Public hearing on addressing in county

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

The county has been working on developing a uniform system for street addressing. On Feb. 1 a public hearing was held to gather input on the system. Jeff Guymon from the Information Technology Department has been working on the new system for two years. Such a system is deemed necessary for the public safety because it will improve response time by police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services.
It will provide a basis for the development of subsystems which can automatically and quickly generate specific, reliable directions for drivers from any starting location to any destination within Emery County. The system will prevent and resolve duplications of addresses and street or road names, confusing or misleading addresses and multiple addresses for a single location.
It will improve the delivery of public services such as building inspections, road repair and maintenance, soil evaluations, health inspections, property tax administration, property mapping, school busing and other public services. It will provide for coordination among the mapping and Geographic Information Systems in use by various public utilities, parcel delivery and governmental and quasi-governmental entities operating in Emery County. It will also provide a clear, rational procedure for the assigning of new address and street names within Emery County as the need arises.
Guymon has been to Emery, Ferron, Huntington and Orangeville with the ordinance and will continue going to city council meetings until all the cities have been visited and informed on what to expect with the new addressing system. Each of the cities will need to enter into an interlocal agreement with the county regarding the new addressing ordinance.
Guymon said a copy of the map with the addresses minus the names will be available on the county website in the near future. Emery Telcom has also requested the new addresses for the cities which have been completed so they will be available for listing in their next phone book this spring.
The commissioners discussed the maps and their cost. Initially maps or digital copies will be provided to all utility companies and entities who need to be aware of the changes in addresses. After the initial maps are distributed the cost will be $10 per map for those requesting copies.
Guymon said out in the county the addresses are affixed to the entrance to the location and inside city limits addresses are according to the driveways at the front of the houses. Each residence will be responsible for a sign indicating their house number.
Guymon said they are in need of public input to help them get things right in the individual communities. Guymon said it is their goal to have the addressing complete in July. It was recommended by Commissioner Gary Kofford that they bring back a finalized draft of the ordinance in two weeks for approval from the county commission.
The final draft will include public comments and recommendations received in the public hearing. This ordinance will be passed with the understanding that changes can and will be made in the future as the addressing process is completed.