Surprisingly, after East Carbon’s City Council announced last week it was serious about finding a way to merge with Sunnyside City, that topic was not on the agenda for the Sunnyside City Council meeting on Tuesday night. Instead they dealt with other matters already on the table.
Acting as mayor pro tempore, Sherry Madrid oversaw the Sunnyside City Council meeting on March 5, due to Mayor Parson’s excused absence. Because the mayor was unable to attend the meeting , it was felt that it was best to postpone the discussion with East Carbon until all members of both cities could attend. The Council did address the need to adjust the rate for their firefighters based on East Carbon’s prior approval of the option of paying a flat rate to all fire fighters within Sunnyside and East Carbon. The council decided this would be an effective change and would look into the matter further.
Lt. Williams, Utah National Guard, addressed the council concerning the Community Covenant Program. According to Lt. Williams, the program will “create a network or support” for the military veterans living in Sunnyside. The council voted to take the next step in signing up for the Community Covenant Program.
East Carbon resident, Susan Croteau approached the council with an application for a business license. Croteau has received complaints about selling food items out of her home. An officer told her that she would have to obtain a business license to continue her food distribution. After speaking to a zoning administrator, Susan was informed that she could receive a business license from any city within the county. Croteau wanted to apply for the license in Sunnyside because of conflicts she had with East Carbon. The council decided to further investigate the legality of prescribing a business license to an East Carbon resident and agreed to contact Croteau in the near future.
The council dicussed the Utah State Finders Program. With this program, citizens that owed Sunnyside money for more than 90 days would be reported to the state. The state of Utah would then send a letter for the need to pay the owed amount in full or request a hearing to dispute the charges. If neither step is taken, the State of Utah could then take money from the late payer’s state tax return. The money would then be sent to Sunnyside. The council agreed this was a good program and carried the motion to accept the Utah State Finders Program in Sunnyside. The 2011-2012 audit and the water levels at the reservoir at Sunnyside Junction were discussed and there were no questions on the matters. Both appeared in order with the council and it was decided that the water levels at the reservoir are at a “fine” level. Finally, the public was allowed to voice their comments and concerns.
A Columbia resident had a complaint about the litter surrounding not only the highway through Sunnyside, but also on the side streets. He suggested a volunteer program using the city’s youth to gather the trash. There were also comments from the public on the matter of merging Sunnyside and East Carbon. The council announced that there will be a public hearing held at a later date.