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Show iA y 28 FEBRUARY 1, 1979 THURSDAY, Pages VOLUME EIGHTY NUMBER FORTY-SI- X DgOn By TOM BUSSELBERG - SALT LAKE CITY mington residents could see a big jump in their monthly phone rates depending on where they could call within their local calling area. Far- AND ALTHOUGH nothing was decided, several figures were thrown around Monday during Public Service Commission hearings in Salt Lake City. Two points are at issue. They include the extent of phone service for Davis County residents and rates affecting the entire state served by Mountain Bell. session was only another round in the hearings called to determine what type of service residents in Davis County can expect in the future. Hearings were resumed Jan. 19 but were recessed unThe all-da- y til further data could be collected by Mountain Bell. That same claim led to another recess until Feb. 5 at 1:30 p.m. BELL OFFICIALS claimed they wanted to study more rate figures affecting Davis County before asking the to make a commission decision on the extent of telephone calling privileges county residents would enjoy. As it stood at the hearing, rates mentioned for Farmington customers ranged from $7.34 to $17.73, depending on how large an area they final recommendations to the commission. Intertwined with the Davis County expanded service issue is a proposal that would alter rates to varying degrees for every Bell customer in the state. It would mean customers in St. George would pay the same as those in Salt Lake City for the basic rate. At present, that base rate varies, even within the same county. THE BASE rate for Clearfield is $6.19, at present, while it is only $5.81 for Kaysville and Farmington customers. Bountiful residents, however, pay $7.67 base rate. Under the new system, the rates would be based on the cost of providing service rather than charging according to the number of telephones that can be reached without placing a long distance call, as is now done. WHILE THE base rate would be uniform throughout the state, some areas would pay more for total service because they can call a wider area. Salt Lake and Bountiful rates would be higher than those in St. George, for instance, because they have access to wider extended area calling privileges. EAS refers to areas a customer can call outside of his local wire center or central telephone office. This is why Farmington and Kaysville would pay more than other nearby communities to call Salt Lake or Ogden, which are farther trom them than for any other county cities. Just as it would be irresponsible for a decision-make- r to commit to something without knowing what the burden will be, the said, commission would risk doing s a disservice to the of Davis County, Ogden and Salt Lake andor anywhere else in the state, if it should order the implementation of augmented EAS in Davis County without some notion of the magnitude of the burden and upon whom it will be imposed. rate-payer- BUSINESS RATE readjustments have not yet been determined with another six to nine months expected before those can be calculated, the commission was told. Dr. George Compton, of the Division of Public Utilities, said the rate change would be felt most in small exchanges while the cost in medium exchanges would change very little. Rates in the city centers, such as Salt Lake, Ogden and Provo main would go down. RATES FOR main or cen- tral Salt Lake Customers would drop from $9.17 to $7.71, for example. Dr. Tompton said revenue would not be affected by the change. The phone company requires residental revenue of $2,685,483, and under the proposal, that amount would not change. But basic rate collections would drop by a half million dollars while charges for EAS would make up the difference. The same would hold true for business customers. IN STRESSING the PUC adopt a pricing or rate philosophy before making changes in Davis County, he EAS would He said before be implemented, contact, would be made with those to be affected either through placing questionnaires in with regular billings, holding meetings or conducting scientific surveys. PUTTING EAS rates into affect in Davis County under one set of guidelines different from those in the state wouldn't be advisable. Dr. Compton said. No matter what is decided and when, it will take from 18 months to two years for service to be implemented in Davis County, according to Ken Hill, Mountain Bell Public Relations manager and a Bountiful resident. NF. W electronic switching equ'pment must be installed and new offices built in Farmington and Kaysville, he said. could call toll free. EVEN THE low figure would boost their monthly Studies Fop Proposed est Valiev Hiyhuav rate, presently at $6.31, because of the proposed statewide realignment and standardization of base rates. For $17.73, Farmington residents could call coun- The stark reality of winter somtimes doesnt really come to life until we see a tree that seemingly appears lifeless and frozen. But if we can somehow find the resource to look beyond this coldness we can hope for warmer days to come. SULLEN WINTER tywide and Salt Lake City, including Murray residents Kaysville wouldnt be far behind in payments, at least under one proposal that would allow residents to call both Salt Lake and Ogden. At present, Kaysville and Farmington residents can call neither metropolitan area without a toll charge. For the chance to call both centers, Kaysville customers would pay $14.46 under the proposed rates. could also call They throughout Davis County. Weber Basin Water District To Take Firm Stand' With Cities By GARY R. BLODGETT LAYTON Basin - WeberDistrict Water Conservancy officials agreed Friday that they will take a firm stand with cities who purchase water through the district either with or without ten contract. a writ- WATER DISTRICT officials said that they have leaned over backwards in past years to help West Bountiful with its water time needs-especia- lly of emergencv-an- d in then West Bountiful does a "turn about by announcing that it (the city) will drill its own well water. Its kind of a slap in the said one district official. We do everything possible to provide the city with necessary water, even without a written contract, and they decide to stop purchasing extra water from the district. face, THE CRITICISM stems from an incident last summer when West Bountiful hooked onto Bountifuls culinary water line for water it (West Bountiful) needed but did not have purchased from the district. West Bountiful, according to district officials, purchased feet from the only district last year and then when the water supply ran 40-ac- low, West Bountiful attempt- ed to hook onto Bountifuls line to purchase Bountifuls surplus water. WE ARE in the business of selling water; we have meet throughout the district and obligations to afford to let West Bountiful, or any other com- cant munity, buy water from another city," explained Wayne M. Winegar, district secretary-manage- In r. the Bountiful-Wes- t with the calendar year 1979. He said the contract would Bountiful incident, the hookup was disconnected as soon as district officials heard what had happened. cover the excess useage 1978 and would cover water addition to the 291 acre-fee- t presently under contract. BOUNTIFUL CITY officials it wrong to sell West Bountiful the water since it was already paid for (by Bountiful) and was surplus water. However, according to dis- THE LETTER from the district to West Bountiful further stated: Unless such a request is received within a reasonable time, it will be the policy of the district, insofar as West Bountiful is concerned, not to respond favorably to any future request of your city for water in excess of that which the district is obligated to deliver under existing water purchase contracts. said they did not think trict regulations, all water sold to a municipality is that by purchased municipality, whether or not the water is actually used. THIS IS the only way we can operate this district, siad Mr. Winegar. We cant allow one city to buy from another. If more water is needed, and is available, it must be purchased direct from the district. Neil R. Olmstead, attorney for the district, wrote a stern letter to West Bountiful officials telling that they must sign up for extra water or don't ever expect any more." HE SAID that the district delivered additional water (above the amount had purchased annually) to the community for the last three years to meet emergency needs, and this was done without a contract. But Mr. Olmsteads letter to West Bountiful stated in part: THE DISTRICT expects to receive, without undue delay, an application authorized by the City Council, requesting the district to prepare a contract between the district and West Bountiful wherein the municipality not less than will purchase in in MR. WINEGAR said we dont like to be referred to as the Big Bad Wolf. when all the district, commencing our customers. City Administrator J. Dell Holbrook said earlier that he (and Mayor Glen H. Secrist) feel the district was acting in, a dictatorial manner in using its influence to stop Bountiful from selling its surplus water to West Bountiful last summer. WEBER BASIN has done a lot to provide south Davis County with needed water, but now West Bountiful wants to do what it can to provide as much of its own water as possible by drilling and storing what underground water sources we have, said Mr. Holbrook. if service area remained as it is now, would drop from $6.31 to THEIR-BAS- rate, E $6.25. Other proposals would place the Kaysville rate at $11.04, allowing them to call countywide and Ogden. Under countywide calling for Clearfield, their rate would jump from $6.69 to $7.98. They meantime, Bountifuls rate would increase by only 11 cents, up to $9.53, allowing those residents to call all of Davis County in addition to Salt Lake County. ALL OF these figures were only preliminary, however, as officials said they needed another few days to study still other statistics before making Funding For Expansion Okayed - KAYSV1LLE Although the budget request to continue programs at the Davis Area Vocational Center has been approved, funding for expansion was denied, its director said. VOCATIONAL Director Jack Shell said the Stale Joint Appropriation Committee on Public Education okayed his budget request for $504,841, but at the same time turned down a $12 million construction proposal. The center is financed primarily through state uniform school funds but also receives about $28,000 in federal funding bringing the total budget to $535,000. BY TURNING down the construction requests, Mr. can't grow at Shell said, all and will have to keep our We programs as they are. We would like to add carpentry. The center is housed in four buildings on an 84 acre Kays-vill- e campus adjoining Davis High School. Facilities include building trades, auto body, old bus shop and mobile classroom areas. ticulture and business courses. MR. SHELL said new buildings are needed because present facilities are filled to capacity and employers are coming to hire students programs are offered ranging before they have completed their training programs. The center provides untold savings when it trains welfare recipients enabling them to drop government assistance. The state spends more than $4,100 a family on welfare payments each year, Mr. Shell said. During 1979 the vocational center will teach at least 150 members of welfare families and place them in jobs. to building maintenance, welding, ornamental hor- $4,100 NEARLY 500 students are in the center and while most come from Davis enrolled County, services are also available to Weber and Morgan County residents. The staff numbers 30 with adult job placement at 92 percent. Twenty-seve- n training from auto body and painting way will be completed as soon as snow in the area is melted, it was decided by the Davis County Commission. THE COMMISSION signed a contract with Nielsen, Maxwell and Wangsgard, of Salt Lake City, authorizing the work. They will be assisted by the Davis County Surveyors Office. Consulting engineer Gene Nielsen said the studies will be along a 6.2 miles strip of the proposed highway north of Layton extending from Gentile Street to 1300 North (Syracuse) along the Old IF multiply the figure in welfare YOU Bluff Road. MR. NIELSEN said that the snow will have to be melted from the area before aerial pictures and surveys can be completed. Aerial and ground surveys will be taken as well as engineering studies, it was - AcSALT LAKE CITY to a recently released cording Davis survey, County's population increased by about 6,000, or 500 a month, during 1978. THAT PUT the county's population at about 130,000, ranking it fourth among Utahs 29 counties behind Salt Lake, Utah and Weber counties, a report in the Utah Economic and Business Review prepared by the University of Utah College of Business Bureau of Economic and Business Research says. While the county continued at a fast rate of growth it was outstripped by Utah and Salt Lake counties in that order. Of the states estimated 46,000 person growth in 1978, some 29.000 of that was in those three counties. Total state population was estimated at 1.316.000 1.059.000 compared to in the official 1970 census. THAT CENSUS showed Davis Countys population at payments by 150, you come up with a savings to the state of $615,000. So our job training does ally when you multiply this amount by the number of years these people can expect to be in the work force. tb panding and development imust not be allowed to interfere with the proposed rights-of-wa- for the y high- way. An environmental study of the area has been delayed for now, said Commissioner Glen W. Flint. The area is lightly explained. The contract also provides for a legal description of the remainder of the West Valley Highway rights-of-wa- y from the north to the south borders of Davis would probably be required in 10 or 15 years because of changes in the area. County. from the countys collector MAPPING OF the road is something that must be done for the studies, including aerial photography and topography, as well as for impacted and another study APPROXIMATELY Mr. as soon as possible, Nielsen told the commission. Several cities in the Western Davis County area are ex 99,028. the county is getting more populated, it is also getting more crowded, the As study shows. Covering only 297 square miles of land area, Davis is the states smallest county and each square mile, theoretically, is shared by just over 434 people. That is topped only by Salt Lake Countys 710. purchase of where necessary along the rights-of-wa- strip. s from a point near the Salt Lake International Airport through Davis County to near Elder Countv the Davis-Boline, grb totalled 2,782 while the natural increase was figured at 2,950. JLUPNAL North Main St., Layton DAVIS NEWS 197 PHONE 376-913- 3 Published Weekly by CUPPER PUBLISHING CO. John Stahle, Jr., Publish r Second Class Postage Paid At Layton, Utah STUDENT migration, or Total y Actual construction of the highway will probably not be started for several years, but when completed will extend the number of new students to Davis District, was estimated at 501 between 1977 and 1978. tb $65,000 road fund will be used to pay Davis Population Growth Continues would still be able to call Ogden at no toll charge. In the Mot Enough of culinary water annually from we (the district) are trying to do is operate a water district to the best of our ability and to the best satisfaction of all FARMINGTON Preliminary engineering and surveying studies for the proposed West Valley High- SUBSCRIPTION $4.50 per year of State Subscription $5.50 Overseas Subscription $15.00 Out (Payable in Advance) North Davis Leader Deadlines Display Ad Deadline Friday at Noon Classified Ad Deadlines Tuesday at Noon Articles for Weekly Reflex and Davis New Journal must be in Monday at Noon. |