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Show MARCH 7, 2001 - Fire Fighters Boys Clubi in Wasatch Everything But a Tree House | dollar tree | Jordanelle house they call the Fire Station. This IS not only where the boys go to relax, itis also where. a good portion of the fire various (and exceedingly numerous) county. Special the bunch you. And what about _ the “Gentlemen’s — Service | Districts Reportedly more fai: a: fee nee County Commission meetings have occurred there as well. Better some- — times to hold your meetings out of County’s town and away from public scrutiny. ‘But the sad history of the Jordanelle™ ‘members. v7 response in’ the ©2000 Legislative Audit was basically, “you Fire Station is another story that will need to wait for a few more issues. -Today’s story is about the history of -were dumb enough keep our word?” to think we’d Our County LE the | county. was the Heber City. Fire Department. The other cities, towns and the unincorporated areas of the county paid Heber City for fire and emergency services. The creation of the Board was an attempt to provide a countywide solution to the prenehting problem. . Minutes of the “County : Gormission Heber City and inter- views with municipal representatives. at the time of the board’s creation indicate that participation of the munici- palities in the creation of the Board was contingent on acquiring an appropriate level of representation on the Board and a corresponding say in the administration of the Board. | In fact Heber City initially resisted inclusion into the Board. However it was clear that since Heber City had the © only functioning fire fighting force in the valley, their participation would be _ essential. In the course of negotiations the County Commission used the level of Heber City’s representation on the Board as an inducement to join it. The County minutes reflect this fact and — - ultimately the Board’s by-laws set the number of representatives from Heber City at three in 1987. | There™" was a -“Gentlemen’s Agreement” that Heber City along ‘with representatives from Midway, Charleston and the unincorporated areas of the county would always have representation on the Board. However the Board was dissolved by the County Commission on May 24, 1999 apparently because the Board refused to approve the new Jordanelle Fire Station, which the County Commissioners had already committed to build and in fact had started construction of. a Board felt that other $32.14 per hour) final — blow,. vole. Why ~ according to this board ie month was a fair amount of change to many ‘families: Further, that: money could -be used -to: buy into. the state Provost - for the Service Districts in Wasatch. County. (Please note that.these are not direct | quotes, but.conte taken b the Auditors “during inter y their subjects. y : is oe views with oS = The text of the discussion vil one Board Member says, “The fire district and before that the Heber City Fire Department has always been in the hands ofa few established families in the valley. To be a fire fighter, one had _ to be a member, or a close friend, of one of these. families. What's more, the firemen and the county held all the power including hiring and purchasing. Even after the fire board was established in 1987, it had little power.” The Former Board Member’s report further said, “that purchasing ~ was especially out of control. county was constantly making The pur- chases with fire district funds without the board’s approval or knowledge. Personnel and hiring practices were also abused. Only the firefighters themselves had the power to hire and terminate.” The Former Board Member’s report said, “that some of the fire fighters had forged physicians names on physical evaluations. One firefighter did not have the use of his right arm, yet passed the physical with flying colors.”... “one issue was particularly frustrating. Apparently, some of the firefighters wouldn’t respond to fires that occurred at inconvenient times. The board learned that there were several who hadn’t responded to a nighttime fire in years. The board wanted to suspend them without pay until they began responding to nighttime fires. But Steve Ivie, the County Fire Marshall, refused to disclose their names. The board was also fighting sith the county over Steve Ivie’s salary. He is a county employee who is “leased” to the fire district. The board members felt that his salary was unreasonably contracts (Qordanelle) fire station illegally. This left the commission with no choice but thee: be: Sach 9 con- month? In the context of the times and had signed the seen the local economy, an additional $500 a and also Fire Board . | member LaRen Provost was honed to resign from the Fire Board because of his conflict of interest. The board member’ S report says, “that the fire board \was likely disbanded because Commissioner | Geri tention for a job. that: paid $500.a \ member came when ~ County Commissioner Commissioners in one of their finest county is a. glimpse into how things .. Wasatch County can be found in the were/are run under the good old boy . Records of Discussions. taken during system. The Wasatch County Fire the 2000 Legislative Audit of Special Protection Special: Service District people they can work with and felt: it was'a good gesture; a0: tet the preen moments. the Fire Board and the Fire Fighters. Some interesting observations The history of firefighting in the — about how fire fighting worked in (‘the Board”) was created on June 24, ‘T987 and the Board members séated™ ... e a7 $ mber™ f that year. Prior to™e on eeDecé that time the only firefighting unit in cerns that the firemen like to select 85: 36 for a total of The municipalities of the; . to select tts’ own would county always have representation on the Fire’ Board: Wie and not send them on to the firemen for approval.as had been done in the past. LaRen Provost: expressed con- $5.00, County _ Overhead at 20 percent ‘a group who votes” absolute definition of a club, a group who. votes to select its’ own members..-According: to Board:.minutes May 13, 1997 the Board tried to take © back the: authority to hire and fire. Then Board Chairman Giles felt that the Board should chose the firemen Mr. Ivie’s time broken down as, Base $13.61, Tax & Burden absolute Ss $8. 17, Office Overhead Agreement” that the | hold their meetings... | has learned that the County was charging the Fire Board $32.14 per hour for definition of ¢ a club, of It took eels were the money went.” (The Courier going. insurance program with it’s excellent benefit to: cost ratio. A apauehi — after “perk” indeed. Hoon So have things stanged? Wee. are still no women firefighters. The hiring of the Duke boys and Robert Morris - to take control of the district. He also suspected the county wanted the show that it still-helps. to-have friends power back it had lost to the board. As process. Has the addition. of the only full-time. staffed-fire. station in’ the valley in the boondocks of J ordanelle and “family involved in’ the hiring eSRT breakdown and they were never told the county had already inked the deal with the J ordanelle SENEIPREEP and Park City. | _ The message? Disagree in | public about with our shady... deal. in. This is the Jordanelle and we'll — was ‘evidence he said that soon after the | board was. disbanded, two of ‘Commissioner’ s Duke’s boys were. _, decreased the response time in the val- | hired as firefighters. ” (The Courier has previously ~’ reported that Commissioner Provost signed the contract on behalf of the Fire Board after he had been forced to resign from the ley, where the people live? No. Most of the volunteer firemen still live in Heber and how does that improve response time at the “new” pathetic (in comparison to Jordanelle) Midway Fire Station? as ‘Where are the Timberlakes ane Fire Board, but before the County ‘Commissioners had ee the Board.) ‘Wallsburg fire stations? It seems that One of the interesting things — performance-wise, we are not much abeut the Fire Board was how it better off in the valley than we were in hired new Firemen (and they were ~ 1987. Seems like change comes at a _ and still are, all men.) Apparently snail’s pace in the valley. Yet in when a new fire fighter was needed _ Jordanelle the old adage * money talks” the firemen meet among themselves, is proven once agath HOW-TO CONTINUED FROM A1 beefed up insurance to cover for theft, damage and liability for the rental property. Then there is a host of tax issues including increase income and official licensee for residential accommodations. Coldwell will help with most of the above details and offers two programs. HomeStay is for vacant and furnished homes for rent. HomeHost is for people who want to rent out rooms in their homes, but want to stay in their property taxes and they will likely | home during the Games. Under Coldwell’s programs, homeowners have to pay an extra tax called the transient room tax. | The longest list is for legal issues, however. The list of questions to con- . sider includes: Who will prepare the rental agree‘ment? What if the guests eeck ‘Who handles snow removal and any maintenance problems like plumbing, heating and appliances? Who provides cle ning and linen services? Do local CC&Rs and zoning ordinances allow nightly rentals? In the end, most experts agree its best not to go it alone. Hire a profes- sional property manager and an attorney. o Coldwell Banker Premier Reality, based in Salt Lake City, is SLOC’s get 60 percent of the proceeds. Coldwell and SLOC divide the remaining AO percent. Two | your | last bits of advice: don’t set expectations too high. According to one local property manger, homeowners in the Heber Valley can expect to get about $100 per night per person. The numbers listed above aren’t necessarily an indication of what every homeowner will make. _Its more likely that the cheaper prop- - erties Second, have don’t already delay. been rented. Property man- agers are reporting strong demand already. SLOC expects most ticket — holders will make lodging arrangements by early June. Email: tim@wasatchcountycourier.com ei the unpopulated Jordanelle area. But this extra money months of requests to get a sketchy REIT So eee ite ah “tree house, a $2. 5 milion ell without the Fire Board: and selected the new Firemen. This is. the high and wanted a. ee down of the charges sand an explanation of where ie pe actually they do have : a areas of the county such as Midway and Charleston were more worthy recipients of public money than putting a full time staffed fire station in Seagate _ OPI BYNIO DAN STEPHEN NS _ LAT J “WASATCH COUNTY COURIER A6 |