County Proposes Hold-the-line Budget for 2013

The Grand County Council has approved a tentative 2013 budget that does not increase property taxes or add new employees.

The council voted 4-0 on Monday, Nov. 26, for a tentative $20 million operating budget – roughly the same amount as the current year, said Grand County Clerk and Auditor Diana Carroll.

The only growth in next year’s proposed budget is an additional $760,384 anticipated from the Transient Room Tax, which is scheduled to increase from 3 percent to 4.25 percent starting Jan. 1, 2013.

Council members decided Monday to add $55,274 to the Moab Area Travel Council budget and $50,000 to trail maintenance from that TRT revenue. To make up for those additions, they reduced the amount that law enforcement will receive by $905,332.

Besides holding the line against a property tax increase next year, the proposed budget does not call for a cost-of-living increase for county employees. Carroll said some workers who had been receiving lower salaries than their counterparts elsewhere in the state will receive a small boost in salary – an action the council previously approved.

The new budget would also not contain funding for a Grand County Sheriff’s Office communications director. The office sought that position, saying a reduction in overtime would pay for the position.

One noteworthy item in the proposed budget involves funding for the Grand County Road Department, Carroll said. About $126,000 was taken from the general fund this year to pay for a road grader, and that cost will be made up through a reduced roads budget next year, under the 2013 budget plan. Moab Times-Independent

Monticello City Council Reviews Water Plans

While water intake in Monticello is still down, according to City Public Works Supervisor Nathan Langston, it is keeping up with what is being used currently in the city.

Langston reported to the City Council on November 13 that Loyds Lake is at the lowest level it’s been at since the last drought.

The city water department is working on a proposal to the water conservancy district to get all the commercial and large users set up on secondary water metering next year.

They will present the proposal to the district on December 20 and hope for a refund of the $29,500 city contributes to the district for the next two years to meter the commercial and large users.

Once that phase of the project is complete, they plan to present a second phase for residential metering and will seek $300,000 from them for that portion of the project.

If approved, they will need an additional $200,000 for residential metering and plan to apply to the Community Impact Board for that portion of the funding. San Juan Journal

Federal government, conservation groups reach settlement in energy corridor lawsuit

Some provisions of a federal plan to designate thousands of miles of energy corridors across public lands in 11 western U.S. states will be revised under a settlement reached last month between federal land managers and environmental groups and San Miguel County Colorado. Under the settlement, approved July 11 by U.S. District Court judges in San Francisco, federal officials must do more analysis of the environmental impacts to the land in areas where some trails, historical sites and sensitive wildlife habitat could be affected by the planned energy corridors.

SUWA, The Wilderness Society, and the National Park Conservation Association sued the Interior Department and other federal agencies, over the Jan. 14, 2009 designation of 6,000 linear miles of energy corridors on Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands throughout the West.


Under the settlement, the BLM, Forest Service, and DOE will be required to create an agreement that outlines procedures to periodically review the corridors to assess the need for corridor revisions, deletions, and additions, said Blake Androff, deputy director of communications for the DOI.

The settlement also requires analysis of environmentally sensitive areas, the impact on landscape and the inclusion of renewable energy projects when appropriate, all issues Thomas says were not a major priority in the 2005 Energy Policy Act.

Studies performed by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and Western Governor’s Association, must also be included in the analysis, and public input is now a mandatory element in deciding where a corridor should be located, Thomas said.

Many of the corridors included in the 2009 plan crossed areas in southeast Utah and through national parks, such as Arches National Park and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Thomas said the regard for Utah’s iconic lands was not a priority under the Bush energy plan. She said little to no benefit would have come to Utahns as a result of energy corridor development. The Times-Independent

San Juan County takes close look at tax rates

San Juan County taxpayers may find some relief in their tax bill according to preliminary discussions of San Juan County Commissioners regarding the recently released state certified tax rate.

County Clerk Norman Johnson presented the certified tax rate to the San Juan County Commission at their June 11 meeting.

Johnson said that with increased valuation and new growth in the county, the certified tax rate has dropped by two percent from the previous year. If it is accepted by the commission, it will bring approximately $275,000 in additional revenue to the county due to new growth. San Juan Record

BLM Proposes Fee Hikes for Campgrounds

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing to increase camping fees for overnight stays in 27 campgrounds managed by the agency’s Moab field office. The fee hikes are part of the BLM’s recently released draft business plan for Moab campgrounds. The agency will accept public comments on the plan through July 3, officials said.

The proposed fee change is expected to raise about $130,000 in new revenues, according to the draft plan. That additional revenue will help the BLM offset rising costs for maintenance, gas, trash pickup and other expenses associated with managing the camping areas and help the agency add new amenities such as shade structures and develop new camping areas, said Katie Stevens, outdoor recreation manager for the Moab BLM office. Moab Times-Independent

Growth in Blanding, despite challenges

Blanding is booming with new homes being built, new roads being constructed, and infrastructure (especially water) additions soon to be built.

The biggest single boost to the housing situation in Blanding is the Grayson Apartments complex. This mixed-use mini community just south of the college consists of 30 new one, two and three-bedroom living units. They will be completed in June and available for occupancy. The $5.6 million project is built by Color Country Community Housing of St. George. Architect is Harold Woodruff and the General Contractor is Kier Construction.

Starvation Reservoir north of Blanding is currently undergoing an $800,000 makeover, mostly to install a clay lining so water loss due to seepage is substantially decreased. Financing is through the USDA Rural Development. The contractor is S.S. Enterprises of Moab.  San Juan Record

State offers webcast on tar sands project hearing

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality will provide a live webcast of a hearing on the PR Springs tar sands mining project in Uintah County Wednesday and Thursday.

An administrative law judge will hear evidence from the state Division of Water Quality, which has granted a permit for the project, and an environmental group appealing the permit, Moab-based Living Rivers. 

The DEQ has said the hearing involves only those officially involved in the dispute and is not a public meeting subject to the state Open and Public Meetings Act.

So, while the hearing itself will take place in an upstairs conference room at the Multi-Agency State Office Building, 1950 West 195 North, Salt Lake City, the public will be free to observe the broadcast in the DEQ Board Room on the first floor.

"The public is expected to be respectful to other members of the public and the facility during the hearing," says the state’s web page on the hearing. "DEQ reserves the right to remove individuals who are unable to respect these requirements."

The hearing takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. For a link to the webcast, go to: http://www.deq.utah.gov/Online_Services/deqwebcasts.htm. Salt Lake Tribune

Commission expects BLM to honor master plan

The San Juan County Commission spent their May 7 meeting dealing with a myriad of public land issues. The commission approved a letter to the Moab office of the Bureau of Land Management as a response to the scoping period regarding the new BLM Master Leasing Plan process.

Commissioners made it clear that they object to the master leasing plan on all levels. 
Commissioner Bruce Adams said the current BLM resource management plan, which the county was involved in, took five or six years to develop, “Now they come back and want to do another layer on top of the RMP. We object to the whole process. We object to them now including potash in the master leasing,” said Adams.

The letter states, “Mineral exploration and development have been a significant part of San Juan County’s economy for decades. Mineral industry has suffered in recent years due to market fluctuation and increased regulation placed on exploration and extraction of minerals. San Juan County has suffered a significant reduction in its tax base as a result of the depressed mineral market.

“The fact that the MLP process may take at least three years or more to complete before new mineral leases can be issued will further delay the opportunity the county has to improve its economy through mineral exploration and development.” San Juan Record