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Show PAGE 7 THE ZEPHYR/SPECIAL ELECTION ISSUE..FEBRUARY 1993 to use or abuse it, how do we get them to assist the people who live here to pay for it? I don’t know. Zephyr: What did you think of the increase in the city sales tax as a means of making tourists pay their share? Ken: It irritates me to no end to pay 8% sales tax at City Market. It just gripes me. Adair: If you're asking me should we increase our property taxes to pay for this, I would say no. I’ve gone to the Board of Equalization with a lot of people; some peoples’ taxes have been raised 200 or 300%. I see Moab in the future as something like Sedona, Arizona. And that’s a wellthought out plan and community. Zephyr: What do you think of planning and zoning in the future? Ken: It needs to be done. The city is getting stricter on its zoning, and the other day the building inspector advised someone that they couldn’t put this junk shed on their property. The person said, fine, I’ll go buy a piece of property in the county and put it out there. The county shouldn’t be a dumping ground. Let’s have some zoning and some enforcement of zoning. Then make it work and make it stick. This is a beautiful area but you come in and see junk yards. It kind of takes the edge off the beauty. Adair: First of all, much of our district is in the city and so we have to work closely with the city. We're probably going to see new subdivisions and maybe extending services even out to the county. If we do, how are we going to charge them for that? There are subdivisions in the county and I look up the zoning and the covenants and the covenants are residential. Guess what zoning did? They made them commercial. The seller didn’t even realize this. What I’m running into is they don’t seem to be checking the covenants of the subdivisions when they change the zoning. They say that the more restrictive use is the one that is chosen. Well. who’s going to decide which is the more restrictive use? It has been the building inspector. So before they go changing zonings, they should look at the covenants. Zephyr: Related to tourism, as Moab grows, we see more people in low-paying, service-related jobs. At the same time, there is a growing shortage of affordable housing. What could the county council do to alleviate the shortage? Ken: I’m not sure what a county entity can do, or whether it should be involved in public housing. Adair: We are. Ken: I know we are, and I’m not so sure that’s something government should be involved with. Private enterprise is a wonderful individual but you've got to give them the opportunity to make a profit on their investment. Adair: We have a county housing authority right? So right there, we’re in the housing business. So it behooves us to work through that housing authority or else eliminate it, one or the other. The free-enterprise system will do that kind of project, but there’s a lot of Mickey Mouse sometimes in getting a low interest loan or grant money. They work closely with the housing authority and I would like to see it expanded to that extent. Zephyr: Last question. It’s about education. I’m sure if I asked you if you were in favor of improving education, you’d say absolutely. But what specifically can the council do to help improve education in Grand County? Ken: We need to work closely with the school board and try to eek out more dollars, not so much more money but more opportunity for our kids. 1 went to school in northern Utah, in Davis County, and I can see vast discrepancies in what is provided for them as opposed to ours. I think our teachers and administrators are doing a fantastic job with what they have. But we need to have some more opportunities for them. And that has to come from the state. Adair: I’d have to investigate exactly where the schools get their money, and incidentally, I taught school here in Grand County. A.lot of people don’t realize that. Just from that meeting the other day, some of that federal lease money or something could’ve been used for..the Board of Regents stuck out in my head. As Jimmie was saying, he didn’t think any of that money should go to higher education. So I’m just assuming there are sources out there that I’m not aware of at this point in time that I could learn about. If they can be re-directed I'll look into it, but I think that’s part of the challenge that’s ahead of us. There’s so many things we have to learn on this county council. Ken: On what Adair was saying, Jimmie was talking about the mineral lease money, | believe. There’s not a whole lot you can do...they’re supposed to be funding us 58 cents an acre and we're getting 11, there’s not a whole lot left over after providing the other services and falling short, and then go into education. Zephyr: Any final comments? Adair: Not that I can think of. Ken: Nope, just thanks for this opportunity. "Politics is the art of the possible." Otto von Bismarck Tom Rees contracting Box 1806 Castle Valley Star Route Moab, Utah 84532 (801) 259-7296 DESERT HIGH.DES! oSho p DON & KAY SWASEY e Scrimshaw “@ Maps & Books © Jewelry 57 North Main Moab, Utah 84532 e Turquoise e Dinosaur Bone e Souvenirs © Jewelry Repairs @ Home Brewing Supplies Let us be your silversmith Custom Orders Welcome =*3801-259-5360 WE HAVE SPACE PHONES Meet Our Real Estate Team Doug McElhaney owner 259-6878 Norma Nunn 259-7275 Julie Bierschied 259-5670 Mike Steele 259-6543 John Sensenbrenner 259-8908 Joe D. 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