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MINUTES
BOX ELDER COUNTY
COMMISSION
MARCH 29, 2005
The Board of County
Commissioners of Box Elder County, Utah met in a work session at the County
Courthouse, 01 South Main Street in Brigham City, Utah at 8:00 a.m. on MARCH
29, 2005. The following members
were present:
Scott Hansen Chairman
Clark N. Davis Commissioner
Suzanne R. Rees Commissioner
Diane Fuhriman Deputy
Recorder/Clerk/Surveyor
EXCUSED: LuAnn Adams Recorder/Clerk/Surveyor
The following items
were discussed:
1. New Sound Equipment
– Keith Keller
2. Planning Review –
Layton Construction
3. Assignment Review –
Commissioners
4. Staff Reports
5. Correspondence
The work session
adjourned at 8:59 a.m.
The regular session
was called to order by Chairman Hansen at 9:00 a.m. with the following members
present, constituting a quorum:
Scott
Hansen Chairman
Clark N. Davis Commissioner
Suzanne R. Rees Commissioner
Diane Fuhriman Deputy
Recorder/Clerk/Surveyor
EXCUSED: LuAnn Adams Recorder/Clerk/Surveyor
The prayer was
offered by Commissioner Davis.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
THE MINUTES OF THE
REGULAR MEETING OF MARCH 22, 2005 WERE APPROVED WITH THE FOLLOWING CHANGES ON A
MOTION AS WRITTEN BY COMMISSIONER REES,
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS AND
UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED. IN THE APPROVAL OF MARCH 8, 2005 MINUTES THE MOTION
CARRIED 2 TO 0 NOT 2 TO 1; PAGE 6: THE WORD CATSCALE WAS SPELLED CORRECTLY AS
CATSKILL.
AGENDA: ATTACHMENT
NO. 1
FOLLOW-UP BUSINESS
Sympathy Card for
the Payne Family – Commissioner Rees
Commissioner Rees asked that a sympathy card be signed from the Commissioners to the family of Rocky Payne, the soldier killed in Iraq. She said that it was a very touching funeral.
Chairman Hansen explained that last summer when Cache Valley was going after
access roads, Box Elder County met with them regarding the road going from the
top of Rocky Dugway over to Four-Mile.
At that time Cache Valley, the Forest Service, and Box Elder County all
agreed to not pursue it as a road.
Chairman Hansen stated the Selmans have asked for a letter of agreement
stating that, so 20 years subsequent to now it won’t come up as another
issue. He then asked for permission to
sign the letter of agreement.
Commissioner Davis does not want any letter signed that does not
represent the position of the Commission. He feels that it is not an accurate
representation.
Chairman Hansen
explained that through the Forest Service, Box Elder County has no
jurisdiction. From that point on the road is in Cache Valley, so it is not a
road in our County. Garth Day stated the problem is that it is listed as a
Class D road, and if they want to take it off the list, they have to go thru
the vacation process. Chairman Hansen disagreed and stated the road has been
closed to motorized traffic by the Forest Service for years, but under statute
of the Forest Service, 100 years back, their roads are treated differently than
anybody else’s. If any road is
generated inside Forest Service land, they have to give the authorization for
it. The Forest Service has never been
asked to make that a road by the County, so what the County did, had nothing to
do with the Forest Service, so it doesn’t count; it is not a road. County
Attorney Amy Hugie interjected that the road has been there for over 100
years. Chairman Hansen re-iterated that
the Forest Service has never authorized it; it is by statute.
Commissioner Davis stated he feels this is not an appropriate item to
discuss in follow up business because this has not been discussed in a previous
meeting.
Les
Taylor brought before the Commission a list of Courthouse Operating Costs that
he had prepared himself. (See
Attachment No. 02 – Court House Operating Costs.) Mr. Taylor thinks it would be more cost effective to build on
land located by the Box Elder County jail.
He feels there are a lot of unanswered questions that need to be
addressed before moving forward on this project.
Commissioner
Rees thanked Mr. Taylor for the work he has put into presenting this to the
Commission. The Commissioners noted his
concerns as a citizen, and that they are seeking answers themselves.
Linda
Westley, Chief Deputy Auditor, presented the Commissioners with a list of the
exempt properties. (See Attachment
No. 02B – Exempt Properties.)
MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Rees to authorize signature of the list of exempt
properties. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Davis and unanimously carried.
AMBULANCE HARDSHIP POLICY – LYNN YEATES
Lynn Yeates, Chief Deputy, presented the
Commissioners with Resolution 05-05 for Ambulance Service Policies and
Procedures. He said this stems from an incident last year when a lady who broke
her leg out west and had to be brought to Brigham City for treatment and the
bill was extensive. Deputy Yeates stated he, Denton Beecher, Amy Hugie, and
Roger Handy have reviewed the resolution and agree that it fits the needs of
the County.
Commissioner Davis questioned some of the verbiage
in the resolution and what problems may occur by setting certain parameters.
Commissioner Rees noted in the past the County has used what she refers to as
the “common sense” policy in evaluating hardship cases, and feels that has
worked very well. She stated that Roger Handy has done a good job in the past
in evaluating each case on an individual basis. Chairman Hansen feels that with this resolution, it is a way to
treat everyone fairly.
Commissioner Davis had some suggestions for the
resolution that the Commission agreed on.
MOTION: Commissioner Rees made a motion to bring this item back next week with the changes suggested by Commissioner Davis. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Davis and unanimously carried.
DELINQUENT PROPERTY TAX DEFERRALS – MONTE MUNNS
Monte Munns, County Assessor/Treasurer, and Roger
Handy, County Auditor, presented the Commission with Resolution 05-06 for
Delinquent Property Tax Deferrals.
(See Attachment No. 03 – Resolution 05-06.)
Commissioner Davis likes the policy, but would like
the process explained. Roger Handy
explained that he would like to advise the property owners already on the
delinquency list with a letter informing them what the County has in mind as
far as implementing this policy. He would like to see the County Attorney’s
Office prepare an agreement that documents the tax lien. Monte Munns said as he visited with some of
the other counties, he has found out that other counties do not grant
deferrals. He is unsure of how the lien will be recorded or how the interest
will be calculated.
Commissioner Davis stated that even if the County
does not grant any deferrals, this resolution strengthens the County’s
position. The Commission agrees this
resolution is a step in the right direction.
MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Rees to accept Resolution 05-06
on the Delinquent Property Tax Deferrals. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Davis and unanimously carried.
MOTION: Commissioner Davis made a
motion that Carol Duncan be made Fleet Coordinator and the duties outlined in
the attached memo are the duties of that office. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Rees and unanimously carried.
(See Attachment No. 04 – Memo.)
BEER LICENSE RENEWAL – DIANE FUHRIMAN
MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Rees to renew the Class C Beer
License for the Gone Country Store in Grouse Creek. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Davis and unanimously carried.
REPORT ON LANDFILL STUDY – ZION’S BANK PUBLIC FINANCE
Jon Bronson, Zions Bank, introduced his
colleague Christine Parker who has researched the landfill project. She has built a model that will accommodate
the calculation of the proper tipping fee under various scenarios. Ms. Parker
presented the Commissioners with a list of assumptions that she has been using
in her model. She addressed each item on the study with the Commissioners.
(See Attachment No. 05 – Landfill Study.)
Ms. Parker asked if the County would
consider giving a volume discount. Commissioner Davis stated we are currently a
“non-profit landfill” that is restricted in the amount of money that can be
transferred to the general fund. If we
bring in outside waste, there is consideration that we would move to a
for-profit landfill. Under a for-profit landfill we would have additional costs
from the state. He said in expanding our annual utilization by bringing in
additional waste from other counties, it would be our expectation that the
incentive for doing that would be so we could transfer money into the general
fund.
Commissioner Rees is concerned with the
limits that may be imposed by the legislature. She said that House Bill 246 is
a revision of one that came last year.
Commissioner Rees feels action needs to be taken quickly or the County
is going to be paying extra fees even for what we are doing now.
Commissioner Hansen brought up the point
of roads. He stated an asphalt road typically lasts twenty years. There is
about 12 miles of road to and within the landfill that are basically light duty
roads. Each truck that rolls over that
will incur forty times as much wear as will an automobile, so when truck
traffic increases, the roads are going to deteriorate more rapidly. Commissioner Hansen thinks the landfill
ought to be funding the roads because it is the landfill that is wearing that portion
of the roads out. Gina Allen, Director
of Solid Waste, stated when she figured the estimate for Weber County, she
included that consideration for 6 miles of road.
Commissioner Davis stated the financial
model Zions Bank is preparing will be important to this issue, and advised Mr.
Bronson and Ms. Packer to work closely with Gina Allen. Commissioner Davis
wants them to understand the background.
The County does not want to operate the landfill just at a “break even”.
He said the County wants to supplement general fund services and if there is
any incentive for us to take on additional waste, other than for the citizens
of Box Elder County, that would be the incentive. Commissioner Davis stated
another incentive is that Ms. Allen can operate the landfill more efficiently
with a higher volume of waste. He said we are hoping that Zion’s Bank can give
us additional feedback as financial advisors, beyond the financial model.
CREDIT CARD APPROVAL/CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL/PHYSICAL FACILITIES
DEPARTMENT HEAD – ROGER HANDY
County Auditor Roger Handy made a request for Chief
Building Official/Physical Facilities Department Head, Donnie Tarver, to be
authorized for a credit card.
MOTION: A motion was made
by Commissioner Davis to authorize a
credit card for Donnie Tarver, Chief Building Official/Physical Facilities
Department Head. The motion was
seconded by Commissioner Rees and
unanimously carried.
WARRANT REGISTER –
COMMISSIONERS
The warrant
register was signed, and the following claims were approved for payment: Claims number 36617 thru 36650 in the amount
of $410,592.94. Claims number 36651
thru 36772 in the amount of $97,434.41.
PERSONNEL ACTIONS –
COMMISSIONERS
FAIRGROUNDS: Gerald Richins, compensation change, effective
03/23/2005
ASSIGNMENT REVIEW -
COMMISSIONERS
The Commissioners reviewed assignments.
RECESS
The Commissioners
took a recess at 11:25 a.m. and reconvened at 11:30 a.m.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
1. Strategy session to discuss the purchase, exchange, or lease of real property when public discussion of the transaction would disclose the appraisal or estimated value of the property under consideration or prevent the public body from completing the transaction on the best possible terms.
MOTION: At
11:30 a.m. a motion was made by Commissioner Rees to move into an
executive session to discuss the purchase, exchange, or lease of real property. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Davis and the motion was unanimously carried.
MOTION: At 11:55 a.m. a motion was made by
Commissioner Rees to reconvene into regular commission meeting. Commissioner Davis seconded the motion, and
regular commission meeting was reconvened.
Chairman Hansen
explained that there was a discussion on the purchase, exchange, or lease of
real property because public discussion of the transaction would disclose the
appraisal or estimated value of the property under consideration or prevent the
public body from completing the transaction on the best possible terms.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made
by Commissioner Rees to adjourn. Commissioner
Davis seconded the motion, and the meeting adjourned at 11:56 a.m.
ADOPTED AND
APPROVED
in regular session this 5th day of April 2005.
_______________________________
Scott Hansen,
Chairman
_______________________________
Clark N. Davis,
Commissioner
_______________________________
Suzanne R. Rees,
Commissioner
ATTEST:
_________________________________
LuAnn Adams,
Recorder/Clerk/Surveyor