By Julie Johansen
The Orangeville City Council met on May 12 for its regularly-scheduled meeting. Mayor David Robertson called the meeting to order and the first item on the agenda was a request from Charity Jewkes for a donation to assist her as a Global Ambassador to sing in Italy this summer. The council replied that they would consider this request next month.
The next request brought before the council was for a variance from AJ O’Neil. He met with planning and zoning and was denied a building permit as he lacked the needed footage to his property line to build a garage. He told the council that other options were not available.
The council was concerned about setting a precedence. O’Neil asked them to consider the spirit of the law, not just the letter of the law. After much discussion, this was tabled until after a meeting with the planning and zoning board and the city council. O’Neil was told that council member Carole Larsen would let him know the outcome.
Following this, the council was reminded of the Utah League of Cities and Town conference in Salt Lake in October. Council members questioned the validity of attending this conference. They wanted to see an agenda before making reservations.
Council members then made their reports. Planters with flowers for Main Street will be arriving soon. In order to save time at council meetings, a planning meeting for the city celebration will be held before the next city council meeting at 6 p.m. Vendors will be charged $20 and asked to donate a prize for the raffle. A closing barbecue will be held on June 2 at 5:30 p.m. at Carol Stilson‘s for the Orangeville Youth City Council.
On June 23, they will be repainting the rock flowers and, following a drawing by Alicia Hughes on the park restrooms, the youth council will paint it. Council member Kirk McQuivey stated that the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management will help clear the Russian olive and tamarisk trees from the walking path on June 8. Councilman Brandon Hoffman spoke about the beetle kill of trees and how important it is to spray for them.
Emery County Commissioner Kent Wilson then discussed the concentrated animal feeding operations ordinance the county is seeking to adopt due to state legislation. Orangeville Planning and Zoning decided on a 10-mile buffer zone and nothing west of the city. After much controversy, the council recommended that the county organize a committee of interested individuals to decide how to handle the situation and make a resolution.
The commissioner then stated his next request was as a member of the Board of Directors for the San Rafael Energy Research Center. He wondered about the number of shares for the center’s water hookup as well as sewer fees from the city. He was told they would need to bring 10 shares of water to the city and that the center would be billed for the back usage of sewer for 90 days and then billed as normal.
To conclude, Mayor Robertson reported that Steven Durrant decided to resign from his city job. Therefore, notification of hiring to fill the vacant position will need to be advertised.