The Carbon County Commission held their last meeting of the year on Dec. 18, which also served as Commissioner Casey Hopes’ last meeting as a commissioner.
Commissioner Hopes immediately wanted to address the recent vandalism that has been taking place at the Carbon County ice pond. Hopes explained that individuals have been throwing rocks into the ice pond, breaking up the ice. This takes away the opportunity for anyone wanting to utilize the ice pond and takes time and money to go out and fix it. Hopes advised that if anyone has more information on who may be doing this to please ask them to stop.
Randy Edwards was in attendance to present individuals with the Patriot Award, from the Utah Department of Defense. The award was presented to local managers and supervisors who are supportive in allowing those who are enlisted to take the time off. Kellie Payne, Adam Cox, Jeff Wood and Cletus Steele were all award the Patriot Award.
Shanny Wilson, Carbon County Tourism Director, discussed the property along Ridge Road that the county recently purchased. Wilson advised that Clean Development International is ready to begin moving in and would like an agreement with Carbon County to start some land research and testing to ensure that the land is a fit for their needs. The commissioners approved this unanimously and expressed excitement that so many companies have already shown interest in the property owned by the county.
Geri Gamber with SERDA advised that the Division of Outdoor Recreation is rolling out a new grant in 2025 called the Community Parks and Recreation Grant. Gamber said this is a highly competitive grant and they would be applying for $200,000 with a 20% match. The grant would go toward providing shade and coverage at the softball fields. The commissioners agreed that this would not only be beneficial in helping with shade, but would also provide protection from foul balls.
Gamber stated that they have from January to May to apply and will be announced in June 2025. Gamber ended her speech with a thank you to Commissioner Hopes for all of his hard work over the last few years.
Commissioner Hopes brought the meeting to an end with an emotional farewell. Hopes wanted to publicly thank his family for standing by his side and allowing him to serve all of these years. Hopes acknowledged it hasn’t always been easy on them, but nonetheless they allowed him to do it for 12 years. Hopes offered gratitude to the many employees that he has had the opportunity to work aside.
“It was my pleasure to work with them, not over them but with them. They were good employees, they really have the county’s and the public’s best interest at heart,” stated Hopes.
Hopes also expressed gratitude to the community for their love and support over the years, joking that he was a nobody and still is but the community took a chance on him.
“We made some hard decisions and a lot of them were not favorable with the community, and in the future, we’ll know if those were the right decisions. Maybe they weren’t, but I am super hopeful for our community, I think we have good things going on. We have a bright future we have companies that are interested in us,” expressed Hopes.
Hopes left a huge thank you for allowing him the opportunity to serve his community.
Commissioner Larry Jensen also wanted to express his gratitude for the work that Hopes has put into the community and wanted to acknowledge the trials that Hopes has been through. Commissioner Jensen wanted to make note that this is not an easy job to do. Jensen expressed that he thinks so highly of Hopes and joked that he’ll probably continue to receive calls from them to clear up a few things.
Commissioner Tony Martines was the last commissioner to address Hopes and the community. Martines advised that, since being elected, they’ve been able to get four projects paid off and have cut the debt owed in half. Martines joked that him and Hopes had previously ran against each other and even in doing so, Hopes was always asking Martines what could he do for him. He handled the election with grace and integrity.
Martines pleaded for community members who take issue with things that are happening to please bring those commission meetings.
Lastly, Commissioner Hopes moved for Commissioner Martines to take over as Carbon County Commission Chair beginning Jan. 1, 2025.