By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
The Emery County Commission convened on Tuesday, March 3, for its biweekly meeting. On the agenda for the body were grant approvals, property evaluations and a discussion on the future of utility-scale solar farms in the county.
Opening the meeting, the commission examined two right of way permits for the Bureau of Land Management. It was explained that this move would primarily be to clean out washes leading to the Buckhorn Draw. Hearing this, the commissioners moved to approve the permits.
Following this, Patsy Stoddard from the Emery County Business Chamber approached the body to discuss the recipients of the 2026 Main Street Business Grant.
“We have 30 businesses apply for that, and the grants review committee met, and they went over all of the qualifications for each of the grants and made sure that each of the businesses was acceptable. And then they made the grant awards,” shared Stoddard. “So this is just a request that those awards be approved.”
In total, $237,000 in 50/50 matching grants were awarded to businesses across Emery County. Again, with no controversy, the commission approved the list.
Next on the docket, the commissioners heard from Desirée Malley of the Emery County Library System, who presented to the body seeking acceptance of the 2026 Library Technology Grant. Malley explained that the grant would be” a total of $15,000 in reimbursement funds to purchase essential technology.”
This technology includes new computers and equipment for both patrons and staff.
In a 3-0 vote, the commission approved the grant acceptance.
The next issue for the commission to tackle was a plan of action regarding commercial property valuations. Due to changes in the state code, a specific certification is required for commercial properties. With a valuation deadline of May 22, the commissioners considered bidding out the contract to meet the time frame.
Ultimately, the commission moved to open a bidding process for an outside assessor in order to meet the deadline, while also looking at how to address the matter going forward.
Moving into the meat of the meeting, the commissioners eyed a potential ordinance prohibiting the development of utility-scale solar farms in Emery County.
“A question that I have is, in the counties, being a commissioner, what is this doing for coal usage in our power plants? Are we burning the same amount of coal or are we burning less coal with these projects?” asked Commissioner Keven Jensen.
Commissioner Dennis Worwood explained the current state of electricity production in the county,” We’ve got five smokestacks in our county. Three of them, both the Huntington plants and the 100 send their power straight to the West Coast. And people on the West Coast want a certain kind of electricity. In fact, I think there’s actually an incentive provided to the power company to utilize solar when it’s available.”
The biggest impact facing the county is tax implications, with Commissioner Jordan Leonard stating that if a solar project is structured to give the county an option to lower the tax burden on citizens, he would be willing to take a look at it.
“I’m not a fan of new project areas. But if that project area could be structured in a way that might lower our property taxes, I may be in favor. So my focus as a commissioner is trying to help lower property taxes,” said Leonard.
“My preference would be to send it through planning and Zoning, get their recommendations, and then hold a public hearing where everybody could read whatever was proposed and voice their opinion,” said Worwood of the measure.
Jensen voiced opposition to the proposal, citing his past and present stance on the issue of solar farms,” I already know my decision on solar. It’s been pretty consistent since I’ve been here. So I’d probably not go for that, but if you two desire, that could be a good route.
Ultimately, the motion was made to send the ordinance to the Planning and Zoning committee for a recommendation before holding a public hearing. The motion passed 2-1, with Worwood and Leonard in favor and Jensen dissenting.
The final action item of the meeting saw the commissioners discussing issuing a request for proposal for a commercial appraisal of the county’s industrial park. Immediately, Commissioner Jensen made a motion to deny.
The issue is connected with the earlier discussion of new state statutes for commercial property evaluation. “In that state statute, it says – and I think that’s where we as a commission have the opportunity to just move forward with our county policy – because it says ‘counties may’, it doesn’t say ‘the counties have to’, it doesn’t say ‘counties shall’,” said Jensen.
In a 3-0 decision, the commissioners moved to follow the county’s existing policy to set a minimum bid, post the property, and investigate leasing with an option to purchase, while ensuring compliance with state appraisal statutes.
Following this, the meeting was adjourned.
The next meeting of the Emery County Commissioners is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, in the Emery County Administration Building.