The Ferron City council met for their council meeting. Jim Gordon from the Emery County ambulance was in attendance to discuss the ambulance service. In 2009, the Affordable Care Act put stipulations on providing part-time employees with health insurance. If an employee works 120 hours a month, they are eligible for benefits. The commissioners have looked at different options as to what to do with the ambulance service. The county would like to make the EMTs employees of their respective cities. We don’t want to inflict any financial burden on the cities. Each city will pay the EMTs and the county will reimburse the city. The county will be responsible for all of the vehicles and will be in charge of billing for the service. The county is asking the cities to take care of payroll. The county is working on a Memorandum of Understanding to present to the cities. We just need to know if this is something the cities are willing to support.
Councilman Bloomer wondered if the city would be reimbursed for the administrative time it takes to process the payroll. It is not known at this time and would be in the MOU. Councilwoman Adele Justice said the city should contact the city attorney to make sure there are no legal issues with this.
The city would like to know how many hours the EMTs work to put it into their budget for the year. They will need a break down of the hours for the past five years. Gordon said the ambulance service uses an online system to track the hours and will work on giving the cities a dollar amount. The city would like to have the MOU by the next council meeting.
Anjelena Behling approached the council about renting the metal building at the fairgrounds. It will be used for E-Motion Dance. It will be used on Mondays for her dance classes. The cost to rent the facility is $3 per hour. The council approved the request and will coordinate with Behling on any scheduling conflicts.
The council discussed Councilman Joe Trenery’s seat on the council. Councilman Trenery has been absent since November, due to health issues. Mayor Trent Jackson said he spoke to Councilman Trenery about returning to Ferron and fulfilling his council duties. It is not known at this time if Councilman Trenery will return. The state codes states, it is up to the town, municipality or the governing body whether to keep his council seat. Mayor Jackson will call Councilman Trenery after his next medical appointment and ask him if he is capable of returning and fulfilling his duties. Councilman Ronny Bloomer stated, Councilman Trenery has done so many great things for the city and it wouldn’t be right just to strip him of his council position. Councilman Bloomer suggested, Mayor Jackson call him and if he is unable to return to request he resign his position. The council would like a definitive answer before the next council meeting. The budget work session will be on April 21 at 6 p.m. The tentative budget needs to be adopted by the June council meeting.
Peach Days was discussed. A suggestion was made to give peach trees as prizes so the town would have more peach trees growing. The city should also consider planting peach trees at the new ball park. The theme for Peach Days will be, the Good Ol’ Days.
Councilwoman Justice is planning for Arbor Day. On April 23 at 9 a.m. everyone is invited to help plant trees around the city. There is a contest to design a poster for Arbor Day, prizes will be given. Senate Bill 28 passed and the city will need a tiered structure for the water bills. The intent of the bill is to steer people to conservation.
Julie Jones was in attendance. She was representing the Emery County Fair. The fair is partnering with Castle Dale City and combining the celebrations. The fair committee would like each town to have a garden wall. Beau Killpack of BK Gardens is willing to donate the dirt.
Mayor Jackson reported the Millsite Dam project is on hold. Dennis Worwood requested to have the internet at the fairgrounds improved. The city is coordinating with Emery Telcom to upgrade the internet.
The recreation board met on Monday to discuss the rec district. The rec district is funded by mineral lease money only and has had no money coming in. Some of the thoughts of the people in attendance was the commissioners do not care about the rec district. I think Commissioner Migliori and Commissioner Brady are in favor of the rec district. I think they provide a great service and benefit the county. Jake Atwood has taken other employment. The rec board will continue to work with the county to keep the rec district running.
Someone made an anonymous complaint about the golf course, the pro shop and passes. Mayor Jackson spoke to the auditor on the phone. Employee passes for the employee and their families should be shown on the state compensation formula similar to a benefit or compensation. Another finding from the auditor is the golf customer needs to sign the log personally.
The city should receive the findings next week.
Sid Swasey has been spraying weeds. There have been some problems with the new sprinklers and they are working on them. The temporary help for the cemetery has been great. They have it looking really good.
Kris Abegglen gave the golf course report. “We have had a good spring. We have got some of the coupons back from the advertising we did out of the county. We are trying to get more tournaments this year,” said Abegglen.
The council received the code enforcers reports. Kathy Jenkins and Desiree Leiva have both noticed properties with weeds, which could be a fire hazard. Leiva contacted a property owner about removing a sign from a business that is no longer operational. The property owner will remove the sign. Councilman Bloomer said there has been great progress with code enforcement. There should always be a paper trail if code enforcement makes contact with a resident.
Ferron city talks about EMTs becoming city employees
"Jim Gordon talks about the EMTs."