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Show Wednesday, February 20, 2008 A3 COUNCIL DISCUSSES RV PARK WITH ROOSEVELT Vernal Express - V ; :. i j - . I it1 ; ---w.ii .m ! ; i MELTING ICE PRESENTS HAZARDS As temperatures warms up, ice is beginning to break away from structures and roofs. Property owners are reminded to watch for potential hazards in and around structures. County approves animal control to enforce code The Uintah County commission commis-sion approved passage of a resolution reso-lution relating to animal welfare and control enforcement officers on Monday, Feb. 11. Specifically, the resolution sanctions animal control officials authority for the issuance of citations for alleged violations throughout the county. Utah State law permits an officer, in lieu of taking a person into custody, the authority to issue a citation. Boundaries Continued from Al would no longer provide trans-'portation trans-'portation for seventh and eighth igraders to Vernal Middle SchooL, and Vernal Junior High. The letter stated parents had until March 1 to complete a boundary change request. That deadline has been extended to April 1, giving the board time to consider boundaries on the west side. School board members will hear initial concerns at a work meeting on Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. The decision to leave boundaries boundar-ies intact could come as early as that night. If the board chooses to redraw boundary lines, the district will need to have a public hearing sometime in March. "I think the folks in Lapoint would like to have clarification of whatthoseboundariesare," said Board Member JoAnn Cowan. "And I think we need to meet that need with them so they have an opportunity to be confident in what that decision means." Some of Lapoint parents' concerns are expected to come in the form of a community resolution resolu-tion from parents of students at Lapoint Elementary. "Currently, Lapoint students have the option of attending Vernal Ver-nal schools or attending school on the west side," explained Allen Huber, who heads the Lapoint Elementary El-ementary community council. Huber said the concern from several parents is that there will be a repeat of an actin some years ago when the school board shut the doors of Vernal schools to BECOME A SPONSOR FOR 2008 DINOSAUR ROUNDUP RODEO! r ! The resolution reads, "Animal Control officers of the Uintah Animal Control and Shelter Special Service District are hereafter appointed as public officials of Uintah County for the limited purpose of enforcing the ordinances and laws within Uintah County regarding animal welfare and control contained in the laws of the State of Utah and the Code of Uintah County." Lapoint students. "We support the K-8 school, but we don't feel sending our seventh and eighth graders there is very compatible," said Huber, adding that the community snp- ports, the -existing elementary school boundaries. The community council's position will be finalized on Feb. 22 in anticipation of the school board's work session the following follow-ing Tuesday. Still in its draft stages, the community council's position first calls for the elimination of all secondary school boundaries in the west side of the district. Proponents of the resolution claim the closure of West means there are no secondary schools on the west side. Second, Lapoint parents plan to request leaving Lapoint Elementary El-ementary boundaries in place. State law allows parents to choose to have their students attend a different school, providing pro-viding there is classroom space and if students can find their own transportation. The third request of the community is to echo that portion of state law. Finally, parents plan to request re-quest that the district provide transportation to secondary schools in Vernal, designating designat-ing Lapoint Elementary as a feeder school for Vernal Middle School. "As parents, we want to do this in a very judicious and calm manner," explained Huber. The Lapoint Elementary community council will meet on Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m. to finalize its position on boundaries. 1s your business interested in becoming a sponsor for this year's Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo? Many different sponsor packages : are available! V ioymore information call Christ! Griffis 035-790-4720 Ballard updates charter school plans By Grorr Us Uintah Basin News Service The Ballard Town Council was told last Tuesday that Emerson Alcott Academy intends to begin construction soon on its new campus and open its doors to students this fall. James Costello, who serves on Emerson Alcott's board and oversees facilities management for the charter school, said site preparation is expected to take place before the end of the month. The school is being built on 2500 East on a nine-acre parcel donated by Ballard resident Max Rasmussen. "We will have a master plan within the next week or so," Costello told the council. He said construction of the school should be finished by July 30. School staff will spend two weeks moving into the new building before classes start in mid-August. "That's phase one - the 2008 school year - that would be 192 students, 20,000 square feet," Costello said. "Phase two would be the following year, should the state approve an expansion... that would be 450 students and an expansion of another 24,000 square feet." Costello told the council that the charter school board expects to hire a principal for Emerson Alcott within the next few weeks and has had no shortage of applicants ap-plicants for teaching positions. "We have tons of people that want to work," Costello said. "We thought it was going to be a challenge, but it's not. Everybody wants some change." As a charter school, Emerson Alcott is not a taxing entity, but does receive funding from the state for every student it serves, plus additional monies earmarked specifically for charter char-ter schools. Costello offered to appear before the council and Ballard's planning and zoning commission once a month to update the bodies bod-ies on the progress of the school project; an offer the council accepted. ac-cepted. Following Costello's presentation, presen-tation, the council met with Roosevelt City leaders to discuss the future of aii RV park located behind the Maverik convenience store at 1025 E. 200 N, in Bal- w lift li-ft 1 ;trJ r 1- G Uintah Basin Medical Center Designated as a Level IV Trauma Center Trauma designation demonstrates a commitment by Uintah Basin Medical Center to elevate the quality of care for the Basin. As a Trauma IV hospital we follow developed diagnosis and treatment plans for trauma patients from the time our emergency services reach a patient by ambulance to the time tne is treated in the emergency room. If a trauma patient requires care from a Trauma I hospital, such as the University of Utah Hospital System, we can link with them through a Tele-Trauma connection. The Utah Department of Health Bureau of Emergency Medical Services designates hospitals as Trauma Centers after years of achieving high performance ratings. Uintah Basin Medical Center Improving Healthcare for the Basin lard. A four-person delegation from Roosevelt asked Ballard officials for their opinion on a plan to request rezoning of the RV park property to make it easier to sell. Ballard's council has voted to shut the Roosevelt-owned park down on April 1. "Realizing that (Roosevelt) will probably dispose of this property, prop-erty, or that there's a possibility we would, we'd like to see what your feelings are to get it rezoned to allow a trailer place to be put in that area.. .so that anyone looking at that property will know that the zoning has been taken care of and a trailer place could go in there," said Roosevelt Assistant City Manager Roger Eschler. Ballard leaders have been critical of Roosevelt's operation of the RV park, citing the city's failure to follow the town's planning plan-ning and zoning requirements when it took over the park after a temporary agreement with a pipeline company expired. Council members have also voiced concerns about the unfair advantage a municipality like Roosevelt enjoys when competing compet-ing with private enterprise. "Personally - this is not as a councilman - personally, I don't think government has any business busi-ness being in private 'enterprise because it's an un-level playing field," Ballard Councilman Ace Davis said at last Tuesday meeting meet-ing when asked about his feelings on the issue. "They have all the resources of taxes that people are paying already to compete with private enterprise and I don't think that's right." Roosevelt officials have pointed point-ed to an unmet need for temporary tempo-rary housing in the area and said they are only trying to fill that void. The city charges a higher rate for spaces in its park than private parks in the area, but still receives inquiries about whether space is available. "To our knowledge most RV parks now are maxed out and have waiting lists," Roosevelt Mayor Russ Cowan told the council. "I had a call tonight from an Idaho-based company that's looking for a place to put 16 people. They had no place to put those folks and they're going to be here long term." Ballard Councilwoman Tammy Meacham said there i. i hn .i.iimii j r-.-- y 1 I N .iiir-"- , f 1 25CHVest 300 North, Roosevelt have been community concerns though about the proximity of the RV park to Union High School and East Elementary School. She said citizens have questioned whether its an appropriate spot for "transitional" housing. "That was a big issue," Meacham said. In response, Roosevelt City Manager Brad Hancock said the location" - close to a convenience store-is ideal and the people who are living there aren't undesirables. undesir-ables. "You'll not find nicer people," he said. "To try to categorize them or characterize them as someone who would not be desirable de-sirable I think would be wrong because they're people like you and I." In a pitch to maintain city ownership of the RV park, Han riii if xilr y Stop into your nearby H&R For other locations call 1 - 800 II &U Block 1607 West Hwy 40 Vernal, Utah 84078 435-789-3335 t ... . ., patient 435-722-4691 LZ p' cock noted there is a benefit to a municipality operating a park. He said a city is more likely to reclaim the property if an RV park is no longer needed, where past experience has shown that private owners may not do the same with their parks. "When the boom is gone (privately-owned parks) seem to deteriorate," Hancock said. "We don't want that to happen." ! After listening to Roosevelt's presentation, Ballard's council said it was not opposed to the rezoning request, but said a recommendation to change the zoning would have to come from the planning and zoning commission. com-mission. There was no decision reached on whether Roosevelt would be allowed to operate the park past the April 1 closure date. offiriri irtri 54 North Vernal Avenue Vernal, Utah 435-789-351 1 www.vernal.com Block location listed below. - HRBLOCK or visit hrblock.com H&RBlock 865 East 200 North Roosevelt, Utah 84066 435-725-3335 . H&R BLOCK 1 toil got (wop!' tn whet w cakuliiad, wt'H ntund youi Ui pip f tt lo Ih j intahx " Basin I - Medical! V J Center |