Concerned citizens speak in favor of Rec. District

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

A room full of concerned parents and citizens discussed the Emery County Recreation’s role in the county. The recreation board met for their regularly scheduled meeting and they asked for some direction from county residents as well as Emery County Commissioners. Commissioner Ethan Migliori sits on the recreation board and each town in the county has a representative to the board and two at-large members. Commissioner Keith Brady was in attendance.
Troy Winter is the recreation board chairman. He conducted the meeting. He said the funding for the recreation district only comes from mineral lease money which has all but dried up.
“We appreciate the support of the public. This is a major issue and concern within the county and the cities. We are open for public comments. A comment was made by a commissioner in commission meeting that the sole concern of the rec. district is to pay back the money the county loaned the rec. district. Since August 2015 the mineral lease money coming into the recreation district has been zero. The county gave a $100,000 loan to keep the rec. district afloat. If that’s our only responsibility to pay that money back then maybe we should close the doors.”
Leslie Bolinder works in the commission office and one of her responsibilities is the distribution of the mineral lease monies. She explained that when Deer Creek mine closed, they had paid the federal government on projected income from coal production. But with their closure, they would not be paying these coal royalties any longer. Coal royalties are paid to the federal government and then 50 percent of that royalty comes back to the state. The state then passes 40 percent of that back to the counties that produced the oil and gas or coal. It is only for minerals produced in your county on federal lands, not state lands or private lands. The royalties are paid by the ton between the federal government and the company and it’s a complex procedure as to how the royalties are calculated.
The county had to pay back $800,000 to the state of Utah for the overpayment that Deer Creek Mine made. That is why there haven’t been any mineral lease monies coming into the county until this amount was paid back.
Instead of asking for money to be paid back, the amount was taken from any mineral lease money the county had coming. This has been paid back and mineral lease money will come back into the county, but it will not be as high as in the past. Currently there is the Lila Canyon mine and Rhino Energy and oil and gas wells producing within the county.
Winter said there have been rumors that Jake Atwood and Darshell LeRoy have run the rec. district into the ground and spent all the money. This is simply not true he said. “They have done a great job to keep the district running,” said Winter.
Winter said since the district became aware of the lack of mineral lease money the rec. district budget has been cut several times. The rec. district in the past has awarded communities $2,000 to use for recreation in their cities. This was cut out of the budget for this year. A major expense is the two full-time employees, but if you cut them, the district couldn’t function.
“The question is what to do moving forward,” said Winter, “We don’t want to keep accruing debt.”
Bolinder said the state would be paid back with the February mineral lease money. March mineral lease money should come into the county approximately $70,000 to be split between all the special service districts in the formula the county commission set up years ago. This year they are also awarding the percentage given to the local building authority to the rec. district. Bolinder projected the share coming into the rec. district for the remainder of the year would be $5,000 per month.
The board discussed the possibility of becoming a taxing entity. It would have to be placed on the ballot and approved by the county residents. A truth in taxation hearing would need to take place and possibly other requirements would need to be met. The board will look into it.
Some recreation districts do receive money from ZAP taxes. Carbon County recently approved the ZAP tax which can be used for zoos, arts and parks.
Jake Atwood is currently the rec. district director, he let everyone know he has taken another job which begins in August. He is willing to resign now to save the rec. district money, but he is fighting for the rec. district and its importance to the county. The rec. district has tried to keep the fees to play the sports as low as possible to ensure all kids can afford to participate. The fees pay for the cost of the sport, but the rec. district picks up the insurance and equipment costs. The rec. district did institute a $5 increase in fees this year to contribute to increased insurance costs.
Winter said they could avoid replacing Jake’s position for now and keep Darshell to run the sports.
The county owns the Huntington ball complex and the Bear Creek Campground, but the rec. district has managed these facilities and the funds used to maintain these facilities has come out of the recreation budget. The county has a budget for the Emery County fair and the fair is organized and carried out by the rec. district employees and the volunteer fair committee. The volunteer rodeo board puts on the Desertview Pro-Rodeo with funds from sponsors and the rec. district. Atwood said the rodeo has only broke even a couple of times, but with the cuts he’s made he hopes it will break even this year.
Winter said the board needs the help of the community to decide what to do. Atwood said it would be hard to work on paying back the loan within a year and keep the rec. district afloat with the one employee. “We just put $950,000 into the complex. I would hate to see it go back to where it was. We have maintained the campground. We have no employees for the campground or the complex,” said Atwood.
Bolinder said the rec. district was created separate and independent from the county and the reason it was created was to run county programs.
Commissioner Brady said the special service districts should be autonomous.
Commissioner Brady said the county does support the rec. district, that’s why they gave them the loan and gave the rec. district a higher percentage of mineral lease monies.
The rec. district is scheduled to start loan repayments to the county in July and pay back by June of next year.
Cindy Draper said she has been doing Junior Jazz for 13 years as a volunteer. The youth in the county need the youth sports, there are only a few kids able to go up north and play on traveling teams. It’s really hard now to get volunteers to coach and help operate the leagues. She expressed her appreciation to Jake and Darshell for caring about the kids and the youth sports. “The rec. board cares. The county needs to find the money to take care of these kids,” said Draper.
Atwood agreed it is really hard to get volunteers. He feels it’s the rec. district’s job to mark the fields, find the coaches and operate the leagues.
Commissioner Migliori said the board needs to come up with a plan and present it to the commissioners. Make a list of the goals and priorities of the rec. district. “Put a plan together with the most important pieces and bring it to the commission,” said Commissioner Migliori.
It was mentioned events could be brought in and ball tournaments to try to increase revenues, fun runs and mud runs.
Board member Scott Labrum said obviously it’s a hard time for the county, not just the rec. district, but private industry and local businesses are suffering. The county doesn’t have the money it used to. “We need to formulate a plan,” said Labrum.
Commissioner Migliori said in the history of the rec. district, this is the first time these money problems have happened. The problems need to be worked through without placing blame or pointing fingers. With the reduction in mineral lease monies in the county, choices will have to be made. “What are you willing to sacrifice, more pot holes? one less deputy? That’s why it’s so important to have this conversation and hear from the public, what are your priorities? hat do you want us as a commission to do?”
The rec. board used some funds to purchase a used floor for the rec. center for basketball and events. There was some question of whether this money should have been spent or saved for the current budget crisis. Winter said they didn’t know at the time the money was spent they could carry that money over by placing it in a different fund. They had been instructed by their auditor they couldn’t carry the money over.
Labrum said it was a project that had been planned for a long time, not a spur of the moment purchase.
There are approximately 300 participants in each sport.
Seth Allred, board member said, “I’ve been in education for 20 years. Children are my life. Voices need to be heard. Every community has a paid rec. director. Can recreation become a part of the county?”
Commissioner Migliori said he thinks mineral lease money will stabilize. Once a special service district is dissolved, it’s hard to bring it back again. There might be some savings, putting it back under the county, but there could be some disadvantages. One of the great things about the special service districts are their boards which are filled with community members having a voice. If it goes back under the county this could be lost. Carole Larsen, library director said the library has a board, they also are a taxing entity.
Commissioner Migliori said, “We’re here to do what the people want. Come to commission meeting. We have to find out how the people feel about it. When people come in and voice their opinions, it’s easy for us to make those decisions. Most meetings, there’s no one there and we try to make the best decisions.”
Brad Giles, board member said in regards to becoming a taxing entity, the power plants always oppose any type of tax hikes.
Trent Jackson, board member said for the insurance alone for the sports leagues, they need to keep the rec. district intact. He said more expenses are getting pushed onto the cities and citizens need to look at what they want. There’s the gas tax and the ZAP tax, is it time to implement those? The citizens in this county already pay a lot of taxes indicated Jackson. It’s hard to get volunteers, because the parents are really hard on the referees. With the sue happy society, the insurance for the sports leagues is vital.
The ball complex and the campground could be given back to the county to operate. Commissioner Migliori said that could be an option or the rec. district needs to present a plan and budget with all the current recreation department obligations and present it to the county.
The position of event coordinator came up. Commissioner Brady, said the travel bureau has three people they are interviewing on that position. The rec. district has done a good job with the rodeo and the fair. The money for the events coordinator, $20,000 is coming from the travel bureau. The travel bureau also plans to help sponsor the rodeo this year. They have helped in the past with advertising.
The events coordinator would be responsible for attracting new events to the county as well as keeping events the county currently has and promoting them.
Chris Justice said he is in charge of the flag football program. It has grown over the years and there were 140 kids participating this year and it created a lot of economic activity each time games were held in Huntington. Subway and Maverik were very busy on game nights.
“I don’t see raising fees as a feasible option. As a board you shouldn’t present a pared down budget. You need employees. You need to take care of the complex. Present a budget with your needs. The funds need to be allocated to run these programs. You have a lot of volunteers already that put a lot of time into it. I am happy to volunteer. I don’t want to have to do what Jake and Darshell do.”
Justice indicated he feels the rec. district needs to be funded and a budget should be submitted that is representative of actual costs to run the programs, keep employees and maintain as well as upgrade facilities.
Joel Dorsch, Castle Dale City reminded everyone that recreational facilities don’t make money. They exist for quality of life and to bring people into the county as well as county residents. Castle Dale City built an indoor arena, the golf course, pool, rec. building, none of it makes a profit. Recreation and sports help keep kids focused. People want to rent the park because there’s volleyball, toys, horseshoes and we try to keep fees low. “We are building a community, it won’t make money, but make it a priority,” said Dorsch.
Allred said when he is recruiting teachers to come to our area people want to know what the recreational opportunities are. They want to know if there are quality schools.
Commissioner Brady said that quality of life attracts a company to an area more than incentives. Sports for youth and adults, it’s all a piece of the pie.
Labrum said he was pleased with the tone of the meeting and how people are looking for positive solutions.
The question was brought up whether the county could forgive the loan of $100,000 to the rec. district so they could use funds coming in to operate instead of making loan payments back to the county. Brenda Tuttle, the clerk/auditor said they were instructed by their lawyers to structure the loan the way it has been set up. The county can’t give money away. The county didn’t budget for any of the rec. district’s needs in the 2016 budget. If money goes to the rec. district, it has be to taken from somewhere else, in the event the budget is reopened.
Giles said the rec. board needs a sound plan that’s financially responsible to present to the commission.
Commissioner Migliori said the rec. district needs to approach the county first before it goes to the cities to ask for any help with the complex. The county owns the complex. The process to take care of the complex is already in place.
Tuttle suggested with the full time employee leaving, part-time workers could be hired to take care of the complex and campground. Jeff Guymon has a summer intern who could help out at the campground. There aren’t funds available right now to replace Jake.
The board agreed they needed to keep Jake employed until after the fair and rodeo. They agreed that Winter and Atwood would work the budget to present to the commission. The complex needs to be kept up especially in light of the recent investment to the complex. The board will meet again on May 9.