| OCR Text |
Show 4 NEW TIMES ~JANUARY 1993 — RIVERA from Page 1 the last two fiscal years. In future articles I hope to address past and It is believed by researchers that he did return more than once, as his details of the area are too complex to come from one trip. There are also records of other Spaniards trading with the Utes in the Professor Valley area. It is interesting that there are no records of this man Rivera prior to his expeditions or after. proposed projects and issues that Valley residents and owners want addressed. I encourage those of you who have questions or issues to contact me. Our road monies come from three sources: POA dues, “B & C” Road Funds, and a State-granted CIB loan. year ’90—’91 road repair and maintenance ran approximately $4830 for labor and $5450 for materials (gas, parts, etc.), or around $12,000 (per half year). In fiscal year ’91-’92 labor ran approximately $12,000 and materials cost approx. $6600. For both years the Road Supervisor’s job added $4000, as per contract. For this fiscal year we have budgeted $21,000 for road repair and maintenance. Capital improvements have been a Where he came from and went remain a mystery. He is responsible for the The first two of these sources are founding of the Spanish Trail, which loan was a one-time loan to be used smaller expense, with ’91-’92 costing was to be an important trade route, and specifically for our drainage project, which is now basically completed. POA dues, collected from every developed and undeveloped lot, amount to approximately $33,500 per year. As of August ’91 this amount has been approximately $5000. We are budgeted $6756 for ’92-’93. Though capital expenses are technically one-time expenses, we can safely assume that some will occur each year. Among the tasks for the Road transferred by contract from the POA to Committee for 1993 (as well as the the Town for the General Fund. Costs for administration, professional and legal services, elections, water adminis- Town Council) will be reviewing the job description of the Road Supervisor. This job was originally created for two reasons: 1. To implement the work associated with the one-time drainage project and 2. Because the work of supervising the roads had become big for locating the only known river crossing of the Colorado at that time. Another quirk of history is that the Dominquez-Escalante expedition either had Rivera's journal or details of his trail, but got lost because they did not have a Ute guide with them. As a result they did not get to the Great Salt Lake until late in the year and were not able to go on to Monterey California as planned. They did not complete their mission of a trade route from New Mexico to California. Because of the difficulties noted in their journal, they never got anyone interested in returning to present day Utah and expanding the Spanish Empire in that direction. Juan Maria Antonio de Rivera is called the Phantom Pathfinder because the record of his accomplishments was not found until 1975, and all attempts to find out anything more about him have ended in failure. But we know he was here and that others followed his trail to what is now Castle Valley. —Maria Loe ongoing, supplied every year. The CIB tration and recreation, as well as road repair and maintenance, come out of this fund. (So far we are spending nothing on public safety, sanitation, or “health and welfare,” standard areas of municipal expense.) The only way POA income will increase is from raising the amount of annual dues. “B & C” Road Funds come to us from the State. These funds are collected from the gasoline tax and are distributed to towns and municipalities based on a formula that calculates the amount of local road mileage, the population according to most recent federal census, and the land area. We are currently receiving approximately (Condensed from "The Phantom Pathfinder: Juan Maria Antonio de Rivera and $11,000 annually from this fund. (In His Expedition," by G. Clell Jacobs, Utah may gradually increase as our population increases. These funds are to be used specifically for roads. The CIB loan was just that: a loan Historical Quarterly.) ROADS from Page I 1987 we received $7400.) This amount to the Town for approximately maintain rural roads. In my CV Times interviews I have heard stories from valley residents of past winter and spring roads with their impassable mud and ice and flooding. All have commented on the improvements they’ve seen in the roads over the years. In other conversations and in the POA and Town meetings I have heard questions and concerns about our roads. These led me to believe it would be helpful for many of us to have a clearer understanding of our road situation. In this article I will give a rough overview of our financial picture, including incoming monies and road expenses for $43,750—ten payments of $4377 each. (We have made three payments as of 12/92.) This money was designated specifically for the drainage project. The County provided matching funds in the form of labor, thus supplying most of the labor for implementing this project, now near completion. Road expenses fall into two categories: ongoing expenses, such as repair and maintenance, and one-time expenses such as capital improvements. Examples of the former are grading and plowing. Examples of the latter are road signs and replacing washed out culverts. In the second half of fiscal enough and difficult enough to warrant the once-volunteer position to become paid. The completion of the drainage project is an appropriate time for such a review. Other projects for 1993 will include pursuing the proposal to chip seal Castle Valley Drive, correcting encroachments into the road easements, and acquiring a road easement to the “upper 80” lots. I would be interested in hearing about the needs of various neighborhoods, with the intention of adjusing our road policy to accommodate these needs. The Valley varies widely in issues such as the treatment of road shoulders. Much of the Valley is wide open, and therefore more in danger of quickly spreading fires. In those areas, having the shoulders bare may be beneficial. In other areas the irrigation ditches serve to keep the shoulders full of lush vegetation, a strong fire prevention. Treating these areas differently could be beneficial and costeffective. Iwould also like to be able to call on various residents who are experienced in road issues and to use you as resource people. We have much talent here and it would be nice to make use of it. Please call me with questions, suggestions, areas of concern, ideas, etc. Leave a message for me at 2595542. —Joan Sangree |
