SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING SAN JUAN COUNTY COURT HOUSE, MONTICELLO, UTAH NOVEMBER 13, 2006 AT 10:00 A.M. The regular meeting of the San Juan County Commission was held on November 13, 2006 At 10:00 A.M. in the Commission Room at Monticello, Utah. Present: Lynn Stevens , Chairman Manuel Morgan, Vice Chairman Bruce Adams, SJC Commissioner Tammy Gallegos, SJC Administrative Assistant Norman Johnson, SJC Clerk /Auditor Dianne F. Neuss, SJC Deputy Clerk Commissioner Bruce Adams made a motion to approve the minutes of November 6, 2006. Commissioner Manuel Morgan seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Evan Lowry - Planning Office Evan presented a Co-op Agreement for signature between the State Parks and Recreation and the County to provide $1,600 for the cost of cattle guards for ATV crossings. The cattle guards are built by the County road shop. The $1,600 will provide payment for eight (8) cattle guards and the Road Department will install them. Commissioner Manuel Morgan made a motion to approve the agreement. Commissioner Bruce Adams seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Evan said that Lynn Laws and David Bronson went down to the Hole in the Rock to survey the area again and found a much better route from Nakai Dome down to the trail. It was suggested that we pursue getting the necessary approval from BLM. Sandy Meyer from the BLM said it would take at least 60 days if not more to complete the process and with the holiday season it will most likely take longer. An archeologic study will have to be done and the American Indian communities will need to be notified of the plan. It was decided that we would begin the process and try to get the project done as quickly as possible. The area is less frequented at this time of year until spring. As soon as the new road is completed a notice will be placed in the newspapers and signs will be placed. It was decided that signs should be placed now designating damage on the old road and warning the public of the hazardous conditions. The group discussed Park Service and BLM boundaries, problems with restrictions and limited access for ATV's on some roads and the request for the County's approval for the Park Service to place signs designating foot traffic only near Lockhart Basin. Commissioner Stevens met with Kate Cannon, Park Service Superintendent, and reported that she is an advocate of public access for use of park lands and welcomes open communication with others to discuss issues and plans related to park use. Cyndi Eldredge - Personnel Office Cyndi recommended hiring Maxine Begay for the Senior Aid position at the Blanding Senior Center. She has been employed as an alternate aid at the Bluff Senior Center for the last year and has filled in when needed at the Blanding Center when needed. This is a part time position Grade 1, Step 1. Commissioner Manuel Morgan made a motion to approve hiring Maxine Begay for the part time Senior Aid position at the Blanding Senior Center. Commissioner Bruce Adams seconded the motion and Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Cyndi invited Jason Shumway to speak to the Commission about the Administration of the County's Flex Spending program this last year. Jason said the 40 employees signed up for the program which was a substantial increase from 2005. Jason stated that the arrangement originally made with Aflac did not go though as planned. Aflac declined to administer the program for the stated price, of $3.00 per month for each person enrolled. Jason said that he then took the administration of the service over himself for the $3.00 fee quoted until he could find another third party to administer the program. He is now working with National Benefits Services and has an agreement with them. The new fee, as of the first of the year, will be $2.00 per employee per month. He said that in the first few months of service there were problems but, to his knowledge, things have been going well since then. The Commission asked for input from those present and everyone seemed to agree that the program has been working well. The cost for the program is considerably less than the previous company so it was decided that we would continue with Jason Shumway and National Benefit Services to administer the Flex Spending program for County employees. Commissioner Manuel Morgan made a motion to continue with Jason Shumway and the NBS to administer the Flex Spending program. Commissioner Bruce Adams seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Tammy Gallegos - SJC Administrative Assistant Tammy presented one Building Permit for approval and signature: Christoph Henkel - Bayles Ranch, Blanding - Cabin Commissioner Bruce Adams made a motion to approve the building permit provided all signatures are placed. Commissioner Manuel Morgan seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Tammy said that the water pipeline at Navajo Mountain is now up and running and there is no longer a need to haul water to the area. Rick has a file containing information on the work done including participation and donations. Most of the work done will be reimbursed by the Bureau of Reclamation. Tammy also presented the bills for the work done on Road #414 from Lynn Laws. Sandy Meyers - Director, Monticello BLM Sandy said she has a conference call scheduled at noon today with the new BLM State Director, Selma Sierra and plans to discuss some of the issues related to roads. She noted that the requests made to the BLM for the extension of gravel pits are now completed and the report to the County is in the mail. Sandy said that in the future it would be best to think long term when submitting requests for gravel pits and to include areas beyond the gravel pit so that additional archeological studies do not have to be done when the pit needs to be extended. Sandy reported that the representatives from the Jeep Jamboree have submitted the requested additional information to her office. She expects that the application is now complete so that they will be able to hold their event in the Spring (April 21 & 22) as planned. She also received a request for use of the Arch Canyon area from a group by the name of "Rising Sun" based in Colorado. She plans to combine the assessments of both groups for approval. Arch Canyon road improvements were discussed and Sandy will investigate this issue. Howard Randall - SJC Assessor Howard presented some changes to be made in property tax assessments. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding whom the responsible party is for property tax if a property is sold to a tax exempt entity during the year. After discussion, everyone agreed that we need a policy in place to address the issue. Commissioner Bruce Adams made a motion to go into a BOE hearing to address changes and amendments to property tax assessments. Commissioner Manuel Morgan seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Howard recommended adjustments to the following property tax assessments: Parcel: B0000051004B and Parcel: B0000051004C - Utah Housing Corporation. The Utah Housing Corporation is a tax exempt entity and the recommendation is to reduce the tax liability to zero for both Parcels. Commissioner Manuel Morgan made a motion to approve the recommendation for the adjustment in property tax for Utah Housing Corporation. Commissioner Bruce Adams seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Parcel: #C0000011001A - L. Jones - Bluff, recommended adjusted to reflect tax exempt status. Commissioner Bruce Adams made a motion to approve the recommendation. Commissioner Manuel Morgan seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Parcel: B0000052004C - Roger Hall - Property owner, said he did not receive the tax valuation in the mail and was not aware until he contacted the County that his taxes were increased. He requested some relief because his taxes went up seven fold with the new assessment of his property in Bluff. Howard indicated that valuation notices were sent to him and explained that the recent property assessments in Bluff were not done in many years and that the property, assessed at $55,000 is the fair market value today. After discussion the Commission agreed that there should be some consideration given. The property owner said that he was in the process of looking for a buyer for the property. Commissioner Bruce Adams made a motion to grant an abatement for 2006 only since Mr. Hall did not receive the valuation notice for 2006. He will be responsible to pay the same tax liability as in 2005 but the tax assessment value of his property is not changed ($761.53 per year) and he will be responsible to pay the new assessed property tax in 2007. Commissioner Manuel Morgan seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Commissioner Bruce Adams made a motion to exit the BOE Hearing. Commissioner Manuel Morgan seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Commissioner Stevens spoke to Mr. McLaughlin who had requested Greenbelt status for his property. He agreed to pay the 2006 assessed property tax and, provided an application is submitted for Greenbelt status, the tax will be adjusted accordingly for 2007. Monty Perkins - SJC Maintenance Supervisor Monty requested approval to purchase carpet for the safety building. He presented two bids with the low bid from Flooring America in the amount of $2,937.00, a savings of $500.00. Commissioner Bruce Adams made a motion to approve the purchase of carpet for the safety building. Commissioner Manuel Morgan seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Open Time or Other Business Sheriff Mike Lacy presented a grant for approval and signature in the amount of $38,934.80 for the Domestic Violence Program administered by Cynthia Black. Commissioner Bruce Adams made a motion to approve the Domestic Violence Grant. Commissioner Manuel Morgan seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Sheriff Lacy reported that the Domestic Violence Conference, recently held in Blanding, was well attended with more than 100 participants, including law enforcement personnel, community members and health care personnel. Greg Martin reported that the wind towers that were placed by Watsach Wind in three locations in the County have been up for approximately 2 ½ - 3 months. The preliminary data is available and indicates that, on average, the reading is 5.5 to 5.6 meters per second. The minimum is 6.5 meters per second. Greg said he has a request for data from another tower that has been up for 1 ½ years. Commissioner Adams said that the information is available and Greg will try and obtain it. Greg discussed the State incentives and the renewal of tax credits for the City and County. Representative Noel will be given an update on the project and it was noted that he now has a favorable view regarding tax incentives for wind projects. Greg said that a letter needs to be sent to the legislature asking for help with the program. The Visitor Center funding was again discussed and Commissioner Stevens said that he did speak to Kate Cannon, of the Park Service and she seemed agreeable to raising their contribution to $5,000 per year. She thought the request was fair and will look into it further. Opportunities to request funding from other sources were discussed including the Moab BLM and Forest Service. The County is providing $4,000 per year. It was noted that the County received a generous donation of $100.00 from Huck's Trading Post in Blanding for the repair of the Swinging Bridge in Bluff. Norman Johnson presented a letter of support for Commission signature to four State Representatives asking for support of their sponsorship to provide funding for the Small Business Investment Fund. This fund was provided through Work Force Services. This grant fund was very helpful to people who wanted to start their own business and provided $10,000 seed money. One of the requirements for receiving the start up money was to attend classes relating to business management. Norman noted that six of the people in the area that received this grant are still in business. Norman said that he is also sending a personal letter in support of the program and he feels strongly that it is a great opportunity for people to allow them to prosper. Commissioner Bruce Adams made a motion to approve and sign the letters of support for this program. Commissioner Manuel Morgan seconded the motion. Commissioner Lynn Stevens declared the motion carried by unanimous vote. Commissioner's Reports Commissioners Adams and Stevens will attend the UAC Winter Conference in St. George. Commissioner Adams said that Susan DeLorme did a great job soliciting donations for the door prize, including a river trip, a hotel stay, two 18 holes of golf as well as golf shirts, chocolates and pottery. Commissioner Adams invited everyone to the Harvest Energy Conference in Salt Lake City that will be hosted by the State. Meeting Adjourned: 1:16 p.m. Check # Payee Amount 35011 Adams, Cheyenne 272.58 35012 Advanced Auto, L.L.C. 23.10 35013 Alan's Body Shop 868.75 35014 Alco Discount Store 54.00 35015 Amerigas-Green River 709.20 35016 Barclay Mechanical Service 380.57 35017 Bayles, Lyle 459.15 35018 Begay, Della C. 152.59 35019 Beletso, Cassandra 2,000.00 35020 Bellison, Howard 560.00 35021 Ben Meadows Company 39.23 35022 Benally, Debbie 18.00 35023 Billie, Elsie 142.80 35024 Billie, Johnny 222.77 35025 Billie, Varerena 220.99 35026 Bitsinnie, Irene 560.00 35027 Black Oil Company 104.63 35028 Black, IIeene P. 125.00 35029 Blanding Justice Court 150.00 35030 Blue Line Learning Group, Inc. 207.00 35031 Information Only Check 0.00 35032 Information Only Check 0.00 35033 Blue Mountain Foods 547.30 35034 Blue Mountain Meats, Inc. 166.27 35035 Blue Mountain Panorama 35.40 35036 Bob Barker Company, Inc. 315.63 35037 Bowring, LeeAnn 225.00 35038 Bowring, Relva 125.00 35039 Boy, Leroy 43.00 35040 Brandford, Steve 108.80 35041 BW Coral Hills 1,620.00 35042 Cate Equipment 2,260.51 35043 CHCS 116.22 35044 Chevron & Texaco Card Serv. 213.02 35045 Christensen Storage 150.00 35046 CIMS 4,301.53 35047 Clark,Belinda 349.52 35048 Connected Technologies 180.55 35049 Cortez Milling Co., Inc. 29.00 35050 Cynthia Black 109.00 35051 Daniels, Lourna 304.60 35052 Daniels, Priscilla, L. 142.80 35053 Days Inn - Richafield 60.00 35054 Dee-Harvey, Mary L. 146.36 35055 Dial Oil Company 90.79 35056 Diebold Election Systems 201.60 35057 Elvira Miller 487.19 35058 Empire Electric Assoc. Inc. 3,716.44 35059 EVCO House of Hose 17.67 35060 Fatt, Adeline 184.50 35061 Fleet Life Incorporated 107.24 35062 Flower Shop` 230.00 35063 Folgherater, Nancy L. 105.00 35064 Four Corners Welding & Gas 938.97 35065 Four States Tire & Service 2,014.08 35066 Franklin, Wanda 295.86 35067 Frontier 77.80 35068 Gallegos, David 170.00 35069 Galls Incorporated 305.75 35070 Garrett Holliday 560.00 35071 GCS Service, Inc. 101.04 35072 Genevieve Mark 560.00 35073 Georgiana K. Simpson 183.14 35074 Globalstar USA 155.06 35075 Grand Valley Foods 404.07 35076 Gritton & Associates 121.94 35077 Grover, Preston 456.36 35078 Hampton Inn-Provo 935.88 35079 Hilton Garden Inn- Layton 611.10 35080 Hollie, Calandra 36.00 35081 Ingram Library Services 339.27 35082 Intouch Paging 8.00 35083 J.C. Hunt Co., Inc. 1,222.61 35084 Jacco Distributing Co. 65.00 35085 Jack, Sally 125.00 35086 Johnson, Norman L. 137.00 35087 Johnson, Ruth Y. 345.96 35088 Johnson, Vernadell 133.90 35089 Johnson, Yvonne 125.00 35090 Jones, Kay V. 221.00 35091 JVP, Inc. 39.94 35092 Karen Blackwater 240.00 35093 Ketso, Lula J. 125.00 35094 Kenworth Sales Co. 1,120.08 35095 Keyes, James D. 184.57 35096 King, Valerie 258.39 35097 Korene Blackwater 870.00 35098 Kyles, Ellen 96.00 35099 Labor Commission 300.00 35100 Lameman, elsie 560.00 35101 Larry M. Mason 231.40 35102 Laws, John 74.00 35103 Laws, Lynn 440.00 35104 Laws, Terri J. 125.00 35105 Lawson Products, Inc. 1,249.37 35106 Lee, Alvin 560.00 35107 Lee, Brian L. 560.00 35108 LeeBoy, Casey 18.00 35109 Lewis, Linda 303.10 35110 LexisNexis 68.70 35111 Livingston, Layne 48.75 35112 Livingston, Tom 125.00 35113 Lyle Northern Electric, Inc. 222.00 35114 Mahon, Candis 125.00 35115 Maxwell Products, Inc. 11,761.20 35116 McDonald, Merle J. 125.00 35117 Meadow Gold Dairies, Inc. 522.00 35118 Medronic Physio-Control Corp. 594.27 35119 Mesa Marauders Gun Club 300.00 35120 Meyer, James 20.00 35121 Miscellaneous Payables 18.00 35122 Miscellaneous Payables 18.00 35123 Miscellaneous Payables 7.00 35124 Miscellaneous Payables 1,500.00 35125 Monsen Engineering Company 258.56 35126 Monticello City 1,278.50 35127 Monticello Home & Auto Supply 37.45 35128 Information Only Check 0.00 35129 Monticello Mercantile 96.47 35130 Motor Parts 362.84 35131 Mountain west Truck Center 532.00 35132 Nakai, Mary Rose 36.00 35133 Navajo Times Publishing Co. 2,307.20 35134 Navajo Tribal Utility Authority 126.67 35135 Nestel, Heidi 321.56 35136 Nicholas & Company 1,565.07 35137 Northern Safety Co., Inc. 235.78 35138 Nudd, Kevin 443.01 35139 Office Depot 1,485.92 35140 Orr, Claudia 125.00 35141 Parkard Wholesale Co. 0.53 35142 Page Brake Warehouse 674.69 35143 Palmer, Belinda 169.50 35144 Phillips, Peggy Ann 125.00 35145 Plumbing Store, Inc. 30.70 35146 Professional Collections, Inc. 250.00 35147 Pruitt Gushee 13,520.47 35148 Questar Gas 3,793.09 35149 Quill Corporation 374.42 35150 Randolph, Paula 550.00 35151 Information Only Check 0.00 35152 Redd's True Value 346.07 35153 Regence BlueCross BlueShield 57,926.30 35154 Rock, Louise 171.70 35155 Rocky Mountain Power 6.95 35156 Rocky Mountain Home Care 6,068.00 35157 San Juan Building Supply, Inc. 248.49 35158 San Juan Dental 1,274.00 35159 San Juan Record 304.44 35160 San Juan Task Force 2,202.01 35161 Schmidt Sings Co. 11.03 35162 Schultz, William L. 275.48 35163 Scott Machinery Company 976.48 35164 Seventh District Court 700.00 35165 Shaw, Dawn R. 1,061.66 35166 SHELL 94.41 35167 Singer, Charles 194.80 35168 Singer, Pamela 194.80 35169 SJC Blanding Library 141.80 35170 Smith, Ted L. 70.00 35171 Southerland, Sarah 326.24 35172 State of Utah 2.00 35173 Stevens, Francis 352.66 35174 Stevens, Marietta 133.90 35175 Stringham, LaNel 125.00 35176 Sysco Intermountain Food Svc. 1,464.18 35177 Tapaha, Nellie 125.00 35178 Tesco Williamsen 142.42 35179 Three B Repair 375.00 35180 TigerDirect 394.99 35181 Todacheene, Daisy 153.90 35182 Todacheere, roxane 133.90 35183 Todachiny, Jayne Y. 560.00 35184 Tracy, Kimberlee 105.00 35185 Treece, Jean H. 148.14 35186 Tsinnijinnie, Doris 229.42 35187 Tsosie, Marian 132.12 35188 Turri, Bob 1,230.00 35189 UAE4-HW 10.00 35190 UEAFCS 85.00 35191 UniFirst Corporation 153.24 35192 United States Postal Service 4,000.00 35193 UPS 26.21 35194 USU Extension 237.98 35195 Utah Department of Agriculture 20.00 35196 Utah Sheriff's Association 1,505.00 35197 Verizon Wireless 35.79 35198 Waste Management of 268.37 35199 Whaley, Ray 18.00 35200 Wheeler Machinery Company 263.31 35201 Williams, Thelda 1,120.00 35202 Woody, Albert 125.00 35203 Yazzie, Karen 560.00 35204 Young's Machine Co. 172.88 35205 Blue Mountain Foods 45.95 35206 Blue Mountain Meats, Inc. 777.26 35207 Connected Technologies 58.24 35208 Grand Valley Foods 162.52 35209 Nicholas & Company 465.72 35210 UAE4-HW 70.00 ________________________ ____________________________ Lynn Stevens, Chairman Dianne F. Neuss, SJC Deputy Clerk