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MINUTES
BOX ELDER COUNTY
COMMISSION
APRIL 19, 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 APRIL
19, 2005. The following members
were present:
Scott Hansen Chairman
Clark N. Davis Commissioner
Suzanne R. Rees Commissioner
LuAnn Adams Recorder/Clerk/Surveyor
The following items
were discussed:
1. Grouse Creek
Special Service District – LuAnn Adams
2. Awarding Bid Contract/Yost
Road Shed Building – John Collom, Lynn Yeates, Andre’ Pommier
3. Assignment Review –
Commissioners
4. Staff Reports
5. Correspondence
The work session
adjourned at 8:59 a.m.
Chairman Hansen
called the regular session to order at 9:00 a.m. with the following members
present, constituting a quorum:
Scott
Hansen Chairman
Clark N. Davis Commissioner
Suzanne R. Rees Commissioner
LuAnn Adams Recorder/Clerk/Surveyor
Commissioner Davis
offered the prayer.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
THE MINUTES OF THE
REGULAR MEETING OF APRIL 12, 2005 WERE APPROVED ON A MOTION AS WRITTEN BY COMMISSIONER REES, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED.
AGENDA: ATTACHMENT
NO. 1
TTAB GRANT
RECOMMENDATIONS – JOAN HAMMER
Commissioner Rees said the Board was allocated 20% of the restaurant tax.
Commissioner Davis explained that as far as allocations, there is no
specific allocation except a verbal agreement.
There is nothing in the minutes.
Commissioner Davis said each year Roger Handy summarizes the use of the
restaurant tax money. He said there was
discussion on using 20% of the projected restaurant money for projects other
than the fairgrounds. He said all the
requests totaled $230,000 and the projected restaurant tax money for the year
is $317,000 for 2005. He said 20% would
be $63,445; however, as they looked at the projects there was one project that
stood apart from the other applications and that was the Bird Refuge project. He said the Commission agreed with the Bird
Refuge to provide inkind support for a new visitor’s center. He said if we look back on the minutes as a
Commission we obligated $200,000 in support of the Bird Refuge. He feels the restaurant tax money is a way
of showing our support of the previous obligation and begin the process of
showing community and commission support for the bird refuge. Commissioner
Davis said when you separate the other projects; the amount the Tourism Board
would like funded is well below the $63,445.
The Board would like to fund $40,000 for the Bird Refuge and $54,000 for
the other projects for a total amount of $94,000.
Commissioner Rees was surprised when she saw the numbers and discussed
the numbers with County Auditor Roger Handy.
He cautioned her in allocating the extra money in April because we do
not know what is ahead for the rest of the year. Commissioner Rees stated that the Tourism Board was given $63,000
to work with. She is very concerned
that the committee would recommend this much over and above what was
projected. Commissioner Rees would like
to go back to the minutes to see what kind of commitment was made to the Bird
Refuge.
Commissioner Davis said we are not going over the budget. There is no 20% line that is approved in the
budget. There is $143,000 approved in the budget under undesignated, and we are
still $49,000 under the allowable budget.
The $143,000 is designated as undesignated in the general fund budget
portion. The 20% is not budgeted
separately. He said if this money is
not expended, it is transferred to the capital project fund for future capital
projects associated with this money. He
said any unused monies would be transferred not as a separate line item for the
20%.
Bob Valentine said initially the only way we could secure congressional
approval to build the new Visitor’s Center at the Bird Refuge was to have local
support. They came to the County
Commission and allocated a number of $200,000 for both Brigham City and the
County. The Commission agreed to the
$200,000. Those numbers were turned
into Congress and the Appropriation Committee.
The Friends of the Bird Refuge raised $1M. He said they were looking at the road department building the
parking lot and asphalting it. A source
of money was found through the Federal Transportation Department. The Commission and Sheriff agreed to provide
prisoner labor to build a boardwalk, and they found out federal law precludes
the use of inmate labor. The County was given credit for the $130,000 from the
grant. He said the $40,000 they are
asking for would go toward the County’s commitment and balance of $70,000. He said perhaps we can get a little bit of
construction service out of the road department and use them to haul clinkers
and get the Congressional appropriation off the Bird Refuge’s back. He feels it is a perfect opportunity to use
tourism funds. Mr. Valentine gave some
history on the tourism funds. He said
initially some money was authorized to be spent at the County Fairgrounds, but
not all of it. He said there are too
many other entities that generate tourism.
He feels that the Bird Refuge will generate tourism as it has a
world-renowned reputation for the different species of birds. It will generate year-round activity, and
they are receiving more and more calls from Europe. He feels we will see a very significant growth of activities in
the County.
Commissioner Rees agrees but remembers that the $200,000 was a lot of
in-kind labor. She agreed that the Bird
Refuge is wonderful and will bring in a lot of tourists. She is surprised the Committee didn’t have
them further up on their list. She said
the County owns the fairgrounds and tourism tax is a way to help at the
fairgrounds; otherwise, every bit of money has to come from the general
budget. She said if we use some of the
tourism money, it helps to lower the tax burden. Commissioner Rees said we do not want to get to a point where we
are raising taxes.
Bob Valentine said he is not attacking the fair nor attacking funding for
these activities and structures that are required out there to make a more
rewarding experience for the people. He
said for many years that is where all the money went and his argument, “is that
appropriate?” He said that is the
extent of his criticism. The fair is a
great thing for the County. He said it
is the best in the state and should remain that way.
Bob Davis said the Advisory Board would probably not put the Bird Refuge
number one because of the criteria. It
will not have an immediate impact or do something today with more visitors to
the community. One of the criteria is
to get more people. He referred to a
successful project last year, and that was “Fantasy at the Bay”. He said the Board is not trying to over-run
the budget or put a crunch on dollars.
He said the recommendation was made because this allocation was a prior
commitment.
Commissioner Davis said with the undesignated amount of $143,000 and a
recommendation of $94,000, there is a $54,000 margin for error. He recommended the $63,445 and the provision
that the $94,000 be funded if funds are available at the year-end. He said they will still be $49,000-$50,000
below budget.
Commissioner Rees does not like the precedence the Committee is setting
when $63,445 was allocated and asking for $94,000.
Commissioner Davis said there is a previous commitment of $70,000 with
the Bird Refuge and the Commission will need to meet the obligation. He said in-kind contributions take money
from existing budgets. He said the left
over money automatically goes into the capital project fund, which has an
accumulated balance of $916,539 at the end of 2003. Money was also transferred at the end of 2004.
Commissioner Rees said it has come back that we need to replace the
grandstands, and it is wonderful to have funds built up to replace a major
problem without asking the taxpayers to pay for some of these things.
Commissioner Hansen is concerned about using John Collom and his really
busy schedule. He said John Collom has
a heavy schedule right now with the road shed in Park Valley, and he is short
two trucks, a backhoe and a grader. He
said they also have some fuel tanks to deal with. Commissioner Hansen said we need roads graded, and we need to put
assets back into the buildings at the fairgrounds that have run down. He feels we need a work session on this and
see what needs to be done and set priorities.
Bob Davis asked Ben Day to make a presentation.
Ben Day said he is representing the Buggytowne Project. Buggytowne wants to be a good partner in a
partnership with Box Elder County. He
feels in the future the project can help Box Elder County financially. He said they are asking for some funds to
help with an authentic replica of the Box Elder Vendor’s Delivery Wagon. This wagon can be seen and used by people in
the State of Utah, Idaho or wherever it can be dragged. It will be an Icon or trademark for Box
Elder County. This wagon can travel
where other older wagons in the collection cannot travel. He said we need something to take our
message out to the people to see and tell the people what is happening in the
County and in Northern Utah. He said
Buggytowne is asking for a little bit of help to get started, and they will
more than pay the County back in the future.
Mr. Day would like to see school kids come and see the wagons when they
get started. He wants kids to know how
come it took his grandfather three days to get to Salt Lake from
Tremonton. He said horses would not be
a problem. Mr. Day also commented on
the rodeo grounds. He said it is the
best for an area like this.
Commissioner Rees said the wagons really tell a story of history. She said last year the Committee chose not
to fund the project, and she is pleased that they chose to fund this project
this year. She is also excited to see
the horse stalls at the fairgrounds funded.
Bob Davis said that the Board recommends funding this project with the
stipulation that the wagon will be available for certain county events that
they specify that will promote tourism.
Commissioner Rees said she wants to help the Bird Refuge but feels it
must be treated separate from this project.
She commended the Board for their efforts.
Roland Bringhurst was asked to talk about the light park. He said with the help from the Tourism Tax
Board and the advertising, they doubled the visitors. They went from 4,000 vehicles to under 8,000, which equated to
around 35,000 people. He said Willard
Bay is excited to host this light park and it is exciting for the County as a
whole. He said people made it a full
evening event. He said if they were not
eating in the park they were eating at Maddox or Idle Isle or Flying J and then
visiting the park. He was excited to
see the success.
Bob Davis said a criteria was that it would not be renewable money. The committee does not want to create a
year-after-year entitlement program where the same programs are funded. They need to stand on their own. He touched on the success of the Heritage
Theatre project.
Joan Hammer said it is a pleasure to work with the Committee. Everyone works hard, and they see the big
picture. She applauded them and
appreciates everything they do for the Tourism Department.
MOTION: A motion
was made by Commissioner Davis to
approve the projects recommended by the Tourism Tax Advisory Board in the
amount of $54,047, which is below the 20%, and to schedule a work session to
discuss the County’s obligations to the Bird Refuge and what can be done
towards fulfilling the County’s obligation.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Rees and unanimously carried.
BID
OPENING/CHIPPING OIL – JOHN COLLOM
Road Supervisor John Collom opened the following bids for chipping oil:
|
Koch Asphalt |
CRS2H - $153.00 per ton |
MC800 - $274.00 per ton |
|
Pete Asphalt |
CRS2H - $156.00 per ton |
MC800 - $275.00 per ton |
MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Davis to award the bid to Koch Asphalt at $153.00
for CRS2H and $274.00 for MC800. The
motion was seconded by Commissioner Rees
and unanimously carried.
OUT-OF-STATE TRAVEL
–KEITH KELLER
Keith Keller, IS Director, asked for permission to attend a Networld/Interop training and convention focusing on network security. Mr. Keller said through some of his professional associations he is able to get a certain amount of training for free and has not attended the training for the last three years.
MOTION: A motion
was made by Commissioner Rees to
authorize travel for Keith Keller to attend a training convention in Las Vegas,
Nevada, May 4-7 at an estimated cost of $801.90. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Davis and unanimously carried.
SUBDIVISION
APPLICATION/SCENIC DEVELOPMENT PHASE II & III – GARTH DAY
MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Davis to refer the Scenic Development Phase II
& III back to the Planning Commission for their review and to send a letter
of notification in accordance with County Commission Minutes dated March 22,
2005. 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 36954 thru 36970 in the amount
of $4,577.12. Claims 36971 thru 37099
in the amount of $256,054.99.
PERSONNEL ACTIONS –
COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY ATTY: Cynthia Gordon, compensation
change, effective 04/14/2005
TOURISM: Joan Hammer,
compensation change, effective 04/04/2005
ITS: Nathan
Hammer, compensation change, effective 04/08/2005
AUDITOR: Marla Liljenquist,
re-hire, effective 04/13/2005
REC/CLERK/SUR: Ryan Lym,
re-classification/compensation change, effective 04/04/2005
ASSIGNMENT REVIEW -
COMMISSIONERS
The Commissioners reviewed assignments.
County
Recorder/Clerk/Surveyor LuAnn Adams stated this is a pass-through grant that is
securing money for restoration of the Holmgren Barn.
MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Rees to approve the CLG Grant and authorize to
move forward. The motion was seconded
by Commissioner Davis and unanimously
carried.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made
by Commissioner Rees to adjourn. Commissioner
Davis seconded the motion, and the meeting adjourned at 10:25 a.m.
ADOPTED AND
APPROVED
in regular session this____day of
April 2005.
_______________________________
Scott Hansen,
Chairman
_______________________________
Clark N. Davis, Commissioner
_______________________________
Suzanne R. Rees,
Commissioner
ATTEST:
_________________________________
LuAnn Adams,
Recorder/Clerk/Surveyor