On Tuesday, Aug. 6, the Emery County Commissioners met for their regularly scheduled meeting. In this meeting, the commissioners took on a wide variety of issues, ranging from hearing a report regarding the 2024 Eastern Utah Junior Livestock Show to trying to develop an action plan regarding the Cleveland Reservoir and Don Oldham
Opening the meeting was a recognition for longtime county employee Shannon Hiat, who worked diligently to help many county areas run smoothly for 27 years. Hiat, who was not in attendance, is set to receive a plaque and gift bag honoring his dedicated service to the county.
Next on the agenda, the commissioners opened bids for a bathroom remodeling project in the county administration building. Only one bid was received by the county, with Arrowhead Construction being the lone bidder. The bids were for $176,560 for a total bathroom remodel and $41,000 to replace the plumbing and wild water lines. The Commissioners moved to accept the bid and it passed unanimously.
After this, members of the Southeastern Utah Junior Livestock Show presented to the Commissioners about the recent event. Dayton Warwood, a longtime participant in the stock show and member of the youth committee spoke to the commissioners,” I just wanted to thank you guys so much for everything that you do for it and our community.” Worwood stated,” And I’m really glad that the show could happen this year.”
The stockshow faced a last second change following a fire which destroyed parts of the historic stock show barn, which you can read more about here.
Following the presentation, the next item of business for the Commissioners was a potential donation of $250 to the Emery High Rodeo team to become a diamond-level sponsor for the group. The commission approved this donation unanimously.
Next, the Commissioners tackled easement agreements between the county and the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration. Commissioner Keven Jensen explained that the documents for these agreements were around 200 pages. It was also explained that the final document was the result of a back-and-forth effort between county attorney Mike Olsen and the administration which is why it was on the agenda for the meeting. Following this discussion, the Commissioners approved the agreements unopposed.
After this on the agenda was regarding Emery County’s participation in the opioid settlement against Kroger Co., where the company agreed to pay $1.4 billion over 11 years for its role in the opioid epidemic, with $1.2 billion set aside for state and local governments. The settlement money is to be used to address opioid addictions within communities. The Commission approved the participation in this settlement unanimously.
Following this, the next item was the granting of a special use permit between Emery County and the United States Department of Agriculture and Forest Service regarding the Trail Mountain Fire burn area. It was explained that this agreement would last 30 years until 2054, with the purpose of the agreement being to maintain the catch basins within the canyon. Commissioner Jensen expressed worry regarding the cost the county would take to maintain the catch basins. Commissioner Lynn Sittereud made the motion to table the item until they could receive more information on what the agreement would fully entail, a motion that the other Commissioners passed unopposed.
Items 10 and 11 on the agenda were the discussion of a contract between Emery County and Dal Guymon regarding groundskeeper duties at the Huntington Airport and a professional services agreement between Emery County and Deckard Technologies. Commissioner Jensen explained that the commissioners had not had time to review these agreements and looked for a motion to table these items, which the other commissioners obliged him in.
Next up on the agenda was the potential approval of the fiscal year 2025 intergovernmental County Jail agreement. Emery County Sheriff Tyson Huntington explained that the deal is with the state to occasionally house state inmates. Commissioner Jordan Leonard asked how many state inmates the jail typically houses, with Sheriff Huntington stating on average it’s about 15 to 16 state inmates. After this discussion, the Commissioners approved the agreement.
Following this, the Commissioners took on a controversial item in the potential hiring of a watershed project manager. Opening up the discussion, Commissioner Jensen stated,” It’s pretty disheartening about the political Shenanigans. With this, it shouldn’t be political. It’s just a really bummer deal.” One concerned citizen spoke to the commissioners saying,” What we need is a project coordinator. I talked with Casey Savage, who is the person overseeing the project with Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS). And he said that with the new rules that the federal government had, the project coordinator does not have to be Employed by Emery County.” he continued,” The district has told us from the beginning that we would take over the maintenance of the project that is vital to the average County project and also to Joe’s Valley Reservoir.” After hearing public comments, the commission agreed to meet with Savage to discuss further plans.
After this, the Commission moved on to the approval of a letter of intent from the Emery County Road Department to lease a tractor for weed mowing during the 2025 season. Following a brief discussion the Commissioners approved the item.
The penultimate topic of discussion for the Commissioners was developing a plan of action regarding the Cleveland Reservoir and Don Oldham. The problem in this situation is Oldham, who wants to build a cabin on property he owns, but as a result, would restrict public access to Cleveland Reservoir. Commissioner Sitterud spoke on the matter stating,” My opinion here is that because you can legally do something that doesn’t make it right … I don’t have an issue with him building a cabin on his property. I believe there’s a lot in the legal size. If they’re going to raise that water level, I don’t know if it would fit in between the road and The water line, the concern that I have though is on that conditional use when he came and presented to us. He said that in May of 2023, there was a Utah Supreme Court. The case that went in favor of the private landowner and got rid of Public Access.”
Dennis Warwood, who recently won the Republican primary for Emery County Commissioner, asked would this cabin have plumbing and if so what kind. Citing his concerns over waste that close to a public body of water especially due to the recent E.coli outbreak at Huntington Reservoir.
The Commissioners agreed it would be best not to continue until the legal council could go over the matter. The item was then tabled.
Closing out the meeting was a potential amendment to the county’s repayment of training expense policy, which makes it so if a law-enforcement officer becomes certified while the county pays for their training and then immediately jumps ship for better pay elsewhere, they would have to repay the county for the training expenses. As the policy is currently written, the full amount would be repaid regardless of if they left in two weeks or two years. The amendment would aim to make it so the repayment would be prorated based on time served with the county. Sheriff Huntington explained that he would like to be more involved with this amendment as it affects the Sheriff’s Office more than other offices, a sentiment which the Commissioners echoed, moving to table the issue for it to be further discussed with Sheriff Huntington. Following this the meeting was adjourned.
The Emery County Commission meets biweekly, with their next meeting being scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 3 p.m. in the Emery County Administration building.