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Show s k Engineer Protests Editorial Please turn to page 3 N. " Vol. 4 No. 25 Thursday, June 24, 1982 20 cents single copy i Lindon Mill Levy I props Again rrimu , , , tv By LINDA HARRIS ft1liie surrounding cities have pither raised their mill levy or '! maintained the same amount, Lindon ' kinwering theirs for the second year a row Mark Palesh, City Ad- -' ministrator, said that the reduction was 2 mills and the I or last year decrease for this year will be 1.5 n J The mill levy for the coming fiscal I year will be 19.5 for general city purposes and 0.55 for the interest .' seeking fund. Mr. Palesh said that the ) Lindon city mill levy includes more than the other cities around. Some of ! the other cities "break their mill levy down into their general fund, a mill levy for water districts, and so forth. When you add up all the other small I' mill levies and franchise taxes, also, which we don't have, they are way over our taxes." Pleasant Grove's mill levy for the f coming year will be 21.3. American Fork raised theirs from 12.5 to 16. Lehi stayed the same at 18.84 ex- - eluding mill for water purchases and a seperate franchise : lax. Orem stayed the same as last year at 14.88 plus a 3 percent fran-- ' chise tax (last year's was 5 percent). Mr. Palesh attributed the city's ' ability to lower the mill levy in part to J the size of the community. "Big cities j run into a lot more expense - more emclovees and such." Also, he added, "we're trying to get our Community Progress Committee to do a lot of these things so we don't have increased taxes. The more the citizens can do themselves, the less we have to do and charge taxes for it cutting the weeds in front of their lawn, even though it's a city right-of-wa-if each one does that then we don't have to cut it." The city is en-couraging volunteerism wherever it can be utilized to help keep costs down. Chief Deputy County Assessor Craig Chynoweth stated that the property assessment for Lindon City would increase approximately two and one-ha- lf percent over last year. The increase is a summarization of assessment for the entire city based on new development."Individual property valuations will not change," he said, unless there has been a change in the property such as the addition of a garage, etc. In comparison with past years, the two and a half percent increase is relatively minor and is due to the significant drop in growth rate in Utah County, said Mr. Chynoweth. The new mill levy reflects a drop of about seven and one-ha- lf percent over last year and with no increase in the tax assessment, citizens should probably see a decrease in the dollar amount of their property taxes. ijWl)MW.WWlwHlMiW www Win mnmmmmmmminw nwMmnmniimviimi - f v ' . " " " '::J'"' ' ' "V " " f ' ' ' ' V '''' What may be the oldest useable fire engine in the state (top) came out of dry dock at the Pleasant Grove Fire Department last week as part of the annual Strawberry Days celebration. Among the floats in the mammoth parade was one carrying Miss Pleasant Grove and her attendants (bottom). Story and more photos on page 12. Starting July 1 Fire Violators Will Feel Heat in Pocketbooks Fire Chief Ray Newman reported today that the fire department will issue citations to anyone found not conforming to the city burning ordinance which takes effect July 1 through September 15. The city ordinance prohibits any open fires during these months due to the extreme fire danger that exists. During the rest of the year the citizens are required to get permission to burn from the Pleasant Grove Police Dispatcher. This is to keep the city informed of who is burning so that if a controlled fire is reported the dispatcher will known that someone is purposely burning there and avoid an unnecessary run of the fire engines. Citations will be issued to those who do not notify the city when they are going to burn, also. Before starting an open fire the person desiring to have the fire should call the police dispatch and request a burning permit. This permit is given verbally upon the conditions that: 1. the state has notified the city that it is a burning day; 2. the caller can assure that the area is a safe distance from homes, structures, trees, dry weeds or brush; 3. the area in which the burning is to occur has been cleared away from around the open fire; 4. it . is not a windy day; . 5. shovels, equipment and when possible, garden hoses will be on site to control and prevent any spreading of fire; 6. that there is at least one adult in actual attendance at the fire , at all times during the burning; 7. when possible, the burning is to be finished by 3 p.m. Requests to start a bum after 5 p.m. must be approved by a fire department officer. ' Quiet Festival Strict enforcement of the public drinking ordinance by. the Pleasant . Grove Police Department over the Strawberry Days' celebration res-ulted in a quieter than usual festival, according to Pleasant Grove , police. Police officials said that no coolers or alcoholic beveridges were allowed into the rodeo grounds and police patrolled the parks watching for illegal consumption of beveridges. They felt that this was the main reason for fewer arrests being made ' faring the celebration. r : - During the week a precision compound bow, arrows and other equipment were stolen from a truck owned by Don Halliday, 490 North 200 East. Value of the items was set a $285. Vandals pulled bushes out of the ground near the back entrance of Deseret Bank at 66 S. Main Street. Value of the bushes was $200. J. Odell Miner and E. Odell Miner Provo, reported the theft of a purebred Quarterhorse gelding from a pasture at 1400 North 500 East. The horse was valued at $1,500. 'i . Provo City Kiks to Join Timpanogos Water Agency was supposed to be the collector that would make operation of a twin aqueduct system possible, but Provo City holds the rights to the water. Officials say CUWCD and Reclamation have broken the law by going ahead with planning and construction of parts of the project without first having legally secured water to put in project facilities after completion. The say Utah's congressional delegation should avoid pushing for a potentially illegal project until the water right questions are settled. According to Christiansen, chairman of the Timpanogos Agency, other cities may follow Provo's example and ask to join the group. "I believe that by July every political subdivision in Utah County could be included in the Timp Water Management group," he said. "It won't be just eight cities. It will be all the cities and the county." Provo City brings a strength to the Agency that it did not have before, Christiansen said. "There's no question that they do," he said. "We've got to have them along with us because this problem is much bigger than just north Utah County. We're just skimming the surface. Provo is in the real guts of the issue, so they've got to be involved - as does the rest of the county." By RANDALL WRIGHT Provo City last week officially asked for membership in the Timpanogos Planning and Water Management Agency, a group of cities in north Utah County that has been fighting current plans for e Central Utah Project water pipelines for more than a year. A letter making the request, signed by Provo Mayor James E. Ferguson, was delivered last Thursday to the chairman of the Timpanogos Agency - Alpine Mayor Don A. Christiansen just before mayors of north Utah County met in Alpine's city hall to discuss the CUP controversy. Current members of the Timpanogos Agency are American fork, Pleasant Grove, Lehi, Lindon, Alpine, Highland and Cedar Hills. Provo is virtually assured of having its request for memb-ership granted, according to Christiansen. "I think I can guarantee a unanimous vote of acceptance from our seven members," he said. Pleasant Grove Mayor David Holdaway said later that he will make the formal motion to accept Provo at tne next meeting of the Agency. "The thing that makes Provo the most interesting addition to our group, as I see it," Christiansen said, "is not their size but 'heir basic involvement in the water rights issue. ' ' Provo City has extensive water holdings in the Provo River drainage - a large watershed area that is the source of all CUP water now scheduled to be transported in high-pressu-aqueducts through north Utah County to Salt Lake Valley. According to numerous water experts, the strength of Provo 'y's claim to that water - recently reaffirmed by the Utah preme Court -- - will be a major stumbling block to aqueduct Plans of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. But Provo appears to have its own reasons for joining with the Wies of north Utah County - among them the continued operation of Olmstead power plant, located at the mouth of provo Canyon. Current CUWCD pipeline plans would force the nydro-electr- power plant to close by diverting water that uld have pushed the turbines before it had a chance to reach I flumes. An alternative proposal by the Timpanogos Agency -- to improve the existing Murdock Canal and use it to transport p waler - would keep the plant operating at near peak opacity most of the year. erguson, the Provo mayor, says using the canal right-of-wa- y save Olmstead is "a very reasonable option that should not be 'gnored." 11 has some obvious merits to my community," said erguson. "And it has some real merit from the standpoint of e water conservation and development." rovo's membership in the Timpanogos Agency may give the sroup enough legal leverage to force CUWCD and Reclamation "sle, the Murdock Canal right-of-wa- or at least to bargain w"h the cities for water. At present, according to water officials in Provo and north ah County, neither Reclamation nor CUWCD has confirmed w r riShts at the necessary points of diversion to fill the v oposed Jordanelle Reservoir above Heber City. Jordanelle June 16 1982' Ksyor Don Christiansen, Chairman Timpanogos Planning and Water aocinefit Aye-ic- P.O. Box 51$ HlsM:3&Scith" Mi in lllllll;llaanrov':(Jtah 84062... Dear Don: IlllllflK con.ierrw&$W'SM City as a member. IS?-- ! Please advise us as to what process1 we should follow to obtain llh:::fs:f membershtp; I f all that is necessary U an official request, please consider this letter as such. ;.J:!.. ); Respectfully, Janes E. Ferguson - .Mayor ; t I f . i Provo City Offices 351 Vest Cemer Street Post Qthct Sox 184 Provo, IK ah Pipeline Funding May Be Illegal North Utah County mayors and Provo water officials told representatives of Senator Orrin Hatch last week that Utah's congressional delegation may be helping fund an illegal water project. Because of the efforts of Hatch and others in Washington, federal money was authorized recently for Central Utah Project's Jordan and Alpine aqueducts - a high-pressu-pipeline system beginning in Provo Canyon that is scheduled to slice through north Utah County cities enroute to Salt Lake Valley. But local officials allege that neither the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (CUP's builder) nor the Central Utah Water Conservancy District (its sponsor) have been granted con-firmed rights to enough water to fill the pipes once construction is completed - even though planning and construction of the system have gone ahead. It's a federal offense, Hatch's representatives were told, to appropriate money for a project where resources are not yet available, and Utah's congressmen have asked for funding "year after year." Reclamation has filed for enough total water to fill the pipelines, but it's not in the right place. Current plans would require exchanges for points ot uiversion high in the Provo River drainage - where Provo City has extensive rights. Because of a recent Utah Supreme Court decision in Provo's favor, however, those exchanges may be impossible. Meanwhile, the CUWCD has been advertising in the Deseret News to buy additional water rights in Utah and Salt Lake counties - possibly to use for exchanges. Provo City last week aligned itself strongly with north Utah County, officially asking for membership in the Timpanogos Planning Agency. Continued on page 3 |
