On Wednesday, Oct. 3, the Carbon County Commissioners met in the Carbon County Administration building. Among the normal business items such as the Super Service Awards, grant approvals and funding requests, the Commissioners also faced the decision to support the State in their legal battle in the Supreme Court against the United States.
Following the pledge, the first item of business was the awarding of the county’s employee of the month, which was awarded to Alyssa Rowlett from the recreation department. Rowlett, speaking on the award shared,” I appreciate it and honestly, I wouldn’t know as much as I do if I didn’t have the team I had behind me and like everyone behind me so thank you and I appreciate y’all.”
Next Tourism Specialist Tina Grange took the podium to award the Super Service Award, which goes to a person in the county who is getting out, getting involved and providing top-tier service to people exploring the corridor. This month it went to Felicia Otero from R & A Market in Helper. Reading from the nomination, Grange said,” She is friendly and fun to be around; she goes above and beyond and helps customers both inside and outside of the store. She also provides recommendations of things to do for people while they are visiting helpers which makes her a great Ambassador for our area.”
After this on the agenda, the Commissioners looked to ratify the contract between the county and the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity for the Rural County Grant. Commissioner Tony Martines spoke in support of the grant,” It’s nice to see that the state is thinking differently. It’s kind of a leap forward and a change and how they’ve done things. They don’t try to do it the same way they try to make it a little easier for the counties to get this assistance. I think it’s made a significant impact with the businesses that have applied and are using the money.” The commissioners ratified the contract.
The biggest item of the meeting came when the commissioners looked to support the state in their action against the United States in the Supreme Court. The action in question is regarding federal land in the state, which Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Attorney General Sean Reyes believe should be controlled by the state.
According to The Associated Press, “ The lawsuit targets about half of that federal land – some 29,000 square miles (75,000 square kilometers), or an area nearly as large as South Carolina. Those parcels are under land bureau management and used for energy production, grazing, mining, recreation and other purposes.”
Over 70% of Utah’s land is under federal jurisdiction. In a news conference announcing the action, Gov. Cox stated,” “Utah’s in the best position to understand and respond to the unique needs of our environment and communities.”
This is a sentiment echoed by the Commissioners, with Commissioner Martines sharing a story of when he was first in office, he met with a BLM representative from Chicago who stated that they should keep to the Rep’s vision of Utah. To this, Martines replied,” How about I come to Chicago and tell you what buildings you should knock down.” He also shared that he felt it was time for the state to push back on the matter. The other Commissioners agreed and passed the resolution supporting the state.
The final agenda item taken as the Board of Commissioners was a funding request from the Southeastern Utah Redevelopment Agency (SERDA). The same request was sent out to San Juan, Grand and Emery County. This funding would be used to continue the ongoing services that SERDA provides within the counties. Commissioner Larry Jensen added that the services that SERDA provides are critical for helping the county and the cities of Eastern Utah, doing a lot of leg work when it comes to grant applications and other such activities that the counties and cities wouldn’t have the staff to do alone. The Commissioners moved to vote and approved the funding unanimously.
The commissioners then adjourned as the Board of Commissioners and reconvened as the Board of Equalization to look at and consider approving assessor-initiated adjustments.
Following this, the meeting was adjourned.
The Carbon County Commissioners meet biweekly in the Carbon County Administration Building, with the next scheduled meeting set for Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 4:30 p.m. For those unable to attend in person, a livestream of the meeting is available on YouTube and Facebook.