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Show FG City Council to request traffic lights In a strongly worded statement, Mayor David Iloldaway asked the Pleasant Grove City Council for permission to request a traffic light at 300 E. State Road. The mayor said he felt that the city should formally ask UDOT to install a traffic light at that intersection. inter-section. The council agreed. It was stated that it is almost impossible to make a left turn onto the State Road from 300 East at any time of the day. "The way it is now it is pretty inconvenient for drivers," Mayor Holdaway noted. The council also suggested that a light should be installed at 100 E. Center. However, they felt the one at 300 E. State was the most pressing. press-ing. A letter was to be sent to UDOT asking for the traffic light. The council noted that a large proportion of city residents live east of 100 East and at high traffic times it is impossible to cross that street, especially at Center St. and 200 South. In otherbusiness, City Justice of the Peace Keith Anderson asked the city council to consider allowing him to be included in the city health insurance plan. Last month the council had discussed dis-cussed this request and said that it would be alright if he paid his own premiums since he is considered to be a part-time employee and that is city policy. The judge told the council that he felt his situation was a little different from the average part-time part-time employee in that he is on call 24 hours per day, seven days a week, including all hours of the night. He reported that he could have been on the city's insurance all along as a benefit but had not done so. He has been a judge for the city for about 20 years, he said. Mayor Holdaway said that the cityhas several employeeslisted as fulltime-part-time employees such as public safety dispatchers, librarians li-brarians and a couple of people in the Recreation Dept. They do not have city insurance benefits, he added. He noted that the council members mem-bers have been offered city insurance insur-ance if they did not already have it, as a benefit, so to speak, for being a council member. Judge Anderson said that the council should consider that since he could have been on the insurance insur-ance all these years, he should be allowed to go on it now. Mayor Holdaway explained that it has just been a policy of the city that part-time employees not be given insurance. Councilman Dale Warburton told the council that a new state law requires corporations which offer health insurance benefits to employees to make it available to all employees who work more than 17 and one-half hours per week. The city does not have to comply with this new law until the beginning begin-ning of the new fiscal year which begins July 1, it was explained. Council members indicated that if they gave the judge the insurance benefits it would set a precedent which would apply to anyone in similar circumstances who are working for the city. The cost of the premium would be $290 per month, approximately, according to City Recorder K. A. Driggs. The council also questioned whether the insurance company should be turned in at City Hall. First prize will be $50. The city has decided to have a new city logo designed as the old one is very outdated. Everyone is invited to submit a design. The council does reserve the right to have a logo professionally designed if necessary. However, the prize for the best judged entry will still be awarded. Winners will be announced at the city council meeting on March 7. The council approved acceptance accep-tance of a quit claim deed for a roadway right-of-way from the LDS Church. The property is just east of the Murdock Canal off Nathaniel Drive. The church is building a new chapel at that location but the city has plans for a road just west of the church site. The city will be proceeding with foreclosures on properties which are seriously delinquent on Special Improvement District payments. All of the properties in question are at least two years in arrears. The council was told that when these payments are seriously delinquent de-linquent the city can demand payment pay-ment of the balance, not just the part that is delinquent. The council said it was not fair for the taxpayers to subsidize these delinquent accounts. The city has to make the payments on these improvement districts on time whether or not the property owners have paid their share. Councilman Lloyd Ash reported that the usage of the library is up 25 per cent over last year. He said that means that 25 per cent more books are being checked out. He said the percentage of people would even accept the application at this time. Councilmembers suggested that the questions of whether the judge could qualify for the insurance insur-ance and what the impact of the newrules wouldbe, as well as what the impact of such a policy change would be for other part-time city employees, be looked into before a final decision was made. The council approved the city's public meeting schedule for the coming year. City Council meetings will still be held on the first and third Tuesdays Tues-days of each month at 7 p.m. with the exception of holding meetings on Wednesday, July 5, because of the July 4 holiday, and on Wednesday, Wednes-day, Nov. 8, because of the general election. The Planning Commission will meet the last Thursday of each month. The Board of Adjustments has no set date for meeting. The deadline for the city logo contest will be Mar. 1. Entries actually using tne library lor study and research had greatly increased but they did not keep figures on "that. ' ' He added that 6,000 more library li-brary cards had been issued in recent months. Councilman Ash also reported that they have had quite a snow removal episode because of all the storms. He said the residents should be reminded that the city has a priority prior-ity system for plowing the roads and the main arteries are done first and then they go back and do the side streets. He noted that Pleasant Grove is one of the few cities left that tries to get most of streets in the city plowed, and not just the main routes. The council asked City Recorder Driggs to determine how much money is available in the capital projects fund as the city would like to begin consideration of a fire and ambulance facility which is next on the priority list. |
