By Julie Johansen
Kent Wilson and Nathan Johansen met with the Huntington City Council at the council’s August meeting on Wednesday to discuss renewing the sanitation contract with the city. Wilson commented that Huntington City was the first contract they secured when they started their business 15 years ago.
He further noted that it was $9 for each container pickup at that time and now they are offering pickup for $6.50 for the first container and $4.50 for each additional container. They will also charge $15 for each roll off with two months free of charge. Historically, they pick up 16-20 roll offs each month.
Wilson also announced that Emery County Sanitation will now have two trucks for better service. The council members replied that they have been very happy with the service provided to the city and unanimously approved awarding the sanitation contract to Emery County Sanitation.
The council next approved an interlocal agreement with Emery County for the COVID-19 CARES Act grant received by the city. The county will disperse the funds through the Utah Association of Counties (UAC). This will place the accountability on the UAC. Huntington City and businesses in the city will apply for these funds to cover expenses and losses due to the pandemic.
A public hearing was then conducted for input on connection and overage rate increases by the Castle Valley Special Service District for water, sewer and secondary connection fees. There were no public comments and after the hearing was closed, Resolution 21-2020 was approved, amending the present resolution on these matters.
Ordinance 5-2020 was also approved, which amended the Board of Adjustment body in the city. The board will be dispersed as it has never been used. If necessary, the mayor will appoint someone to serve. The council also reviewed and accepted the Fraud Risk Assessment required by the state, which is included in an audit.
Air conditioning for the old town hall was approved by the council and the bid will be awarded to A. Johnson Heating and Air. This bid was nearly $3,000 less than the other bid received by the city.
It was also decided that the city’s zoning administrator title will be changed to include code enforcement officer. Brief discussion occurred about the Urban Deer Control Program and will be studied and discussed more in depth at a later date. Section VI of the Employee Code of Conduct was changed to include a section about staying home when ill as well as a detailed gun use policy for all city workers.
A donation to the Emery rodeo team was then approved in the amount of $150. Huntington City Fire Chief Chase Majors concluded the meeting by reminding the council about a two-day training at a regional fire school in Huntington on Aug. 21 and 22. He also announced that a free COVID-19 testing unit will be in Huntington, parked at the fire station, once per week.