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Show SPANISH FORK WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 • A7 Covering what matters most Salem looks Brown honored by SF city at impact fees Christy Hardman STAFF WRITER Amy Connelly STAFF WRITER Salem City Council met on Wednesday, May 20. The meeting began with a public hearing for an ordinance amending the performance standards for planned unit developments. Once the public hearing closed, the council passed an ordinance amending the timing of the collection of impact fees. This ordinance allows for the impact fees to be paid at the issuing of a resident's building permits. The permits must be issued prior to June 30, 2010. If the fees are not paid timely, the City may reftise to issue a certificate of occupancy and terminate all utility services to the property. Mayor Henderson.said, "We will still get the impact fees; this is just a way to help the economy." The council then passed an ordinance amending the signage ordinance of the Salem Municipal Codes. The previous signage ordinance was causing issues for the grocery store, Crisps, because they will need advertisements for their additional stores. This ordinance allows for different height standards for different areas. For example, commercial centers that own five acres of land will be allowed to have a sign that encompasses 160 square feet. If they are over five acres, they will be allowed 200 square feet for their signage. Next the council discussed the Red Hat and Lion's Club agreements in order to rent out the Salem community center for noncity events. The Red Hat Club agreement stated that the club would deep clean the building quarterly, and their agreement would be on a year-by-year basis. The Lion's Club agreement stated that they would organize the Memorial Day celebration, 4th of July celebration and the Salem Days breakfast. Tom Tollman, the Lion's Club president, was present at the meeting, and he addressed the council with his concerns and questions regarding the agreement. The Lion's Club currently has 23 members that have paid the initiation dues, and only five people were present at the club meeting on May 20. He even brought suggestions to the council, such as having the city charge for the Salem Days breakfast. Mayor Henderson mentioned that Salem is the only city that still offers a free breakfast, and he said, "We are the only city that does, and I hope we can still do it." The council decided to table both of the agreements for further discussion. The chief of police then approached the council to ask for the approval to spend money from a fund that was given to the city by a family for the Salem City Police Department. The council granted the request, and some of theftindwill now be spent to purchase nine new protective vests for the Police Department and a new Crime Analysis Software program. The vests are being purchased because the current vests have expired while the software is being purchased because it will provide up to the minute data on crime trends in Salem. The vests should only cost $3,755.50 from the funds, bur that is only if the city gets-a grant from the state to cover the rest. The total cost of the vests is $7 351, and the council also stated that the department could cover the whole cost if they do not receive the grant from the state. The software has been made available to the city for $5,500, but this price only lasts until June 18. In September, the software would cost the department $17,000. Once the meeting was adjourned, the council held an executive session for land acquisition. The Spanish Fork city council met at 5:30 p.m. on May 19. One of the first items of business was naming Head Golf Pro Aaron Brown as the city employee of the quarter. City employees nominate people they feel are deserving of this award, and the names are taken to the department heads who then vote on the winner. Brown said he was both surprised and excited to receive the award. "I work with a lot of other city employees, and I always try to nominate someone I feel is deserving, but it was really humbling to get it," he said. The award was presented by Dale Robinson, Spanish Fork City Parks and Recreation Director. The Strawberry Days royalty of Pleasant Grove brought cheesecake to the council with an invitation to Spanish Fork to participate in Strawberry Days June 17-20, 2009. They have a rodeo every night during their city celebration. On Tuesday, June 16, 2009 they have a conceit in the city park with free strawberries and cream. The Pleasant Grove city royalty invited all residents of Spanish Fork to join them in their festivities. Councilman Richard M. Davis extended a thank you to all the volunteers who participated in the planting of the boxes on Saturday, May 16, 2009. He also reminded everyone to go to the cemetery on May 20 to put up the crosses and flags for the veterans. Davis also said he wanted to put in a plug for the ballparks. "We went out the other night and had hamburgers at the concession stand there, and they were so good," he said. "I was surprised there weren't very many people there watching the games." He made an invitation to community members and parents to come out and watch games. Councilman Wayne Christy Hardman / Spanish Fork News EMPLOYEE OF THE QUARTER: SF Parks and Recreation Director Dale Robinson congratulates Aaron Brown on being named employee of the quarter. Andersen read a letter to Mayor Joe Thomas' family, thanking them for storing the Strawberry water shares on their property. The letter expressed appreciation to 'the Thomas family since the city lacks sufficient land to acquire the water shares, and the shares are vital to the city. The Thomas family is holding 91.68 shares on their property, allowing- the city to keep that water for use. City Attorney Junior Baker commended the Thomases for this service, and reiterated that they are receiving no benefit for storing the shares. Mayor Joe Thomas said he had the opportunity to attend the 2009 Utah Genius Awards, where Spanish Fork took fifth place, tied with Draper, for the most patents filed in Utah in 2009. The Utah Genius Awards was organized to recognize those who are Recycling set to begin in SF Salem Library The Spanish Fork City Council approved a voluntary recycling program for theresidentsof Spanish Fork. The program will begin in June 2009, and residents will soon be able recycle much of their garbage instead of just throwing it away. Spanish Fork City asked for bids from recycling companies in April 2008, and received three bids. All bids required a large number of subscribers before a voluntary program would begin, and the bid selected by the city from Allied Waste required that the City have 2,000 subscribers before a voluntary program begin. The council approved the concept and asked staff to begin gathering names to see if a recycling program was wanted. After several months of gathering subscribers through various city and volunteer efforts, the city reached 1,400 names and approached Allied Waste about starting the program before reaching the 2,000 mark. They agreed to begin with a simple rate adjustment of 17 cents per subscriber, an amount which will drop off once the City surpasses 2,000 subscrib• ' . : ; • ! : . • ' / • ' • ers. About reaching 1,400 subscribers, Seth Perrins, Assistant City Manager said, "This is a major accomplishment for our residents. Having about 15 percent of our community sign up for a program before it begins shows tremendous support and desire in this program." This program will be a voluntary program, which means that residents can sign up for the program if they want it. If you do not want it, you do not have to pay for it. Residents that have signed up for the recycling program will receive a blue container, similar in size and shape to their current black garbage can. This container will be picked up every other week; the day of the week will vary, depending on location. The cost for this service will be $6 every month and this fee will be a part of their city utility bill. Cans will be delivered to subscribers in the middle of May and specific instructions will be given to the residents at that time. To sign up for this program, call the city at 8044500 or go to the City's website at www.spanishfork .org/recycling. contributing to the innovation and "entrepreneurial activity" of residents in Utah. ' Mayor Thomas said he is proud of the contributions of Spanish Fork. "This shows that we have a high number of folks right her in our city who are actively engaged in creating patents, mat contribute to our economic development. We can hold this up and say we have a great labor force that is pretty darn tough to beat." Thomas said there are photos of the event at utahgenius .com. The trophy will be on display at the city building. City Attorney Junior Baker presented the proclamation of Cancer Awareness Weeks, which will be held the first two weeks in June. He also presented the Utah State contract on the Court Lease for the Fourth District Courthouse con- taining the Spanish Fork Police Department and the courts. He said the state wants to reserve more property to the east of the courthouse so they can eventually expand the facility to have six courtrooms. Baker said that even though Provo's judicial court will always be bigger, the facility in Spanish Fork has more accessible parking. "This will be the key judicial facility in all of south Utah County," he said. The council approved the contract. The council held a discussion on the Main Street and Volunteer Drive project, which includes plans for a stop light at the intersection. Public Works Director Richard Heap said they are hoping to convince UDOT to move the stoplight up on the agenda so it can go in sooner. Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News TASTE TEST: Salem Library held a pizza-tasting contest and concert Thursday, May 21. Pizzerias from Spanish Fork, Salem and Payson participated in the contest. Later, bands composed of Salem Hills High Schools students performed, including the Soda Pop Professors. Over 60 people attended the event. Pictured above, Angela and Spencer Vance deliberate over which pizza is best. Winners in the four categories were: Best Cheese — Pizza Factory, SF; Best Sauce — Dominos, Payson; Best Crust — (tie) 5 Buck Pizza, SF, and Two Jacks, SF; Best Overall — Pizza Factory, SF. |