No Short Term Rentals Without HOA Approval

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  October 2, 2013.  There was a public hearing held concerning changing Ordinance #13-13.  The change would not allow Short Term Renal licenses to be issued within subdivisions without HOA approval. 

Mayor Spuhler indicated that he didn’t want to see this change occur.  Currently, the City is treating everyone the same.  Regardless of who requests a short term rental license, as long as they follow all of the required procedures, they will be given such a license.  With this suggested change, those individuals in an HOA (Home Owner’s Association) would be treated differently.  They would not be given a short term rental license if their home is in a subdivision where their CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions) state short term rentals are not allowed.  In other words, the City would be trying to enforce a subdivisions CC&R’s.  This puts the City in the middle between the HOA and the individual home owner. Mayor Spuhler doesn’t want to see this happen.

No other comments were made at the Public Hearing.

Rich County Sheriff's Report For September

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  There was a reduction in incidents from 198 in August to 116 in September.  Of the 116 incidents, 25 were citizen assists; 11 were medical emergencies; 10 were traffic accidents with damage; 8 were traffic hazards; 6 were civil processes; and there were 5 each of agency assists, alarms, and lost property.  The remaining incidents were smaller in number.

There were 56 incidents in Garden City as follows: 10 citizen assists, 7 medical emergencies, 5 traffic hazards, 4 alarms, and 4 lost property calls.  In addition there were 3 attempts to locate, 3 traffic accidents with damage, 3 thefts, and 3 VIN serial number inspections.  There were two each of the following: animal problems, and found properties.  There was one each of the following: an agency assist, a domestic disturbance, a controlled substance problem, a DUI alcohol/drug problem, a fraud case, a juvenile problem, a sex offense, an attempted suicide, a suspicions person/circumstance, and a welfare check.

There were 32 incidents in Randolph as follows: 11 citizen assists, 4 civil processes, 4 traffic accidents with damage, and 2 fires.  There was one each of the following: an agency assist, a child abuse/neglect situation, a criminal history incident, a disorderly conduct call, a juvenile problem, a lost property call, a medical emergency, a theft, a traffic hazard, a wanted person call, and a welfare check.

There were 13 incidents in Laketown.  There were two citizen assists, two suspicious persons/circumstances, and two trespasses.  There was an alarm, a civil process, a medical emergency, a traffic accident with injuries, a traffic hazard, a traffic violation, and a welfare check.

There were 12 incidents in Woodruff.  There were three traffic accidents with damage, there were two citizen assists, two medical emergencies, an agency assist, a civil process, a case of property damage that wasn’t vandalism, a suspicious person/circumstance, and a traffic hazard.

There was also an incident at an undefined location in the County as well as two agency assists out of the County.

The traffic citation report reveals that there were a total of 20 citation and 24 violations.  Garden City had 11 of the citations and 14 of the violations.  Laketown had 7 citations and 8 violations.  Randolph and Woodruff each had one citation and one violation.  There were 12 speeding violations, two no proof of insurance violations, and 2 disorderly conduct violations.  There was one each of trespassing wildlife activity, operating a vehicle without insurance, expired registration, driving under the influence, driving on the wrong side of the roadway, a motor vehicle on the beach, criminal mischief, and intoxication.  The total traffic warning report shows that there were 9 warnings in Garden City with 9 violations, 5 warnings in Laketown with 6 violations, and 1 warning in Woodruff and one violation.  This results in a total of 15 warnings, and 16 violations.  Another way to look at the total traffic warning report can be done by violation description as follows: no proof of insurance, 1; ATVs on the beach, 3; speeding, 8; motor vehicle parked at waters edge, 1; and motor vehicles on the beach, 3.

Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers Needed

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, Reporter
Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  October 2, 2103. Ten years ago after 9/11, emergency service providers realized that there needed to be clearance and ID for medical personnel who volunteer in a catastrophic emergency.  Several doctors and nurses turned up at the World Trade Center but were denied access because the police and rescue service could not determine if they were, indeed, qualified medical or emergency response providers.

Mike Weibel, Bear River Health Emergency Services and liaison to the Rich County Emergency Services said that pools of volunteers have been created who can supplement local hospital, public health and emergency medical systems. They are called the Medical Reserve Corps.  There are 12 MRC units administered by each of the state’s twelve local health departments.   Money comes from the federal government with no strings attached. Each unit can design a program that works in their area.  Over 205,000 people are involved nationally.  Our tri-county area has 213 volunteers.  Half have medical backgrounds but the rest are trained as support.  They work when the hospitals are overwhelmed.  The volunteers are pre credentialed, and trained so that they can help immediately.   Not only in natural disasters or in terrorist attacks can they help, but when there is a flu pandemic for example, there might be a need to give thousands of flu shots in a short period of time.  The nurse gives the shots, but the logistic people get paperwork done, get the vaccine, keep it at the right temperature, and then watch for any reactions.  The nurse can give a shot in 22 seconds with that support staff.

They also help with shelter for fires and work with the Red Cross if it is available.   They are prepared to get medication to every single person within 48 hours if there is something like an anthrax or other biological weapon scare.

The Medical Reserve Corps have a team of mental health people to deal with mass incidents, they send a team over to help with disaster mental health immediately.  Post disaster assessment teams are sent out to see what the health care needs are.  The MRC are ready for flood or earthquake and make sure that in a flood that there are people to take care of mold or contaminants.  Not a lot of time is needed to volunteer.  The Rich County volunteers meet with Mike Weibel once a year.  They can join online.  There is some training offered to understand the chain of command and to  simulate disasters and participate in special events like children’s health screenings.  Liability protection for these responders fall under both federal and state law responding to an emergency or in training.   Weibel  said that  information can be found at www.utahresponds.org  or at mweibel@brhd.org or 435 792 6520.

Fall Snows

Winter storm coming in.
Photo by Tammy Calder

The storm approaches.
Photo by Elvira Luzack

Storm clouds gathering.
Bear Lake Convention Bureau

Bait and Switch

RANDOLPH, Utah.  October 2, 2013.  County Commission Meeting.  Lou Jean Argyle, County Treasurer, said that the County must pay back $48,000 and the school district must pay $102, 000 to Verizon, which is centrally assessed for tax purposes. This is common; a large public utility will tell  local units about all of the benefits they will receive from taxes from allowing them to use county land.  When the project is completed, they appealed to the courts asking for a refund.  Verizon has appealed  for a rebate of some of the taxes for 2007 to 2012. Over four billion dollars has to be paid back to Verizon state wide.   Tom Weston said, “As soon as they come in they tell you how much they will give you and then as soon as they get what they want, they appeal it and usually win.  

Ruby pipeline did the same thing, and are now asking for their tax money back.”  Norm Weston said, “That’s why you shouldn’t spend the money until the appeal is made.” 

This is an ongoing problem especially for small counties.  These centrally assessed companies make a lot of promises about how much it will benefit the public to be or build in the county when they come in and then quietly appeal it leaving the counties short of funds.   

Volunteer Animal Control Needs Funding

Bobbie Bicknell Coray
Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH Utah. Oct 2, 2013 Charlene and Barry McLean with Courageous Critters of Randolph, Utah, have been volunteering to shelter abandoned animals for the last 24 years. It costs , out of their own pocket, $500 a month for food, shots, de-worming and neutering.  They would like a building, a catch pole and they need insurance and transportation costs paid.  They have picked up stray dogs and cats for years and pick up litters. At the beginning it was not overwhelming because people brought in dogs to be spayed and get rabies shots and paid for it which helped with some of the costs.  But now some pay for it but others don’t.  In 2011, 102 animals were adopted  ( 80% dogs 20% cats).  Increasing domestic abuse means that pets are often abandoned or the battered woman stays in the relationship rather than lose the pet.  With the Courageous Critters they can leave the pet in a safe place.  They have a kennel license.  They do not take certain dogs such as pit bulls.

They cannot afford to be the animal control agency as volunteers because it has grown beyond their ability to pay for it. “It is way bigger than we thought it would be,” said Charlene.    The lack of liability insurance worries them if a stray dog is hurt and it turns out to be a pet.  They may not be able to continue.  And the only other alternative is for the Sheriff to shoot stray animals.   Norm Weston said, “We have people here who are willing to help as volunteers, maybe we should pay their expenses.  We do not want to take on a full-fledged dog control program, so we are grateful for the service provided by the McCleans.” 

 Bill Cox said, "Give us thirty days to see what we can do.  You provide a good and needed service.  “

Muddled Male

Grumpy Old Coot

 

Bob Stevens, The Muddled Male

            I have been sitting here staring at my computer for several hours hoping that Ann, my wife, would do or say something that I could, through the fine art of exaggeration and embellishment, turn into a humorous story for the Muddled Male column.  But she is being stubborn and has so far stayed clear of anything that I might distort to my advantage.  She did call me a Twit twice during a two minute disagreement over her trying to convince me that there were good Carb’s, like fruit that I should eat because fruit contains nourishment, and bad Carb’s, like my beloved French fries that I shouldn’t eat because French fries contain only grease and salt.  It was when I said that a Carb’ is a Carb’ is a Carb’ and was unwilling to give up my succulent French fries just for nourishment that she used the Twit word.  And for that reason I am repeating an updated version of a story I used in a Muddled Male column nearly five years ago.

I am rapidly approaching my 79th birthday.  That means that I will soon be working on my 80th year, an age usually associated with wisdom.  Keeping in mind that I have fifty-eight years of marriage contained within my more than seventy-eight years of life, I feel duty bound to share some of that wisdom with others, especially those young men who are thinking of getting married, or may have already taken the step. 

            Let me begin by teaching you the correct meaning of the word fret.  In your world a fret is one of those little lateral ridges that are located at precise intervals up and down the neck of the guitar played by your favorite heavy metal guitarist who presses the strings against one or more "frets" to make the out-of-tune shrieking sound he calls music go up or down as he screams spittle and naughty words into a thing called a microphone.  I apologize for the long sentence, but I am running out of space and don't have room for a bunch of short, declarative sentences.  A Fret in married life is actually a verb whose synonyms are telling words like worry, fuss, vex, trouble, bother, upset, or hassle.  It is a tool that will be used often by your wife to get you to do some chore you don't want to do because you would rather be watching football at that particular moment. 

            Now the Lesson.  Be alert to the "fret" because if you respond carelessly she might bring out her weapon of mass destruction; the nuclear freeze.  It is a weapon with such a sudden burst of negative energy that it has been known to turn a loving relationship into a Randolph winter in the twinkling of a husband's blunder.  Sadly, the only defensive weapon owned by the husband of a fretter, is the crotchety.  That is crotchety as in grumpy old coot.  The problem with the crotchety is that a crotchety, carelessly used, can be the thing that will instantly turn a fret into a nuclear freeze. 

            An example of the transition from fret to nuclear freeze was our discussion this evening regarding good Carb’s and bad Carb’s.  Ann was fretting about my eating habits.  I responded like a grumpy old coot.  And our Sunday evening meal became shards of tomato, raw turnips that I had to peal, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Desert included raspberries as a demonstration by Ann of, in her words, good Carb’ fruit.  See how quickly a good relationship can move from warm to cool. 

            You young men out there, don’t say I didn’t warn you.  By the way, Ann will say that the Sunday’s menu choice was mine but I ask you, has the Muddled Male ever fibbed to you?

 

We're Famous & Our Librarian Is Evil

From Quilting to Evil Librarians

Our dear quilting ladies were honored in the book, “It’s Been Fun, Girls Carry On…”Quilting As a Heritage Art in Northern Utah and Southern Idaho; Bear River Heritage Area 2013 by Sara Jordan.

This booklet covers seven counties of northern Utah (Box Elder, Cache and Rich) and Southern Idaho (Bear Lake, Caribou, Franklin and Oneida).  The history covers the time period between 1840 until the 1870s.  Up to 500,000 emigrants, bound for Oregon, Utah and California brought their quilts with them to their new homes in the west. Some who died on the trails were wrapped in a family quilt and buried along the trail. Quilt making continues on today.

 Many of us can remember playing under quilts being made and then working alongside our mothers when we got older. There are many quilting organizations in the area including Garden City’s Bear Lake Cut Ups. There is a picture of our humanitarian group quilting, (was started in 1998 by Marie Weston) on page 15, a picture of Loraine Schnetzer on page 52, and Pam Weston of Laketown featured on page 36-37. We have two copies at the library: one to be checked out and one in special collections.

Since duck hunting is starting you could read, The Duck Commander Family How Faith, Family, and Ducks Built a Dynasty; Howard Books, New York, 2012, by Willie and Karie Robertson.  Having never watched the show I found it a little confusing keeping the family members straight. It helped once I looked at the pictures in the middle of the book.  They got their start making duck calls; derived from the following story: “Big Al watched him make a long-hailing call as he was trying to turn a flock of Mallard ducks within shooing range.  ‘Man you weren’t calling those ducks,’ Big Al told him, you were commanding them!”  And so…Duck Commander was born.” (109). 

Their appearance fools you but they are well educated people. It is an interesting book to read, and a fairly quick read about how a family got their start in a business.

Now, we must discuss a problem with our librarian. She has been looking a little evil and mad of late. It is all the Book Club for Adults fault for bringing, Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians, into the library. She did not want anyone to know that all librarians are evil for controlling our information. The only way we can destroy the evil is with our weapon of information. The information found in this book. 

Come join us on October 2 at 5 PM to discuss the book, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson. Do not let the Librarian see this book.  Another book club meeting will be on Oct. 30^th at 5 PM (subject to change).

Fall at the Lake

Photo by Bryce Nielson

Intense Special Fire Board Meeting

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY,  Utah.  September 23, 2013.  A special meeting of the Garden City Fire District was called to discuss the resignation of Fire Chief Dan Kurek.  There were many members of the community in attendance and the room was full.  The chairman of the board, Terry Allen, indicated that while it was not required, he would allow public comment to give people from the community a chance to voice their opinions during the first part of the meeting. He asked only that each individual be brief and to not engage in argument with each other.  He did an excellent job of conducting the meeting.

Bobbie Coray, editor of Rich Civic Times, noted that the closed meeting law needed to be followed if the fire board decided to go into a closed session.  Terry Allen indicated that they would follow all of the requirements of a closed meeting.

The following is a paraphrasing of the statements made by the people in attendance.

Martin Argyle expressed his concerns about accepting Dan’s resignation.  He noted that the fire department had better equipment and was better trained than the city had ever seen in the past.  He also noted that the county was also better off because of the work done by Dan.  He asked the board to think about the future and what the people in the community want and need and how safe we would all be.

Andy Stokes indicated that he felt the community had grown and that many new people had stepped up to assist and help.  He expressed his concern about having a fire chief who was paid.  He felt that the chief as well as the firefighters should all be volunteers.  He felt the money going to the chief could be better used to buy more equipment.  He noted that there had only been four fire calls this summer–CO problems, and a hazmat issue.  He said that building inspections and fire pit inspections were not that difficult to do and do not take much time.  He said 80 hours for an individual to spend in a week didn’t exist.  He noted that with only 40 hours a week, progress could be made in the district.  He felt anyone could handle that job and that the position should be voluntary.  He reported that Joe Sharkey had done a lot of work for the fire district on a voluntary basis.  With people like Mr. Sharkey, Mr. Stokes felt that the district could run efficiently, and the money used more effectively.

Tom Wahlberg said that the district needed a full time chief.  He indicated that there were only 14 trained firefighters currently.  Right now it is difficult to get other individuals interested in working to become firefighters.  More people are needed all the time.

Jim Ruggles gave his background and experience working with fire boards and as a fire fighter.  He was also a member of the selection committee that hired Dan.  He said, “ that if people don’t pay for what they have, they won’t have anything.  Prior to Dan being hired, there was no training, almost no running equipment, and grants were unheard of.  Is this what the community wants to go back to?  Of course not.  We want what we currently have and that has to be paid for.  Dan has done an outstanding job.  Equipment is ready and training is tops.  He has written several funded grants, and his record shows that he has accomplished a great deal.  It would be ridiculous to let him go.  Remember as a board you are to represent the people’s desires, not your own agendas.”

Cameron Argyle, (Laketown Fire Chief), has worked with Dan for three years.  They have a great relationship and he has learned a great deal from Dan.  Dan is a very committed individual and determined to continue building the department.  He continues to build relationships among all the fire fighters in the county which has been invaluable when different districts come together–they know each other and how to work with each other.  He has done a tremendous job here in Garden City.  He is more than putting in his hours.  He has earned every penny that the district has paid him.

Garden City Mayor John Spuhler noted that Dan has made it so that people can feel safe and comfortable in the community.  He said that Dan has done a quality job, that he is an investment in this community.

Lana Hodges said Dan was doing a fine job and that what he is being paid is probably realistic for Rich County.

Chris Kinsel introduced himself and told of his background and training in firefighting in West Jordan.  He noted that in West Jordan they hire new firemen without any past experience at a higher salary than Dan is being paid here as the Chief.  Chris noted that he was paid at least four times more than Dan because a fire chief is responsible for and to the entire community.

Bryce Nielsen noted that he is the Rich County Emergency Manager.  He explained that the Garden City Fire District is more than Garden City.  The boundaries go from the Idaho line almost to Laketown which includes all of the developments contained in that area as well as Sweetwater Hill.  He said that he felt the city was getting the most out of their investment by having Dan.  He wants to see the fire district continue to improve.  If more money is needed in order to accomplish this, a small raise in taxes can take care of that issue.  You get what you pay for.  He indicated that Dan was known, not just here in Garden City and Rich County, but throughout the State of Utah.  He is held in high esteem and has a sterling reputation.  Bryce reported that he works closely with Dan on emergency preparedness.  He asks Dan what is needed and then he writes emergency preparedness grants to get the necessary items.  This should not be an issue of money, but what is needed by the community.

NaDine Sprouse noted that the real problem was not money, but how badly Dan has been treated by some board members. 

Terry Allen then said that people are mostly unwilling to serve on the fire board.  Those currently serving on the board were those willing to apply and do their best. He implied that if you aren’t willing to serve on the board, then you shouldn’t excessively complain about those who are doing that job.

Mr. Hunsaker said that there needs to be a full time fire chief.  People in business work full time, contractors work full time; any job that needs to be done well requires a full time person.

Duane Gifford said that he was a trained firefighter.  He likes Dan and likes working with him.  If Dan does leave, the city needs to hire a full time chief from outside the county.   He noted that Dan and his wife contribute greatly to the community.  He estimated that they responded and went on at least 95 percent of all the EMT’s calls.  The community will be losing much more than a fire chief.

Chris Coray said, “ if you read Dan’s letter of resignation Dan cites the reasons, and the board should examine each reason listed.  Only at the end of the letter is there any mention of other offers or expression of concern about compensation level.  The first item in the letter addressed the problem of the  hostile environment that currently exists between Dan and some of the board members.”

Gloyd Sprouse spoke up and said that the city currently has a home run hitter.  Even ball teams know enough to keep the good hitters.

Lance Bourne spoke up and said that Dan was a hard worker and a great guy. 

Chairman Allen asked if there were additional comments.  There were none.

The motion was then made by Christina Gracey to close the general meeting and to go into a closed session to discuss whether they should try and keep or fire Dan Kurek.  It was seconded by Travis Hobbs and unanimously passed.  The public meeting then adjourned and the board went into closed session.

Letters To The Editor

Letters to the editor:  Re: Garden City Fire District

LETTER 1

I for one am very supportive of the board's decision to hire a full-time fire chief. I appreciate the savings in my insurance. I appreciate the ability of Dan and his crews to effectively douse flames, but ALSO, his ability to complete the FLOOD of paperwork now required by the government. No volunteer would be very effective navigating the paperwork maze in addition to all other duties while also holding down another full-time job to provide for family. Thanks so much for ALL you do, Dan! I encourage the board to counter offer so Dan will stay here!
Sincerely, 
Jennifer Huefner

LETTER 2

What a travesty! I doubt we could hire TWO qualified fire chiefs for the equivalent effectiveness and professionalism that Dan the Man has willingly supplied all these years. I hope we can figure out a way, as a community, to make it worth his while (and dignity) to stay on.
Maureen Gale

LETTER 3

ED Note: Mike Wahlberg read a private note of mine to a relative, not to be made public, in which I made one speculation, I had others, as to who had written a note about the Fire Chief which we deleted as it was not signed and was potentially libelous.  We do not print unsigned letters for this reason and that the wrong people might be blamed. 

I have been, am now and as far as I'm concerned always will be a friend of Dans. We have shared a lot of good times together and I have enjoyed my time working with him on the fire department. The fire department is better off now than it was when he took the hot seat due to his efforts and the efforts of other members of the fire department. 

For you to blame me for the comments of another without any proof and then make reference to the bad grammar and spelling that you supposedly see in it is just wrong! I respect your right to post this editorial and I feel that Dan deserves to hear that people appreciate his contribution to the district and community, but to try to edit the comment out, whether you agreed with it or not, exhibits a lack of confidence in the readers of this editorial to form an opinion of their own and be able to decide for themselves that which is true or false. (ED NOTE:  We do not accept unsigned letters and will delete them.  We sometimes publish letters without names if the person writing it has let us know who they are and why they want to remain anonymous.)

I will continue to give freely of my time and energy to the fire district and try to improve upon my community in any way I can. I ask no recognition for it and have never expected it, but a little respect for me enough to confront me in private if you have an issue with me would be appreciated. I would do the same for you. 

Now the time to move on is upon us and members of the community, fire board and fire department need to work together to maintain the level of training, professionalism and respect that we have worked so hard to accomplish. What we DO NOT need is for people to try to push and accomplish their own agendas by backbiting, undermining and running behind one another's backs. Our community is too small for this petty gossip and whoever is in the position Dan has held is in for a lot of headache without a positive attitude from the community and members of this fire district.

 

Mike Wahlberg

LETTER 4

It is with great regret that I learned of Fire Chief Dan Kurek’s decision to tender his resignation as Chief of the Garden City Fire District. What is of particular concern is that Chief Kurek’s decision was forced by three members of the district’s fire board who controlled the majority of the board. They insisted upon micro managing the operations of the district’s fire operation, and worse, tampered with the chief’s long established compensation plan.

The writer some years ago, was among a group of local citizens charged with the responsibility of hiring the first paid fire chief. This group formulated a comprehensive fire chief job description, advertised the availability of the position, met with and interviewed several candidates, and in the end selected Dan Kurek as fire chief. It was established that a monthly salary would comprise his employment compensation. Since his initial employment, it is the writer’s opinion that Chief Kurek’s performance history has met and significantly exceeded all elements of that job description. Some of his performance accomplishments I’ll note below:

• Readiness for “on call” use of fire suppression vehicles has been vastly improved. In the past, far too many instances of flat tires, dead batteries etc kept the equipment stationary in their fire station parking stalls. Dan has also proved to be a very effective mechanic who has individually repaired many vehicle failures, water pump problems, and electrical system failures etc. Dan’s repair successes have saved thousands of dollars from the district’s budget for repair labor costs. 
• Under Dan’s leadership additional fire fighting vehicles such as a surplus military 6X6 dump truck which has been converted to a “go almost anywhere” brush fire fighting vehicle, and a tractor/trailer water tender to supply water in remote fire locations.  Both of these vehicles were obtained by Dan at a minimum cost to the fire district’s budget.
• Additional firefighters have been recruited, and significant training improvements have been implemented. Our firefighters have been trained to deal with hazmat incidents, how to extract  injured occupants from collision damaged vehicles, techniques of propane tank fire suppression, wild land fire fighting procedures, just to name a few of the many training programs presented. Under Dan’s leadership, the fire fighting abilities have progress from how to just squirt water to be able to attack many different situations facing a modern fire department. Dan’s training insistence and leadership has produced a group of fire fighters that now we can all be proud of.
• Chief Kurek has been very effective in finding, applying for, and receiving thousands of dollars in federal and state grants. These grant dollars have been used to purchase additional and replacement fire fighting clothing, modern higher air capacity self contained fire fighter breathing apparatus, wild land fire fighting clothing and emergency shelters etc. Many other needed items of fire equipment have been purchased which has significantly increased the district’s fire suppression performance.
• Fire service management includes hours of time and effort keeping up to date with current state and federal regulations. Maintaining a useable filing system to contain and organize the mountain of “paperwork” is also a time consuming but necessary component of the district’s fire management. Prior to Dan Kurek becoming fire chief, this aspect of a chief’s job was almost totally non-existent.
• A fire chief is also responsible for making and recording the results of fire safety inspections of commercial and rental properties and to approve various burn licenses etc  . Chief Kurek put forth an excellent effort complete this aspect of the fire chief’s responsibilities.

It is certainly my opinion that northern Rich County has lost an outstanding fire chief. His shoes will be extremely hard, if not impossible, to fill by some person in the future. Regretfully so few have caused such a large loss for so many in the county.

Jim Ruggles

 

 

September Fire Board Meeting

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  September 19, 2013.  Chief Dan Kurek reported that application can be now made for the wild land grant.  Tender funds have been used for turnouts.  The bills for the new turnouts will arrive in about 6 - 8 weeks because GSA is slow to handle grant money.  Some structural items will also be purchased. 

One mock three pump has been approved.  It will cost about $3,200.  A backpack pump is also being considered.  Two flashlights, for helmets and/or the font of the uniform, will be purchased.  The firefighters will have an opportunity to work with them and decide which they would prefer to have before ordering all of the lamps for the firefighters.

Extrication turnouts would be nice to have.  The recommended cost about $800.  However, coveralls cost about $120 a pair at Cal Ranch and would probably do a good job.  They are actually tougher and a lighter weight than the regulation turnouts.

The tender snap tank, paint and so forth can be purchased using revenue from the breakfast.  Money has been set aside for the tent requested by the Young Women in the First Ward.  It will cost about $189. 

A written policy has been completed dealing with drug testing. 

Chief Kurek noted that Laketown firefighters need turnouts.  Since Garden City firefighters have new ones and have turned in their previous turnouts, it was suggested that Laketown come down and fit all of the firefighters with the older turnouts.  Those turnouts not currently needed and can be kept at the station to be used when necessary.

Concrete has been poured in front of the fire station.  Asphalt now needs to be laid down on the roadways.  It was noted that a surveyor determined that the fire district actually owns five more feet on the east of the current fence.  If the district claims that land, the trees and five power poles will have to be removed in order to asphalt the entire possible roadway.  The Fire Board said to leave things as they are.  The contractor will begin putting down the asphalt on Monday.

Joey Stocking is in charge of the Fire District web site.  He has started to work on the site and will get things finished in the near future.  The old web site was not user friendly.  It was difficult to add pictures, agendas, minutes, and so forth.  The new one should be much easier to use and will be ready soon.

There have been several firefighters who have completed certifications in hazmat operations, firefighter I, and so forth.  This helps and adds additional people available to assist in an emergency.

The brush truck needs a front end alignment.  More shelves have been added to Engine 40.  All trucks are started weekly and are in good condition.

Responses for the month include the last truck rollover accident.  That accident has been billed for $2,933.99. There was also a downed power line, a CO call that determined the detectors were faulty, a pre-school inspection, six fire pit inspections, and 5 medical assists.

A Wallentine boy is going to refinish the Fire Station Sign.  He is also going to put lights on the sign to drawn more attention to the Fire Station.  Conduit was run under the cement so that it will be easy to add the lights.  This is an eagle project for him.

The new Board secretary is Randall Knight.  He completed the GRAMA test online.  He registered prior to taking the exam and got authorization from Terry Allen.  However, upon completion, no certificate was available to print.  Mr. Knight began making telephone calls to find out what had happened.  He reported that Ben Negus was not listed as the previous secretary and thought that he had had the same problem.  Mr. Knight, however, followed through until he was able to get his certification and is registered as the secretary to the Garden City Fire District.

Chief Kurek noted that several of the board members must not be too interested in their position on the board and quoted the following information: Out of 11 meetings, Terry Allen had missed 18.1%, Travis Hobbs had missed 41%, Ben Negus had missed 64%, Christina Gracey had missed 54%, and Randall Knight had missed 0%.

At that point in the meeting, Dan Kurek read a letter of resignation to the Board.  At that point, the board members present decided that a special meeting needed to be called to consider that particular matter and the meeting adjourned.