Emery Town discusses water woes

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Emery Town met for their July town council meeting immediately following their Community Covenant signing ceremony. They were the 101st community in Utah to pledge their support to military families and veterans.
The council discussed water use and service fees and penalties in a public hearing. If a water user has frequent water turn offs and turn ons then the subsequent fees for these visits will increase.
The council agreed to place a cost of living increase in the budget for town employees. The discussion of the town’s general plan was tabled until councilperson Corrine Dalton could be present.
The council agreed that while they have water they will not place restrictions on its use. The water can’t be saved. The town urges water conservation and no watering 24 hours and no open risers. Water users will be issued one warning and their water will be turned off if there are misuses of water. Watering should take place in the cooler hours of the evening and morning from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m.
Emery’s wells are still operational, but no one likes how the water tastes. The wells are run every three months to make sure they are still working. Sufco will be shut off so their water trucks won’t be filling in Emery. They have other options for water for their coal storage facility.
Mayor Mistie Christiansen said she has been in contact with Commissioner James Nelson to put steps into place should the Muddy run dry. The Muddy is not dry, but she would like a plan in place if the water situation worsens.
Another problem in the winter is the Muddy could freeze back if the flow isn’t sufficient enough to keep it from freezing. There are approximately 1,800 head of stock that water out of the Muddy to consider also.
When the pipeline is complete it will offer a small amount of storage water when its full. The pipeline will save seepage and the water won’t freeze, the pipeline will be four feet deep.
Options will be explored to keep the town of Emery with water. An underground reservoir is in use in Brigham City and the feasibility of doing that here will be looked at. There was also talk of fixing old reservoirs and looking for funding for that purpose. The dam at Julius could be raised to allow more storage capacity. The council will pursue options for additional water storage.
There is a cabin in Greens Hollow that Emery is prepared to fight for if the family isn’t interested. The 99 year lease is up and the forest service will burn the cabin if the lease isn’t renewed. The council doesn’t want to see the cabin go away. The cattlemen and irrigation company would also like to be involved to save the cabin. The cabin has historic value. Gary Petty said there has been some effort to make the cabin a historical site. The family will be given the first opportunity to do something to save the cabin. In other places the forest service has renovated old cabins and rented them out.
The new water meters are almost in and they will be able to be read from a vehicle with a handheld device.
The beautification committee is planning a clean-up day in the fall. They are also going to try to purchase additional Christmas lights for the Christmas season. The committee is looking at grant opportunities to help restore the old church. They need an ordinance in place so they can apply for these grants. They have been working to clean-up the old church and they found an old 48 star flag at the church they are going to have restored and available for display at city hall. They have been working to straighten and secure the old steeple.
Commissioner candidate Ethan Migliori visited the meeting and told the council a little about himself and his experience in economic development and business. He said one focus of the economic development council this year has been on Main Street development and working with home based businesses to help them to grow and move into a store front business. The BEAR program he has been involved with has created 300 jobs during the last four years in the two county area and has helped people to develop the skills they need to strengthen communities. The cities are the lifeblood of the county. Migliori volunteered to do what he can for Emery and invited them to approach him with their concerns.