OCR Text |
Show Volume MT. PLEASANT, UTAH Ninety-thre- e 84647 - May 1, 1985 Number Eighteen Price 30 Feds stop pro on Narrows project MT. PLEASANT Sanpete's Progress Gooseberry-Narrow- on s Project has been stopped again, this time by a new foe, the Federal Government on an old technicality called reserved rights. The project has been stopped indefinitely according to Sanpete Water Conservancy President David Peterson, or until enough support for the project can make a legal battle feasible. This latest development is one in a series of issues that has delayed the new $5 million project in Flat Canyon for over 60 years. A legal issue regarding ownership of water rights between Sanpete and Carbon County was resolved last year when Sanpete was given a firm water right for 5400 acre feet annual diversion from the Narrows. Reserved rights Rep. Ray Nielsen, helped fight the concept of reserved rights when U.S. President Jimmy Carter introduced it during his term of office. At that time, President Carter proposed that all water belonged to the federal government and under his plan federal reserved rights would take precedence over all other water rights. Rep. Nielsen said his committee was able to limit those rights to Indian reservation development and maintaining forest ecosystems. Maintaining forest ecosystems is what the Forest Service says it is trying to do, Nielsen said, and even though Sanpete has agreed to leave a minimum stream flow of one second foot, it says that is not enough to maintain the forest ecosystem. City-wid- e A community MT. PLEASANT meeting to discuss possible start up of home mail delivery will be held Tuesday, May 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the Mt. Pleasant City Building. I hope many Mt. Pleasant residents attend so they can find out what home delivery is all about, ask questions and give their input, said Mt. Pleasant Postmaster Shelley Enhance Ecosystem On the other hand, Rep. Nielsen said, Dee Hansen former State Engineer and now Director of Division of Natural Resources, said the Narrows Project would actually enhance the forest ecosystem because in dry years normal stream flows drop below one second feet. Since Sanpete would be obligated to maintain at least one second feet of water in the streams year round, an amout equal to the minimum stream requirement would have to be released in dry years to fulfill that obligation. Because of this, the forest service would actually have a greater resource for maintaining forest ecosystems, he said. The Narrows Dam would guarantee that regardless of rainfall, forest streams would always have at least one second feet of water. The Forest Service says one second feet of water is not sufficient to maintain the forest ecosystem, but it has been unable to decide an alternate for the one second foot requirements. Dee Hansen said the agreement to leave one second foot of water was acceptable with all other parties and if the Forest Service was not in agreement with the plan it should have filed a protest during recent hearings. The Forest Service said it is not Narrows Sanpetes blocking Project, it just wants to make sure Sanpete and the State meet its requirements for reserved rights. Sanpete alternatives According Dee Hansen, Nielsen said, Sanpete has two options to break the Forest Service deadlock. First, Sanpete can file suit saying the forest unreasonable service is being and is out of line on the bounds overstepping minimum stream flow. Second, it can negotiate directly with the forest service on the basis that the whole project line with is in federal reserved rights and is basically correct. But, Hansen noted that Sanpete has made no movement for either negotiation or a law suit. Sanpete Water Conservancy District President David Peterson said Sanpete does not presently have the resources to fight the Forest Service and they have no alternative but to wait to see if enough supporters for private water rights will be willing to join forces with Sanpete. Could set precedent Sanpetes engineer, Harvey Hutchinson claims Forest Service action against the Narrows Project may set a precedent on all future N'elsen said he believes the Forest Service demand is for more than the federal reserve rights. Project begun 1924 The Narrows Project was begun in 19, '4 when a Fairview man filed for w,der rights on Gooseberry Creek. He envisioned building a dam in Flat Canyon on Gooseberry Creek, the main tributary of Price River, and diverting the water through a tunnel through the mountain into the Sevier River Basin (San Pitch River). The project was to be built in the 1940s but Sanpete County gave its support to a Scofield Dam Project upon the recommendation of the U S. Bureau of Reclamation, instead. Enlarging the Scofield Reservoir at that time was a war effort requested by the Secretary of War who feared the old dam was not stable and threatened the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, Highways 6 and 50 and the coal producing cities of Carbon County. In order to support the Scofield water development and could stop any water development projects in the Western United States. He claims the protest is a state Project, Sanpete had to temporarily and federal disagreement. abandon its plans to build the Hutchinson claims Sanpete hastdooseberry Project but an been careful and cautious and has agreement was reached at that time cooperated on all the environmental allowing 17,500 acre feet of water issues by addressing them and doing flowing into the Scofield Dam to be all that was required. alloted to Sanpete County for the He says the Forest service claim Gooseberry Project. is too broad and should be better The agreement, called the defined before any action is taken. Tripartite Agreement was signed by Rep. Nielsen said federal reserved the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Carbon County Water Conservancy rights supercede all other rights, and is an uncontested claim on the District and the Price Water Users water. However, the Forest Service Association. Unfortunately, Sanpete is being arbitrary and capricious, he did not sign the agreement, a legal said. that would cause loophole After speaking with Dee Hansen, to page 5 ing, sheep shearing, computers, gardening, horsemanship and cultural activities. The Festival of the Arts workshops were under the direction of Principal Reed Miller and teachers, Karen Kowalski, Jean Beatty and Janice Nielson. Combine efforts to attract tourists chamber members told MT. PLEASAN- T- We have the m the state in Central Utah, best Hansen Panoramaland director told members of Sanpetes Chamber of Commerce at a meeting held April 25 at Bar E Grill. Right now we have to make ourselves known, he stressed. Tourism and promoting Sanpete was the theme of the meeting attended by Chamber members from Mt. Pleasant, Fairview, and Manti. Hansen Sanpete suggested Evan Chambers organize a county tourism council which would act as a nucleus for future area promotion. Tourism is presently administered through the county commission, he said. Two areas need to be addressed in promoting the area, Hansen said. First visibility, or the distribution of promotional literature depicting the assets of the area, and secondly, credibility, or actual conditions travelers will encounter here. People have to be made to feel welcome. Getting them here is important, but keeping them here and making them want to come back are essential. Panoramaland is the tourism arm of the Organization and represents Sanpete as well as five other counties. y Panoramaland obtains funds through Utah Travel Council through a matching funds program. postal delivery offered Mt. Pleasant the building lots in the area to be served must be improved; streets must be paved; and house numbers must be assigned. However, no decision on home delivery is ever made without input from local residents, she added. Postmaster Clawson said that if home delivery is started, the Postal Service proposes it be done in through Saturday and each NDCBU also serves as a collection point, so all residents would have a collection box very near their homes. "NDCBUs are a cost effective way for the Postal Service to deliver mail to homes, said the postmaster, adding that the other alternative would be for each customer to place a mail box near the curb line of his neighborhood or her home. We feel the NDCBUs are more attractive than having many individual mailboxes put up, and are much more secure, she said, noting that each box is locked. Clawson. what are called According to Postmaster Clawson, Mt. Pleasant has met the criteria for having city delivery of mail. These criteria are that a city must have a population of at least 2,500 with 750 possible deliveries; fifty percent of delivery and collection box units, commonly called NDCBUs or Neighborhood Box Units. These are clusters of 8 to 16 post office boxes located throughout the city. Mail is delivered there Monday MEETS NEEDS OF covm jfcr, i:i The postmaster also PROVIDES ' 0 VfU' A iO v y. 1 tmm&n o said 8AittM$ lf ,! , t iw-m- see IGHBOKHOOD "tom posmmm &i?VlcY ANO COu i 0Oh BCK fwmm are installed and maintained by the Postal Service at no cost to the customer. Postmaster Clawson said that Salt Lake City Postal Service managers Lloyd Wilkinson and Bill Groot will be with her at the community meeting to help answer questions. Were looking forward to hearing comments from many of you, she streets named and house numbers assigned; serving boxes not hazardous; adequate walks, and approved mail receptacles. Although the city does not have sidewalks in all areas, Wilkinson explained this was only to facilitate delivery to businesses and all businesses had adequate walks. said. anticipated to implement the service, but one vehicle will need to be purchased. Following the community meeting on the issue, the Postal Service will need a letter from the city expressing support, an agreement to maintain streets year around, and guaranteed street easements for the mail receptacles. Ephraim now has the Postal NDCBUs The proposal received the endorsement of the city council at its last meeting after hearing the plan explained by Lloyd Wilkinson, United States Postal Management Center Representative. Wilkinson explained that the US Postal Service offers one free Service and one premium service and presently free service is extended to only general delivery patrons. Premium service is provided through postal boxes now located in the Mt. Pleasant Post Office. With the new plan, however, Wilkinson proposed that free service be extended throughout the community through NBCBU program allowing all residents the opportunity of having mail delivery close to their residence. Premimum service would still involve postal boxes in the centralized post office, however, cost for this service is expected to be increased as much as four times over current rates, he said. One criteria that must be met before the neighborhood box service is implemented is that the city had to agree to maintain streets for easy access to the units, which the council agreed could be done. All other criteria, according to Wilkinson has already been met by the city. Mt. Pleasant Postmaster Shelley Clawson demonstrates the NDCBU, Neighborhood Delivery and Collection Box Unit on display at the Mt. Pleasant Post Office. A community meeting is scheduled May 7 to discuss the feasibility of providing neighborhood mail delivery to Mt. Pleasant residents. According to current population figures, Mt. Pleasant meets the minimum 2500 residents and proposed 750 postal deliveries. According to utility connections over 900 postal deliveries are projected. Other requirements are that 50 percent of building lots are improved; streets paved or improved; No additional employees are Services proposed neighborhood delivery. Postmaster Shelley Clawson also reported that ground breaking on a new Post Office facility is expected this fall. Ten thousand dollars were obtained this year and $15,000 is expected to be budgeted for next year, he said. Organizations requesting funds this organization need to submit budgets to obtain funding and money obtaind is designated for projects reaching outside the area, or promotion, he said. Recent promotion conducted by was a combined Panoramaland advertisement that had within one week garnered over 700 responses. r Those responses will have brochures mailed to them the virtues of the explaining Panoramaland area. from full-colo- Similar promotional activities could be implemented County, he said. Hansen explained in Sanpete that money transient room tax is collects and part of it is returned to the from county. Twenty three percent of tourist dollars is spent on lodging, he said. And if tourists are staying here they are eating and buying gas. Hansen said, he attends nine travel shows annually to promote Panoramaland. He will also see what input Panoramaland can have into the Olympics feasibility study. Golden Sanderson, representing the Fairview Museum, said each community in Sanpete has attractions that would interest travelers. Fairview has the museum, Mt. Pleasants Main Street, Spring Citys school building and pioneer art, and Ephraim's rock quarries. We have strengths that dont exist anywhere else and if we draw up a master plan, I believe we can get legislative action, he said. Another meeting of combined chambers was scheduled for that evening in Manti. Stake conference set in Mt. Pleasant MT. PLEASAN- T- The Mt. Pleasant LDS Stake Conference will be held Saturday and Sunday in the stake center. An adult meeting will be held for all over 18 at 7 p.m. Saturday May 3. Two sessions will be held for the public on Sunday. At 10 a.m. the Fairview and Spring City Wards are to attend. A 2 p.m. meeting is scheduled for all Mt. Pleasant Wards. Speaking at the two sessions will be the regional representative and stake officials. News scene Keep Mt. Pleasant a pleasant place MT. PLEASAN- T- Let's Keep the pleasant in Mt. Pleasant. This year the Mt. Pleasant Community Beautification Committee to has designated two Saturdays in May for debris pickup, according member. committee Shelley Clawson east of State Street and May 11 for all May 4 is assigned to all streets streets West of State Street, she said. cars by calling Arrangements can be made to pick up junk Dont miss out on this chance to make your city a more pleasant place to live. 462-245- For further information contact chairman Larry Ruesch. S J |