Construction Moving Ahead On City Projects

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  May 14, 2015. Zan Murray, Town Engineer, told Garden City Council members that the construction projects on 150 S parking area are doing well.  All the underground utility work is done.  Water services are relocated, and more material is being added to bring the road up to grade so it will drain correctly.  It should take one more week because of the rain and because the road was so soft.  They had to import more material to correct it and that will cost $10,000 more than expected.  A blowout of the water line made the area soft.  The city may request the private water company and sewer district to help pay for some of that damage.

With the wet weather the pavers will be paving the week after Memorial Day.  Local access only should be completed by the second week in June.  The city park parking is all striped.  Riley Argyle and Murray are watching the 350 S re-vegetation before they decide if it should be seeded again.  The new asphalt at the park has had some damage and the contractor needs to be contacted about fixing it.  

Anita Weston mentioned that there was handicapped parking is by the lake but there was not a spot by bathrooms and bowery.  The council agreed to set aside a handicapped area near the bowery.

Bess Huefner said that she was applying for a wetland permit for the boardwalk extension.  It will cost $1000 and it will take 3 months at least to get the permit.  The 150 feet to connect to the existing boardwalk would cost $60,000 if aluminum is used for surface.  Mayor Spuhler asked how long wood lasts and how expensive it would be.  Murray said that it would be at least ¼ of the cost and last at least 15 years.  There may be some money left from the parking lot development which could start that project and maybe finish it if wood is used.  The council agreed that they would like to use wood rather than aluminum because it is four times cheaper and looks more natural and is not as hot on bare feet as aluminum.

Murray has had regular conversations with Swan Creek about a contract for irrigation shares.  Jim Riley, water rights engineer for Swan Creek, suggested that Garden City pick some well sites in a joint contract for Swan Creek and Garden City, which would make it easier for Swan Creek to sell water rights to developers who would then give the water to the city as part of their development fees.  There are three or four possible well sites on property Garden City owns now which could be called points of diversion.  Swan Creek will file for the water rights.  Bruce Warner said “you can’t rely on the recording of water rights.  Real estate transactions can be tricky.  We need to be very careful that the water rights we get are valid.”

Could the Pickleville well be reactivated?  Murray said, “there is sand in it and is not deep enough for culinary water.  We already have established water rights there so the city can do a replacement well within 150 feet of that well.  Put a pump that will move the water to a higher tank to service Cherimoya.  The pump in the existing well is not powerful enough.  A well has to be down 100 feet for culinary water.  

Mayor Spuhler said, “there needs to be a GIS  of all pipes going in and the city needs to try to GIS the rest  because we didn’t know where the old pipes were.  With GIS we can go within inches of a pipe and we have all the software.  If it is done on a regular basis it will be less work.  Pinpoint every fix.”

Currently no one knows how to run the program because of the turnover, so after the summer it will be critical to train since the city already has the expensive hardware and software.  Fire hydrants were put in the system but nothing has been put in since.   It was suggested that the city hire an intern from the Univesity and have them work on it. JUB can train the person, and training will be video taped so that more can be trained as needed.

Shudahai agreements were discussed.  Norm Mecham discussed the real estate purchase contract , the original expense of the tank over $950,000  but Mecham has reduced it to $841,000 for the city.  USDA is helping with the funding.  Mecham said he has talked with USDA and said that they wanted the city to move ahead with their advertising of the purchase etc. even though the money may not be there until fall.  There has to be notification to governmental agencies.  The city needs to define the project.  Murray asked, “do we want to add some other components to the funding requests such as the Elkridge tank, Harbor Village Tank and the Cherimoya booster station.  They should be listed as a statement of the phases in the environmental documents.  “Are we comfortable listing these projects in the USDA application?” said Mayor Spuhler.  The council agreed to that.

Paris Tabernacle Tours To Begin

Photo of Paris Tabernace Interioer
by Gary McKee

Garden City Planning & Zoning

Randall Knight, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  May 6, 2015. The Planning and Zoning public meeting began at 4:45 PM and had a few people in attendance.  The discussions focused on a “Conditional Use Permit” application to build a group dwelling in the Beach Development Zone for a private guest home.  The guest house would be built on the same lot as an existing home located at 1370 S. Bear Lake Blvd by Joanne P. Rich and Thomas Lane.  The board members present were: Lance Bourne, Steve Arnold, Jim DeGroot and Pat Argyle.  Susan House, Dewayne Gifford and Jim Stone were absent.

The P&Z meeting began at 5:00 PM and board members absent were Lance Bourne and Susan House.   

After several months developing a sign ordinance the board discussed Ordinance 15-18, an Ordinance stating who will approve sign applications.  The board agreed the Code Enforcement Officer should be the person assigned to approving all sign applications.  Steve Schenk, representing Zipz, state they had bought the Cisco Landing building and would locate it behind their present building.  This building will be used as a prep station to meet the states requirement to separate meat and vegetable prep areas.  There would also be a sleeping quarter upstairs for use when employees close and have to reopen the next morning so they don’t have to travel to Logan. The Conditional Use Permit application discussed during the public meeting for the guest house was approved after ensuring the setback, height, and clarifying they knew the lot could not be separated in the future.

There was a long discussion about nightly rental signage, enforcement and addressing.  Public comments were against the signage and addressing and pointed out reasons why it should not be allowed.  Jim DeGroot shared his experience with rental signs being used in California.  The majority of the board seemed to agree with the public’s concerns.  The topic will be discussed at the City Council meeting.  There was more discussions on the recommended location for adult oriented business. The board restated authorization for that type of business would be located in the residential estate/agricultural zone located across the street from Ideal Beach.  Lance Bourne pointed out that if the city does not have a designated zone for this type of business they could apply for a business license anywhere in town with the exception of close proximity to schools and churches.

Bourne recommended decorative pieces located on top of buildings are not included in the height limitation and he feels they should be.  He asked to have this be a topic of discussion in June’s meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM.

    

Heritage Pond Is Stocked

On Monday, May 11, 2015 the first load of fish were released into the pond at Heritage Park. 1,100 9 to 10 inch Triploid rainbow trout were planted. Sometime before Memorial Day, 3-5 pound brood stock cutthroat will be released.

Children love fishing at the Heritage Park Pond because they usually catch a fish for frying.  Or they can be taught about catch and release procedures.

Letter In Tribune Gets Responses

Letter: SAGE math test is defective on many levels

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Letter: SAGE math test is defective on many levels

(Editor's note, there were over 20 responses to this letter in the Salt Lake Tribune)

Published: May 7, 2015 10:12PM

During the past month I have carefully examined my ninth grade granddaughter’s “SAGE review” assignments in mathematics. My review concludes that these SAGE reviews and the SAGE testing adopted by Utah are in fact destructive. I will urge my daughter to have my granddaughter opt out of the test. Some of the reasons are:

1) The reviews are themselves mathematically flawed (as in full of errors, containing deliberately constructed purposeless traps in multiple choice questions) and often tested with a total lack of conceptual explanation that makes them unacceptable for student use. In my judgment they do not meet professional mathematical standards. I have made a file with scores of examples.

2) The material covered by the reviews and the test is not adequately taught in classes and does not have written resources for students. Teachers are largely not trained in much of the material.

3) Most students do not have resources to help understand the material, and in many cases they become unfairly and profoundly discouraged about mathematics and themselves, which is a genuinely horrible outcome.

4) Parents are in general far more likely to be unable to assist their children, frustrating both generations and breaking a common and historic link of help and growth.

Having spent my entire professional life (more than 30 years) as a teaching and research professor of mathematics at Utah State University, I yield to no one in my desire to improve mathematical training in this nation, but personally know of no system of mathematical testing that I consider as defective, negative and unsatisfactory as Utah’s current SAGE process.

Chris S. Coray

Garden City

The Foundation of Bear Lake Created

The Foundation of Bear Lake Committee met on May 9^th, 2015 to begin the process of creating an endowment fund to provide public land and facilities for immediate and future use of Bear Lake, specifically land adjacent to the lake and trail access lands.
 

This venue will give people the tools they need to harness local wealth for charitable giving, and support decision-making at the local level.
 

After much discussion we decided to name our new organization –The Foundation of Bear Lake with a domain name of Give Bear Lake.
 

The committee under the direction of Garden City Councilwoman, Bess Huefner, has checked the Park City Foundation and the Jackson Hole Community Fund to help in setting up this foundation.
 

Bess Huefner will serve as Executive Chair for 2015. Bruce Warner will serve as our finance clerk. Merlin Goekerwitz has volunteered to serve on the committee. Joe Stocking will advise us on the media pages.
 

Bear Lake Watch will help with their expertise and counseling. Mitch Poulsen will advise us as to how to work between the counties in Idaho and Utah.
 

The committee  will be looking for help in contacting donors and looking for others who might have suggestions to help in this fledgling organization.
 

Contact Info:

Bess Huefner   dbhuefner@yahoo.com   435-881-3223

Request For Bids

RE:     Request for Proposal 

Dear Consultant: 

The Garden City Cemetery District is requesting proposals from qualified consultants for the development and implementation of a cemetery mapping and records management system. Proposals should be limited to five pages and should discuss the following. 

1.   Approach to the work – 30% 

Discuss the methodology you will use to build and implement the system. Your proposal should address your approach to building the map and database and addressing data anomalies. Also discuss software, hardware and training.  

2.   Project Team and Schedule – 25% 

List the project team, individual roles and qualifications. Include a proposed schedule to complete this project. 

3.   Costs – 10% 

Include a summary of costs, by task, to complete this project. 

4.   Project Experience and References – 35% 

List projects you have completed that incorporate cemetery mapping and databases where each element is integrated into a single functioning information system. Include names and phone numbers of contact persons on these projects. 

5.   Additional information that will help evaluate your qualifications, experience, and understanding of the work. 

Proposals are to be received at the address below no later than  

Send proposals to:

Garden City Cemetery District—Cemetery Project

Attn: Tiffany Wahlberg

PO Box 362

Garden City, Utah 84028 

For questions, e-mail Tiffany at: twcpa@cut.net

Clark Willis 1943 - 2015

Clark Willis and his longtime friend and employee, Magno Richardo Lozano, were involved in a fatal car accident in Smoot, Wyoming, on Friday, May 8. Both families are mourning this tragic loss.

Clark was born on June 8, 1943, in Montpelier, Idaho. He was the youngest of the four sons of Elijah and Norma Willis. Clark grew up in Laketown, Utah, on the family farm where there was an abundance of work to be shared by all.

Clark began his educational journey at North Rich Elementary in Laketown and continued there through the eighth grade. His high school years were spent at Cokeville High School in Wyoming. Clark excelled in athletics and had fond memories of those who supported him in those endeavors. He was recognized as Wyoming's Most Valuable Player in basketball two years in a row.

Clark attended USU where he graduated with a master's degree in Agricultural Economics. During his college years, he played basketball until a knee injury ended his career. He was also a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, where he gained many lifelong friends. He also met his wife, Patty Baugh, at that time. 

Clark and Patty were married in the Logan Temple on Dec. 29, 1969. They are the parents of twins, Deana (Joshua) Campbell and Brandon (Vickie) Willis. Clark was a proud and supportive father who adored his children. 

Clark's professional career involved real estate and farming. He took over the family farm where he raised sheep and crops. He then began growing various berries as his son, Brandon, began adding them to the ranch.

Throughout his life, Clark maintained a passion for agriculture, particularly the sheep industry. He was involved in both state and national sheep organizations, where he gained additional friends. 

Clark was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a mission in the Central British Mission until he was involved in a bicycle accident. He returned home for the surgery and completed his mission in the California South Mission. Years later, he and his wife served in the Logan Temple as officiators and most recently they served in the Young Single Adult 3rd Stake.

Clark is survived by his wife, children and "best buddies," grandchildren, Conner, Clark, Caleb and Craig Campbell. He treasured his time with them telling stories of the ranch, which were often embellished, as well as bringing them to the farm to work. 

Clark has two brothers, McKay (Jean) and Cardon (Joan) Willis. Preceding him in death were his parents and brother Reed (Jeanette) Willis.

A viewing wias held  from 6-8 p.m. Friday, May 15, at the Allen-Hall Mortuary, 34 E. Center Street in Logan. Funeral services were at  11 a.m. Saturday, May 16, at the Lundstrom Park LDS 2nd Ward, 1260 E. 1600 North. A viewing will be from 9:30-10:30 a.m., prior to the funeral.
 
Condolences and expressions of sympathy may be extended to the family online by visiting www.allenmortuaries.net.

Cisco Sonar

Climate Change

By Bryce Nielson, The Character

As you may be aware, I am the Rich County Emergency Manager, amongst hundreds of other jobs.  Spring is a busy time for Emergency Managers across the State.  We have conferences, seminars and meetings.  We hear predictions of the weather, wildfires, landslides and other calamities.  The “Great Shake” earthquake drill was recently held and over 900,000 people in Utah participated.  Earthquakes are high priority in Utah.  One may happen tomorrow or in a 1000 years but we are trying to be prepared.

Be aware that I am a weather freak along with my daughter Ash and SIL Mike.  We watch it and debate it constantly.   There are of hazards around but I fear intense weather events more than any other.  You may remember Raspberry Days a few years ago when we had a microburst hit the crafts fair.  It was chaos and only the beginning.

You all have heard of “Global Warming”.  That term has caused countless debates and is inaccurate.  The proper terminology is Climate Change.  There are many ideas of what is affecting it.  Those I will not delve into.  As a scientist, I need definable data.  A hydrologist from NOAA presented some interesting data.  Yes, the mean global temperature is increasing faster than they had predicted.  The weather in North American over the last few years is being driven by a winter high pressure over the Great Basin which diverts snow and cold from us and puts it on the east coast.  The oceans play a major role in this.  This causes flood and droughts.  In Utah, just looking at temperatures, we are a month ahead of normal.  The same amount of precipitation is falling although now in Utah there is more rain and less snow.  This is bad news for people who rely on reservoirs for water since the snow will decline leaving less storage water.  Here at Bear Lake, we are fine since we don’t rely on storage water for drinking or irrigation.  Long term models predict that this trend will continue.  By 2070, snow won’t fall in Utah except in the highest mountains.

Which brings me back to intense weather events, localized downpours, debris flows, high winds, landslides and flooding.  They are occurring more frequently and predicted to increase.  In over 40 years here, I have never seen the wind blow down Hodges Canyon which such intensity that it broke off telephone poles.  They are unpredictable and occurring more often.  We all need to be prepared for these events.

As for Climate Change, you can decide.  Long term models are not guaranteed accurate.  I am sure of one thing.  As the climate changes, the plants and animals will adapt, it is the humans who may not.