By Julie Johansen
The first item on the agenda for the Castle Dale City Council at its May meeting was to discuss and vote on an increase in culinary water rates for users with water lines larger than ¾”. The 20% rate increase is to cover administrative fees coming from the Castle Valley Special Service District. The item was approved by the council.
Delinquent water bills were next on the agenda. City treasurer Tressa Shiner spoke with a collection agency and reported that because of the application form used for culinary hookups, this firm would not be able to help. A new application form was considered as well as working with collection agencies for assistance.
Approval was then given for adjustment to the office hours of city hall. The Castle Dale City Hall will close at 12:30 p.m. on Friday afternoons beginning immediately.
Discussion on the sale of the city property on Main Street was then given consideration by the council. The property just west of the new city hall has three water hookups and enough property for three lots. The city will be taking bids for 90 days and applications can be obtained at city hall. All applications will be reviewed by the land use committee before the council accepts or rejects any bids. A grant will be awarded to the new owners once the construction on the property begins.
The council next approved Juneteenth as a holiday. They also approved purchase of an extractor for the fire department. Following this, a large portion of the meeting was used to discuss and review the upcoming 2022-23 budget. The projection for the next year was a raise for employees and city committee members.
Next, maintenance reports outlined the work at the city cemetery for Memorial Day, Flag Day and Juneteenth. Castle Dale Fire Chief Britni Moreno then congratulated Brittany Fauver and Jane Heiniger, who have passed the “pack test” and now have their wildland cards. She also stated that they have had to move their firefighter games scheduled for August because of a conflict in venue scheduling.
Concluding, a $5 increase in the fees for the Blue Sage Arena was announced. The city treasurer also reported substantial increases in taxes, includes sales tax, Transient Room Taxes and Airbnb for the city, and the recorder read two new business licenses.