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Show I WEEKLY REFLEX DAVIS NEWS JOURNAL, INORTH DAVIS LEADER, SEPTEMBER 25, 1980 Sunset (Somsodeirs By MARK D. MICKELSEN SUNSET The Sunset City Council is moving closer and closer to a merger with Layton and Clearfield on a computer link-usystem. p said. MR. DAVENPORT said he expects a decision from the Clearfield City Council within a couple of weeks, but says they are stalled due to con- struction at the municipal building. The new system, he said, of utilfund accounting, ity billing, police reporting, and other items of business the city wishes to program into the will be able to take care computers. MAYOR SANT said the addition of computers will take some of the administrative pressures off the council, leaving more time to handle matters tabled before due to a lack of time. He added, however, that the city will remain We will cut down hours of labor, he said, adding people wont be fired, but will have more time to do business once neglected. people who know what theyre doing, the mayor said of the link-uHe explained that the multi-cit- y plan is the best hes seen and told the council you're going to gain more as you are sharing the system. WERE DEALING with Mr. Jack Olson, an executive vice president of the Salt Lake City based Utah Tax- THOUGH NO definite decisions have been finalised, the council last Thursday ap- plauded a proposal to join w ith the two cities on a system Mayor Norm Sant said, "ought to help reduce some manpower costs in the city." Rod Davenport, financial advisor for the multi-citproject, said too many cities buy Sunset Kicks By MARK D. MICKELSEN y their own computers not knowing the potential for growth in the community. They find themselves with an outdated system before long and are stuck with having to buy more computers to handle the increasing amounts of information, he said. HE EXPLAINED that with y the arrangement, none of the communities will ever hough outgrow the system. located in a new Clearfield municipal building addition, Mr. Davenport said each city could be none having to be under the wing" of the other. For a price of $25,000, Davenport said Sunset residents would have access to a computer "far out of their price range for capability. tri-cit- 1 t, MAYOR SANT, himself highly supportive of the merger, told the council that data supplied by the computer can be used in city council meet- ings and for departmental gatherings, and emphasized the systems potential to pro- duce graphic charts and specific drawings. The city, in addition to the initial $25,000 cost, will have to fund the costs of paper, a monthly telephone line to Clearfield, maintenance and repairs, as well as paying for the computer programmer. MR. DAVENPORT made the suggestion that the three cities look into setting up a yearly budget for operations. He said a similar Minnesota linkplan, involving a up, has been very successful. There, he said, the cities get together and take care of expenses a year ahead of time. Because of strict privacy laws, the mayor said a code will have to be devised. 40-cit- y ONE OF "the keys" to the multi-cit- y arrangement, according to Mr. Davenport , is that the governmental entities informawill be developing tion we can understand. It will be as if you have bought your own computer, he SUNSET Sunset city officials Thursday kicked off a freeze on sign construc-io- n within the city limits. 50-d- MAYOR NORM Sant asked for the moratorium to stop advertisers and local businesses from building additional signboards until the city can draft an updated sign ordinance. The council, voting unanimously in favor of the freeze, have asked for the 60-da- effected if they are not changed. In addition, certain classes of signs as defined by the ordinance cannot be changed until the plan for construction is approved by the city planning commission. It then must be okayed by the city council. y period to read a preliminary draft of a new ordinance drawn up recently by the attorney. HE ADDED that if people or businesses change, reconstruct or move existing signs, they will have to follow the new ordinance. But signs currently standing will not be citys FUTURE SIGNS cannot be attached to a building, the attorney noted, if part of the sign interferes with a neighbor- ing THE MAYOR had asked Atty. Steven Bailey to formulate a more definitive ordinance for the city, since the old ordinance gave few details and was wide open, according to Mayor Sant. Mr. Bailey Thursday presented the council with an draft of the ordinance with specifications ranging from required dimensions for signs to the accepted zoning areas for the signs. THE ATTORNEY was particularly interested in making an ordinance which would not be discriminatory to anyone, and warned the city council Bailey, certain stringent re- quirements w'ill have to be met by all the sign owners. THE NEW ordinance, if approved by the council, defines specifically the types of signs, their required dimensions and where they can be located in the city. When something is referred to m the ordinance, we can know what the sign is, Atty. Bailey said, emphasizing the importance of sign dimensions as a requirement of the city. He said the heighth of the sign will be determined by zoning. hapha- zardly placed on corners and traffic intersections. The reason behind this, he said, is to prevent people from installing signs that may cut down on driver visibility or hamper the flow of traffic in the area. In the new draft, all signs must be kept in good condition. We dont want junky signs, he said. The council has heard complaints in months past that some existing signs have blown down due to severe canyon winds, and they are anxious to correct the problem. IF THEYRE going to advertise their products, that incoming businesses should be given the same treatment, under the ordinance, as companies already in the city. We have to set standards not only applicable to Sunset he said, "but to businesses, people w'ho come in from the outside, According to Mr. landowners property, neither can signs be ' Atty. Bailey told the council, then they have to take care of it (sign). He explained that any sign not being maintained by the owner jeopardizes the lawful power of the ordinance. He said the city council will have the power, under the new ordinance, to take action on the problem. This would apply only to new signs put up after the drafting of the new ordinance, he said, because the is not retroacordinance tive. Therefore, existing signs are not subject to the penalties of the new draft, unless the owner decides to move or change the sign. SIGNS WOULD have to be a minimum of ten feet above ex- isting roadways and side- walks, he added, and the owners name would be required on the sign in a clearly visible location. Off Sign In the event that a sign is taken down, the owner will be responsible for restoring the space to its natural state. If the owner fails, he will be chargud for costs incurred by the city in the clean-ueffort. THE COUNCIL has asked for a two week period to look over the attorneys proposed ordinance. Mayor Sant, in his final p Moratorium comments about the draft, said the citys old ordinance is not specific enough. THE NEW ordinance, he said, is more definitive and allows only certain signs in certain zoned areas. He and the council all agreed that they should have the final say on granting licenses for signs. If their prop- - payers Association, recently sent a letter to approximately 90 Davis County members raising several loaded questions and jumping to some osal is drafted, the planning commission will be required to give a recommendation, either pro or con, after which the council will make the final decision. IF THE person feels he is being discriminated against, Mayor Sant said, he has the right to appeal the case to a court of law. Cuts Cover Wide Range By TOM BUSSELBERG maintenance personnel, for added dollars. Those would come from an emergency tax levy or a voted leeway. $160,000 savings. FARMINGTON The $1.6 million in program cuts made by the Davis School District before the start of the current school year have affected many and varied programs in the district. THE CUTS were made by the district after three citizens committees met and prioritized possible cost reductions based on data provided by district officials. The reductions were needed, the administration explained, to keep the $60 million budget in balance. The problem stemmed from a continual draining of federal impact aid funds by the federal government. That support for the studnets whose parents work at Hill Air live and-o- r Force Base has steadily dropfrom more than $2.8 ped million in 1976-7to $2 million last year with slightly less projected for this school year. THAT DROP coupled with g eninflation and rollments led the district to take out its pruning shears. The largest cut came in a reduction in the number of teachers per capita, raising the pupil teacher ratio by about V to one student per teacher. ever-risin- That action saved a projected $743,740, or nearly half the $1.6 million. Other cuts in? eluded savings in senior high athletics by implementing fees of $43,860; reducing hours worked by elementary library aides to 6'A hours daily, for a $30,000 savings; increasing summer school fees, netting $35,000; and staff reduction of secretaries, custodians and CUTS STARTED at the front office, however, with a reduction of central office staff bringing $211,000 in sav- ings the next highest amount of projected savings after the teacher per capita reduction. Still other changes: a reduction in school nurse coverage by half was projected to save $50,000; retiring of two counselors netted to save $37,500; implementation of a $30 per semester elementary string music fee should bring $60,000. THAT FEE change, as well as the dropping of junior high competitive football, softball and baseball, has more than raised the eyebrows of some students and parents. The athletic cuts were projected to save $46,100 (see related article about citizens committee study of fee and other changes). It was thought a supplies fee would save $12,000 while dis- continuation of homebound teachers would save $75,000. Elimination of the activity bus for after school activities should save $50,000 while a doubling of the drivers education fee, from $5 to $10, should add $15,000. A RAISING of fines for lost and damaged books should net another $14,000 while discontinuation of towel service in secondary schools should save $15,000, according to figures released by the Davis School District. Even with these cuts, district officials have said the going will be rough without Questionnaire Jumps To Loaded Conclusions THE emergency levy can be imposed by the school board without voter support while the voted leeway must receive voter approval. Voters are being asked to vote their feelings on the three mill proposal Oct. 2. The three mills would mean an average $21 increase in taxes to the owner of a $60,000 home. But along with the tax dollars, an additional amount would come from state funds for the first two mills generated. THE STATE funding would add about $870,000 to the $ . 1 million generated from local sources, district officials have locally-gene- rated loaded conclusions. THIS LETTER (the topic is the Davis School Districts Oct. 2 election proposing a three-mischool tax increase) contains some curious items. It flatly states: UTA feels this tax increase should be dethen oddly, it askes feated, the members how they feel about it! An accompanying questionnaire then asks whether the member is opposed to the increase, should UTA conduct a campaign against it, and will ll the member help fund the costs. THIS LEADS one to wonder about the membership of the Utah Taxpayers Association. The rolls are not open to public inspection, but occasionally newspapers report the names of officers. Among these are bankers, public utility executives, industrialists, and business leaders. I find it difficult to believe that such enlightened persons Imily by erosion of Federal resulted in has This Aid. pact severe cuts in the budget. Examples: elimination of nearly forty teaching positions causing increased classloads; reduction of elementary library services; elimination of must junior high competitive athletics; discontinuation of activity buses; cutting of nursing services; reduction of custodial services; elimination of four positions in the central office; charging fees for progx rams previously provided at no cost. THE UTA letter didnt mention these facts, facts that patrons should consider. A look at this partial list shows one thing; further reductions could substantially damage the education of thousands of Davis students, and I have to believe that UTA members dont want that to happen! I would like to believe that Utahs business leaders supschools, and port that they would appreciate the option of expressing support d for this millage high-quali- much-neede- increase. I urge UTA members to seek more qualified sources. clude the fact that Davis DAVIS SCHOOL District officials can provide data that go far beyond the statistics and simplistic conclusions of Mr. Olson from the Utah Taxpayers Association. School District is experiencing a funding crises caused primar Mary Ellen Leatham would accept slanted, un- documented material. THE LETTER did not in- 1 said. Under an emergency levy, no outside funding would be available. Other districts that have previously implemented a leeway include Ogden, with 2.02 mills in force of 2.02 approved, Murray with 5.62 being used out of 6.93 authorized, Salt Lake with 5.36 in force of nine authorized, Jordan where 3.72 of five mills approved are being used and Granite where seven of seven approved are being used. DISTRICTS can seek voter approval to levy up to 10 mills with the two mill matching for some districts, such as Davis, where property taxes provide fewer monies than other districts, such as Salt Lake and Granite, where no state support monies are provided. If voters approve the voted leeway it would take affect for school year. the 1981-82 Study Constitution Sept. 17 marks the 193rd birthday of our Constitution. By authorization of Congress and proclamation of the Presi3 dent, the week of Sept. has been designated as Constitution Week, throughout the nation. 17-2- OUR Constitution is the greatest document that has ever been written to guarantee the rights of man and has survived longer than any other federal constitutional system in the world. Our founders were religious men committed to the proposition that without religion our government cannot stand. They believed in a God, the Creator of man and of devine retribution, that man would be judged by God for their conduct toward one another. OUR UNALIENABLE rights do indeed come from God and the Constitution was written to shackle the despotism of government so we, the people could be master of our servant, the government. We must never look to government for our rights. Our founders believed in the All men are creprinciple, ated equal, expressing it as self evident. We know that no two human beings are ever created equal from birth on. Keep Coming.... You Can Never Tell Whai Will tfc tastes, physical strength, WE CANNOT force equality, and if we do try then freedom is lost. We are equal, however: before a court of law and in our rights. We have equal rights to work, go to school, buy a home, vote, free- dom of religion, the press, speech and many others. What does matter is what we make of our rights. Another desire of our founders was to Jteep government close to the people, in the cities, counties and states. Federal power was a real and grave danger to be prevented. In Article 1 Sec. 8 the very few powers of the federal government are listed and then in order to be doubly sure Article X of the Bill of Rights limited it again. OUR CONSTITUTION must be preserved but it will require study, work and diligence on all our parts. It cannot be left to someone else. It is up to each one of us. This Constitution Week is the time to start, read and study it. Fly your flag. Betty Hansen Vice Regent Sego Lily Chapter, DOAR They have different skills, By GARY R. BLODGETT CENTERVILLE Strange things happen at Centerville City Council meetings. Like the mayor said a few months back, Keep coming to our meetings, Gary, you can never tell what will happen." AND ONE of the strangest things I have experienced in more than 20 years of newsnot once, but paper reporting did happen twice, and in successive weeks. The oddity occurred during the last two meetings when the city council took action on a proposal to rezone a lot on the southeast comer of Parrish Lane and Main Street. Property owners were seeking to rezone from Agruciltural-1- , which it has for been for many years, to Commercial-the purpose of constructing a professional building on the site. 1 BRIEFLY, the oddity of the council vote which created considerable confusion was two council members voting in favor of the rezoning, one voting against, one abstaining and one council member was absent. The question that arose is simply what constitutes a majority vote of the council? Are two votes sufficient to carry the motion for rezoning? CITY ATTY. Keith Stahle opinioned last Tuesday that a majority vote of the council needed to adopt a rezoning would be three, that two votes would not constitute a maof the governing body of the city jority council. Thus, for two consecutive meetings the motion to rezone the property was defeated vote. by a very unusual BUT THE unusual council vote and the confusion that it caused is just the beginning. according to property owners. When the first vote was taken three weeks ago, Mayor Golden Allen although acting in good faith thought that the vote of the four council members present was a tie vote and that by law he had a right to cast the deciding vote. This he did, and his vote was in favor of the rezoning. there could not be a tie vote if one councilman abstains and another is absent. An abstained vote is considered no vote at MAYOR ALLEN then, again in good faith, told the property owners that the rezoning had passed and they could go ahead with the development plans for a new professional building. Property owners Jean Marshall and Beth Jarman then left the meeting thinking they had the green light to proceed with development. Now the question arises: Who is at fault for any expenses that may have incurred since the Sept. 3 council meeting? THUS, THE vote had to be two in favor and one against. And the mayor, by state statute, can vote only in the event of a tie vote among four council members. This was not the case in either the first or second of this rezoning proposal. So the black sheep I am for doing a job of interpretive reporting, of getting to the bottom of the case even though it may create problems. PROPERTY owners have alleged that they were never contacted by city officials or anyone else about the mistake in voting procedure. They said they read about it first in the Clipper. Weve put out a lot of money in development plans, etc., since being told by the mayor that the rezoning was successful, said Mrs. Jarman. Now it appears that all we can do is seek legal counsel and take the city to court. IS THE city responsible for not informing the property owners of the improper action taken at the first meeting, thus allowing them (property owners) to proceed with development plans? Property owners also accuse this reporter of creating the mess and stirring up a council on its problem by challenging the vote. Had this reporter not questioned the action, they claim, there wouldnt have been any problem and their property would have been rezoned per the first council vote. THIS MAY be true. But first, I did not I actually challenge the council vote. ques- tioned the procedure in which the vote was taken, that is the final result of the voting. As I wrote the story the day following the mind the meeting, I questioned in my own vote because a cast to the of mayor right all. BUT WHAT would have happened if la- after the building was under conter a neighbor struction or even completed decided he did not like what had been done and searched the minutes to determine the legality of the vote. Its obvious, both in the council minutes and on tape, that the vote was improper. I think it best that the dispute or misunderstanding be clarified now rather than later. IM SORRY for the property owners that they were told to go ahead with a commercial development and then be told that the council errored and that the action taken was not proper. Im convinced that the action of the council was in good faith, but good faith doesnt make things right and legal. Things could have been worse had the construction plans proceeded even further than they have already. IN MY opinion, the city could have been held liable for the mistake and all expenses that might have incurred after telling property owners that the decision was in their favor. Peronally, I think the mayor or someone should have informed the property owners immediately of the improper action taken in the first meeting. Perhaps they (city officials) thought the whole misunderstanding would be rectified at last weeks men- tal, emotional and social capabilities. meeting, that the rezoning would be approved. BUT IT wasnt, the vote was exactly the same although the councilman who abstained one week was absent the following week and the councilman absent the first week abstained the following meeting, (see front-pag- e story for actual voting. I guess the sad thing about this whole saga is that property owners must now wait again applying for rezoning ofre rlHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHk Theres no way the person, or persons, who did that senseless act of vandalism to cars parked in the lots of Bountiful Motor or Tonys Chevrolet, in Bountiful, can sleep at night if they know of the actual damage and hardship thfey have placed on owners and employees of these two new and used car dealers. THERE IS no place in society for dalism of any. kind. But the vandalism at these two dealership is the worst I believe I have ever witnessed. More than 125 vehicles, some of them 1981 model Lincolns and Chevrolets, were damaged in just" a few minutes of prank for one or a few persons. The liquid spray put on the cars will necessitate some of the cars being repainted, not just where the spray was placed but the entire car. One dealer estimated the cost to be an average of $300 per car and there were 68 cars invoved thats a total of more than $20,000! AT TONY Price Chevrolet, 123 vehicles were involved. I dont know how much it will cost to repair the damage. Were having an adjuster take inventory now, said Tony. Owners of both dealerships have offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the culprits. This is a generous offer, but only peanuts compared to the absolute senseless vandalism caused by these pranksters. vandalism-van- Lack Of Federal Funds Cancel Dog Proposal By MARK D. MICKELSEN CLEARFIELD The state has denied approval of a $5,000 grant to buy a marijuana-sniffin- g dog for the Clearfield police department. ACCORDING to Police states law enforcement officials Chief Daren Green, the scrapped the proposal due to a Tack of federal money. He said Congress, after 1980, will no longer be appropriating money under the Law Enforcement Assistance Act, and that all funding previously funneled out from the states LEAA fund will be handled through the Salt Lake Criminal Justice Office. Chief Green asked for and received approval on the grant from the Region Two Council on Criminal Justice earlier in August, but met with failure as the state decided adequate funds were not available for the dog purchase. I dont plan to give up the idea, he added, saying the purchase of the dogs will be on the police departments high priority list with regard to the budget. THE POLICE chief said the Davis County SherifT s department is stepping up their enforcement for drug crimes. He hopes this will help outlying communites as well, but is skeptical and wants a canine addition in Clearfield, at whatever cost. Though he says he has not pushed the budget matter with the council yet, Chief Green is optimistic that the money will be allotted. He said in an earlier interview that the dogs cost approximately $4,000 a piece, the additional $1,000 used to pay the expenses of the officer assigned to pick up the animal, and the cost to continue through training with the dog. THE POLICE department, according to Mr. Green, has been deficient in the manpow- the dogs have been used er to handle the narcotics cases. He said something has They are able to to be done soon, and explained that he will push for an adequ- ate amount of money ffom next years city budget to handle the cost of the purchase. The city council has been supportive of the plan, he said, and gave encouragement for the project when the subject first arose several months ago. ACCORDING to Mr. Green nationwide for several years. sniff out drugs in cars and houses without ever interferring with the rights of the owners, he noted, and are excellent drug prevention devices for schoolroom assemblies by the police de- partment. Cases involving only narco-tic- s officers take longer periods of time, he said earlier, and the gathering of evidence is much more difficult. |