Show A4 Sanpete Messenger Sanpete Wednesday September 15 2004 Valley Edition Messenger-Gunniso- Manti council and sheriff review policing activities By Judy Chanfry Staff writer N1 During the city council meeting County Sheriff Kay arson gave an accounting of the time spent patiolling and responding to complaints in the Manti atea addressed council concerns and met the new M 1— (ZAN) of- ficer Larsen stated that the sheriffs department is covering the aiea m compliance with the contract and occasionally more time is spent in Manti such as during pageant Councilman Lariy Lund sponded that the tiaffic around the elemental y school is cause for some concern "There seems to be confusion and a lot of congestion when children are being ” dropped off o answer that concern city ddmnnsliator Hill MicKclson the council that signs would be posted soon which will help " he city is awaie of those and has been winking on some solutions" said Mickelson Addition illy Lai sen will visit with the school distiict to follow up on those issues Also the sheuff was introduced to Mike Tillaek the new ANoliicei Mayor Kim Anderson would like bllack to woik with the sheriff's depaitment to enloice nuisance ordinances or other matters pertaining to 1 he ZAN officer has been given the authority to issue citations and follow up on complaints “'1 heie should be a good between winking relationship law enloicement and the ZAN ol u ei " stated Anderson Tillaek will ho tepoitimi to the council on a legulai basis hi lack stated that “so far things aie going well" in Ins new “The ordinances are position easy to understand and coopeta-tiofrom the public is great" Tillaek feels that cats are a big problem in Manti "There have been a lot ol requests for cat am totally traps and piesently out of tups” he said 1 he mayoi asked if there had been follow-uon past complaints and Tillaek assured the comic il that he has been in touch with oflenders and will again contact those who are not responding to stipulations of cita tions issued Resident Caleb Mitsvotai presented to the council the concept of creating “community currency” in Manti In his presentathe tion Mitsvotai introduced concept that modern community currencies can be created by loSuch currency cal governments may be used by individuals in the in payment for goods community and services “There are a lot of senior citizens and other talented individuals in this community that have a lot to offer in the way of skills which could be turned into community currency" stated Mitsvotai “It would be people I would trading with people like my children to stay in Manti and it seems that if we could keep our dollars here our children would stay" “The idea has merit” stated Councilman Dean Hatch “but we need more information on how il would woik” Mayor Anderson suggested that the city council do some research on the concept and return to the next council meeting to discuss whether it could be implemented in the community Mitsvotai suggested searching websites that contain the words “community currency” which would be helpful to obtain further insight Resident Mary Pipes approached the council with concerns about the city website “The website is not being used to its potential” stated Pipes “For example the front page is old news from some months ago minutes front the city council meetings are not and a lot of information in other links is no longer valid” Councilman Alan Justesen who has been winking with the website was not present at the meeting so could not answer the concerns of Pipes Council member Loren Thompson said “When I approved the website? expected a little more than what is being provided” Council member Diane Keeler suggested that the site be a little more Pipes suggested that the get someone who is about websites knowledgeable and keep the city website updated w ith current events information regarding progress on the aquatic council to visitors” stated Mayor Anderson “We may want to look at capitalizing on this home and turn it into an attraction and make it a to visitors” Anderson suggested that volunteers be sought who are willing to be available for tours during the tourist season other than just pageant time The building is an integral part of the history project pageant schedules and other information that would be helpful to visitors and citizens Mayor Anderson would like suggestions of individuals who may be interested and qualified in donating an hour or so a week to the website “Alan Justesen will be apprised of the concerns and suggestions concerning the website” stated Anderson A request was made for additional funding for repairs to the Patton lou se The imminent concern is repair to the chimney which should be done before wet weather sets in “I have visited historical homes in other communities and they seem to be a of Manti elecWith the November tions drawing near the adoption quarter percent increase in sales lax needs to be on the ballot before it can be implemented’ of the Mickelson staled that proper steps are to be taken before this happens The council shall adopt an ordinance in the next council meeting to get the tax proposal on the ballot "Also we must be cognizant of the fact that the tax is to be earmarked specifically for roads and streets of Manti City” stressed Mickelson “This should be( no problem however” he added In another matter Mickelson made the council aware that a test of the emergency sirens will be held on Saturday Sept 8 Flyers are going out to Manti households informing citizens of the three rens and what each sound indi cates A motion was made to a modified agreement prove an asset to Manti and we are glad to have it located in our area” stated Mayor Anderson Thompson said was approached by a member of the County Fair Board who commented on how good the Manti City employees were to W'ork with during the fair— the employees were accommodating and helpful Forest Service calling Six Mile fire a “success” John Hales sprouting up next spring” Soper said New trees and grasses will benefit wildlife and provide forage for livestock he added By Staff writer MANTI— Die Six Mile Fire a complete success as a tool for improving forest health fire management officials told a gathering at the Sanpete County Courthouse last week “I believe this fire is a good thing and will prove to be of great is value to our forest for years to come” said fire management officer Kim Soper at a public information meeting at the county courthouse Tuesday Sept 7 Top staff of the National Forest called the meeting to explain the Forest Service wildland fire pol icy to citizens who had expressed concern when the Six Mile fire flared into a 2 blaze Sept Sanpete County Commission chairman Greg Dettinger opened the meeting with video footage of the fire showing residents that the fire’s smoky “bark” was worse than its bite and illustrating that the fire exhibited as Soper put it “a mosaic pattern of burning mainly in conifer stands leaving aspen groves to regenerate” Soper explained the benefits of the fire It cleaned up the forest floor which was cluttered with dead and down trees It also destroyed trees that had suffered Most of these trees were conifers that had encroached upon an area once covered with aspen “Two hundred years ago this forest would have had 60 percent more aspen than it does now With some of these conifers weeded we’ll see a lot of new aspen out - Another benefit is increased water explained forest supervisor Alice Carlton When pockets of trees become too congested a significant rlmount of snow is caught in the branches and doesn’t reach the forest floor where it can become spring runoff Nancy Ross acting district ranger for the Sanpete District of Forest noted that the it used to be Forest Service policy to extinguish every fire After nearly 00 years foresters realized that philosophy was having a destructive effect by preventing the natural life cycle of the forest Fire management officials also learned that the suppression of fire together with prohibitions on logging created an abundance of fuel increasing the chances of devastating wildfires The Forest Service learned that lesson the hard way when massive fires broke out Yellowstone National Park and later in California Under the current policy fire managers carefully evaluate a fire at the outset to determine whether or not to let it bum and if so how to manage the fire and what to do if problems arise Fire officials told the meeting that some of the factors that influence the decision to permit a fire to bum and strategies for managing fires are proximity to private land and structures wildlife watershed and the “potential complexity of a fire” As an example Mortenson cated that a management assessment had been performed on or around July 29 just two days after the fire started “Considering what eventually happened with the fire we’re glad we did” said showed a map of the Forest including the area of about 2500 acres where the Six Mile fire has been burning He noted that it was completely w ithin the boundaries of what he called the “maximum manageable area” or the area wherein forest officials felt they could allow a managed fire to bum Ross pointed out that although 2500 acres sounds like a lot the maximum manageable area in question takes in over 84000 Moretcnson Ross summarized the Forest Service’s attitude toward the fire saying “We are really learning a lot from this fire We can study the environmental effects of this fire and use that information in future acres fire management” Mortenson and Soper indi Sanpete Messenger The voice nr Sanpete County since 1893 Minimum Deposit Minimum Deposit $50000 $5000000 Offices in Moroni Ephraim and Gunnison Must be eligible for membership apbe- J Anderson and Sanpete Diesel Service to begin building the structure for Sanpete Diesel Service This new business will be located at the south end of Manti “This business is tween Lee 435-436-82- 88 800-795-63- 28 Member NCUA I |