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Show yr V econ v HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER FOR SAN JUAN COUNTY, UTAH Volume 90 Number 13' 50 cents WrV ViM'l v V . SINCE 1915 December ... 29, 2004 - . Commissioner leaves public service after 1 6 years in office Put the special Special Ed - See page Maryboy, Bill Redd, Lynn Stevens and Manuel Morgan. Aron - See page 6 Broncos beat Bucks - See basketball, pg. 8 Bucks beat Broncos - See wrestling, Christmas page in La 9 Sal - See page 13 Christmas past - See San Juan County Commissioner Ty Lewis (second from right) completes 16 years of public service on January 1 Lewis was presented with a number of gifts at the December 27 commission meeting, including a sword and sheath from prior Commissioner Bill Redd (right). He will be replaced in 2005 by Bruce Mesa, page 16 . Adams (left), who joins Commissioners Manuel Morgan and Lynn Stevens. They stand before the new Staff photo San Juan County flag, designed by Stormy Palmer of Blanding. of the approximate $43 million At the December 27 commission meeting, San Juan County The $250,000 for health care includes $25,000 for the creation of a health care strategic plan and $200,000 for a proposed new clinic at the San Juan Hospital in Monticello. Commissioners made clear that the health care district needs to complete their strategic plan before requesting access to the capital funds for the new clinic. Commissioners approved the creation of Enterprise Zones in state tax credits for capital exseveral areas of the county. penditures, job creation, renovaWith the resolution from the tion of historic buildings, and commissioners, the State of other activities. The designation by the Commission in the Utah can proceed with the designation of the enterprise zones. last meeting in 2004 is of parThe designation creates the ticular interest to the Lisbon enterprise zones in several ar- Valley Mining Company, which will be able to take advantage eas of San J uan County, including Lisbon Valley, Big Indian of the Enterprise Zone capital Mining District, La Sal Junc- expenditure credits. Lisbon Valley Mining Comtion, Big Bench, White Mesa, Bluff Mesa, and the Harris Lane pany has announced the conarea east of Blanding. Commis- - struction of a copper mining and sioners also discussed addimilling operation at Lisbon Valtional areas that may be eligible ley. In 2004, the company spent for future enterprise zone des- - several million dollars when they purchased an existing copper mill in Nevada and transported it to Lisbon Valley. With the designation in 2004, expenditures for the year are eligible for the Capital Expenditure Enterprise Zone tax in trust funds that San Juan County saved for a rainy day. Drought notwithstanding, it is apparently a rainy day in San Juan County. For several years, county expenditures have exceeded revenues, resulting in use of the trust funds. get requests than revenues could support. However, they made up the difference by trans- ferring the remaining amount from a Capital Improvement happy holiday season. Eligible businesses within the Enterprise Zone may receive The company anticipates completion of the construction project and initiation of mining and milling operations by the trust fund transfer, but the County spent fall of 2005. When completed, the company will have more than 140 employees for the 0 year life of the project. In addition, subcontractors will help create additional jobs for San Juan County. In addition to the San Juan County designation, the cities of Monticello and Blanding in San Juan County have also received Enterprise Zone designation. 8-1- less than half that amount. Facing a budget surplus in the 1990s, San Juan County created a number of trust funds. The Capital Improvement Trust Fund has a current balance of approximately $7.3 million. The fund was created specifically to provide money for capital im- Jr. provement projects. It is a part ignation. The San Juan Record is closed the holidays until Monday, January 3. Have a safe and for Monticello had cember 23 1" of snow De credit. Trust Fund. Commissioners state that the majority of the funding from the trust fund may not be expended in 2005. The 2004 budget included a $1.5 million See page 4 -- Rowleys mark 50th anniversary $9.2 million budget for County Areas named Enterprise Zones San Juan County Commissioners approved a $9.2 million budget for 2005 at the December 27 Commission meeting. The approved budget includes a host of projects throughout the sprawling county, including three new vehicles for the Sheriffs Department, a street light project in Montezuma Creek, refurbishing Walter C. Lyman Park north of Blanding, a project at the Blanding Airport, funds for the Navajo Mountain Pioneer Day Celebration, the possibility of a new library in Monticello, and health care projects totaling $250,000. In addition, there is an $80,000 increase in taxes for libraries. Commissioners faced approximately $1.2 million more in bud- 3 Letter from Freda San Juan County Commissioner Ty Lewis completed 16 years in the hot seat at the final Commission meeting of 2004. Lewis was honored for his years of service with a number of gifts and awards. An emotional Lewis stated that the best part of the job was working with San Juan County employees. He added that he learned early on to rely on the employees, saying, It didnt take long to learn that the best thing to do was to do what I was told to do. Lewis assumed the Commission position representing north and west San Juan County in 1988. He worked with Commissioners Calvin Black, Mark in Drill team members at a recent basketball game. Courtesy photo December 27 snow report in 18.3 of snow r 5.1 is average 4.3 of water multi-yea- 8.7 in 1986 is multi-yehigh low 0.0 in 90 is multi-yea- r Current snow is 84 of normal of normal La Sal snow is 119 ar News Roundup Letters to Editor Society Sports Community news Legals Classified Real Estate 2 4 6 8 10 13 14 15 |