By Julie Johansen
Nov. 19 was the only Emery County Commission meeting in November because the first Tuesday was Election Day. Being the only meeting, the month the agenda was full. Following the approval of the consent agenda, Commissioner Keven Jensen drew the names for the Safety Visa Gift Cards. Those individuals were Kay Johnson, Robert Riley, Timothy Larsen and Kelly Oldroyd.
A motion was then made to enter in to a public hearing concerning the annexation of portions of the cities and towns of Emery County into the Castle Valley Special Service District. This notice had been posted for four consecutive weeks required for a public hearing before being adopted and has a public comment period for 60 days after the hearing.
Because of the later date for the meeting, several ratifications were needed on county business actions. A contract with Arrowhead Construction for remodeling in the County Administration Building, a service line agreement with Enbridge Gas Utah for the gas line at the Senior Citizen Center in Huntington, as well as with Rocky Mountain Power for service, were ratified.
Also the Beer Tax for Fiscal Year 2024 was ratified by the commission. An application to the Rural County Grant Part B for the general plan north of the Research Center and also for FLAP Grant application to be used for road improvement towards the Jurassic Monument were ratified.
A contract with the State of Utah Department of Aeronautical Operations to replace/repair the weather station that is used to help landings at the Huntington Airport received ratification. The Emery County General Plan RFP was awarded to Bio-West. The State of Utah paid $2,111,144.00 to Emery County for the San Rafael Energy Research Center.
Then, Extension Agent Rowe Zwahlen explained and detailed the services they give to the citizens of Emery County and the contract with the USU Extension Service for 2025 was approved for the ninetieth year (since 1934) in Emery County.
A onetime cost of living payment was approved for employees. The emergency procurement of a furnace for Orangeville Library was approved by two commissioners with one abstention. County Clerk Brenda Tuttle recommended non-approval as conditions for purchasing had not been met.
During elected officials reports, Commissioner Jordan Leonard spoke about controversy caused by a citizen request to build cabins by Cleveland Reservoir and the access to the lake for other citizens. They will continue to work for maintaining access to the lake.