By Julie Johansen
The Castle Dale City Council responded to a request from citizens who live on 400 West for a sidewalk at their June meeting on Thursday evening. Between 1st and 2nd North, there are no sidewalks and several citizens have previously requested sidewalks. The council told them that it would go on the Castle Valley Special Service District list in September and should be accomplished next year.
The rezoning of the old city hall property from residential to commercial was then approved by the council unanimously. A resolution to change the fees for short-term rental business licenses was also adopted by the council. Yearly licenses will be issued for $200 per year, per property.
Next, the mayor reported on the extreme water shortage for the city. Consequently, the council voted to restrict water usage to twice per week from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The city properties will only be watered once per week.
Everyone is requested to please conserve water so that the water will last longer this summer. If the current use is continued, Castle Dale could be out of water by July 2. City auditors were in attendance virtually and reported that the deficiencies from previously years have been corrected.
A motion to leave the regular meeting and enter into a public hearing to review Castle Dale City’s 2022 budgets was then approved. There were no comments and a few changes were made; the hearing was then closed and the budget was approved. The Emery County tax rate of 0.001420% was also approved. Voting by mail will be used by the city and residents who wish to not mail can drop their ballots at the county building drop box.
Land use committee reports were received from Zoning Administrator Kerry Lake. He reported a new business license renewed each year for Dailey Snack Shak. He also announced that Ted Allen has been chosen as the new chairman of the land use committee.
Britni Moreno, Castle Dale Fire Chief, stated they have had a very busy month. An appreciation BBQ was held earlier in the week, and they are working hard to involve the citizens, Moreno explained. She also reported that 13 of their 17 members have completed training to receive their red cards and be able to respond to local, state and even national fires.
Next, the city treasurer reported that both transient room taxes and sale tax are up this year compared to last year. To conclude, it was announced that the city recorder is working on the final requirements for grants for the walking/biking path along Ghost Road.