BLM grants right of way for debris basin cleaning

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The Emery County Commission approved the BLM right of way for the Huntington Debris Basin. This gives the county the right-of-way to clean the debris basin, when it is constructed, as needed for the next 30 years.
The commission ratified a road agreement between the county and the forest service for maintenance improvements to the Ferron/Mayfield Road. Commissioner James Nelson said the road is a real benefit to the people who use it and the Emery County road department keeps it in good shape.
Shelly Wright from the Children’s Justice Center said they need help keeping the lawn mowed at the Children’s Justice Center in Castle Dale. They have their own lawn mower, but need someone to mow the lawn on a regular basis. The volunteer groups they have used in the past are not consistent. Possible solutions included using inmates or people needing community service hours.
The commission approved the contract for cadastral mapping with the state of Utah, department of technology services, automated geographic reference center and Emery County.
Commissioner Jeff Horrocks asked for the approval of amendment number three to the cooperative agreement between the NRCS and Emery County for the Seeley Fire Project. The amount of money available for the debris basin project is $2,100,000.
Commissioner Nelson said it’s a good project and the money needs to be spend to mitigate the problem.
The commission approved the cooperative agreement for technical assistance with the NRCS and Emery County.
Emery Town requested to be added to the Permanent Community Impact Fund Board Capital Improvement Short Term List for a water resource study for $46,000.
The commission approved a contract with the BLM for $10,000 for weed control services on BLM land.
A grant agreement was approved for a mural for the Museum of the San Rafael. The mural will depict the way the land looked at the time of the woolly mammoth. Mike McCandless said a mural of this type was done for the Mammoth Discovery Area on SR-31 at Huntington Reservoir and that design could be used again. Commissioner Ethan Migliori will look into that possibility.
Amy Peters presented the Pre-disaster mitigation plan for the Southeastern Region of Utah as required for the Federal Disaster Mitigation and Cost Reduction Act of 2000. The plan includes four counties and identifies hazards and lists an action plan for dealing with them. The plan is to be updated every five years, but things can be added to the plan as needed. The plan must be in place for Emery County to be eligible for any FEMA funding in the event of a disaster.
The county approved a rental for county facilities policy.
The bids for the roofing project at Huntington Library were opened. Northface Roofing from Park City bid $19,600 and Arrowhead Construction from Huntington bid $15,100. The bids will be examined and the bid awarded at the next commission meeting on Aug. 13.
Jason Chaffetz will be in Emery County on Aug. 3 and will walk in the parade. A citizen reported an excessive growth of willows along Bott Lane and Industrial Electric lane.
In the commission reports, Commissioner Migliori reported the fair and rodeo are starting. There will be a carnival, stingray exhibit and many other attractions. He invited everyone to come out to the fair and to consult the fair guide for all events and times. He met with Dr. Engar to go over issues with the EMTs and will work to help that service run more smoothly. He met with Dr. Allen from the Green River Medical Center and things are working well there. The Green River potluck group is still meeting regularly to promote and strengthen Green River. The TriUtah River Rampage was held at Green River State Park and the San Rafael Classic at Huntington Lake. He met with the Green River Refinery people and Chancellor Peterson from USU Eastern to look at training needs.
Commissioner Nelson said the work along Huntington Creek is paying off, there’s been a lot of high water, but not as much debris in the water. He was the announcer for the Triathlon at Huntington Lake. The event was well attended and many locals participated and volunteered for the event which raises money for the Emery County Search and Rescue. The stockshow was held in Ferron and it went well. He attended a grazers meeting and they are going to write a letter to Rep. Rob Bishop on grazing.
The library board is doing well and all Emery County libraries meet or exceed the benchmark set for libraries. The library will have a float in the Emery County Fair parade.
Commissioner Horrocks said the bid for the metal building for the weed and mosquito department was awarded to Nielson Construction. “I attended a water meeting in Price for the governor. They collected information on water and its future use. Our water districts spoke and did a good job. The main thing brought out in the meeting was don’t give our water to California and Nevada. Keep any water savings we have by installing the sprinkler systems here for our farmers to extend their growing season. I’ve been working with the housing authority. We have had workers from the sheriff’s office help take care of the buildings. We met with the power plant to talk about storing wood on the power plant property. It will save money in transportation costs and can be used for riprap without having to purchase or transport very far.
“Lawrence would like to have natural gas as would Green River and Emery. Mike McCandless is working on this and he testified last week at the legislature. It’s going quite well. On Aug. 8 will be an open house with Reps. Chaffetz and Bishop visiting the county. There has been flooding in Huntington Canyon and in Joe’s Valley where the gravel washed out from the newly constructed Reeder Canyon road. On Aug. 1 at the fair the elected officials will serve the senior citizen lunch,” said Commissioner Horrocks. The meal will be sponsored by the Emery County Care and Rehab from Ferron.