County to participate in surplus items auction site

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

The old fashioned auction where potential buyers would check out the items in a specified location and formulate their bids just may be a thing of the past for the county. The Emery County Commissioners approved the participation of the county on the auction site publicsurplus.com.
Commissioner Jeff Horrocks said the clerk/auditor’s office will be in charge of placing items on the auction site. The department heads will be responsible for getting the information to the clerk’s office where they will submit it to the site. Pictures of the items can also accompany the information on each item. Currently the county has vehicles, fire trucks, a microwave oven and other items that will be placed on the site. Items will be placed on the site as they become surplus and no longer needed by the county.
“It’s a good idea to get rid of these items, before they sit for a year and lose their value. There is no expense to the county for listing,” said Commissioner Horrocks.
The purchaser of the auction items is responsible for payment to the site and for pick-up or shipping of the item they have purchased. The county reserves the right to hold on-site auctions in the future if they choose.
Bill Dellos reported the Democrat caucuses will be on March 13 and the Republican caucuses will be on March 15 with locations all around the county in each precinct.
The county approved the transfer of their prescription plan from Med Impact to Caremark Pharmacy Network Prescription plan. Personnel director, Mary Huntington said the county is planning a benefit fair on May 2 and they wanted the switch in place by then so the new network can come to the fair to explain and present information. The switch in plans will reduce costs to the county.
The commission approved Al Shakespaere to be a member of the Emery County Council on Aging. Jeff Tuttle will fill the vacancy on the Castle Valley Special Service District board. Ted Curtis will be the newest member of the North Emery Water Users special service district board.
The commission approved the request from Mike McCandless to get the paperwork going for a grant to the Economic Development Administration to construct the road to the new Conductive Composites building near Cleveland. The company is currently working out of the Green River airport building. This new facility will employ approximately 50 people in the county with good jobs. The company will put half the money for the project in an escrow account. The road will be a county road when it’s completed. The road will be bid out. No county funds will be used in the building of the road. The grant application needs to be submitted by March 15.
Commissioner James Nelson reported the pool users had submitted a petition to him with a list of items they would like addressed. He said most of their concerns have been mitigated. The automatic door has been fixed. The lifeguards all have uniforms now.
He attended the Governor’s Energy Summit held in Salt Lake and he listened to a presentation by the nuclear power company and it was very informative. He also attended elected officials day at the legislature.
Commissioner Laurie Pitchforth said she attended the energy summit as well and they had lunch with the people from Blue Castle Holdings and they learned a lot. They are a group of hard working dynamic men trying to get the nuclear power plant near Green River from a dream to a reality. She attended the legislature where Sen. David Hinkins and Rep. Christine Watkins, Rep. Kay McIff joined the elected officials for lunch and visited with them concerning legislation affecting rural counties.
Commissioner Pitchforth invited everyone to the March Lunch and Learn for the Emery County Business Chamber. Tyler Wilkinson will be the speaker and he is a motivational speaker from St. George who will speak on positive outlooks in business. It will be on March 21 at noon at the Museum of the San Rafael.
Commissioner Horrocks said they are watching HB 176 which passed the House yesterday. It is Rep. Mike Noel’s bill on public land. Commissioner Horrocks said it could possibly affect the county’s land use bill and they are watching it carefully. The Association’s of County Governments is watching House Bill 139 which could affect them and also the CIB.
The emergency preparedness fair for Carbon and Emery counties will be held on April 28 this year at the Carbon County events center.
The commission approved the consent agenda which included: out of state travel for Brent Langston to attend the national district attorney’s association forensic evidence course in San Francisco, Calif; out of state travel for Bret Mills to attend the 2012 national translator association annual meeting and convention in Albuquerque, N.M.; approval of 3 percent pay increase for Cheryl Cox after successful completion of six month orientation period as a court clerk and the 3 percent COLA increase other employees received the first pay period in 2012; hire of Dell Mead as a full time with benefits, corrections cook; appointment of Annette Allen as a full time with benefits, Department of Motor Vehicles branch manager; approval to recruit for a part-time no benefits, DMV technician.