Elmo Town Council began 2012 with their first meeting of the year on Jan. 4. The first item of business was the swearing in of the new mayor and councilman. The mayor is Clark Atwood and councilmen sworn in included Dallen Skelley, Brent Hadfield and Seth Allred. Stoney Jensen is the other councilman on the Elmo Council.
Atwood thanked outgoing councilman Ryan Jensen for the six years he has served on the Elmo Town Council. “We appreciate everything you did,” said Mayor Atwood.
During citizen concerns the council talked about problems with speeders throughout the town. Mayor Atwood will contact the Emery County Sheriff’s Office to see what can be done. The town will ask for special help with specific times of the day when the speeders are more prevalent. Another concern was street lights in the town that aren’t working. Jensen will make a list of where the lights are out and will contact Rocky Mountain Power to have them fixed.
The council determined the meeting schedule for 2012 will remain on the first Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. The council will look for someone who will take care of scheduling the town hall for use and for light cleaning responsibilities.
The council took a look at the Community Impact Board funding list. Items discussed included a new RV dump for the town, purchase of a backhoe, ADA sidewalk construction, cement and fence work around the dumpster and a kitchen for the town hall. The group worked to prioritize their list. CIB applications will be prepared and the council will approach the CIB board with their grant requests in two different funding cycles.
The council set aside $14,000 for the housing authority budget, this money was already budgeted and must be recorded in a council meeting. The town pays the housing authority rent for the use of the town hall building. Delena Fish, town clerk said it is a formality for auditing purposes. The $14,000 is pretty close for the operation of the building each year.
The town will have a dog clinic at the fire station on Feb. 11 or 18 depending on what works best with the vet.
Three scouts looking for eagle projects approached the council for ideas. Some ideas included work at the cemetery including landscaping and fencing, a sign at the library, welcome signs to the town, house addresses painted on curbs, planting trees at cemetery rounded out the suggestions. The scouts are to pick a project and make a list of materials needed and an estimate on the cost. The council will help with the expenses involved. The scouts will return to council meeting next month to present their plans.
The council discussed the problem with loose dogs in the community. It was suggested that dogs running loose be picked up by the dog catcher and taken to the pound. The council feels enough warnings have been given.
Fish mentioned the training for new council members which will be held in Moab or Provo. Anyone wishing to go should let her know so she can register them.
Mayor Atwood made the assignments to the council members for the year. Hadfield will go to the recreation district and the Castle Valley Special Service District meetings. The mayor will remain as the fire chief and attend the Council of Governments for mayors. Allred will be over public safety in the community; the fire meetings are held every Thursday night at 7 p.m. Skelley will be over planning and zoning and will attend the Emery County Economic Development Council meetings. Jensen will be over the cemetery along with roads, streets, and cemetery.
The next Elmo council will be on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.
Elmo swears in new council members for 2012
"Councilman Seth Allred, Councilman Brent Hadfield, Mayor Clark Atwood, Councilman Dallen Skelley and Town Clerk Delena Fish at the swearing in ceremony for Elmo town council."