By Julie Johansen
Julie Jones expressed her desire to serve on the Huntington City Council, again realizing that it was only for four months until Dec. 31. This vacancy came following a string of seats left open following the passing of the former mayor and two council members.
Following a motion by the council, Huntington City Recorder Jenene Hansen performed the oath of office ceremony with Jones and she took her place in the council seat. Four others entered applications for the empty council seat, but following interviews by the council and paper votes, Jones was announced as the new member.
Business then continued as usual for the council. Resolution 13-2019 authorizing a building authority was approved. Mayor Leonard Norton will serve as the president with Jerry Livingston as vice president and the rest of the council as trustees. Ordinance 8-2019 imposing a 1% Transient Room Tax was also approved as well as amending the zoning ordinance to allow for recreational vehicles to be parked by commercial businesses.
It was then reported that no bids were received on the improvements to the city park and rodeo grounds that the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) was to fund. The council will rerun the bid notification in the spring with hopes of completing these improvements.
A motion to reduce rent charges to $100 for Cheryl Cox in the old city hall building was made and passed unanimously. This ignited discussion on the rental of city properties. The mayor asked that the council consider these properties, the old city hall and old fire station, and decide whether renting these buildings is advantageous to the city. A donation of $150 to the Emery High Rodeo team was then approved.
Next, the mayor thanked everyone on the council and city staff for their assistance during the past hectic months while going through the reorganization. He also informed the council about the bond election for Castle Valley Special Service District would be on the November election ballot and that Jacob Sharp will be attending the next council meeting to explain it. Also, he reported that Main Street will be under construction beginning in mid-September.
Chase Majors from the fire department stated that he is now the contact man to set up trainings. Wildfire certifications are short but most of Huntington’s firemen have their red card. Robert Baker reported for city maintenance that it has been busy but most everything is moving along and council members each reported progress on their responsibilities for the city. Zoning administrator Gary Arrington had no new business licenses to report but noted that there are three new homes being built in Huntington.