Photo by Dusty Butler
By Julie Johansen
On Tuesday, the Emery County Commissioners approved allocating some of the cancelled fair budget to help with two upcoming events within the county. The Cowboys Memorial Rodeo will be hosted the first weekend in August and the Castle Valley Livestock Show will take place on July 17 and 18. Of the funding originally budgeted for the fair, $3,500 of it will benefit the rodeo while $2,500 will be given to the livestock show.
The livestock show cannot receive state funding as it is generally a state-sponsored show, meaning it would have to be open to everyone, which couldn’t happen this year with pandemic regulations. The funds from Emery County will help with buckles and the special clean-up for COVID-19.
Also during the meeting, a business license already issued to Tumbleweed Soaps in Green River was ratified.
A motion to submit a grant application to the Utah Office of Tourism to assist with online advertising, including giving a presence on Google, was also approved. This could be used for Utopia TV commercials as well as billboards promoting tourism in Emery County.
Commissioner Kent Wilson commented that TRT (Transient Room Taxes) funds for Green River are only at 20% of normal and ads for the San Rafael Swell in the Salt Lake area could really bolster the overnight stays within the county.
Change order #18 for extension on the Millsite Dam Rehabilitation project was also approved. This moves the completion date to June 1, 2021 and final payment date to July 30, 2021. The cause of this extension was the misdesign on the concrete for the spillway and the time it took for government to approve a new design. The discussion on the impact to the golf course will continue as it has resulted in large losses.
The bylaws for the Emery County Fire Protection Special Service District were also approved. The bylaws will upgrade the system and change the number of board members from eight to 10. The district members had previously approved the changes. They have also been reviewed by Emery County Attorney Mike Olsen and approved.