The Emery County Commission held its biweekly meeting on Tuesday, May 21 in the County Administration Building in Castle Dale, Utah. Facing the commission was a loaded agenda including approving emergency management project plans and a potential repair for the Huntington entrance sign, which was recently damaged.
The first main item on the agenda was Kaylee Vanwagoner providing a safety update for the Emery County Aquatic Center. Vanwagoner explained that the pool had printed out a new set of rules for the public to make them more visible to the public.
Following the presentation from Vanwagoner, the Emery County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) spoke on Emergency Management Project Planning Templates, which are the guidelines and plans for the different safety systems across the county. This includes things like security systems in public places. After a brief discussion, the templates were approved unanimously by the commission.
ECSO also presented the council with a request to apply for the Utah Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) 2024 Planning Grant, the Emergency Support Function #10-Hazardous Materials Plan and the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG). These items allow the office to have access to hazmat suits and other protective equipment, as well as provide funding for public safety equipment. The council approved the applications for these grants unopposed.
The last item of business from ECSO was the possible approval of the application for the State Task Force Grant Application. Sheriff Tyson Huntington explained the purpose of the grant stating,” We use this money to help our task force operate. We use it to provide equipment training and drug investigations as well using it to help pay some of our full-time agents.” Again the Commission moved to approve the application, which passed successfully.
Up next on the agenda was Trudy Lund, who came with a follow-up on a previous discussion regarding property and zoning. Lund is upset over the recent use of land near her home through the use of a conditional-use permit. Lund stated that the dust and other debris caused by the new building, which she stated has caused sinus infections and other personal harm. “I’m as valuable as any person or as any company” stated Lund in her presentation. “I want the right to be done.” Lund continued before ending her presentation.
After this County Fire Warden Jeramy Jorgensen provided updates on projects in Emery County and a spring fire update on behalf of the Utah Department of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands. One of the main topics discussed was that the county has 49 red-card wildfire-qualified firefighters, which greatly helps the county if fires are to break out. It was also brought to the Commission’s attention that due to the good winters we’ve been having, the grass crop in the valleys has increased, leading to an increased risk of fire in those areas.
Next, the Commission looked to approve the release of the road construction and maintenance easement. This item was approved in the council’s April 16 meeting, but due to some wording issues, they had to revote on the issue, where again the motion passed unanimously.
The next item on the agenda was regarding a replacement project for the Huntington entrance sign. It was explained that the sign not only had outdated branding for the city but had also been damaged by heavy winds in the county. After a brief discussion of what the new sign would entail, the Commission approved the requested reimbursement amount of $2,696.
Following this, the commission took on a request from the Clerk/Auditor’s office and the Treasurer’s office for a contract with Arrowhead Construction to improve security in those offices. One employee pleaded the case for the contract saying,” If you’d like to come down and see what we go through, you’re more than welcome to. But quite frankly I’m fed up with the situation.” After this discussion, the motion was made to vote where Commissioners Jordan Leonard and Lynn Sitterud voted yes, with Commissioner Jensen being the only dissenting vote.
The next item of business was for the approval of a cooperative weed management area for the Weed and Mosquito Department. It was explained to the commission that the area would be beneficial because weeds don’t see borders, they see resources and they destroy resources. The department was also seeking approval to apply for the Russian olive Grant, which provides counties $50,000 to remove Russian Olives from creek banks and river banks. Both requests were approved unanimously by the Commission.
The next major item for the council was a funding request for a new Bridge Program. Doctor Travis Engar spoke on what this program does,” It’s a program that we use the Emergency Room to get people who have opioid use disorder or if they’re wanting to get off narcotics, we get them set up with a bridging dose while setting them up with outpatient treatment.” It was further explained that this program wouldn’t cost the county anything, as it is all paid for through the Opioid settlement. The Commission moved to vote on the item and approved the program to be funded for the next three years in the amount of $61,481 over that span.
Bookending the meeting was a discussion to organize the San Rafael Swell Special District (SRSSD) to include all the Emery County Cities. “ A couple of months ago we had a meeting with Andrew Fry, who’s a contractor with the county. He met with the federal Department of Energy who encouraged him to apply for the Energywerks application to hire someone to do a study on transitioning to green energy. Two months ago we found out phase one is not just $100,000, it turns into potentially billions of dollars in phase two.” Commissioner Jensen explained,” And the planned vision is to change the boundaries to include every town in the county … the idea is that if we were granted this money in the district, we would try and build a nuclear power plant in Green River. The idea then would be to try and get rid of all our property taxes.”
Commissioner Sitterud moved to have the motion tabled until the plan could be discussed with the legal department, but Commissioner Jensen stressed how he wanted to get this idea to the mayors of the town to get their input on the plan and that they know the county wants this. Commissioner Leonard provided his input saying that if the plan does move forward it would be good to have the mayor’s input, but that,” I think for sure we need to have more discussion with our attorney, see how it’s all going to work logistically.”
The Emery County Commission meets biweekly, with their next meeting being scheduled for Tuesday, June 4, at 3 p.m. in the Emery County Administration building.