At the June Castle Dale City council meeting, Mayor Neal Peacock began the meeting with a moment of silence for the 14-year old boy who had died on Ferron Mountain.
The main topic of discussion was the use of the rodeo grounds by the horse 4-H clubs. Some of their competitions last until after midnight and ways to avoid the late hours were discussed. A resident in the area has complained to the sheriff’s office about the noise and late hour of the activities there.
Horse 4-H spokeswoman Gaylene Conder said they will be adding 26 new riding club participants from the Huntington area. She said they will be adding an additional judge which will help things move along more swiftly. It was determined the sound system would be turned off by midnight and lighting would be kept on to ensure a safe departure from the participants. Also vehicles leaving the rodeo grounds, must exit to the east of the parking lot to avoid headlights in windows at a late hour. Possibilities of moving the showtimes up to an earlier start was also discussed. The 4-H horse shows are held four times each summer with a fifth possibly being added to the schedule.
The councilmen and mayor are pleased with the 4-H horse show program and feel it is important to the kids and parents. Councilman Joel Dorsch will check into the possiblities of portable lighting on the extra arena to see if some of the events could be held there
A budget hearing was held where the budget was reopened to add necessary adjustments. A grant of $95,000 was added to the revenue portion of the budget.
The council moved out of the public hearing and approved the changes to the 2003-04 budget and adopted the 2004-05 budget. Carolyn Jorgensen, city clerk, reported the tax rate from the county had been received that day and it is .001947 the tax rate last year was .001857. The council accepted the new tax rate from the county.
The next item was the approval of the agreement with the Castle Valley Special Service District for a rate increase. Peacock pointed out this was the first fee increase since the district’s inception in 1976-77.
Peacock reported that he had visited with the attorney on sales tax collection. Cities are allowed a 1 percent added tax above what is assessed by the state. For an increase in the sales tax permission must be obtained from the Utah State Tax Commission. It is only allowed if the added monies collected are going to a specific purpose. Currently Castle Dale’s tax rate is 5.85 percent and the allowable maximum amount if 6.75 percent. A public hearing must also be held to allow public input before any tax increase. The council will take the matter under advisement.
The council approved an agreement with Sunrise Engineering to take care of the building inspections within the city limits. Castle Dale City will retain 15 percent of the building inspection fee. House plans are to be sent to Sunrise for their review, prior to the building inspection. Upon notification they will do an inspection within 24 hours. The effective date will be July 1 for the agreement.
The council approved a 4 percent franchise tax on telecommunications with the city limits. The city will receive approximately $800 from Emery Telcom per month for such a tax. The tax would also effect cable companies and cell phone providers. Peacock said they were at the end of their time limit on this issue and needed to let the Utah State Tax Commission know if they were going to pass this tax or not.
Councilman Brad Giles cited a number of times when utilities cut across city roads and sometimes the city ends up doing the repairs for such projects. The funds collected by such a tax would be used for such repairs.
Councilman Joel Dorsch reported on the June celebration. A rodeo and barbeque as well as free swim day at the Castle Dale pool will be part of the celebration.
Councilman Giles reported the completion date for construction on the intersection by J&D Automotive is expected to be complete by Aug. 10. They will push their schedule to see if it could be completed before Fair Days and if not they would cease construction during the period of the fair. Giles also reported that Memorial Day at the cemetery went well and that Castle Dale youth council members volunteered at the cemetery. Mayor Peacock said he had received many compliments on the cemetery.
Dorsch said they will be moving sod to the back stop at Cheddar Park. They have two new picnic tables and benches.
Councilperson Kollette Cologie reported they have had many nice compliments on the swimming pool.
Castle Dale City will meet again on July 8 at 7 p.m.
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