy sets a 10-year period for a payback lo the person putting in the extension from other people hooking on later. The court clerk is getting a raise from $160 a month to $320 a month. Mayor Spencer Cox said the clerk's duties have become much more extensive. The council also learned that Fairview's electrical transformer had failed. The council voted to repair it at a cost of $19,000. Cox said it is a problem because parts of the city's electrical system are old. In other business, the council granted a home occupation permit to Annette Erickson for a daycare center for up to six children. Follow the Signs to an AARP Driver ; Safety Vl&tf'£&*> ,-r--' Designed specifically for drivers over fiO, this refresher course teaches you how to adjust to*- c age-related changes in vision, hearing and reaction time, reviews car safety equipment, and provides updates on the rules of the r o a d . C o s t is just §10 for the 8-hour course, and upon completion you may also receive a car insurance discount! .. ;; But donations from businesses will not cover the full $150,000 needed, Kiltelsrud says. "We are looking to the citizens of Ephraim to help raise the final funds to rehabilitate the library," Kittelsrud said. The library board plans to write letters encouraging longtime Ephraim residents and their families to donate as much as they can. The board does not expect families to immediately produce large sums of money (especially at the start of the holiday season). They will accept pledges of commitment and installments. The board is discussing the idea of engraving donor's names in a donor plaque, but the idea is not yet set in stone. But the library board is not asking others to donate without pitching in their share. "Nobody asks for a dime until you have made your own commitment," Bruce Peterson said to the other members of the library board as they discussed fundraising ideas. MANTI—Representatives of the Indianola Fire Department, the only fire department operated by the county, told the County Commission at its Oct. 17 meeting that they need a fire station to house their trucks. The department has four trucks that are not winterized and are out of commission every winter. The fire department representative asked the commission to consider applying to the Community Impact Board (CIB) for money lo build a fire station. But the commission said the county was already stretched too thin with the CIB with several projects already. In other business, the commission approved a request from Mike Larsen, representing the Ephraim Irrigation Co., under certain conditions. Larsen asked the county commissioners' permission to cut, rather than bore, across a county road for the company's piping project. The project will bring water service to 2,000 acres of farmland. Larsen said boring is expensive, and the irrigation company has already spent 5170,000 boring under U.S. 89. But the commissioners were reluctant to give permission to cut the road. The commission has concerns that the cut area may sink, and the county has had problems with companies that don't want to come back andfixthe problem. Brian Barton from Jones & Demille Engineering advised the commission of a new product, "slurry flow seal," which is made partly of concrete that can be filled to the top of the road surface and then later scraped down and filled with asphalt without sinking. Experience: - Senior Emergency Planner national emergency management firm - Deputy Sheriff Sanpete - Director of Emergency Management-Sanpete • District Manager/ professional practice management firm - General Manager/pipeline company My priorities if elected are: - Keep our kids safe. - Greater officer Presence - Increased focus on felony crime investigation - Better relationships with county law agencies Education: - Kevin has a Bachelors of Science/Business • Administration Personnel. . - He is a Category 1 Police Officer (1994) \ • He is a Hazardous Material Technician and has been our DARE K-6/7-8 Instructor, Call 888- 227-766? to inquire about a class near you. Or visit " our website: www.aarb.org/driyc : • - & > Driver Safety Program Road Department Supervisor Steve Keller said he heard good things about the process. He said it works but an iron pipe has to be used and the irrigation pipe has to run through the iron pipe. The commissioners required that the irrigation company either make a deposit on the project or take out a bond. The commission concluded that boring was their preferred method, but would allow the irrigation company to use the slurry flow fill, and the irrigation company representative agreed. Also, the commission approved Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) representative Charles Keisel's request to spend $500 of a $3,500 grant for backpacks and equipment. -Amanda Christensen from the Medical Reserve Corps and CERT programs reported that the Medical Reserve Corps is dedicated to finding qualified emergency medical volunteers in the Six County area. Christensen said Sanpete is the strongest supporter for this program, and the program exists to help in public health crises, such as in the need to vaccinate the entire county. The Six County Board of Healm does tuberculosis (TB) testing in affiliation with CERT. The board of health reported one case of TB out of 140 tests conducted in Sanpete. t The one case of TB, the representatives said, is being closely monitored. In other news, the commissioners approved of an additional program proposed by Sunrise Engineering for their GIS program. A representative from the firm reported that inputting the information is going well. County recorder Reed Hatch also said the new program is working well for his department. '-*•$*« kevmhoimanforshenff.cQiB Less Politics. More Police Work* |