Minutes of the Iron County Commission meeting convened at 9:00 a.m. November 24, 1997 in Commission Chambers at the Iron County Courthouse, Parowan, Utah.

Officers in attendance included

Thomas B. Cardon Commission Chairman

Roy P. Urie Commissioner

Dennis E. Stowell Commissioner

Karla Staheli Asst. County Attorney

David I. Yardley County Clerk

Also Present

Dennis Lowder County Auditor

Dennis Ayers County Assessor

Dixie Matheson County Recorder

Merna Mitchell County Treasurer

Ira Schoppmann County Sheriff

Doug Wilson Data Processing Coordinator

SYNOPSIS :

APPROVAL OF MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 1997 1, 2

APPROVAL OF WARRANTS AND ADJOURN 5

BOARD APPOINTMENT - SOUTHWEST PUBLIC HEALTH : 4

CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS 4

CORRECTIONAL FACILITY - GARY DELAND 2

ELECTED OFFICIAL REPORTS 2

Claire Dalton 2

Dixie Matheson 2

Doug Wilson 2

Ira Schoppmann 2

Merna Mitchell 2

Tom Cardon 2

GRAZING LEASE - JOE DECKER 4

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENT - ENOCH CITY 5

LEHI WOOD - BLM LAND EXCHANGE 4

PERSONNEL MATTER - EXTENDED SICK LEAVE 5

Karen LeFevre 5

PUBLIC DEFENDER CONTRACT 1998 4

ROAD IMPROVEMENT REQUEST - BILL WEYMOUTH 3

SOLID WASTE - GARN PAGE 3

SURPLUS PROPERTY BID - TRUCK CHASSIS 2

TAX MATTER - BAUER PROPERTY 5

VISITOR CENTER - PHONE SYSTEM 4

ZONE CHANGE - YORK JONES 3

APPROVAL OF MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 1997:

Minutes of the Iron County Commission Meeting held November 10, 1997 were approved as amended on a motion by Dennis Stowell. Second was by Roy Urie. Tom Cardon voted in favor.

ELECTED OFFICIAL REPORTS :

Merna Mitchell reported that her office was very busy with tax collection. Every thing seems to be progressing well and her office staff is able to keep up with the work at this time.

Claire Dalton discussed closing the Courthouse on the day after Thanksgiving. Iron County is the only County within the Five County area that remains open. The Commission decided that this is a regular work day and all County offices will remain open this year. Claire was ask to draft a letter to Department Supervisors informing them of this decision.

Claire also discussed the Arbor Day holiday which has been taken by the County for many years. This appears to be the least accepted by the public. The Commission ask Department supervisors to discuss this with their employees and to decide if a "personal day" to replace Arbor Day should be adopted.

Doug Wilson reported that Ivan Spencer was in the processing of mapping the Class "B" roads in the County using Global Positioning. This project should give the County an accurate measurement and a more exact location of the roads.

Doug also discussed a meeting with sponsors of the County "Electronic Village". The group is sponsoring a logo contest for the village. Doug requested that the County fund $100.00 as an incentive for the best logo. Dennis Stowell made a motion to fund $100.00 as requested. Second was by Roy Urie and Tom Cardon voted in favor.

Dixie Matheson reported that at the recent UAC Conference the Recorder's Association had discussed the practice of re-recording documents without obtaining original signatures. This is often done to correct minor problems but in some Counties this has been abused by adding names, changing names etc. The Recorder's Association is opposed to this practice and are lobbying the Legislature to make this practice illegal.

Dixie also reported that meetings with County Surveyors had been very productive and she suggested that Steve Platt, Iron County Surveyor, should attend these meetings.

Ira Schoppmann reported that they were experiencing problems with the phone system in the Sheriff's Department and in the Highway Patrol. It was determined that a new system may be the only way to fix the problem and a request for proposals from telephone providers should be explored.

Tom Cardon reported that the Visitor Center was nearing completion and should be finished by December 2. A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for December 9 and he encouraged County employees to attend.

SURPLUS PROPERTY BID - TRUCK CHASSIS :

Hal Slack submitted a bid of $125.00 for a 1968 International truck chassis that has been declared surplus and has been advertised for bid. Dennis Stowell made a motion to accept the bid of Hal Slack for $125.00. Second was by Roy Urie and Tom Cardon voted in favor.

CORRECTIONAL FACILITY - GARY DELAND :

Gary Deland had been invited to the Commission meeting to discuss recommendations for the Iron County/Utah State Correctional Facility. Mr. Deland explained the history of the jail and built in problems with the design of the facility. He explained that construction costs were only one area that needed to be reviewed. Staffing costs of a facility can far outweigh construction costs and are an ongoing expenditure.

Mr. Deland explained the design of the current facility has a high guard to prisoner ratio and there is not a feasible way to remodel to make it more effective. He also suggested that the Commissioners contact Russell Gallian to see if he would share cost figures used in evaluating the Washington County jail. No action was taken by the Commission at this time.

ZONE CHANGE - YORK JONES :

York Jones came before the Commission to request a zone change on property in Cedar Canyon which they are planning to develop a gypsum mine. The zone change proposed is from A-20-H Agriculture hillside to I-1-H Industrial. The proposal has been reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission and they have recommended approval of the change. No one appeared in opposition to the change.

Roy Urie made a motion to approve the zone change as requested on the following described parcel:

The East 1/2 of the Northwest 1/4 of the Northwest 1/4 and the West 1/2 of the Northeast 1/4 of the Northwest 1/4 of Section 18, Township 36 South, Range 10 West, Salt Lake Base and Meridian.

Second was by Dennis Stowell and Tom Cardon voted in favor.

York also discussed concerns with time restraints being placed on development of the property for issuance of a conditional use permit. The Commission explained that this should be discussed at the Planning and Zoning hearing.

ROAD IMPROVEMENT REQUEST - BILL WEYMOUTH :

Bill Weymouth, representing a development group at Brian Head came before the Commission to request that a road be developed through Cedar Breaks Mountain Estates and Cedar Breaks Mountain Homesites Subdivisions to property within Brian Head Town limits which they plan on developing. This would be approximately 4,000 feet of road to be developed. They also requested that after completion, the County place this on the regular maintenance and keep it maintained in the winter.

They proposed to do the work on the road in exchange of tax write offs for up to three years on their development. The group did not have any cost estimates or preliminary engineering studies completed. The Commission tabled the request without action to allow the group to get more information on the scope of the work to be done.

SOLID WASTE - GARN PAGE :

Garn Page came before the Commission to request that the large garbage can located at the intersection of Kane Springs road and 3800 North (Chimney Meadows). He said that the current placement of the can is near his gate and that he is in the process of developing the land as residential properties. The Commission agreed to move the can further west so that it did not interfere with his property.

LEHI WOOD - BLM LAND EXCHANGE :

Lehi Wood came before the Commission with concerns over a proposed land exchange in the Beryl Area. The proposed land exchange is for lands currently located in Washington County and within the Desert Tortoise habitat. The result of this land trade will result in the reduction of current use permits for Iron County ranchers without compensation.

Dennis Stowell made a motion to write a letter opposing the land trade to the Bureau of Land Management with copies to the Congressional Delegation. Second was by Roy Urie and Tom Cardon voted in favor.

CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS :

Chad Nay came before the Commission to report on a request for a conditional use permit by Alfred Puchner on property he owns Northwest of Kanarraville. The proposal is to construct a Dude Ranch which would allow tourists a unique western experience. The matter will be heard at the Planning and Zoning meeting scheduled in January 1998.

BOARD APPOINTMENT - SOUTHWEST PUBLIC HEALTH :

Roy Urie made a motion to appoint Russell Anderson to a five year term on the Southwest Public Health Board of Directors. Second was by Dennis Stowell and Tom Cardon voted in favor.

PUBLIC DEFENDER CONTRACT 1998 :

Bids to provide public defender service for 1998 were reviewed and the bid of the Parke Firm was approved for $92,500 and in case of a capital offense an additional $25,000. Roy Urie made a motion to accept the bid of the Parke Firm and to authorize the Commission Chairman to sign the contract. Second was by Tom Cardon. Commissioner Stowell was not present for this vote.

Other attorneys submitting bids included William H. Leigh and Rick D. Bonewell.

VISITOR CENTER - PHONE SYSTEM :

Tom Cardon reported that the visitor center was nearing completion and that phones needed to be purchased for that building. Commissioner Urie made a motion to approve up to $3,000 for a phone system for the visitor center. Second was by Tom Cardon. Commissioner Stowell was not present for this vote.

GRAZING LEASE - JOE DECKER :

Joe Decker presented a request to lease county owned property between Summit and Parowan. The property is being used as a gravel pit and county use will not be curtailed.

Mr. Decker proposed to repair the fences around the parcel and to construct additional fence if needed for the first year rent. After that he will pay the normal rate for dry pasture, estimated at this time to be about $3.00 per month per animal.

Roy Urie made a motion to approve the lease for ten years with a County option to terminate at any time. Second was by Tom Cardon. Commissioner Stowell was not present for this vote.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENT - ENOCH CITY :

An agreement between Iron County and Enoch City to provide law enforcement was approved after being reviewed by the County Attorney. The agreement takes effect on July 1, 1997 and is renewable annually. Upon the recommendation of the County Attorney, Dennis Stowell made a motion to approve the agreement and to authorize signatures. Second was by Roy Urie and Tom Cardon voted in favor.

PERSONNEL MATTER - EXTENDED SICK LEAVE :

David Yardley presented a request for extended sick leave for Karen LeFevre as required by the Personnel Policy. Karen has sufficient sick leave accrued to cover the request. Roy Urie made a motion to approve the extended sick leave as requested. Second was by Dennis Stowell and Tom Cardon voted in favor.

TAX MATTER - BAUER PROPERTY :

David Yardley reported that he had researched the minutes as requested. On February 10, 1997 Dennis and Bud Bauer came before the Commission to request property they were in the process of foreclosing on be placed in greenbelt for tax purposes. They also request that this designation be made retroactive for 1996. At that time the Commission ruled that the property could be returned to greenbelt for 1997. Because the Bauer's had transferred title to the property for the 1996 tax year, and because the owners of record had been informed several times that it was their responsibility to apply for greenbelt but had failed to take advantage of this opportunity, the property taxes for 1996 could not be adjusted to greenbelt rates. The Commission approved a waiver of interest and penalty.

David Yardley was ask to write a letter to the Bauer's explaining the County position.

APPROVAL OF WARRANTS AND ADJOURN :

After the bills were reviewed and either approved or rejected, the meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.

Signed: Thomas B. Cardon, Chairman

Attest: David I. Yardley, County Clerk