Ron Pyle, a resident of Castle Dale, was on the Orangeville City agenda. He said, “Most towns are increasing the number of dogs that can be owned by residents. When I first came to Emery County, I wanted to live in Orangeville but the ordinance was restrictive as I have three dogs. Your ordinance states that a person can only have two. I also know of several other people that this ordinance has kept from moving into Orangeville. To families with pets, the pets are a part of the family.
“Most other cities in Emery County have ordinances that state that a person can have three or four, yours, as it stands now, is the lowest in Emery County with two being the limit. It is becoming more common for employers to allow their employees to bring their dogs to work with them. I would like to see Orangeville raise the limit of the number of dogs a person can have. You must also keep in mind that there are irresponsible dog owners and they will be irresponsible whether they have two or 10. It is the responsibility of the animal control officer to monitor the situations,” said Pyle.
A question arose about the need for this ordinance to be so restrictive. Cindy Nielson, city treasurer, said she has researched this ordinance and the limit on dogs at two was established in 1921. Pyle went on to say that many other cities are putting small, house dogs into a different category and increasing the numbers. The council thanked Pyle for his comments and noted that this will be taken into consideration.
Rick Roberts, from Kimball and Roberts Accounting, was on hand to give a review of the 2006 audit of the city’s finances. “As required by state law, the audit was completed. An audit is performed to form an opinion of the entity’s financial position. We believe the financial statements of Orangeville City fairly represent your financial position,” said Roberts.
“We only found one problem and that was with your unreserved fund balance. It should be at $23,000 and at present is at minus $62,000. We believe it is the way the road funds were handled. Some of the road projects were paid for out of the general fund when they could have been paid for with road funds.
“Orangeville’s debt increased this year due to the fire station, but it is our opinion that it is well worth the debt. You have little debt to enterprise and that is good,” stated Roberts.
Roberts went on to explain each portion of the audit to the council. He suggested some budgeting changes to reduce the deficit in the general fund. “Orangeville City is in good shape except for the negative balance in the general fund,” Roberts concluded.
Orangeville City Council reviewed the countywide permanent community impact board lists of projects. Each item from every city was given a ranking in importance. Those items that affect the entire county were given top priority.
In other business, the council approved a zoning clearance for a subdivided lot. They heard a report about a meeting with an engineering firm to complete the renovation work on the old fire station into a community center at the city park. The announcement was made that the new fire station’s rock work has been completed and the work is to begin on the drainage problem.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Mayor Cox announced that during the deer hunt, several problems were registered in the city. These problems were due to hunters who were hunting from vehicles along the coal haul road and were firing weapons in the direction of the city. One homeowner’s home was hit by bullets and the safety of residents is being questioned.
“I personally went to the area and watched the traffic. I noticed many hunters hunting from vehicles and firing rifles on private property. I want to talk with the Division of Wildlife Resources and ask to have a two mile limit around the cities. In this two mile limit, the only hunting would be with shotgun or archery, no high powered rifles,” said Mayor Cox. The council approved.
The next Orangeville City Council meeting will be Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. in city hall.
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