After
canceling the City Council meeting scheduled for August 16, the City
re-scheduled the Escalante City Council meeting for August 24.
Escalante Canyons Art
Festival:
Public
comments were accepted and included a great update
regarding the Escalante Canyons Art Festival. More than 100 artists are
expected and most motel rooms in town are booked. The Economic Development
Committee estimates that the festival brings more than $30,000 into town.
A
$2,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts has allowed construction
of movable walls on which art will be hung, providing a more stable and
attractive look to our Community Center displays. Remaining moneys will be
devoted to construction of a stage so that we do not have to move the Boulder
stage to our town. (The new stage will be available for other community
activities, as well.)
Donations
for the Silent Auction have been coming in, but more items are welcome. (If you
have something you want to donate, please call Karin Simmons at 616-1075.)
Other
topics presented to the council included the up-coming 10 Year Anniversary of
9-11. A Day of Volunteerism was suggested as a way of honoring this milestone. A
second Skyhoopi Sidewalk Sale will occur on Saturday, September 17th, (see
below).
Planning and Zoning: Although there were no
official updates, a few items were discussed during the Planning and Zoning
segment of City Council. Three building permits and/or business licenses were
issued. Eventually, the issuing of business licenses will be transferred to
appropriate sections of the city, per Mayor Taylor. Two seats are vacant on the
Planning and Zoning committee. A new alternate is needed and a zoning
administrator is needed to monitor the community for infractions. Five people
have put forth their names for P & Z.
Scheduled Items: Among Scheduled Items, a
water connection was approved for stock watering purposes. A lengthy discussion
was held about a water connection, which may extend to two connections in the
future, to the east of town. Variables such as cost and water pressure were
discussed. This project will be further considered with Guy Graham,
councilperson in charge of water, when he becomes available and will likely be
presented for approval at a future date. A third water meter was passed with
little discussion.
Bank Lights: Although the citizen who
designated the item on the agenda was not present, Tara Woolsey asked to speak
on behalf of the Wells Fargo Corporation security and property departments. She
explained that the current lighting is determined by standards of both Wells
Fargo and the State of Utah. Should the lighting be modified, the City of
Escalante would be responsible for the quarterly insurance payments. Although
lights were shaded to the west of the bank at the request of the bed and
breakfast owner, there cannot be changes to the lighting on Main Street. Changes
that are deemed unacceptable to the bank risk jeopardizing the presence of
Wells Fargo in our community.
Little League Field: Councilman Allen requested
monies for a fertilizer and weed deterrent product to be used on the high school
Little League field. This field is a joint venture for community and high
school sports. Cost is estimated at $500. Funding was granted.
Backhoe Lease: A previous request to
consider a backhoe lease was discussed and denied. Due to funding cuts at the state
level, the city currently is not able to afford this expense.
Animal Control: The City continues to fund
the housing for eight dogs (plus one stray) that were seized due to animal
mistreatment. This case will be going to court as the defendant has arranged
counsel. Meantime, continuous barking, once the concern of many in-town
Escalante citizens, is now troublesome to Officer Dunton and his family. The
family was thanked for their public service of providing an animal shelter.
Water for Outbuildings: Scheduled items concerning
the Fire Department were tabled, as well as discussion of Ordinance 2011-03
regarding multiple water connections per city lot. City Council anticipates
another work meeting with Planning and Zoning in order to work out how citizens
may bring water to outbuildings without violating Planning and Zoning
restrictions which mandate only one “residence” per lot. Citizens might seek
water links for garages, canning sheds, external personal offices etc. but will
be restricted from constructing a second residence. Mayor Taylor stated that he
would meet an architect about such issues. The wording of this ordinance will
be challenging.
Business Licenses: Mayor Taylor described his
preference that business licenses be issued through the City Council after
being reviewed by the relevant department. Other cities conduct business in
this manner. The issue was tabled until all departments are represented.
Storm Water Damage: Councilman Allen reviewed
recent problems with storm water drainage. He said that, in his opinion, the
water system, the Fire Department and the Kazan Clinic projects have been
completed. “Now, our biggest problem is drainage,” he said, briefly reviewing
recent storm-related drainage debacles. Mr. Allen intends to contact Earth Fax,
the engineering firm that did the master plan for Loa. That city, smaller than
Escalante, recently had a master plan done at the cost of $17,000. Funding for
one half of the plan costs came via grant. Mr. Allen intends to pursue such a
plan for Escalante. Meantime, he will work to remedy more immediate problems
such as the flooding “out Center Street,” improved sloping of our roads and
pursuit of a grant to assist in funding.
Property Transfer: Garfield County School
District property at the high school, a triangle of turf by the highway, will
be sold to the city which will, in turn, work to insure maintenance.
Road Block: A road that has been in place
since 1935, perhaps earlier, splits the Elaine Shurtz property, located in the northwest
quadrant of town. The property is shown on tax rolls of that date as a divided
piece of property. The current owner wishes to sell the property as a single
piece of land and wishes to reunite the sections in order to complete the sale.
The town attorney reportedly sent a letter to the current owners telling them
that they could block off the road. A number of citizens live further west along
the road and object to their loss of right-of-way. The question of “eminent
domain,” thus emerges. Concurrently, the question of ‘”property rights” is also
an issue.
Mayor
Taylor consulted a number of sources, including the State of Utah, and
concluded that the attorney’s letter was in error. In order to vacate a
right-of-way, a specific procedure is mandated and a public hearing is one of
the required steps. Closing an established road is a community decision. The
property owner will petition the City to start the process. “We will work
together as a community,” said Mayor Taylor.
Department Reports: Departmental Reports were limited at this
meeting. Greg Allen described his informal polling of citizen preferences about
shielding the side(s) of the airport light. He has not yet received the
petition to shield the light but stated that it contains 15 signatures. He went
on to say that approximately 75 people want no change of current airport
lighting and that the ratio was two or three to one to leave the light alone. “I
will listen to both sides,” he said.
As
the meeting wound-up, Mayor Taylor asked each attendee to return next week with
a friend. (Editors Note: Stuff is
happening. If you want to help steer the direction of our community, consider showing
up.)
Kazan Clinic: Funding for the proposed improvements to the
Kazan Clinic, such as increasing to 5+ days of service per week, providing a
sliding fee scale for those without insurance, adding certain services such as
pharmacy, physical therapy, mental health and x-ray, was not granted. Indeed,
at the national level, the previous $800 million dollar budget was slashed to
$40 million. Not one new community clinic in Utah was funded. Nonetheless,
community members and leaders report that “this is only a set-back” and that
“we will continue to work on the clinic project.”
Sidewalk Sale: Skyhoopi Thrift Store plans
another sidewalk sale which is scheduled for September 17 from 8:00 (or so) to
12:00. The sidewalk sale held earlier this season was successful and fun! Cost to rent a spot at the sale is $10.00. To
arrange to sell your odds & ends, contact Miriam directly at the shop or
call 826-4566. Stop by the sale when you do your other Saturday errands
including checking-out the produce at the Farmer’s Market.
Escalante Canyons Art
Festival: The
Committee held a semi- final meeting prior to the festival weekend on September
23rd and 24th. This year’s festival is shaping up to be, quite possibly, the
best ever. A scientist from NASA will be the keynote speaker (bring binoculars!),
as will our local historian, an antique book specialist & Utah historian,
an East Coast artist and college instructor, an archaeologist and an art
history professor from BYU. More artists have entered than in the past and the
vendor spaces are nearly filled-up. Fund raising efforts continue and donations
for the silent auction are still being solicited. Volunteers may join in the
effort continue to be actively sought. If you would like to be part of the
festival, please call Sandy Larsen: 826-4470 or Karin Simmons: 616-1075.
Letter to the Editor: We would just like to
express our gratitude and appreciation to Officer Dunton and his wife, Heather,
for taking on the recent city dog problem. They have personally taken upon
themselves the care of eight other dogs, on top of their own livestock and
animals. These animals are very well taken care of and their family spends a
lot of their personal time seeing to the animals’ well-being. Thank you for
caring about the animals and thanks so much for your service to our community! Tara
Woolsey and Laura Lisonbee.
From
the Mayor’s Desk: I came across
something I’d like you to think about. “The activist is not the man who says
the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river.” ~Ross Perot. Let me know what you think. I’d
love to have you be an activist in our community. Let us all be involved.
