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
MAY 10, 2004 BEGINNING AT 1:00 P.M.
IN THE COMMISSION BOARD ROOM
IN DUCHESNE, UTAH

Present:  Commission Chairman Larry S. Ross, Commissioner Lorna Stradinger, Commissioner Kent Peatross, Road Supervisor, Doug Nielsen, Phil Johnson of the Uintah Basin Standard and Andrea Arnold taking minutes.

Opening Prayer: Commissioner Ross
Pledge of Allegiance:  All wishing to participate.

Road Items
Bids for chip/oil and spreader were opened in morning work meeting. Mr. Nielsen stated he is recommending Crown Asphalt for the chip/oil bid because they were the lowest bidder at one hundred seventy-two dollars ($172) a ton. He stated they are not a local vendor but there are not any vendors in the local area that can satisfy the bid. Commissioner Peatross motioned to award the chip/oil bid to Crown Asphalt for $172 a ton. Commissioner Stradinger seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

Mr. Nielsen stated he is recommending Burdick Paving for the chips and chip spreader bid because they are the low bidder at twelve dollars and fifty cents ($12.50) a ton. He stated Paul Young Construction’s bid is for twelve dollars and ninety-five cents ($12.95) a ton and Mitchell Constructions’ bid is for twenty-six dollars and fifteen cents ($26.15) a ton. Commissioner Stradinger motioned to award the chip bid to Burdick Paving for $12.50 a ton and would like to note that they are a local vendor. Commissioner Peatross seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

Mr. Nielsen stated he is recommending Burdick Paving for the distributor bid because they are the low bidder at ninety dollars ($90) per hour. He stated the bids for Paul Young Construction were ninety-five dollars ($95) per hour and Mitchell Construction was one hundred and sixty-three dollars ($163) per hour. Commissioner Peatross motioned to award the distributor bid to Burdick Paving for $90 per hour. Commissioner Stradinger seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

Mr. Nielsen stated Burdick Paving submitted a bid for seventy-five dollars ($75) per hour to transport the distributor but that specification was not requested in the original bid. Commissioner Peatross stated it should be Burdick Paving’s responsibility to transport the distributor. Commissioner Stradinger motioned that it is Burdick Paving’s responsibility to transport the distributor. Commissioner Peatross seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

Mr. Nielsen stated half the road crew trucks will be working on the Lake Fork Road and the other half will be graveling Road #29. He stated everything else is going well. Commissioner Ross stated there was a discussion in morning work meeting concerning Road #29 and its status on the B Road System. Mr. Nielsen stated the state and county road maps list the road as a B Road. Commissioner Ross stated there would be a public hearing held on June 14, 2004 to secure sufficient record of an action deeming the road a B Road. Mr. Nielsen stated Rex Harrison of Horrocks Engineers was unable to secure additional funding for the Arcadia Road Project. He will revise the project plans to make them fit into the budget limit.

....Jean Liddell of KNEU, Maurice Harvey, Irene Hansen, Lewis Fausett,
Luke Fausett, Honie Bird, Kim Farley, Jim Young, Keith Jensen,
Tina Hendricks and Troy Cooper joined the meeting...

Appoint Health Board Member
Commissioner Peatross motioned to appoint Margaret Grant to the TriCounty Health Board. Commissioner Stradinger abstained from the vote due to a conflict of interest. Commissioner Ross seconded the motion. Both commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

Beer License Application – Fruitland General Store
Commissioner Peatross reviewed the application from Fruitland General Store and determined they had approval by the Sheriff’s Department. Commissioner Stradinger motioned to approve the beer license application for Fruitland General Store. Commissioner Peatross seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

Ordinance 04-221 Utah Association of Counties Transient Room Tax
Andrea Arnold stated this agenda item was reviewed on May 3, 2004 but the motion was postponed until today because of an error in the ordinance number. Commissioner Peatross motioned to approve Ordinance 04-221 Utah Association of Counties Transient Room Tax. Commissioner Stradinger seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

Vouchers
Andrea Arnold presented predraw #87886 in the amount of three hundred thirty dollars ($330) and vouchers #87887 through #87955 in the amount of two hundred thousand, four hundred thirty-four dollars and fifty-three cents ($200,434.53). Commissioner Ross asked why there was a request for four thousand, eight hundred eight dollars and forty-seven cents ($4,808.47) for repairs on a vehicle involved in an accident. He stated the county should have a one thousand dollar ($1,000) deductible with the insurance company.

...Deputy Clerk/Auditor Judy Mutton joined the meeting...

Deputy Mutton stated the county has received a check from the insurance company in the amount of three thousand, eight hundred eight dollars and forty-seven cents ($3,808.47), which applied to the check for repairs, leaves the county owing the $1,000 deductible. Commissioner Peatross motioned to approve payment of the vouchers. Commissioner Stradinger seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

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

Department Head Timesheets
Deputy Stewart presented department head timesheets for signatures. All were signed.

Tax Adjustments – Auditor
Clerk/Auditor Freston has prepared a spreadsheet showing the tax adjustments for the Highland Development 2002 tax decision from the state (see attached). Commissioner Peatross motioned to approve the adjustments from the state’s decision regarding the 2002 tax appeal. Commissioner Stradinger seconded the motion. All commission voted aye and the motion passed.

Tax Adjustments – Treasurer
Andrea Arnold presented a request for a deferral of tax payments for property #00-032-5880. She stated this was a primary residence and the owner is able to make two (2) payments within the next month to pay the back taxes of six hundred sixty-two dollars and thirty-four cents ($662.34). Commissioner Peatross motioned to defer tax payments for property #00-032-5880 based on the County Treasurer’s recommendation. Commissioner Stradinger seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

Minutes of Meeting Held May 3, 2004
Commissioner Peatross motioned to approve the minutes as corrected. Commissioner Stradinger seconded the motion. All commissioners voted aye and the motion passed.

...Deputy County Attorney Roland Uresk joined the meeting...

2:00 p.m Animal Control Ordinance Public Hearing
Commissioner Ross welcomed the public. Attorney Uresk stated the procedure today is that two (2) have been proposed for adoption. He stated the public hearing today was to gather public comment and written comment could be accepted until a later date. He stated a revised copy of the ordinance would include the public’s comments for the commission to review before adoption. Commissioner Ross stated section 6.04.040 should be removed because the county does not have jurisdiction in city limits. He stated he has a concern with section 6.04.070 using such a broad term for defining animals at large. He stated including that section could bring other issues such as fencing and livestock. Mr. Luke Fausett stated he would like section 6.04.050 to be removed. This section discussed cruelty to animals. Mrs. Tina Hendricks stated it could be left in but it should be better defined. Mr. Jim Young stated the state code has a definition for which animal cruelty applies to. Commissioner Ross stated if there is an adequate definition in state code for the county’s needs, then this ordinance does not need a separate definition. Commissioner Ross stated 6.04.080 is too broad. Ms. Kim Farley stated it is too broad in defining approved rescue group. She stated it should clarify who approves the rescue group. Commissioner Ross stated the policy has the term “any animal” throughout and that term is too broad. Mrs. Hendricks stated the term refers to domestic animals only because the Division of Wildlife Resources has jurisdiction over wildlife. Commissioner Ross stated the definitions for the ordinance need to be reworked. Commissioner Ross stated the whole ordinance could be too broad. Mr. Young asked if it would be more suitable to have only a cat/dog ordinance. Commissioner Stradinger stated the county could not do that. She stated state code depicts that counties cannot adopt ordinances that have less authority than what is already adopted by state code. Mr. Young stated the committee used the state code to draft most of the ordinance. Ms. Farley stated the animal cruelty section should be left in the ordinance to deal with other animals besides cats and dogs. Mr. Maurice Harvey stated he has problems with cattle on his property. Attorney Uresk stated the section about animals at large could address that issue. Mr. Keith Jensen stated he had an issue with the licensing section. He stated that it was difficult for farmers with a number of farm dogs to license them all. Commissioner Stradinger stated you have to have a section that addresses licensing and fees. She stated if the ordinance did not require fees, then there would be no way to enforce the ordinance.

...Weed Department Supervisor Ron Johnson joined the meeting...

2:30 p.m Weed Ordinance Public Hearing
Commissioner Ross stated it was now time to open the public hearing for the Weed Ordinance. He stated the group could continue to discuss the Animal Control Ordinance.

Mr. Lewis Fausett stated he would like section 6.04.200 removed from the ordinance. This section addresses animals threatening passers-by. Attorney Uresk stated this section should not be a big problem. He stated the property owner should keep his animals on his own property and then there will not be a citation issued. Mr. Maurice Harvey asked who determines what a noise disturbance is. Ms. Farley stated the animal control officer would go on site and determine that. Commissioner Stradinger stated in section 6.12.01, Part C the word “reasonable” needs to be removed. Ms. Farley stated in section 6.12.02.10 the age for rabies vaccination should be at four (4) months not three (3) months. Commissioner Ross stated section 6.16.010 should address business licensing for animal shelters. Mr. Luke Fausett asked about the number of animals in a kennel. Mr. Young stated the committee discussed it and concluded that five (5) would be appropriate. Commissioner Stradinger stated the last page of the ordinance is a list of proposed fees from Dr. Dennis. Ms. Farley stated the fee for chipping needs to be increased to at least ten dollars ($10) because the chip costs five dollars ($5) and the paperwork is very voluminous. Attorney Uresk stated there are two parts of the ordinance that will need to be reworked. He stated the definitions need to be reworked and that the types of animals should be defined into a classification system. He stated the county could accept further written comment from the public until May 24, 2004. The ordinance will be schedule for adoption on June 7, 2004.

(Weed Ordinance Public Hearing)

Commissioner Peatross stated that the weed board has recommended an explanation of the declaration list of species of noxious weeds in section 8.30.050. He stated this list comes from the state’s declaration of noxious weeds. Mr. Keith Jensen stated that Quack Grass was listed as a noxious weed and it is usually more helpful in farming than not. Commissioner Peatross stated that Quack Grass is on the Utah State Noxious Weed List that is the standard in which the county must adopt as well. He explained that there is a lot of funding available for all the weeds on the list. Mr. Ron Johnson stated the county has included all that were on the state’s list and have added a few that were not. Mr. Troy Cooper stated he questions the “reasonable notification” in section 8.30.070. Commissioner Peatross asked if there were suggestions for that section. Mr. Johnson stated the reasonable notice would depend on how long the species of weed would take to spread. Commissioner Ross stated there is also a treatment period. He stated they should add a section clarifying the treatment time period for each weed. Commissioner Peatross stated he does not want to limit the weed board to only having two (2) farmers so the language has been changed to say a minimum of two farmers will sit on the board. Mr. Cooper asked if the terms of the weed board members were staggered. Commissioner Peatross stated they were. Attorney Uresk stated he would clarify that the current board members will keep their seats as they are after the adoption of the ordinance. Attorney Uresk stated he would like to propose to add a section that states the property owner will have five (5) days to deliver a plan to remedy the problem to the weed officers after they have received notification of the problem. Attorney Uresk stated he appreciates the nature of the public in today’s public hearings and the hearing has been very helpful.

Adjournment
The commission adjourned the meeting at 3:45 p.m.

 

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