By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
The Carbon County Board of Commissioners gathered in their chambers on Wednesday, April 2, for its biweekly meeting. The meeting featured standard fare, such as awarding the county’s Super Service and Employee of the Month awards; the Commissioners also authorized an interlocal agreement for the RC Solar Community Reinvestment Project Area.
Kellie Payne opened the meeting with the presentation of the Employee of the Month, which went to Steve Maxfield of the IT department. Communication Technician Zack Wise said of Maxwell,” I’m one of the longtimers with the county. And in the last couple of months, I’ve switched over to the communications department, which I absolutely love. But in the last six months, Steve has bent over backward to help me learn things, and he is so patient and understanding and never berating or belittling. He brings it down to my level and my terms and will spend the extra time with me.”
In addition to this recognition, Maxfield also celebrated his 10-year anniversary with the county.
“The things I hear that he’s done and know that he’s done to save the county money and as a steward of the public’s money, I think that’s a very important thing that we have those employees in our organization. But Steve fights to keep that cost down for our county and the public.”
Next in the limelight was Tina Grange, who presented the Super Service Award to Connor Bakelar, an employee of Taco Time.
“Connor works in the drive-thru at lunchtime. He’s always so kind and nice. He gives great recommendations and is always so pleasant and respectful,” reads Bakelar’s nomination. “I look forward to going because he’s so inviting and just makes me happy.”
With the festivities over, the Commissioners dove into business, first looking to approve a memorandum of understanding for the 2025 recipients of the 2025 Public Arts Grant. This year, the grant was awarded to Helper Brewing LLC, Alexandra Fuller, Lo and Behold LLC and the Boys & Girls Club of Price.
The grant, funded through the county’s restaurant tax, has previously gone to projects such as a faux saloon front located next to Gateway Lanes and a series of murals for Mad Man Basso Auto Sales. It is a matching grant, meaning recipients will match the grant amount with their own contribution.
Having no objections, the Commissioners approved the item unanimously.
After this, Carbon County Assessor Amy Schmidt-Peters opened sealed bids for commercial valuation services. Only one bid was placed during the RFQ period, with Johnson Appraisal – a St. George based firm – being the only bidder. Schmidt-Peters recommended that the bid be sent to the committee for further consideration, a recommendation that the Commissioners agreed on.
The remainder of the meeting’s items focused on the RC Solar Community Reinvestment Project Area under construction by rPlus Energies.
“We have in front of us an opportunity for another solar project in Carbon County,” said Commissioner Tony Martines. “We’ve had some conversations regarding incentives and timing and all of that. We’re glad to see some more growth in our community, which will help the tax base.”
This is the project’s second phase, which has needed approval from the county, the Carbon County School District, the Price River Water Improvement District and the Water Conservancy District. “The project that is in place right now, the taxes have begun to be paid as of 2024. It brought a big chunk of money for the county, the school district and the water conservancy district. It actually helps lower our home taxes. So each time these projects happen, it helps lower things.”
The company behind the solar field, rPlus Energies, has been consistently involved with the Castle Country Community. The most significant boost came from the $375,000 donation to establish two scholarships at Utah State University Eastern – the Local First and Energy First scholarships.
rPlus President Luigi Resta addressed the Commission, saying,” The RC solar project is located just to the north of the Graphite project on state land trust and the Jensen property. So, it will benefit both the children of the schools through the lease payments and the Jensen family for the next 40 years. It’s not taking any high-value land out of operation. But we look forward to moving forward with this project. It’s fully developed from land control from our conditional lease permit with the county.”
Jokingly, Commissioner Jensen noted that the Jensen property the field will sit on has no relation to him.
In total, the Commission authorized an interlocal agreement for the project, approved the execution of the agreement and authorized a participation agreement for the project.
Following this flurry of action, the meeting was adjourned.
The Carbon County Commissioners meet biweekly in the Carbon County Administration Building. The next scheduled meeting is Wednesday, April 16, at 4:30 p.m. For those unable to attend in person, a livestream of the meeting is available on YouTube and Facebook.