Clerk/Auditor
Minutes
Duchesne County
Commission Meeting

Duchesne County
Commission Meeting

The following document has been re-formatted from the original for Internet accessibility.  County Commission Minutes, in their original format, are available through the Office of the County Clerk/Auditor.

MINUTES FOR REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING HELD
SEPTEMBER 29, 2003 BEGINNING AT 1:00 P.M.
IN THE COMMISSION BOARD ROOM
IN DUCHESNE, UTAH

Commissioners Present:  Commission Chairman Larry S. Ross, Commissioner Lorna Stradinger, and Commissioner Kent Peatross.

Others Present:  Road Department Supervisor, Doug Nielsen; Clerk-Auditor Diane Freston; and Deputy Clerk-Auditor Andrea Higbee taking minutes.

Prayer: Commissioner Peatross
Pledge of Allegiance: All wishing to participate.

Road Items - Supervisor Douglas Nielsen
Commissioner Peatross commented that he had spoken with Mr. Guy Taylor Sr. and that Mr. Taylor had related that he was given the impression that the Army Corp of Engineers' rules and regulations supercedes the county's regarding the bridge on road near Mr. Taylor's property.  Commissioner Ross suggested that the county discontinue this issue until it could be discussed with the Army Corp of Engineers.  Mr. Nielsen stated that Mr. Taylor has related that he felt there were funding issues that could be affected if the county follow the Army Corp. of Engineers recommendations. Commissioner Peatross stated that the letter says that there might be several approaches to both funding and engineering of the bridge. Mr. Nielsen stated that the letter says that the infrastructure should be engineered and plans submitted to the state for review.  Mr. Nielsen will submit the county's engineered plans for the bridge to the Army Corp of Engineers.

Mr. Nielsen stated that the road department is now flushing the Utahn roads and Rock Creek roads with a mixture of water/oil.

...Deputy County Attorney Roland Uresk and Emergency Management Supervisor Georg Adams joined the meeting...

Request for Waiver of Fire Billing - Eugene Phifer
Attorney Uresk stated the Mr. Phifer has requested that the county waive the amount owed for a fire billing.  Attorney Uresk stated that Mr. Phifer had a controlled burn that turned into a grass fire.  Mr. Phifer had called dispatch and several fire units were sent to assist. Mr. Adams stated that the fire had spread to approximately five acres and that he had already reduced the billing amount to $372.00 (three hundred seventy-two dollars and no cents).  Motion: Commissioner Peatross motioned to deny the waiver and keep the reduced amount of $372.00 as owed.   Commissioner Stradinger seconded the motion.  All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

...Building and Grounds Supervisor Michael Lefler joined the meeting...

Wasatch Electric Contract Renewal - Michael Lefler
Commissioner Stradinger questioned Mr. Lefler as to concerns he has had with Wasatch Electric in the past.  Mr. Lefler replied that he has had a few problems but Wasatch Electric is very familiar with the county's buildings.  She feels that Mr. Lefler should obtain quotes from other vendors for services before entering another contract with Wasatch Electric.  This item will be rescheduled for consideration after Mr. Lefler has obtained two other quotes for services as the county procurement policy requires.

Highland Development Pending Litigation
Commissioner Ross asked Attorney Uresk why the commission had received a summons.   Attorney Uresk stated that the summons was received from Mr. Joe Steed's attorney and refering to a complaint made by Highland Development.  Commissioner Ross acknowledged that there is pending litigation between Duchesne County and Highland Development.

WDI Meeting Postponement
Attorney Uresk had informed the commissioners that the legal representative for Water Disposal Incorporated (WDI), Andrew Morse, had submitted a written request to postpone the meeting between the parties that had been scheduled for October 3, 2003.   The commissioners accepted this request and all agreed that the appeals meeting would be rescheduled to October 28, 2003 at 9:00 a.m.  Attorney Uresk phoned Attorney Morse to reschedule.  Commissioner Peatross stated that he is concerned WDI is still dumping.   Commissioner Ross asked Ms. Higbee to phone the community representative, Charmaine Hurley, to inquire into the status of the dumping.  Ms. Higbee informed the commissioners that Ms. Hurley had stated that she has seen trucks entering WDI and dumping as recent as today.  Commissioner Peatross asked Attorney Uresk to relate that information to Attorney Morse.

...Deputy Clerk/Auditor Leann Stewart joined the meeting...

Auditor's Office - Vouchers, Department Head Time Sheets and Tax Adjustments
Clerk/Auditor Freston presented vouchers #85318 through #85365 in the amount of $75,038.44 (seventy-five thousand, thirty-eight dollars and forty-forty cents) for approval.  Motion:   Commissioner Stradinger motioned to pay the vouchers.  Commissioner Peatross seconded the motion.  All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

Deputy Clerk/Auditor Stewart presented department head time sheets for approval. All were approved.

Clerk/Auditor Freston presented the following tax adjustments for approval:

Account # Serial #	Yr	+ Debit - Credit	Comment
94958L	03	-$173.30	MSRP figured wrong
M-045-07-08 0011019	02	+$363.05	Added Pers Prop from M-61-03-4
	01	+$424.58	Added Pers Prop from M-61-03-4
	00	+$649.67	Added Pers Prop from M-61-03-4
M-061-03-4	02	-$363.05	Moved Pers Prop to M-045-07-08
	01	-$424.58	Moved Pers Prop to M-045-07-08
	00	-$649.67	Moved Pers Prop to M-045-07-08
N-0130-1N-1 0306658	03	-$60.60	Putting on Greenbelt
M-2804 00-007-5683	03	-$100.06	Should be exempt

Motion:   Commissioner Stradinger motioned to approve the tax adjustments.  Commissioner Peatross seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

Deputy Clerk/Auditor Higbee presented minutes from the meeting held September 22, 2003 for approval.  Motion:  Commissioner Peatross motioned to accept the minutes as corrected.  Commissioner Stradinger seconded the motion.  All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

...Assessor Greg Garff, Joe Steed, Joann Steed and Victoria Garcia
joined the meeting...

B.O.E. - Highland Development
Assessor Garff explained that Highland Development was appealing the property values because they felt the values were too high. Commissioner Ross stated that they were only discussing the year 2003 property values on Highland Development properties. Commissioner Ross asked Mr. Steed if he was appealing all the values on all of his properties.   Mr. Steed replied that he was.  Mr. Steed submitted documents from the year 2002 appeal of property values to the commission that contained information concerning his property.  Ms. Garcia, a spokesperson for Highland Development, explained that the documents contained information concerning the properties, current taxes, and explained the cabin/land package with comparative values.  Commissioner Peatross asked what a package costs.  Ms. Garcia stated that it was approximately $59,950.00 (fifty-nine thousand, nine hundred fifty dollars and no cents). Assessor Garff stated that for his appraisal of the lots he used Caroline Estates and Ledge Rock lots for comparisons.   Ms. Garcia felt the appraisal was too high.

Mr. Steed explained that he is appealing three commercial lots as well.  Ms. Garcia questioned whether they should be taxed for their welcome center because it was used as a museum for the benefit of the county.  Clerk/Auditor Freston stated that they could file for a tax exemption in the Clerk/Auditor's office because the building is not for profit.  She stated that the application could be used to exempt this year's tax but they would need to file every year to be considered.  Ms. Garcia stated that they felt the values for the construction office and the sales office were over assessed.   The commissioners felt that this discussion should be continued at a later date.

Executive Session - Discuss Pending Litigation 3:00 p.m.

Regular Session - 3:15 p.m.
The commission has received correspondence from Brad Hancock that expressed his concern with the commission's decision to stop construction on his building permit.   Commissioner Ross asked Attorney Uresk to draft a letter to respond to Mr. Hancock.   The letter is attached to the minutes.

Adjournment:

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