Water's Edge Appeal Scheduled

Chris Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.   December 4, 2013.Three men were sworn in as the Appeals Board for Garden City.  The three are Howard Pope, Jim DeGroot, and Earl (Skip) Duffin.  The first two were named for 3 years terms, the last for a 2 year term.  The previous board had never been sworn in, had existed for 4 years, and did not ever meet.  All current members were appointed by Mayor Spuhler.

The need for an Appeals Board has become immediate as the Water’s Edge developer has submitted an appeal of a city decision.  The Appeals Board is scheduled to hear the appeal on December 12, at 9.a.m. in the city office.  The meeting is a public one.

No applicants for Fire Board and New Fire Chief

Chris Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  December 4, 2013.  With all members present, the board of the Garden City Fire District named Mike Wahlberg as the new fire chief.  There were 19 applicants who were narrowed to 5 and interviews then conducted in the process.  The appointment is effective immediately.  When asked, Chief Wahlberg indicated that as of Dec. 4, 2013, there were 17 firefighters, soon to be 19.

In other business the board held the annual public budget hearing for the 2014 budget required by law.  Other than the reporter no person attended the meeting or the hearing.  After the hearing, the 2014 budget was approved unanimously.  There was no tax increase for 2014.  Randall Knight was reappointed by the county commissioners to the board for a 4 year term.  However, Terry Allen and Travis Hobbs are leaving the board at the end of this month. 

No other persons in November submitted a letter of interest in serving on the board.  According to the county commissioners, who held a regular monthly meeting in Randolph earlier the same day, all boards with taxing authority must now have an elected official as a board member, hence the county commissioners voted at their meeting to have Tom Weston, county commissioner, appointed to the Garden City Fire District board.  At the evening meeting the current fire board members discussed whether the elected official would end up being from the county or from Garden City proper.  In any event, there will still be a vacancy on the governing board beginning in January and interested persons are invited to apply.

Winter Begins

Photo by Bear Lake Visitors and Convention Bureau

Government Cutbacks Affect Randolph Cheer & Dance Company

RANDOLPH, Utah.  December 4, 2013.  Jen Wilkins, director of the Randolph Cheer and Dance Company, asked the county commissioners to reconsider the rental increase for the Senior Citizen’s Center.  They currently pay $50 a month for 5 hours a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays and always leave the center cleaned up.  They teach dance for over 30 elementary school students who perform for the high school football and basketball home games and go to dance competitions.   They can afford  $50 but  not the $240 that they have been asked to pay.   Commissioner Bill Cox said that the current rate was $12 an hour.  Wilkins said, “that is reasonable when you have a one day party.  But we are paying monthly and using the building for our youth during a time when it is unused.”

Tom Weston said, “this is a good program and gets a lot of kids involved."   

Cox said that the Senior center costs $80,000 a year and with the federal sequestration cuts they have lost $10,000 in revenue.   "We want you to be there, we will just have to work out a payment that works for both of us."

   

Emergency Management Report

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.   December 4, 2013.  Emergency Management Supervisor, Bryce Nielson, reported to the Rich County commission that Homeland Security funds have dried up in the last year as part of the sequestration cuts.  In the past each county received funding but now it is done on a regional basis for regional priorities.  

City Watch, now Code Red, notifies individuals of  emergencies such as snow slides, water or power outages and other natural disasters by phone or text.   Garden City  is already texting people who have given them their cell phone numbers as part of City Watch.  Nielson said “ We were able to notify people about the propane tank overturned in Laketown Canyon and it has been used  in urban search and rescue.  Cox said that a flyer explaining City Watch or Code Red will be going out in county sanitation bills in January.  Nielson said, “We need to have the county commissioners on that list and all of the county officials, fire district people and search and rescue as well as EMT and church leaders.  Garden City will enter the data for the whole county into the telecommunications center.  This will be very helpful for summer citizens  as well as full time residents.

The Emergency Management Performance Grant  of $20,000 pays for half of the Emergency Manager’s salary which is matched by the county.  Since Nielson  only uses one third of the grant for his funding,  it was decided that one third of the Garden City fire chief’s salary be paid from  that grant because the fire chief does emergency management and has funding to make the match for the federal dollars.  

Another grant was used to send the Sheriff to specialized FBI emergency training and was used to strengthen the fire barge and purchase Muscle Wall portable barriers.   The new Garden City fire chief will need emergency management training and these funds can help to fund his training.

The Governor has a public safety conference which contains excellent information.  Neilson would like to send people to that conference and use another  grant to pay their expenses.  He  also wants to train the dispatchers how to respond more effectively and to train the deputies and EMT personnel how to keep the dispatchers informed more about what is happening on the ground during an accident or natural disaster.

Budget Request.  EMP grant is $20,000, LAPC 3,200 and county funds $7,500 of the total budget of $30,700. Neilson has been  in the position for 10 years and it has become more complex each year.

The Un-muddled Mathematician

By Chris Coray, The Un-muddled Mathematician
 

This column is actually a mystery story. 
See if you can figure it out as fast as my father did.

I am the eldest of 3 children.  My dad was an attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad.  He was a very smart man.  Among other things he had to parent a smart alec kid (me), as well as my younger brother and sister.  When he was not pleased with some behavior issue of mine he would look at me over the top of his glasses.  So long as I was looking at his eyes through his glasses, all was OK, but when he looked at me over the top of the lens it was time to be very careful.  There would be questions and a bunch of unsatisfactory answers from me.  It was like being the guilty guy answering questions in court, with a blinking neon sign “I’m guilty” on my forehead. 

All of us were expected to do well in school.  For me, math was always so easy I didn’t have to work very hard.  Other subjects required effort.  And my dad always felt that English and Language Arts were more important than math (in his mind).  He was right about that, too.  We got six report cards a year.  When I turned 14 and was in the 9^th grade I brought home my first report card of the year.  There it was, in clear writing at the top, the letter “C” in the grade box for English.  That night at the dinner table it got very quiet as he read the card.  I was looking at eyeballs, no part of his glasses getting in the way.  He said, “What is this?”.  My answer was feeble, stupid, and unacceptable.  He said, “This will not do.  Not ever again”.  End of discussion.

The next report card came at the normal interval.  Again, at the top of the card in the appropriate box was the dreaded “C” in English.  Do you have any idea how long it is between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., with no chance for a reprieve from the governor?  There was no place to run or hide.   When he saw the grade on the card he asked no questions at all.  He just said that he would meet me in the teacher’s classroom the next day immediately after school.  That was not a fun wait.  I mean, how embarrassed can one get at age 14, knowing that your dad was coming after school to talk to your teacher—about you.  I wanted to crawl under a rock.

At 3:30 the next day I was waiting as instructed at the back of the classroom.  School was over but the teacher was at the desk in front, waiting.  My dad’s Florsheim shoes clicked down the hall as he strode into the class.  Remember, being a high powered attorney meant he was always well dressed and imposing.  He could also be mentally terrifying (never mean, just all-knowing from my perspective).  I’m sure the teacher was nervous.  Not, however, as much as I.  He stopped at the door, looked at the classroom, looked hard at the teacher, and looked at me.  30 seconds of absolute silence. 

 Then he walked to the front of the room and introduced himself to the teacher.  She was increasingly nervous.  He said, “Where does my son sit in this class?”  The answer was the front row, right in front of her desk, at most 5 feet from her chair.  He said, “Please move my son to the back row and as far from your desk as possible.”  She immediately agreed but certainly didn’t understand why.  From then on it was all “A’s” in English.  By now you may have figured this out.  I was 14, the teacher was perhaps 23, first name Ann (I reserve the last name in case she is still alive).  She was stunningly beautiful, wore exotic perfume, and taught while standing about 3 feet away from me.  This was a universe I had not previously experienced but all the chemicals in my adolescent body were in overdrive.  I had no chance.  The solution was increase the distance from the X chromosome.  It worked, at least for 9^th grade English. My dad figured this out in 30 seconds without asking a question.  I told you he was smart.  Most dads are.

The Inn At Snow Meadows Special Christmas & New Year Offers

 

For a limited time starting on this "Cyber" Monday, The Inn at Snow Meadows in Garden City will be offering gift certificates for family members, friends, work incentives, and customer appreciation at unheard of prices. 

Our "themed" luxury suites on weekdays will go for $69 per night plus tax.  On weekends, $89 per night plus tax.  No limits.  They must be used by May 1.

 

The only restrictions would be that they cannot be used on a holiday or a weekend associated with a holiday.  Nor can they be used in conjunction with another offer or special.

We are excited to be able to offer these for those who may be thinking of giving something unique and much appreciated.
 

Also look for our New Years Eve "all-inclusive" package that we will be offering in partnership with Executive Chef Brittany who owns and operates Kerasma Restaurant and Bar!
 

Kerasma Restaurant and Bar along with Inn at Snow Meadows is located 1 mile south of 3-way stop in Snow Meadows.  Otherwise, known as "Raspberry Square".

 

Carol and Family

Garden City Christmas Party

 

 

Come meet Santa

at the

 

Garden  City Christmas Party

 

11:00 a.m.

Saturday, December 7

Garden City Complex, Lakeview Room

 

Light lunch provided 



Winter Deer

RMS Honor Roll

Rich Middle School

First Trimester Honor Roll

Sixth Grade	Seventh Grade	Eighth Grade
Ellianna Brown	Jared Andersen	Kamren Calder
Hailey Davis	Lindsay Barker	Kinnen Clark
Sydney Hatch	J D Burton	Kaylee Cornia
Colton Hislop	Ieshia Caldwell	Kaitlyn Dyson
Taylor Jacobson	Reagan Huefner	Daniel Gifford
Alli Jarman	Charmayne Huffaker	Kierra Groll
Cora Lamborn	Landon Hunting	Julia Hopkin
Flynt Silva	Fallon Johnson	Nic Jarman
Maddi Staheli	Kirina Johnson	Rachel Keane
Kendall Stapel	Trason Lutz	Kade Lamborn
Alaine Thomson	Taylor McKinnon	Reesha Larsen
Randy Trujillo	Colten Meek	Taleesha Larsen
Aly Wallentine	Dylan Negus	Jaci Leifson
Kyler Wilson	Jaden Nelson	Aaron Linkogle
	Taya Peterson	Sierra Malm
	Jace Rothlisberger	Kimalie Nye
	Jordan Stacey	Savannah Peart
	Lauren Thomson	Mariah Sellers
	Kasin Trenery	Aaron Smith
	Rachel Wamsley	Amberlee Smith
	Emalee Willis	Porter Weston

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Christine Arnold’s adaptation

(So many people wanted this recipe after tasting it we said we'd put it in the RCT online)

Serves 8

Make sure not to use cream of coconut which is heavily sweetened and inappropriate for savory dishes in general.  Fish sauce is preferred in this recipe although soy sauce can be substituted.

                1 tablespoon vegetable oil

                2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

                3-6 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

                6 cups low sodium chicken broth

                3 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce

                1 tablespoon light brown sugar

                2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk

                1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts trimmed and sliced thin into 1 inch strips

                ¼ pound  white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin

                ¼ cup shredded carrots

                ¼ cup diced zucchini

                3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

                Salt

                ½ cup whole fresh cilantro leaves

Cooked rice to serve it over.

1.     Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.  Stir in the ginger and curry paste and cook for 1 minute.  Add ½ cup of the broth and stir until curry paste dissolves.  Stir in the remaining broth , the fish sauce and brown sugar.  Bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 15 minutes.

2.       Stir in the coconut milk, chicken, mushrooms and other vegetables.  Simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the lime juice and season with salt.  Sprinkle the bowls of soup with cilantro leaves before serving. Put rice in bowl and cover with soup to taste.

This soup can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days.  It cannot be frozen, due to the coconut milk.  Reheat over low heat, taking care not to let it boil.

                  

               

                

Special Hearing On Garden City Impact Fees

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  November 26, 2013.  The public hearing was held to explain to those in attendance that the impact fee ordinance must be renewed.  Seldom do ordinances have a time limit placed on them. There can be several reasons why this particular ordinance was dated.  It could have been a legal requirement at time, it could have been a lack of data concerning the culinary water system because the State was requiring Garden City to build the water treatment plant, and so forth.  The impact fee date expired September of 2013.

The question was asked if anyone had paid fees after September of this year, and the City Clerk indicated that she would have to check the records to see if any water impact fees had been collected since then.

The City was unaware that the time had expired on this ordinance until recently.  The hearing and meeting was held to renew this ordinance without any further time limits being placed on it.  There will be no changes to the ordinance except for the removal of an expiration date.

Impact fees are assessed specifically to be used for new construction and cannot be used to expand services to an existing system.  Mr. Mecham noted that according to past tax records, $150,000 of impact fees was used for the water treatment plant which certainly was built for use of the existing population and not for new construction. 

Mayor Spuhler said the new plant wasn’t built big enough for the growth of the community and had to be expanded before it was ever completed.  This growth was a result of new construction. 

Enough data about the water system had not been collected to set proper and accurate water impact fees.  However, at the time of building of the water treatment plant, the City was planning on developing a secondary water source which was never done.  Mayor Spuhler reported that the water impact fees charged by the City are among the lowest in the entire state.  Impact fees in Montpelier, Idaho, are at about $3,000.  Weber County charges about $8,000 for water fees, and Utah County is between $14,000 and $16,000.

The public hearing was closed.  However, this ordinance was reissued without an expiration date during the Special City Council Meeting.

Conflict Erupts Over Board Of Appeals

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah,  November  27, 2013. Four years ago, Howard Pope, Ken Hansen and Larry Hodges were appointed by the Town Council as the three members of the Board of Appeals, which is the last line of citizen appeal for decisions made by the Town Council before a council decision disputed by citizens would go to District Court.

Water’s Edge project will be appealing a recent town council decision to the Board of Appeals this week.  Mayor Spuhler called a special meeting of the town council at 8 a.m. on November 27.  The mayor is concerned over what he views as an apparent conflict of interest of Ken Hansen, who has worked in the past on projects with Norm Mecham, Water’s Edge developer (although not this one).  The mayor decided to appoint at the special meeting a new Board of Appeals consisting of Jim DeGroot, Howard Pope and Skip Duffin.

Mayor Spuhler said he had the authority to do this now because he believes the old board actually wasn’t a legal board since they had never been sworn in.   The city website has listed Ken Hansen, Howard Pope and Larry Hodges as members of the city Board of Appeals for the last four years.  In that period they have never had to convene.

Former Mayor Ken Hansen said, “If I had a conflict of interest then it was my responsibility to declare it.  It is not your right to take me off the board without talking to me.  I am not unhappy about not serving on this board, what I am unhappy with is that you arbitrarily took me off because you thought I might have a conflict and then did not tell me of your concern.”

Mayor Spuhler responded, “Why would I put someone on the board who has a significant conflict of interest?  In January when the term of office was over I would not have reappointed you”.   Hansen said, “In the past offices I have held I have always declared a conflict of interest if one existed and removed myself if I thought I could not vote fairly.”

Mayor Spuhler said, “I am trying to be as fair as possible.  I think the Water’s Edge project is terrific. But I do not want even the appearance of conflict of interest.”

“There seems to be a juggling of the appeals board just because of Water’s Edge,” said Norm Mecham.  Mayor Spuhler said that he understood because these people were not sworn in they are actually not on the appeals board.  (Editor’s note: in effect the mayor was arguing that absent a swearing in of members then a staffed board did not exist).  Then the Mayor said, “We could replace Larry Hodges position with Skip Duffin”.  (Hodges passed away this summer)

The council said that they thought that replacing Hodges would then imply that the current board was in fact a legal and empowered board.  One council member said, “If we do this, how will we start out the term stagger?  There have to be staggered three year terms and two year terms.”  Councilwoman Pat Argyle asked, “What if Mecham needs an answer to his appeal?  He must be answered within 10 days”.

Mecham said, “You, mayor, are making a predetermined decision on this.  I will be submitting an appeal in three days.”

Pat Argyle said that the city needs to have to have a board in place if Mecham appeals.  Mecham said he is ready to go to the board of appeals on the past issues.  Mecham said, “They have 10 days to decide based on record.  No one from the developers or city should try to influence them.”

Then the mayor asked Ken if he would resign from the board.  But it was pointed out that just as replacing Hodges would imply that there was a legally sitting board, then Hansen resigning would also imply a board had been legally constituted,  and the Mayor’s argument that there was no board because they had not been sworn in was not then logical.

Huefner said, “Well, if they were confirmed as board members four years ago, their terms have run out.  But the statute provides for them to stay in office until a new board is chosen, and that board should be chosen in January.”  She suggested calling the city attorney.

“Could you serve fairly, Ken”? asked Spuhler.

Hansen responded, “I will not serve on your appeals board even though I could do it fairly.  You predetermined an outcome first.   It was my call to recuse myself, if necessary, on any issue.  I understand your concern but you determined it for me rather than asking me.” 

Then the mayor asked Howard Pope, Skip Duffin, and Jim DeGroot if they could be fair.  DeGroot said “I don’t have a dog in the fight.”

 

The Mayor said there are lawsuits threatened by both sides.  He asked the council to make a motion that the new people are to be appointed today, November 27.  “I do not want Ken on this decision.”   Hansen left the meeting.

Councilwoman Bess Huefner started to make a motion for the new appeals board upon condition of the mayor checking with League of Cities and Towns and the city attorney.  The mayor said he would call them but he didn’t want Councilwoman Huefner’s condition statement to be in the motion.  Councilman Darrin Pugmire said, “It is not wise for the mayor to tell a council person what they should say in a motion.”

Huefner then restated the motion that the three nominees identified by the mayor be appointed with Howard Pope having the three year term.  The motion passed unanimously.  The mayor then asked to swear them in immediately.  Pat Argyle said, “Not until we check the legality and that we are following ordinances.”

The mayor said that the new board could come in and be sworn in on Monday after he had called the attorney to verify that all was legally compliant.