IRON COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING
August 23, 2004
Minutes of the Iron County Commission meeting convened at 9:00 a.m. August 23, 2004 in Commission Chambers at the Iron County Courthouse, Parowan, Utah.
Officers in attendance included:
Wayne A. Smith Commission Chairman
Gene E. Roundy Commissioner
Dennis E. Stowell Commissioner
Scott F. Garrett County Attorney
David I. Yardley County Clerk
Also Present:
Dennis A. Lowder County Auditor
Dennis W. Ayers County Assessor
Patsy T. Cutler County Recorder
Geraldine S. Norwood County Treasurer
Mark O. Gower Interim County Sheriff
SYNOPSIS :
APPROVAL OF MINUTES - August 9, 2004
APPROVAL OF WARRANTS & ADJOURN
BID OPENING - GRAVEL CRUSHING - ROADS
COMPUTER SYSTEM MATTERS - ERIK JORGENSEN
LAND CONDEMNATION - GENEVA PROPERTY - LANDFILL
PAROWAN AMBULANCE BUILDING. PARKING LOT MATTER
PUBLIC HEARING PRELIMINARY PLAT APPROVAL BLACK ROCK SUBDIVISION
RFP - PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS, JAIL
Those assembled were led in the pledge of allegiance by Patsy Cutler.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES - August 9, 2004 :
Minutes of the Iron County Commission meeting held August 9, 2004 were approved as amended on a motion by Gene Roundy. Second was Dennis Stowell. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
David Yardley reported that mosquito abatement materials have arrived. The fogging machine needs to be calibrated and a certified pesticide handler needs to apply the material. Russell Anderson will coordinate the trapping and identification of mosquitos to determine the extent of the mosquito population within the County.
Gene Roundy reported that he has received an audit report from Southwest Public Health for 2003. It is to be placed on the Commission agenda for approval.
Dennis Stowell reported that a grant has been obtained from the State Department of Natural Resources to reseed the Wild Pea Hollow property into prairie dog feed.
Scott Garrett reported that a position is being advertised for an additional Deputy Attorney. Scott also reported that the first scheduled criminal trial for Sheriff David W. Dude Benson is scheduled to begin jury selection on August 27 with testimony scheduled to start on August 30. Since Mr. Benson requested that the charges be separated, this could be the first of multiple trials.
Dennis Lowder reported that revenue has increased in the Justice Court system since approval of additional shifts for Highway Patrol troopers and Sheriff’s Deputies. The program will be reviewed to determine if the additional patrols have resulted in a reduction in the number of accidents being reported.
Patsy Cutler reported that at the Recorder’s workshop the issue of increasing recording fees throughout the state was discussed. Larger Wasatch front counties are pushing for the increases while rural counties have chosen to resist any changes. It appears that the issue is dead for the 2005 Legislative session.
Geri Norwood reported that the tax collection cycle is starting. Special taxes or attachments are being reviewed and will be added prior to mailing notices.
Geri also reported that she is ordering a camera head to begin scanning documents in the Treasurer’s Office.
Dennis Ayers reported that an employee at the Cedar branch of the Assessor’s Office is experiencing a major health problem and will be taking extended sick leave.
There have been twenty appeals to the Board of Equalization so far this year which shows that values are not being challenged.
Mark Gower reported that sandbags have been purchased through the Sheriff’s budget. He questioned if the Cities were responsible to reimburse the County for bags used within the Cities. The Commission requested that this matter be placed on the Coordinating Council agenda for discussion.
Erik Jorgensen reported on a meeting with the Computer Trust. It appears that some Counties want to keep going over the same material again and again even though the Trust has voted to proceed with migrating from Tiberon. Data Processing is putting together a Request For Proposals (RFP) to acquire a new software system for the County.
PUBLIC HEARING PRELIMINARY PLAT APPROVAL BLACK ROCK SUBDIVISION:
Gene Roundy made a motion to open a public hearing to receive comments regarding a preliminary plat approval for the Blackrock Subdivision at Paragonah. Second by Dennis Stowell. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
Chad Nay reported that the preliminary plat has been approved by the Planning Commission and meets all of the requirements of the Subdivision Ordinance.
Dale Robinson, Developer of the subdivision explained that the subdivision is adjacent to Paragonah Town and is scheduled to be annexed in as soon as the County takes final action. Paragonah could not annex prior to this time due to their failure to have an annexation plan in place.
There being no further public comments, Dennis Stowell made a motion to close the hearing and to approve the preliminary plat of Blackrock Subdivision as recommended by the Planning Commission. Second by Gene Roundy. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
COMPUTER SYSTEM MATTERS- ERIK JORGENSEN :
Erik Jorgensen brought results of bids for wiring computer and telephone systems in the Justice Center in Cedar. Erik stated that he may have a conflict of interest in that his brother is a part owner of bidder, AC-DC Electric.
Three bids were received with AC-DC Electric being the low bid to install cable tray and hook and ring distribution system within the building. D&D Electric and Zephyr Technology were the other companies submitting bids.
Gene Roundy made a motion to accept the bid of AC-DC Electric to install the wiring for computer and telephones in the Justice Center. Second by Dennis Stowell. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
Erik also discussed wireless internet connections for emergency vehicles. After testing coverage it was determined that Verizon has the best County wide coverage. It was approved to proceed with existing internet services to connect emergency vehicles to dispatch and County servers.
Erik discussed inter connectivity between agencies to allow for sharing data and to provide a seamless system for data transfer. It was determined that it is not the intention of the County to make money on the project but to provide a service to participating entities. Gene Roundy made a motion to approve development of a County wide system and to authorize the County Attorney to draft an interlocal agreement for participation in the system. Second by Dennis Stowell. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
Christene Keene presented for approval as a new employee Dennis Anderson as a part time temporary Bailiff in the Sheriff’s Office. Gene Roundy made a motion to approve the hiring as presented. Second by Dennis Stowell. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
Two sewer agreements between Iron County and Cedar City were reviewed. The first agreement provides that Cedar City will be responsible to fund, install and maintain the sewer trunk line from the sewer treatment plant to the Hamilton Fort and South Cedar City area. The County will be responsible to require new development within the service area to connect to the system.
The second agreement provides that the County will bill for County connections and pay Cedar City for connections and maintenance of the lateral connections. Cedar City agrees to withhold annexation of County subdivisions until all outstanding bonds are paid off.
Gene Roundy made a motion to approve the agreements and to authorize the Commission Chair to sign the agreements. Second by Dennis Stowell. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
RFP - PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS, JAIL :
David Yardley reported that a Request for Proposals to provide prescription medications at the Jail was distributed to all of the pharmacies within Iron County. One completed RFP was returned submitted by Bulloch Drug. The RFP has been sent to David Lovell for his review as purchasing coordinator at the Jail and for a comparison with the existing drug provider.
The Commission requested the matter be placed on the next agenda for action.
PAROWAN AMBULANCE BUILDING. PARKING LOT MATTER :
Ron Johnson, Steve Platt and Robert Mercer appeared before the Commission to discuss a resolution to a settling problem in the parking lot at the ambulance garage in Parowan. Ashdown Brothers installed the parking lot however it appears that the base was not properly compacted around the septic tank. As the ground has settled, the parking lot has developed a hole. Ashdown’s have repaired the hole while they were completing a project at the Parowan ball complex. Gene Roundy made a motion to approve the repairs and to authorize payment to Ashdown Brothers for the repairs. Second by Dennis Stowell. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
BID OPENING - GRAVEL CRUSHING - ROADS :
Bids were opened for a crushing contract at Iron Springs. Quality Crushing bid $3.43 per Cubic Yard for a total of $48,020. Progressive Contractors bid $3.45 per Cubic Yard for a total of $48,300. Gene Roundy made a motion to accept the low bid of Quality Crushing following a review of documents for compliance with specifications by the County Engineer. Second by Dennis Stowell. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
Clark Merrill, Don Merrill, Joe Ott and Jeff Monson presented a bi-annual report on the status of the County health insurance plan administered by MBA. They reported that use appears to be in line with projections and that problems experienced in the first quarter appear to be from hold over claims from 2003. Rates were discussed industry wide including projected increases for the 2005 coverage year. Proposals are being presented to the Insurance Committee for their review and recommendation of funding level for the County Plan for the 2005 year.
LAND CONDEMNATION - GENEVA PROPERTY - LANDFILL :
Negotiations with Geneva Steel appear to have broken down regarding the purchase of a parcel of land deemed necessary by the County for the continued operation of the Landfill. Dennis Stowell made a motion to proceed with condemnation as a public necessity for the acquisition by the County of the parcel. Second by Gene Roundy. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
The County Attorney was requested to proceed as soon as possible with the condemnation process.
Dennis Stowell made a motion to authorize signatures on a Community Development Block Grant contract for the expansion of the Senior Citizen Center in Cedar City. Second by Gene Roundy. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
APPROVAL OF WARRANTS & ADJOURN :
After the bills were reviewed and approved or rejected, the meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m. on a motion by Gene Roundy. Second was by Dennis Stowell. Voting: Wayne Smith, Aye; Gene Roundy, Aye; Dennis Stowell, Aye.
/s/ Wayne A. Smith
Signed: Wayne A. Smith, Chairman
/s/ David I. Yardley
Attest: David I. Yardley
County Clerk