By Julie Johansen
A new fire chief was announced during the Castle Dale City Council meeting on Thursday evening following interviews of six candidates. Britni Moreno will take over as fire chief for Castle Dale City, replacing Nosh Arrien in January. A motion was made to accept her as the new fire chief and passed unanimously.
Also during the meeting, the council virtually welcomed Emery High rodeo secretary Dawnette Gordon as she presented Castle Dale City with a donation of $2,500. She then requested fee waivers for use of the arenas for the high school rodeo, Cowboys Memorial fundraiser rodeo and weekly practice at the indoor arena. The request was granted by the council and appreciation was extended to the rodeo club for the donation.
A motion then was heard to enter into a public hearing for the purpose of receiving public input of city projects for a Community Development Block Grant. This is a grant for small, low or middle income communities. There were no citizens present to comment, so the council considered some projects, including a walking trail along Bott Lane and a pavilion at the cemetery. This proposal must be ready for the Association of Government office by Dec. 15 and presented to the grant committee by the first of the year.
The next item on the agenda was a continuation from October’s meeting regarding water and sewer hookups for property on 8th North recently acquired by the Yosts from the Peays. Both the Yosts and Peays understood that the already existing hookups were ready to be used because of previous arrangements with the city. Councilman Brad Giles researched this action back through 2008 and found no evidence of this, and felt that the regular hookup fees must be paid. He reported that the hookups were installed when the new roadway extending 8th North was finished so not to have to tear up a new road. A motion was made to require the regular fees for hookups and a vote was taken with four council members in favor.
Castle Dale Animal Control Officer Seth Smith reported that eight deer have been removed from the city as part of the Urban Deer Control program. He felt that it went very well for the first year. Smith also said that some trail cameras have been placed in the city to try to identify vagrant dogs.
JJ Manning, Castle Dale Ordinance Enforcement Officer, is working to ensure that trailers are moved from the street so that snow removal can be accomplished. Maintenance chairman Arrien reported that all three snow plows are now working but two were down when the snow came last week, so the road cleaning was late. Arrien also reported that several street signs need to be improved or replaced. Councilman Giles said he will review these needs.
To conclude, it was announced that three new business licenses have been granted in Castle Dale. One is for Ron Sander’s for a short-term rental. Naturally Inspired is opening again in the city and will include an esthetician parlor.