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Show Blanding propertys future resolved by deed to county A public hearing in Blanding last week relative to rezoning of land north of the San Juan Nursing Home had unexpected re- sults. By vote of the Blanding City Council, 1.86 acres north of the San Juan Nursing Home and the nursing property, which was previously leased to the county, will be deeded to the county. BasicaUy two view points were expressed at the zoning hearing which was originally intended to consider zoning for construction of a senior citizens apartment complex on ground belonging to the city. Neighbors in the immediate vicinity expressed almost total opposition. Senior citizens presented a list of over 500 people who favored the rezoning. County commissioners in attendance at the meeting mentioned the possible need for the land for future expansion of the nursing home or construction of Utah's multitude of rivers, lakes and reservoirs are an inland paradise for water enthusiasts and fishermen. Lake Powell's 1,800 miles of shoreline alone is longer than the entire West coast. Photo courtesy of Utah Travel Bureau San Juan County and its cities have compiled a list of lands to be removed from the Bureau of Land Management control. Commission reviews opinion of assistant state suit attorney general on 1979 It would be like taking money out of the taxpayers left pocket and putting it into his right pock- said Commissioner Calvin Black on the possibility of a future tax credit from the county. At the county commission meeting Monday, an informal opinion by et, assistant the state attorney-gener- al the . taxes -- under -protest suit of 1979 was read. ' The possibility of a tax credit due was raised. Health care, the Ucolo Road, tourism and office space in the courthouse for Southeast Title were the other matters brought before the commission. on In the commissioners to increase the county 1979, decided for that year to cover extraordinary costs like $103,000 to upgrade a road ;o an Atlas Minerals mining location, and to budget . est cover a much needed salary increase for county employees. The increase in taxes needed no cover the new budget was challenged in a lawsuit by Atlas, Utah Power and Light, Northwest Pipeline and Rio Algom. At the same time, there was a new state law and proceedure in effect for the increasing of county budgets. The commissioners changed the budget by following the rules which had existed for some time, so the county lost the case on that technicality. Since the county had to return money to the four suing corporations the commissioners asked ofthe state attorney-genera- ls fice for an opinion on the legality of the money collected from the taxpayers. County Attorney Bruce Halli-da- y attended the meeting to dis- - Water bond election June 23 A good turnout for the June 23 Bond Election, which, if accepted by voters, will authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10 million dollars for the development of water in San Juan County, will hasten the construction of two projects now 15 years in the making. A dam and highway project in Recapture and a' storage reservoir in Abajo Mountain west of Monticello, if realized, will con- tribute water for culinary use, irrigation, recreation and possible industrial development in San Juan. funding is now available and both projects have high priority rating with the State Three-perce- nt Division of Water Conservancy. The issuance of bonds will not increase taxes levied by the San Juan Water Conservancy District as such taxes are already at their legal limit. Construction of a new highway across Recapture Canyon will eliminate a hazardous section of roadway that has taken a heavy toll in lives and property. Several reservoir sites are under consideration for the storage unit, all of which show good potential. One site, commonly referred to as the golf course site, has been eliminated. Authorities involved in the project note that although the exact location for the Monticello reservoir has not been determined, funding will be needed regardless of the site selected. cuss the merits of the opinion which the commissioners received. The opinion states that a refund or credit would be but not mandatory. The opinion was not reviewed by the attorney-generhimself and so was not the forma opinion of his office. de-sira- ble al The opinion also contained several misrepresentations of facts. Halliday will contactthe attorney-gener- al to pursue the problem. Black said the only w?.y that a refund could toe accomplished is for the commissioners to budget a tax credit into next years bud- get. Doug Pehrson, county road surveyor, cam? before the commission to present Ucolo Road changes. The road needs to be widened and repaired due to heavy ore truck traffic there. The commissioners debated w?.ystodothe project under the stipulations of state collector road monies. Pehrson will work out various projected costs and report back. Tne Ucolo road will probably be stripped so that a better base can be laid and traffic will be rerouted to West Summit. Mon-ice- llo Both water development projects have been included in one bond election to reduce expenses and accommodate voters. The projects have the support of the Chambers of Commerce of Monticello and Blanding, county commissioners and county and city government officials. They and the San Juan Water Conser- vancy District urge voters to vote yes on June 23. John Baker reported that a housed burned in White Mesa crew because the could not find a hydrant that worked or any other way to get water. He also said a grass Natural Bridges' burned near fire about 10 acres. . fire-fighti- Duane ng Frandsen, Southeast Title, and owner of his local abstractor, Maxine Frost, met with the commission to discuss the title companys office space in the courthouse. The commission has asked the company to move so that Justice of the Peace Muhlestein can occupy the space. Frandsen, a Price attorney, presented a statute to the commission which mandates that board -certified abstractors such as Southeast are entitled by law to (Please turn to page 28) or other, medical conceivably afford to build aif entirely new facility, but statedr the prospect of an addition to th nursing home appeared feasible! The land will be deeded to thP county with protective covenant! requiring the county to use it only for medical facilities and th stipulation that if the county doest? not use the property, it will be returned to the city with theCo original zoning. Residents with homes adjacent to the land being deeded to the county expressed concern for what they feel is the need for a small park in the area. Dwignt Laws, School Board president, noted that the San Juan School District may use land in the same d proximity to develop a and park complex in conjunction with a middle school facility. ball-fiel- County and cities list lands to remove from BLM control HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER FOR SAN JUAN COUNTY, UTAH 64 No . 21 20 cents June 18, 1981 taKes-under-prot- emergency, facilities. Commissioner K.RW Bailey said the county could no Shortly after Secretary of the Interior James Watt took office, he requested that governors, particularly in the western states, specify land under Federal control needed for community expansion. The San Juan County list will be given to Utah Governor Matheson for his report to Sec retary Watt. The county has asked for land which contains gravel sources, and has specified areas which need room for commercial growth. As indicated in the countys ar plan, additional land for commerce is needed near White Mesa, Ismay, LaSal, Newspaper 10-ye- Rock, the entrance to Canyon- - lands, Fry Canyon, HaHs Crossing and the junction of highways 261 and 95. Mexican Hat has requested land necessary for community expansion. Blanding and Monticello have stipulated land needed for sanitary landfill, industrial parks and water' storage. The water conservancy district and the school district have both moved to increase their holdings. Land is especially needed for the Center for Higher Education. If the lands requested are released from federal control, they will become part of the jurisdiction of the entity making the request. Employees of the Monticello Bureau of Land Management have already received instructions to review the list submitted by the , county, and to outline whatever will be required to accomplish the requests. Funds authorized to upgrade Blandings mountain watershed Up to $200,000 has been authorized by the Board of Water Re- sources from the Cities Water Loan Fund for Blanding to upgrade its water collection system, on the Abajo Mountain watershed. The proposed project, expected to cost $251,000, is needed to meet the culinary water needs of a rapidly expanding population, according to Blanding City officials. Blanding Mayor De Lamar Gibbons says the citys population has increased 50 percent since 1970, due primarily to energy industries. He says the citys reliance of surface water for culinary needs makes the area particularly vulnerable to drought conditions. The proposed Blanding City Project includes piping the Indian Creek runoff, constructing a new tunnel entrance and inlet structure on the Monticello side of the mountain, enlarging a canal, constructing an underground water cutoff at the Johnson Creek diversion station, and installing a larger pipeline to the citys downtown water distribution system to alleviate pressure problems. Repayment of Board funds will be over an period. 18-y- ear Water restrictions lifted Residents of Blanding and Monticello are no longer under any watering restrictions. Blanding City Council voted that as of June 15, residents may water any day they choose, and Monticello City Manager Rick Terry informed the Record that the Monticello Council had decided residents may water any day as long as surplus water exists. Residents are still urged to be conservative with the water. The restrictions have been eased because the reservoirs are full, but restrictions may be reinstated in both cities later in the upon . the depending amount of water used, and the amount of precipitation received. summer replace nCSrrouETnr Julia Miller as the Halls Crossing, District 15, election official for the June 23, 1981, Bond Election of the San Juan Water Con-servan- District. cy |