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MINUTES
BOX ELDER COUNTY COMMISSION
NOVEMBER 15, 2005
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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 NOVEMBER 15, 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:
Blue Prints for Fairgrounds Grand Stands – Gerald Smith
Public Defender Contract – Amy Hugie
Letter to Cities Regarding Public Defender Contract – Amy Hugie
Discussion of the 2006 Proposed Budget _ Roger Handy
Long Divide Road Trespassing Etc. – J.D. Scott
Assignment Review – Commissioners
Staff Reports
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
LuAnn Adams Recorder/Clerk/Surveyor
The prayer was offered by Commissioner Davis.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 01, 2005 WERE APPROVED AS WRITTEN ON A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER REES AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED.
AGENDA: ATTACHMENT NO. 1
LETTER TO CITIES REGARDING PUBLIC DEFENDER CONTRACT – AMY HUGIE
County Attorney Amy Hugie will prepare a letter to the cities of Tremonton, Willard, Perry and Garland regarding the cities covering their own public defender costs or contributing to the County.
MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Rees to authorize Chairman Hansen to sign the letters as soon as County Attorney Amy Hugie makes changes to the letter with the dollar amount the County is asking the communities to contribute. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Davis and unanimously carried.
CDBG GRANT – AMY HUGIE/CAROL DUNCAN
MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Rees to approve the cooperative agreement between Utah State University Cooperative Extension and Box Elder County. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Davis and unanimously carried.
WILLARD BAY STATE PARK – ROLAND BRINGHURST
Roland Bringhurst, Park Manager, said the State Parks has a new director, Mary Tullis. She is doing some amazing things. Eli Anderson was recently appointed as a board member. Utah has 42 State parks, and these parks are a benefit to the communities, particularly in rural Utah. He said this has been witnessed with some park closures down south. The State Parks provide access to waterways, trail enforcement and assists counties with search and rescue. Mr. Bringhurst said Governor Huntsman wants the State Park Personnel to work more closely with the communities and counties to expand tourism efforts and help them with grants that are available. He then reviewed a couple of the grants that will be available. Mr. Bringhurst said another part will be to identify recreational needs in the county to go on the state’s recreation plan. He said State Parks are places where lifetime memories are made, people look at history, ethics are taught, and they are a great place for families to go. Box Elder County has one of the best State Parks which is Willard Bay.
Mr. Bringhurst said this year from July 1, 2005 until the end of October the Park received 250,000 visitors and $280,000 in revenue. This is way above what it has been over the last three years because of the water shortage.
Mr. Bringhurst encouraged the Commissioners to pull the Access Management Team out of the closet to look at issues where public access might be inappropriate or appropriate and at putting in some good signing on some trails. He said it is easier to push things along if it is done by a committee instead of an individual.
Mr. Bringhurst said “Fantasy at the Bay” opens this Friday, November 18. There are some pretty exciting things like a “Bugs Christmas”. He said the individual who is doing wagon rides will also be doing hayrides. The wagons will hold 30 people. He is hoping to use the County’s Centennial Train. He said the train ride is free, and it has been quite a hit out there. Norm Nelson’s narration has been great, and he is willing to do it again. The concession hours will be extended and include more nights. He said there will be a billboard advertising the light park by Smith and Edwards. Fifty percent of the billboard expense will be paid for by Sonny Gilbert and fifty percent will be paid for by tourism. This billboard will be used year after year.
Commissioner Rees commented that she went through the park three times last year and one night it was bumper-to-bumper cars. She also took her grandkids on the train, and it was a neat experience. She said “Fantasy at the Bay” is one of the best tourist attractions Box Elder County has for winter. She said a lot of the people are from out-of-town.
Mr. Bringhurst stated the State Parks are going well and is looking forward to the next ten years.
LONG DIVIDE ROAD TRESPASSING ETC. – J.D. SCOTT
J. D. Scott informed the Commissioners that in the long divide area north of Fielding there is a real problem with trespassing and vandalism. He said there needs to be help from the Commission and Sheriff’s Department to move to a higher priority level. Mr. Scott has been working with the State and the Sheriff’s Association regarding trespassing. He said there needs to be prosecution, and it needs to be taken to heart and we need to move trespassing to a higher level. There needs to be some kind of guidelines. He said he and his family are receiving threats. The Scotts have done all they can do and have come to the Commission seeking help to control trespassing. J.D. Scott said if someone leaves your gate open, it is a Class C Misdemeanor. He said all state laws should be looked at so the County does not go less than but strengthens the law.
Sheriff Jensen said his advice on the phone for him is to keep reporting things to the Sheriff. He is more than happy to prosecute anything where there is a crime committed. He said the last two incidents have been civil in nature.
County Attorney Amy Hugie is aware of the law concerning leaving the gates open. She said you have to be able to prove who did it, and that is part of the problem. If the Sheriff’s Department does not have anybody to cite, they cannot prosecute. She said it has nothing to do with political favors; it has to do with the fact that they can only prosecute with what the County has the ability to prove. If there is nobody to cite, you aren’t able to pinpoint.
Sheriff Jensen told Mr. Scott to call him. He wants to know if his office is not doing what they should. He would like a phone call as soon after the incident happens as possible.
Mr. Scott also talked about the four-wheelers on private property law. He told the Commission there is nothing civil about when someone removes a lock off your gate. It is criminal. He said in one situation where a gate was left open, a deputy witnessed opening the gate, and that was criminal activity. He said the budget is tight and we need our eyes and ears to work in total cooperation to squash all this.
Chairman Hansen said he would take it upon himself to formulate a committee and see what he can get done.
FENCE-IN, FENCE-OUT CATTLE TRESPASSING – DELORIS STOKES
Deloris Stokes said the fencing law is a very serious situation in Box Elder County. He said we all have to pay our taxes and can hardly get enough money to pay taxes. He said there are some inequities in the law and it needs to be looked at and reviewed again. Mr. Stokes feels the Fence Committee was stacked with cattlemen and a little lopped sided, particularly in the large acres of land. He said the farmers are pleading with the Commission to take a look at this again. It should be reviewed. He said the law which has been passed is self-serving, and the farmers can’t continue to have the livestock on their property. There are cattle on wheat and grain fields. Mr. Stokes has called the Sheriff’s Department, and the lady said it has already been reported and the deputy has made a report to the cattlemen, but the cattlemen do not get the cattle off his field. The cattlemen have told the Stokes Family, “if you want the cattle off, build a fence”. Mr. Stokes asked what happened to the good neighbor law. He said “why can’t we get together and put up a fence. The cattlemen use the fence ordinance as an excuse”. He feels there should be a reasonable amount of property owners on the fencing committee.
Mr. Stokes said they have formed a citizen committee to review the fence law. He said we have cattle coming in from Idaho all over them. Two years ago they had sheep that ate their field out. The sheep herder told Mr. Stokes he did not have to do anything because there is a fence-out law. He said we can’t get restitution. They did not even pull their combine into the field.
Commissioner Rees alluded to the stray law. Fred Manning said it is so much work. He told about stray horses on his property. He said you can’t transfer the fines of them being on CRP. He said those that have cattle are worried about liability, and he can see their point. He does not want to be liable. He feels the Commission needs to address the area of cattle or other livestock on farm lands. Fences need to separate the two of them. Mr. Manning said cattlemen are usually good at coming and getting the livestock, but it takes them 2-3 days. Mr. Manning said building stray pens on our own place and feeding and watering them is very scary, and there are no fines. Mr. Manning said it is a waste of time for the deputies to go out with the fence-out law.
Sheriff Jensen said his department has dealt with large numbers of livestock, and you must have a pretty good enclosure to hold them. He said it is hard to hold them and keep track of expenses.
Deloris Stokes said this fence-out law was recommended to the County Commission by the Committee. He said all this is doing is promoting dishonesty and thievery. Because it is legal to steal off a man’s crops, he thinks the law should be looked at very seriously.
Arthur Douglas said the Committee was set up 20 some years ago and they made mistakes like what a legal fence was. He said the law has not changed for those on the west side of the freeway. The law at one time was fence-out west of the freeway and fence-in on the east. Mr. Douglas said the Committee was reappointed and the first meeting was held the day they buried Commissioner Holmgren. They met for three years 12-14 times with legal counsel, Sheriff’s Department and any citizens that wanted to attend. He does not believe that the deck was stacked. He said all of the Committee raises wheat or safflower.
Eli Anderson told of a situation where his daughter was on her way to work in Logan and a cow ran out in front of her and totaled her car. She was okay. The owner of the cow said he has no responsibility because of the law and canceled his liability insurance. Mr. Anderson feels like the law has put every citizen in the county at risk and there is no way to cover any damages.
Deloris Stokes reiterated what is wrong with a good neighbor law. He asked what is wrong with the two neighbors paying for the total cost rather than the landowner. He said lets look at the law.
Commissioner Hansen desires to reformulate another committee; perhaps get a better balance on representation.
Commissioner Rees said when we had the fence-in and fence-out law we had people coming in and complaining about the law and that is what made the Commission look at it. They tried to put everyone on the committee who had come in and complained. She said that is where we started building the committee. The Committee was comprised of representation of farmers and cattlemen from all over the county. She said we tried to have representation from the different areas of the county, because every area is affected differently. This committee spent three years with legal counsel, not only from our County but Weber County and they put a lot of time in. She thinks it wouldn’t hurt to put together a group. There is always a time to re-look at things.
Commissioner Davis feels we should go back to the committee that was in place and look at their tenure and look at the history and the institutionalized knowledge. He said it took the committee three years to come up with a revised solution and it might take another two-three years to modify the law. He said we need to reconvene the committee and obtain input from the other side of the story. He said Commissioner Hansen was the advisor from the Commission and feels he should continue advising. He said we need to set up a format to hear complaints and do some public education.
Deloris Stokes said what is legally right is morally wrong.
MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Davis to take under advisement as a Commission and re-evaluate the Fencing Committee, the composition of the committee and try to rebalance the committee in terms of their appointment and their charge and do some public education. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Rees and unanimously carried.
PRESENTATION OF THE 2006 PROPOSED BUDGET – COMMISSIONERS
Chairman Hansen said the budget this year is a little bit different than other budgets. He said there were early warning signs that things were not going well. There was the road shed in Park Valley that was an early warning signal, the state overpaid us $233,000 and took half back before notifying us. Court security is becoming a nation-wide issue. Chairman Hansen said we have a terrible problem with fuel costs. He said we need to take care of our people and inflation is an ongoing thing. The workers have to deal with it, and we have to take care of them with cost-of-living and pay raises. Chairman Hansen said we got the budget process going in May. He applauded everyone in the County for the way they have handled things and appreciates what everyone has done regarding the County budget.
Commissioner Davis said the process for the budget preparation went better than any year he has been involved. County Auditor Roger Handy had the department heads limit their non-departmental to 3% and to send out a supplemental budget to cover costs over and above the 3%. The department heads were told that the general cost-of-living would be around 3%. Needs were pinpointed much easier. Through negotiation the insurance rate increase was 8%. He feels the process went much smoother.
Commissioner Davis then summarized projects and programs funded with surplus appropriation, projects, personnel and programs funded with property tax increase. He reviewed estimated effects on a tax increase. Commissioner Davis said in summary the County is looking at a tax levy percentage increase of 20.43% for a combined total levy increase of 4.10% to 5.23% depending on location.
(See Attachment No. 02 – Budget Summary Sheet.)
County Auditor Roger Handy said all the department heads were very cooperative in trying to hold things back. He said they understood the financial condition we are in, and that there might be an increase. He said it was a challenge to balance the budget.
Commissioner Hansen commented that each year we lose to inflation.
Commissioner Rees said how good every department was and she gave Roger Handy accolades. She said he did a great job in putting the budget together.
MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Davis to accept the proposed 2006 Budget. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Rees and unanimously carried.
SET PUBLIC HEARING FOR DECEMBER 6, 2005 - COMMISSIONERS
MOTION: A motion was made by Commissioner Rees to set the public hearing for the proposed 2006 budget at December 06, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Davis and unanimously carried.
WARRANT REGISTER – COMMISSIONERS
The warrant register was signed, and the following claims were approved for payment: Claims number 40449 thru 40469 in the amount of $274,583.89. Claims number 40470 thru 40525 in the amount of $109,464.23. Claims number 40526 thru 40533 in the amount of $3,589.50. Claims number 40534 thru 40619 in the amount of $57,923.42. Claims 40254, 40336 and 40337 were voided.
PERSONNEL ACTIONS – COMMISSIONERS
ASSESSOR: Kory Wilde, compensation change, effective 11/04/2005
SHERIFF DEPT: Cammie Price, compensation change, effective 11/10/2005
SHERIFF DEPT: Jason Lowder, compensation change, effective 11/12/2005
SHERIFF DEPT: Steve Berry, transfer, effective 10/31/2005
ASSIGNMENT REVIEW - COMMISSIONERS
The Commissioners reviewed assignments.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Commissioner Rees to adjourn. Commissioner Davis seconded the motion, and the meeting adjourned at 11:10 a.m.
ADOPTED AND APPROVED in regular session this 22nd day of November 2005.
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Scott Hansen, Chairman
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Clark N. Davis, Commissioner
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Suzanne R. Rees, Commissioner
ATTEST:
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LuAnn Adams, Recorder/Clerk/Surveyor