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Show WEEKLY REFLEX, DAVIS NEWS, JOURNAL, APRIL 25, 1984 ns Seeks Group Answer To Utility Rates, Sets Hearings By TOM BUSSELBERG North County Editor - BOUNTIFUL Nearly everyones let out a gripe about utility few these rates, years, and wondered what could be done to past from costs rising so fast. keep THE LEAGUE of Women Voters of Davis County, meanwhile, has spearheaded a "Utility Rates and Regulation study chaired by Lynette Wilson of Bountiful. She helped formulate materials leading to legislation that gave the Public Service Commission separate identity and technical staff. The League is sponsoring two public meetings: May 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bountiful Community Church and May 9 at 9:30 a.m. at the church. The public is invited. Production workers at the Pioneer Adult Rehabilitation Center are in need of more space, thunks to a growth SPACE NEEDED in clients and contracts, agreed. A green light. By TOM BUSSELBERG CLEARFIELD - Business is for the Pioneer Adult Rebooming habilitation Center in Clearfield. -- its so good theyve run out of production space and are looking for more. Their plea, carried by Director Robert Daniels and District Program Coordinator Stephen Whitesides, was picked from the up and given the board of education last week. That clears the way for the cen- -' g ter to begin its effort, seeking individual and business support that hopefully will pave the way for new, additional facilities. IN FACT, go-ahe- fund-raisin- STATE TAX laws allow a tax credit for donations to a sheltered workshop such as PARC, that r serves mentally and physically retarded and disabled residents from ' throughout Davis County. An indi By NORMA PREECE vidual may contribute up to $400 $200-ta- x and receive a 50 percent--o- r credit. Fora business, that goes up to $2,000 with half of that allowable as a tax credit. Located in the old Pioneer Elementary School near down- town Clearfield, production lines are set up primarily in the old multipurpose room while the halls are filled with boxes of materials waiting for processing. There is sufficient classroom space for instructional-type programs, the board has been assured. THOSE CLIENTS who are able are placed on different production projects, earning a piece rate that offers them an income helping give them independence and also offers a service to a variety of businesses at a more economical rate, Mr. Whitesides noted. Currently, HAFB supplies the largest contract ever handled by the center, worth fund-raisin- g the board of education has program has been given the $234,000 and involves sorting through scrap material, with 45 tons still left to be done. The eight clients and supervisor, though, have to be housed in a large Freeport Center warehouse where conditions allow work only six months a year. THEY NEED the space to do the program to earn the money, Mr. Whitesides emphasized, noting donations should be made directly to the Sheltered Workshop, 435 S. Main, Clearfield, 84015. Mr. Daniels said he'd initially like to finance a 2,000 square foot that could be moved if facility-o- ne PARC should be relocated. That could later be expanded to five times that size, he told the board. About $20,000 existing funds hopefully can be pumped into the build0 ing program, he said, noting funds from of collected percent firms participating in the produc 55-6- Off To Girh was selected as an alternate. THE GIRLS, all juniors are ..being sponsored by the American ..Legion Auxiliary Unit No. 82 of Kaysville with Mrs. Ina Cheney as u non-prof- project, it NOTING ITS a issue, Mrs. Wilson said, for instance, that utility rates could be determined in several ways such as construction costs for new plants and w hether existing or new industrial customers should pay for them. And responsibility be berne for helping those unable to pay- -a vital concern-cou- ld Social Welfare or Service by legislation mandating responsibility or funding could come from utilities profits, for example. When looking at what action the state could take, that ranges from whether more planning impetus should come from state energy sources should agencies to whether other, be explored or if laws should be changed regarding profits allowed utility companies. many-facete- d School Board Pres. Sheryl Allen said in endorsing it. NOTING THE school districts d Foundation has been contacted to lend support. al newly-forme- Board Member Bruce Parry, a foundation board member, as well, said "this project more than any other has been singled out as need- IN THE SUMMARY, "A Look at Energy Economics and Energy Policy, its noted the Utah regulatory system functions "as a substitute for competition in a free market. "The regulatory environment has changed significantly in recent years as energy costs have risen "dramatically with inflation fuelling cost rises, "conservation issues have become more prominent, public interest and pressure have mounted and workloads of regulatory systems have multiplied. assistance. Supt. Lawrence Welling called current production facilities very ing disjointed and uncomfortable g plans. praised and fund-raisin- RATES ARE determined by several factors, the paper continues: the amount invested in facilities by a utility; expenses for wages, operation and maintenance, customer services, materials and supplies, administration and interest and taxes; overall rate of return including shareholder profit plus funds available to pay interest on borrowed funds; how rates should be allocated among residential, commercial and industrial customers and energy costs. Utilities are not guaranteed a profit at any level. Rather the PSC gives a utility an opportunity to make a profit," making for the challenge in a rate case, the study indicates. COMBINED COSTS of basic fuel and capital investment take s s of UP&Ls revenues and up to nearly from Mountain Fuel Supply. Capital investment costs have risen dramatically while real and anticipated growth in electricity demand brought investment in generation capacity that netted a quadrupling in capacity. Added to that was environmento power tal protection equipment that added at least plant costs. How efficiently utilities are managed and equitably regulated may be important but possible changes in the fundamental nature of utilities and alternative energy sources not dependent on large, centralized utilities could also be considered. 9 coal-fire- d one-fourt- live as citizens during the full period of Girls State. Elected to represent Davis High School at Girls State in Cedar City are: Kelly Dubois, left, alternate, Laurie Barlow, Nickie Kapos and Brianna Bacon. Na-tion- al Dubois of Farmington. She has a 3.99 grade point average and has been on the honor roll every term since she was a freshman student. KELLY IS a member of the Na tional Honor Society and has been actively involved in girls track for three years. She was also on the cross country team. She is a member of the Thespian Guild and also three-fourth- three-fifth- their own legislature where they present and argue their own bills, they have their own laws, enforced by themselves, and in other ways Girls State will be held June at Southern Utah State College '.Campus at Cedar City, LAURIE Barlow is the daughter ;.of Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Bar-loShe is actively engaged in ovrnany activities at Davis High. She is currently a member of the Thespian Guild and has held various roles in the schools musicals and plays. Laurie served on the sophomore committee and recently she was elected studentbody first vice pres- ident for her senior year. She is an accomplished pianist and is pre-- 1 sently accompanying Davis "Li-- I mited Edition Show Choir. NICKIE KAPOS is the daughter ; of Nick Kapos and Georgette S. j Kapos of Kaysville. She has been involved in Davis High Flag Core for two years, the latter year she j i held the position of assistant cap- tain. She held leadership positions as 9th grade second vice president, Her other activities involved at j t Davis High include being a mem-- i ber of the debate squad, Thespian ;Guild, girls track team and ATAC group. BRIANNA Bacon is the daughter ; , of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bacon of i Kaysville. She is actively involved jn many organizations at Davis member of j She is a two-yea- r the National Honor Society as well : as the Thespian Guild. She has ; appeared in leading roles in many of the high school productions. ' Brianna is active in speech and i drama and recently took first place i in with her dramatic read-inRegion She served as 7th grade vice ! president and studentbody secret-- i ary at the Kaysville Junior High. She served on the Freshman Com- mittee and was sophomore 1 st vice j president at the high school. BRIANNA was selected as the j i recipient of the Hugh OBrien i Leadership award and is presently j the choreographer for the singing at the group, "Limited Edition I nigh school. i , Selected as an alternate for Girls i State is Kelly Lynne Dubois, i daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lynn in governor down. They conduct chairman. ".n is returned to the wages. so THE AGENCY is must plow any excess funds back into the program, he indicated. Thanks to legislative action, Social Service personnel will be hoping to place more personnel at the center, Mr. Whitesides added, noting a waiting list already exists. 1 feel really positive about this clients Council). She has participated in several modeling contests and was in the Miss Utah Teen Pageant this spring. Girls who have the privilege of attending Girls State will participate and observe first hand the problems of government. They dect their own officials, from the - ; ; tion program the ATAC (All Teen Alcohol KAYSVILLE Representing .Davis High School at Girls State .Convention for the 1984 year will be Laurie Barlow, Nicki Kapos and Brianna Bacon. Kellie Dubois . A SUMMARY was prepared based around five questions: Does the consumer have an effective voice in PSC decisions? If not, what should be done? Should PSC members be elected or appointed? What factors should be included in determining utility rates? Other questions are: Who has the responsibility of financial support for those unable to pay for utility services? What action should Utah take to influence the cost of utility services? EVERY GIRL will have a definite and integral part in the functions of Girls State. The purpose is to educate the young women in the duties, privileges, rights and responsibilities of American citizenship. h CURRENT DISSATISFACTION with the system among rate payers, utilities, shareholders and regulators could be channeled towards a public debate of how to economically match future energy supply and demand and how to ensure broader participation by the state and general public in future energy decisions. the study says, stressing a need to adequately assist low income of their income, on the households who pay nearly percent for average income households. average up, five-sione-fift- h THE GIRLS will be in charge of trained and capable directors and closely chaperoned, np x I S Garbage Plant Is Muddled In Mess By GARY R. BLODGETT Clipper News Editor Is time running out for developers of the proposed garbage burn plant in Clearfield? OR WILL STUDIES now underway show that a resource recovery plant be even more profitable than first planned with garbage being input from Weber County? These are a few of the problems presently facing developers of the proposed plant. Regardless, something must be done soon, according to W'ilbur Jefferies, executive director of Wasatch Front Regional Council, and coordinator for the plant project. garbage-to-energ- Katy-Segher- y s, DEVELOPERS have got to start construction this summer so we are looking for some answers before July , said Mr. Jefferies. We have studies underway now to determine the impact of the plant with garbage being collected from about four or five Weber County communities that have shown an interest in having their garbage treated at the burn plant. He added: Now we must analyze the proposals, along with commitments already made by cities within the (Davis) county and get a plant underway just as soon as possible. MR. JEFFERIES explained that if it is decided not to accept garbage from Weber County, the plant size 1 would have to be reduced from 500 tons per day to 400 tons per day capacity. This would mean that the plant could not produce electrical power to help offset operating costs as previously planned, he said, but quickly added, The additional steam generated by the plant and not used for electricity could be sold to Hill Air Force Base which w ould bring in nearly as much revenue as the two (steam and electricity) combined. granted by Clearfield is needed before construction can begin. Thus, until Clearfield City Council approves the burn plant agreement, nothing can be done to construct the plant at the proposed site. Opposition to the plant by the Clearfield Council would void the conditional use permit and no plant could be built at that site. BUT HOW long can wait? The proposed developers wanted this plant to be a "showcase for other plants. But now the developers have at least one other project in the developing stage and after a time could walk aw'ay from this project. Katy-Seghe- OVERALL, cost of building the downsized plant and gaining revenue only through generation of steam would result in approximately the same tipping fee as the larger plant with sale of electricity," Mr. Jefferies explained. He said the contract for Hill AFB to purchase steam has been okayed by base officials and is in the hands of Pentagon officials awaiting final approval. WE HAVE? asked for an immediate answer and should get final approval within the next few weeks," he said. To date. Bountiful, Layton and Centerville have declined to sign agreements to enter into a contract with the proposed burn plant operation. Clearfield, meanwhile, holds the trump card because they have not yet decided whether or not to enter into an agreement. THE PLANT IS proposed for construction in Clearfield on property owned by Utah Department of Transportation and a conditional use" permit 20-ye- ar - THE PROPOSED Clearfield plant first planned has been in the planning stage for nearly three years and there are still many unanswered questions. However, if garbage is collected from Weber County cities the plant could be built at the original size of 500 tons per day capacity or could even be if necessary to 750 tons per day with enlarged two 375 tons per day burn units instead of two 250 tons per day burn units, Mr. Jefferies explained. THESE ARE some of the things now being studied; he said. "Hopefully, we will have some answers soon as to whether the plant will be used only for Davis County garbage; include Weber County cities in the project; or disband the project." in Layton - - - |