By Wyatt Boyle | KOAL News
Joining the KOAL newsroom, Emery County Commissioner Jordan Leonard spoke on the recent Emery County Commission meeting, where issues of drought, utility solar power, an all-abilities park, student scholarships, the trails department, and the upcoming summer were discussed.
Opening our conversation, Leonard spoke to an emergency drought declaration made by the commission on May 5.
“We’re in a drought,” Leonard said. “We’re concerned about that and so we’re looking for different ways to conserve water and try to mitigate some of these issues the best we can … We’re concerned about water and hoping that we can get some early summer or spring rains to help sustain us for a while.”
Switching gears, Leonard spoke on the ongoing debate surrounding solar projects in Emery County.
“The challenge that we have with these solar projects is that we don’t have a lot of ordinances in place to – I guess, ‘guardrail’ so to say – and so [May 5] it was voted on to look at a ban of solar and make sure that we’re listening to the public.”
Leonard expanded, “Each one of these solar projects presents issues. With Poison Springs, you have deer migration, there are grazing allotments that are impacted, and then we have residential issues with the Huntington River solar right near people’s residences … we have adjacent landowners that are heavily concerned that it’s going to impact their cattle operations. So, there are a lot of concerns surrounding all of these solar projects.
Continued the Commissioner,” Enough is enough, and the community has spoken. We still have to work through the ordinance and what it’s specifically going to say, but right now we’re putting a pause to everything.”
Utility-scale solar projects have not been banned in Emery County, as the body is currently drafting the ordinance. Leonard shared what he thinks the ordinance may potentially look like: “It still needs to be voted on for a final resolution, but that’s where I feel like it may be going,” Leonard said. “For people who haven’t been following along with this saga, this isn’t something that is just a flick of a switch overnight … Each project presents a challenge because we don’t have specific rules, guidelines and guardrails. So it puts us in a really, really tough spot.”
Leonard continued, “Some of these projects have been in the works for years, and we don’t hear about them until they are thrown on our desk. We don’t want that to happen anymore. We want to understand what’s coming down the pipeline for the industry and be more transparent and communicative with our industry partners to understand their needs. And so I think a pause right now – and a ban on solar – is probably the best route right now.”
Moving onto lighter topics, the Commissioner then spoke on the approval of a land donation for an all abilities park being constructed in Caste Dale.
“We’ve given them land up by our swimming pool,” Leonard said. “This project is going to be great. They [Castle Dale City] needed a bit more land than they had asked for, so we approved giving them a bit more to build a larger park. We’re really excited to see what it looks like, and to see if the community comes out and supports it … We’re excited to have this recreational opportunity for our citizens.”
Next, Leonard spoke about a donation to high schoolers Trey Pope and Devon Farley, providing them with funding to attend the American Legion Boys State program.
“It’s always great to get the youth involved in government,” Leonard said. “They’ll learn a lot of valuable lessons, rub shoulders with people, and network. That’s a big deal, too. Whether they’re meeting with legislators or different government leaders, mayors, city councils, they can build those relationships for the future.”
Leonard then spoke briefly on the Trails Committee and their upcoming plans in the county. He gave a warning to anyone out and about in the county.
“Trails after the winter become a little soft, just be aware that they’re not compacted yet,” Leonard said. “There’s the concern of having horsemen on bike trails if it has rained. So just be aware of what happens to trails and the impact of different uses. We support all uses in the county, just be aware of the different uses and how they are impacted.”
Closing our conversation, Leonard stated,” We have board openings right now. We have some for planning and zoning, and we’re interested in filling some of our other boards. If you’re interested in serving on any of our County boards, we love participation.
For more information on the Emery County Commission, visit their website here.