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Show Page Moab economy A2 (Eljr (Ttmrft-3lubrprubr- Thursday, February 7, 2002 ut Vote OKs preliminary plat Continued from Page A I I hr City study equally brli-of Mab, Grand CounlyMuah Aria Ki'onottiif l)rvrlomriit ami I 'tail Main St rift Program, a stats run nomimir drvrlop un lit rogram that would aid in iiHiduitihg thr atudy Alli-the area tlir iriHiatd atudy would fous oil, Mrtllrr waked the group, Are we on tiie rigid trai k here' Several memhera eapreaaed roniern that In lore eonnnit ting to apend $12,000 on the atudy, the group aimuld detail eiHi tly how ttiev would uae the information it prov ided M o a h City Mayor Have Sakriaon waked what the atudy would tell them that they didn't already know Im In a retail buainoaw and I know why people go to Grand Joint ion and that' hei nuae of pro e," he r amt! Later in the diaeuaaion, Snknaon aaid he wupported the general idea of the atudy I think we ought to go ahead and do thia A lot id tlna information he la going to he phenomenal, com luded Other meinhera eapreaaed aimilar nmeerna Oavey aonleil out that one of the prohlemw in many iliaeua anma Hhout lot a I eennomie (level opulent la that moat of them are hnaed on aneedotal information At the very leant, the atudy will ground the diamaaion with factual inlornmlum, and may provide new insight The atudy might alao identity eertain prod uela or neonomtc mi hea that a local huNineaw could auccewafully Till, he Hildeil Several memlierii wuggeated calling other commumtiea that have conducted aimilar atudiea to rind out how they uaod the information liavey and Metilor aaid that they would and the committee agreed to move forward with iteaign of the atudy In other committee buai neaa, Itrian IhibofT, Small lUiai-neaDevelopment Center director, reported that a recent bum-neaand maiketmg aeminar at the Moah Valley Inn wan attended by approximately 95 memhera of the local commu n it y The moat popular wewaion waa the one that focuwaed on Internet wkllla It waa alwo the win kaliop with the moat widely divergent feedhai k regarding ita uaefulneaa The aeaamn with the fewewt in attendance waa the one on retail mniketing He pointed out the irony in that fait, hecauae it waa the retailera, he anid, who had moat vim ally clambered for the aeminar Committee mi niliora agreed that the next time they do a tug event they'll take leaaonx lea mod from thia one Hut Pavey empha aired, Tina waa a very lug atep forward for tlua community We have a lot to build on Pavey alao reported to the group on a recent meeting with Kic Mi Brier of Si hool and l Truat l.arnla Adminis-tration- , Inati-tutiona- Judy Hane, Grand County adnuniatrator and him-el- f regarding tiie Maailuliliea of timulating affordable houamg projects on S ITIA landa in Moah and Spaniah Valley The main ronduainn of the meeting waa that the Lemon Lane property in aouthern Sparnah Valley, whu h S1TI-- hHa deaignated tor affordable houamg. waa probably too far removed from the center of town to he suitable Hut Mi Brier xaid SIT LA waa open to land trade with developer who might have land rloaer to town Continued from Page A1 must develop it own water and aewrr treatment facilities In November, the council approved that development agreement. w Ini h contain all the same condition a the preliminary plan, and a request to annex the Johnson 'a I'p On Thp meaa property owned by the atatea Si hool and Institutional Trust Landa into the AilminiNtration (SITl-SVW'&KIP SITIA will lease the to Moab Mesa for the proM-rtJohnson Cp On Tup development However, the ordinance approved by the council allow annexation to occur only if the state enguuer approve the transfer of water rights for a new well recently completed by the district That new well will service Johnson Cp On 1p and also At provide the additional water needed for an almost completed H 9 million upgrade tu the diatrict'a culinary water ayatem IVn entities have filed protests with the stale to atop the transfer ol water rights to the new well Some council memliera have said the county should not approve the Johnson's Cp ( ill Hip preliminary plan until llioae protests are resolved At Monday's meeting, the issue was further clouded by over a letter submitted to the council from (irand County 1 hunting and Zoning Commission run-fusio- n Member l.rnce Christie. The 7)mr Indrpendent obtained a copy of Chriatie'a letter, which Jan. 25 letter submitted to the council by waa a ressmsc to a Michael Lias, president of Moab Mesa, the group developing the Johnson's Cp On TVp project. In that letter, Lias asked the council to revisit the issue this week, arguing that "the inclusion of conditions in a preliminary plat ap proval ta not a justifiable reason to table the approval " He alao cited six examples in which the council had approved preliminary plana for development although water and newer issues were not resolved in the preliminary plan stage In a three page response, Christie wrote that the county typically does not approve preliminary plans without knowing how a develofier will resolve water and sewer issues should service nut he available from the county He also suggested that all uf the developments cited in Lisa letter had provided verifiable alternatives to the county before their preliminary plans were approved, and that Lisa must perform expensive studies to verify the availability uf water and feasibility of a private sewer plant on the pnqierty before bis project would la in equivalent Misition with the other subdivision and IUD preliminary plat the county ha approved with condition in the past. It our long standing and consistently applied policy that approval of a preliminary plat without evidence that what the e devehqier proMmca to do is would not lie in the public interest, hut rather would be 1 xa-sihl- likely to enable ecama and frauds, Christie wrote. Hut at Monday'a meeting, Christie said Lisa has received the docu mentation he needs to go forward. They now have a letter of intent from the water Christie said Thia, then, puta them in a position comparable to other developments that have aought preliminary plat approval from the council. My letter eoeme to have fomented aome confusion. Grand County Claiming and dia-trictl- ," working relations Franklin Heal Michael Fiitali was sentenced to two year probation and 150 hours of community service on Friday in tJ.S. District Court in Stilt Lake City. II. S, Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba also ruled tlmt during the two years of pro-ha- t ion, Fatnli is prohibited from entering Canyonlands and Arche national parks. Fatsli, 3fl, of Springdale, pleadod guilty in December 2001 to seven misdemeanor charges in nmnction with three incidents in Arches and Canyonlands na- tional parks in which he illegally lit fires for photographic technique. The incidents occurred in , mid August 1999 and on Sept. 2000 IS-19- The case received wide- spread media coverage because it involved Delicate Arch, one of I Hah' premier icons. The surface of the F.ntrada slu kroi k beneath the arch was stained by sooty, oily residue lefi by fire Fatah directed tie lit during a photography das A fire wa also left smoldering in the sandy Ixiwl below the arch. IVosecutor Wayne Dance, assistant t'niled Slate attorney, said hi office decided not to recommend jail time due to mitigating factor. Those included Fatali's public confession to the crime in court and the fact that last week he paid full restitution to the park service-110,9- 22 the amount NTS expended in ita effort to scrub the stains from the sandstone below Delicate Arch Smart Site brunch gives rural Utah a foot in door Continued from Page A 1 could potentially work for them, even if they were located in a small rural town hke Moab He and his associate Joey Green, vice president for business development, weren't exactly shopping for new hires, they said, but entrethey were hoping to familiarise themselves with high-tecpreneurs and worker based in Moab and rural Utah, with the possibility that they might farm out work to Moab residents on a contract or permanent basis sometime in the future. "What it allows you to do is it allows you to seal your growth, he said. He projected that ty mid to late year BlueRtep would employ 65 to 60 people Stepping in for Gov Mike Leavitt who had left the meeting early due to schedule conflict, Utah Lt. Governor Olene Welker delivered the keynote address. "I consider the Smart Sit Program the fut ure. she said. Since the program started, more than 300 job could be accounted for, she added. On Wednesday following the meeting, Davey aaid, 1 think it waa important for IT Internet Technology! professional to get a chance to meet IT professional from throughout the state, maybe few future work, maybe just fur networking h The 11.8. Attorney Office had recommended Fatali be sentenced to 300 hours of community service and be banned from all national park (except to drive through Zion's National Park going to and from hit home in nearby Springdale), They also rec ommended Fatali pay to NTS all proceed from sales of a photograph he took using illegally lit fires at the Joint Trail in tha Needles District of Cayonland. Despite the lesser sentence that Alba handed out Friday morning, Dance said it was a fair resolution of the case, Its not aa substantial at we had requested but the court has the ultimate responsibility to sentence, he said. I believe it dm send a signal). The fact that this case was prosecuted in the way that it was, the aeven charges ..combined with Mr Fatali's confession and the substantial restitution that was conveyed upon him, all aend a signal about the importance of protecting national park re- - County contributes to high school trip Submit it to The Timesdndependent with the county, hut expressed frustration that the council has delayed approving the preliminary plan, This council, or a different makeup of its members, has approved these projects in tiie past. 1 actually really don't understand what's going on here today Lisa said, adding that because the de- velopment agreement was already approved, the preliminary plan is simply a house-keepinmatter. 1 feel its better to come talk about it and resolve it amicably than tu deal with it in another way, he said. Following the council's vote, Lisa said he is prepared to move g forward with the engineering work required to bring the project to the final plan stage. When completed, the final plan must reaolve all conditions placed on the devel- opment during the preliminary planning stage. Final plana are reviewed by the county 'a Planning and Zoning Commisaion, which makes a recommendation to the council as to whether the plan should be approved or not. The council has ultimate authority to either approve or reject the plan. Fatali's sentence includes probation, community service ataff writer Lsndscape photographer HlaioHe pictures of Moab and Grand County Have a picture you would like to share? Zoning Commission Chair Judy Carinu had urged the council to approve the preliminary plan, Moah Messl ha jumped through all tiie hooji required of them, she said I've not een anybody go to these lengths to get a preliminary plat approved. 1 think it's simply a fairness issue. Lias told the county in a letter, "Our project is in complete compliance with the rules and regulations of the Grand County I .and Cse Code, and we simply ask that our project tie treated in a fair and consistent manner. At Monday's meeting, Lias said he wants to maintain good Photographer banned from parks by A Look Back in Time sources, I le added that there were few precedent for the case in Utah legal history. Just as Delicate Arch is unique unto itself as ?' natTirt) resource, so too this case t is unique, he said. Fatali, in a press release, stated that he deeply regretted overlooking park regulations regarding the making of campfire. 1 have been very disheartened that my Irresponsibility has caused harm to the land that I love, he wrote. He also pointed a finger at the media Choosing not to reply to the charges via the media while the government highly publicised thia case resulted with me being inaccurately portrayed in news stories He is now looking to put the whole thing behind him. 1 respect and honor the judicial system and appreciate how the judge handled the case, My wife, children and 1 can finally put this last year and a half behind ue,' he wrote, Open for businessat . . . The impressive swinging bridge Dewey was opened tor business in 1916. It was 502 feet long and 10 feet wide, held In place by seven cables on each side that went to a platform over the towers. The bridge replaced a ferry built by Samuel 1 1 King and operated by Dick Westwood In the 890s. In 909 contract was awarded to George A. Combs for op the ferry tor $20 a month and ferry tolls. In 1902 an erating application for a post office was granted tor Dewey by Martha A. Westwood, who changed the name to Klngsferry. When the post office closed shortly after opening, the old name of Dewey was again official. When the bridge wee replaced In the 1 980s by the Utah Department of Transportation, the old suspension bridge was deeded to Grand County, Badly In need of restoration and repairs, that costly task was undertaken by the Grand County Historical Preservation Committee. It It now In great shape, end used only for bicycle and pedestrian traffic. It should last another hundred years. Photo courtesy the Dan O'Lauris Museum one-ye- ar County makes board appointments At Monday'a night meeting, the Grand County Council unanimously approved appointments to two county boards, Judy Pratt, Norma Stocks and Max Young will fill vacancies on the Grand County Council on Aging. Marsha Marshall and Jeanette Kopell . were unanimously approved to fill vacancies on the Grand County Mosquito Abatement Board. Kopell was appointed to represent Moab City on the board. t $ . - Youre a (ovefj not a ffrhtdr. Hey Tough Guy you dont fool us. Valentines Day is youre a your favorite holiday romantic at heart. Send your sweetheart a personalized message this year, in the special Valentines day section of your community newspaper, The Times-lndependen- t. Stop by the office at 35 E. Center St. and fill out a form to express your sentiment. JOHN DEERE 4300 Compact Utility Tractor by Idea Church ataff writer A group of Grand County High School student will visit Washington, D C. and New York City thanks in part to a contribution from Grand County On Monday night, the Grand County Council unanimously approved a request to donate $1,200 to the Grand County High Sc hool Geography Club. Club member Chad Bishoff told the council that the group plans an educational trip to the nation's capitol March 22 29. The students hope to meet with congressional leader, and to e the federal government in action, Bishoff said. Students will alao travel to New York to visit Ground Zero for a view of the destruction caused by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks an the World Trade Center, Biahoff aaid the council's contribution will help fund the trip, but the group roust also raise additional money. Student ar seeking contributions from area businesses and individuals to help cover the full cost of the trip. first-han- d Finance options Available: Option 1: 0 Fixed Rat up to 12 month, $0 down Personal, 20 down Commercial, Requires 12 monthly payments. 2: 4.9 Fixed Rote up to 36 months, $0 down Personal, Option 20 down Comm ('Trial. Option 3; 5,9 Fixed Rate up to 60 month, $0 down Personal, 20 down Commercial. Option 4: 6.9 Fixpd Rate up ta 72 months, $0 down Personal, 20 down Commercial. 7.9 Fixed Rate up to 84 month, $0 down Personal Only, 5; Option POOR |