County Commissioners disagree on events coordinator

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The Emery County Commission met to discuss county business. The Proposals for an Event Coordinator for the county were opened. Commissioner Paul Cowley said he disagrees with having that position because he thinks there are already people working for the county that could coordinate events. The travel bureau will pay for the position. The Transient Room Tax brings $375,000 into the travel bureau for use on tourist related projects and activities. Commissioner Brady explained an events coordinator could help with established events as well as organize and introduce new events to the county. They would also coordinate with current events and develop a countywide calendar of events so county residents can be more aware of activities and events currently available.
For this year $20,000 was budgeted for the event coordinator, but due to one/fourth the year being gone, this amount may reduce.
Commissioner Ethan Migliori said they don’t want the county recreation director to do this, they have enough to do already just managing the sports, fair and rodeo. There were six applicants for the position. Julie Jones, Holly Jorgensen, Cynthia Draper, Amanda Leonard, Zelda Rojas and Brenda Seely. The matter of the selection will be turned over to the travel bureau to discuss in their next meeting.
A public hearing was held on the issuance of bonds for the Castle Valley Special Service District.
The General Obligation bonds of $2,350,000 will be used for a water treatment plant for Ferron and Clawson water users. In 2009, Emery County voters passed a $12 million bond resolution. Of that approved $12 million there is approximately $2.6 million left after the current bonds are issued.
After the public hearing, the commission voted to approve the issuance of bonds. Jacob Sharp, district manager and Eric Johnson, bond counsel briefed the commission on the bonds.
Ahmed Mohsen from the Bureau of Land Management Price Field Office discussed the process to develop a Cooperative Management Agreement between US Department of the Interior and Utah State Parks and Emery County for providing public safety, resource protection, and recreation management and maintenance at the Temple Mountain Special Recreation Management Area Goblin Valley State Park Expansion.
Mohsen said as they develop a plan for the Goblin Valley Expansion they need to address impacts and visitor use. “This is a remarkable resource. People from all around the world come here to see it.” Mohsen explained the development of a management plan will see a complete and open public process. There will be a full scoping process with open comment periods for the public.
Goblin Valley State Park has increased in usage from 90,000 visitors in 2013 to 140,000 visitors in 2015. This past Easter weekend there were traffic jams at Goblin Valley and the parking lot was full and parking outside the park back to the T-intersection. Mohsen said when Arches National Park is full they are going to send people to Goblin Valley and the Swell. “The San Rafael area is beautiful, there are new discoveries all the time. It’s incredible. We will implement fee areas to help with impacts,” said Mohsen.
Aaron Farmer, Goblin Valley State Park Manager said he expects visitors in 2016 to be more than 150,000 “We have 24 sites for camping. There are a lot of dispersed campers outside the park. We don’t have enough parking. There are plans to expand the current parking lot,” said Farmer.
Farmer explained since the National Parks closure a few years back, the visitors to the state parks have increased dramatically as visitors saw what the state parks have to offer. Goblin Valley State Park was recently approved for Dark Sky designation. State Parks hopes to get all state parks involved in Dark Sky designations where applicable.
Johnnie R Miller from the Utah Counties Indemnity Pool made a presentation to the commissioners to discuss the role UCIP plays in safeguarding the county. He said it’s hard to keep track of all the changes with the affordable health care act. Emery County was one of the founding counties for the trust and contributed $260,000 and was paid back within five years. Over the years, the rates the counties have paid has gone down considerably and they now are paying half of what they started with. UCIP will also represent the county should any lawsuits arise and insurance money is there should the county lose any lawsuits. They also offer trainings and workshops. They are doing online trainings to save money on out of town trips to train employees. Another area where UCIP helps out is in planning and zoning issues. They help with terminating employees and proceeding in a legal manner. They cover fairs, events, volunteer help and fireworks. Miller welcomed the county employees to contact him with any questions.
Leon Defriez, Huntington Airport Manager updated the commission on projects for 2016. He wants to look at more recreational opportunities for the airport. He asked for consideration of hook-ups and camping spots at the airport. Overnight lodging is needed for pilots stranded at the airport due to bad weather. Many pilots visit the area to land on the backcountry airstrips. People who fly in and visit the area make plans for return visits to the county. DeFriez wondered about the feasibility of leasing spots at the airport. Then pilots could put up their own hangars, this is done at the Kanab airport. The water line and the fence need to be completed. DeFriez asked to expand the safety zone at the airport. The aeronautics division of UDOT will contribute $20,000 toward the fencing project and the county would need a 10 percent match.
DeFriez would like to offer two types of fuel at the airport and $10,000 is needed to finish that project. DeFriez said it would be a great benefit to the county if the airport runway was expanded. A 12 passenger plane could land here, but it couldn’t take off because the runway is too short.
The commission instructed DeFriez to see what the other airports are doing as far as leasing space. Where it’s BLM land the airport is on, it’s not known if private individuals could put up their own hangars. The county might like to keep control of the buildings at the airport and construct and lease them on a county level.
The commission voted to proceed with projects at the airport with the exception of the fencing project which needs a culvert replaced before that work can be done to expand the safety zone.
The board approved the updated Emery County Sheriff’s Office Policy Manual.
The board approved a request to the BLM for an extension of the comment period for a proposed rule on Resource Management Planning. This rule would give less input to local counties and more to individual groups. The county is joining other counties to ask for this extension so proper comments can be formulated to submit to the BLM against this rule.
The board approved an Application for Transportation and Utility Systems and Facilities on Federal Lands for a ROW of a section of the Green River Cutoff Road #401 that was previously assigned to Utah Department of Transportation which is currently part of Emery County’s B Road System.
The board approved a Request for Proposal for a Branding Package and Marketing Plan for tourism in Emery County. This will entail the hiring of a creative firm to prepare the brand for the county. Roger Brooks, tourism guru, is doing an assessment of the county and will visit the end of the month. The Emery County Travel Bureau has been working with the Utah Office of Tourism on rural tourism. The office of tourism will pick up half the cost of having the evaluation. The cost to the travel bureau is $24,225. Brooks will present to the county and cities and any interested members of the public on May 5 at 6 p.m. at the county building. Everyone is invited to come and learn how Emery County looks to a person from somewhere else. What does the county have to offer and what are some areas that need improvement will be examined.
The board approved the Permanent Community Impact Fund Board Improvement short and medium term list for Emery County. This is a wish list of projects that could be funded with CIB monies if they become available.
The board will advertise for a mid-term vacancy on the Emery County Housing Authority Board of Directors.
A bid for janitorial services at the Castle Dale Library will be advertised.
The county will begin the process to develop the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant and Articles of Agreement for the Emery County Hazard Mitigation Plan 2018. Work will begin on this plan, a county must have this plan in place in order to be awarded any FEMA funds in the event of a disaster.
The board approved the contract between Emery County and the State of Utah to digitize cemetery records and submit those records to the Utah State history burials database.
The board approved a Resolution adopting a Gifts and Awards policy for the county and approved a resolution adopting Workers Compensation, Occupational Safety and Health and Vehicle Transportation.
The board approved the Lease Agreement with John Deere Financial for a backhoe at the Green River Road Shop.
The board approved Melany Weaver to fill a vacancy for a Legal Secretary/Paralegal for the Emery County Attorney’s Office.
The recruitment process for a seasonal Museum Receptionist will begin.
Two seasonal head lifeguards working 29 hours per week will be hired and four seasonal lifeguards will be hired for the Emery County Aquatics Center.