Garden City Planning & Zoning

Randall Knight, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

  

GARDEN CITY, Utah. November 5, 2014.  The Planning and Zoning public meeting had several people in attendance and focused on the areas proposed for the four Hotel/Motel zones and if that zoning would increase the property tax.  They were assured the taxes would not be affected until a developer builds a hotel or motel.  Then the surrounding properties could be affected.  A person asked if a sufficient fire truck was available to fight fires on buildings higher than 35 feet.  The P&Z board stated that developers have to work with the fire district to provide the necessary fire truck. 

The P&Z meeting began as scheduled at 5:00 PM and the board members present were: Lance Bourne, Mike Schiess, Dewayne Gifford, Susan House and Jim Stone. Absent were Pat Argyle and Steve Arnold.  Gary Cox, City Administrator, was also present.

After accepting the minutes for last month’s meetings the board began discussing the definition for a Gross Leasable Area.  The definition was accepted with the removal of a sentence about the parking space.

The next topic discussed and accepted was in regard to Hotel/Motel Zones height exceeding 35 feet.  The Commission agreed that the Hodges Canyon area be removed from the possible locations. A recommendation was made to accept the overlay for the remaining three areas for Hotel/Motel Zone; i.e. just above the old raspberry patch south of Hwy 89, above Hwy 89 but below Shundahi, and an area just south of Lochwood on both sides of the canal.

The commission agreed that new subdivisions need to require current surveys before any work could begin.  They also agreed that residential homes could be built in commercial zones.  Cox stated the city has been make progress on increasing public parking areas in town and they are currently looking at a plan to increase the parking at the City Park on the north and east sides.   Bourne stated the City is also planning on aligning their short term rental licenses with the HOA guidelines.  The city council feels it is wrong to issue short term rental licenses to people when they know the HOA will not allow it.   Joey Stocking gave a brief sign ordinance status report and stated the document had been reduced to 8 pages and it is still in a draft form but hopes to have a clean version for review next month.

During the miscellaneous discussion, Susan House, said she found a document that agreed to 3.5 parking spaces per 1000 sq ft of the Gross Leasable Area.  Mr. Bourne identified the following areas that need to be cleaned up: the building just north of the Chevron, an abandoned trailer on 75 North and an area across the street from the cemetery.  Cox said he would file a nuisance violation and leave it to the judge to settle.

Meeting adjourned at 5:50 PM.

    

Code Red

Bobbie Bicknell Coray, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  November 5, 2014. Bryce Nielson, Rich County Emergency Coordinator, said that the Emergency Alert System is signing an agreement with Code Red, which will provide an alert system through texting and e-mail to the region. The County pays for it with grant matches, but as homeland security grants are drying up, Bryce asked if the County wants to stay in it?  It will be $2,300 a year .

Nielson said, “people respond to text messages.”

He would like to incorporate it into the entire county.  Then people can be alerted to county meetings or events , as well as storm warning for boaters for example.  People opt in by giving the county their cell phone numbers.   In the sanitation bills there were notifications to send in cell phone numbers to Kathy Hislop in Garden City and Becky Peart in the County.  The Commission agreed to fund the program.

Artist At The Lake

Laurianne Wakefield's latest painting

Bear Lake Brawl Triathalon

Bobbie Bicknell Coay, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  November 5, 2014.  Joseph Coles, director, Bear Lake Brawl, said that he felt the race went  well.  Tom Wston said that he had heard positive responses about this year’s race.  The race was moved to after labor day which increased business in the area during a slow time. Weston said, “Even a sheep run didn’t affect the biking part of the race, and  the water was warmer than the air around." 

In 2015, the race is scheduled for September 12 and 19 and will keep the same route through Round Valley.  “We hope that we get better every year,” said Coles. 

Kip Motta Writes About SAGE

It is always a good thing when we can celebrate our academic successes.  The SAGE testing results from last spring were released today, and out of all the middle/junior high/intermediate schools in the State, Rich Middle School ranked 8^th in mathematics and 15^th in English/language arts for the percent of students proficient.  We would like to let all of our students, staff, parents, and concerned community members know how proud we are to be ranked among the top performing middle schools in Utah.  Please take time to enjoy this academic success with our kids.

Kip Motta, Principal, Rich Middle School

Source:

http://www.deseretnews.com/top/2830/11/Rich-Middle-School-SAGE-scores-2014-Top-25-junior-highmiddleintermediate-schools-in-language.html

SCAM ALERT

Beware of phone scam targeting utility customersRocky Mountain Power urges customers to verify any phone calls about their account by calling

1-888-221-7070

Rocky Mountain Power is warning its customers and the public of a phone scam targeting its customers with criminals posing as utility customer service agents trying to get money and to steal personal information.

The fraud is occurring nationwide, but recent days have seen an upsurge in Rocky Mountain Power’s service area. The thieves are using sophisticated deceptive tactics that make it appear to Caller ID systems that the scam call is coming from the utility even when it is not. If customers receive such a call, hang up and call the company at 1-888-221-7070 to verify the call’s origins.

Rocky Mountain Power call center agents can be reached any time, day or night, toll free at 1-888-221-7070. That is the only number to call for any customer service need or if you suspect a call may not actually be from Rocky Mountain Power.

“So far, this has affected a relatively small number of customers, but any customer being taken advantage of in this way is one too many," said Blaine Andreasen, vice president of customer service.

“We have taken a number of additional significant steps to address this latest scam approach and to protect customers from fraud attempts,” Andreasen added. “We are working with law enforcement at all levels and also have increased security on our automated phone service system as a precaution to further assure that customer information is not at risk. For their own protection, customers calling about their account will need to provide their account number to gain access to account details.”

In order to help customers recognize the fraudulent calls, in general, the scam goes like this:

Scammers call residential or business customers demanding payment for overdue bills. Sometimes, the caller tells the intended victim that they owe a specific amount of money. The thief advises the customer to make a payment in one of two ways: either 1) immediately on the phone using a credit card, or 2) by going to a local store to purchase a pre-paid card and calling back on a special toll-free number, made to resemble Rocky Mountain Power’s phone response system, then providing the pre-paid card’s code to the phony “agent.”

Rocky Mountain Power wants customers to be aware that this is a scam and not a legitimate request. Rocky Mountain Power does not use these methods. If such a call is received, hang up and call 1-888-221-7070 to inquire about the call with Rocky Mountain Power.

When Rocky Mountain Power contacts a customer, the representative will always already have the customer’s account number. Even then, if you are contacted by phone and have any concerns about the validity of the call, it is always appropriate to let the caller know you prefer to call them back at the utility’s published customer service number—1-888-221-7070.

Rocky Mountain Power cautions that customers should never provide unsolicited callers or visitors with credit card numbers or any other information that may compromise their financial security.

Anyone receiving such calls or other contact regarding their utility account or bill is encouraged to pay close attention and note any information – such as the phone number they are asked to call, a number that appears on caller ID, an address where they’re told to send money, etc. – and then notify local police and report the call to Rocky Mountain Power at 1-888-221-7070. 

###

About Rocky Mountain Power
Rocky Mountain Power provides safe and reliable electric service to more than a million customers in, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. The company works to meet customers’ growing electricity needs while protecting and enhancing the environment. Rocky Mountain Power is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity providers in the United States, with approximately 1.8 million customers in six western states. For more information, visit rockymountainpower.net.

Margaret Oler

External Communications & Media Relations

201 S. Main, Suite 2300

Salt Lake City, UT  84111

801-220-2592

margaret.oler@rockymountainpower.net

The Unmuddled Mathematician

The 25 Year Joke

By Chris Coray, The Unmuddled Mathematician

As a young man I learned of a joke it took my grandfather 25 years to complete.  It was a good one, but that’s another story.  However, the notion of trying one of these was implanted early on in my twisted mind and so I started mine.  If you think about it, it quickly becomes apparent that a joke of such duration likely involves a person known to you for the whole 25 years, namely, your spouse.  So it was with me.

My modus operandi for our 48 years of marriage has been to periodically state some completely ridiculous statement about science or math and have this utterance immediately and loudly laughed off by my wife.  The problem she faces still is that 9 times out of 10 my statements are purposely completely ridiculous and false (deserving her laughter) but 1 time in 10 are in fact strangely true but just sound ridiculous.  This plan gives her occasional pause before she pounces on my crazy utterances.  She is in a tough spot.  My sympathy is not forthcoming.

When we were first married we would travel to California once in a while.  Driving our little Chevy Nova back home we often passed through Reno, following the Truckee River down the canyon in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and then eastward.  About 10 miles east of Reno there was an illusory piece of geography with the river at the bottom.  I very casually told her that this was the only place on earth where water flowed uphill for a little ways.  It sort of looked like it did.  This was never forcefully stated but just mentioned in passing like, “Gee, isn’t that a pretty blue sky”?  I never defended my casual remark even when severely challenged by the boss but just moved on in conversation. 

This practice continued for 25 years, not annually of course, just on those trips we drove past that same spot during our travels.  She always indicated that it was the dumbest thing she had ever heard (and I was full of dumb notions) but I never engaged in further argument or defense.

Our eldest daughter married a wonderful guy named Steve, from Randolph.  This was great, a new addition to the family and finally another male.  There soon came a time after the 25 years of marriage when we took a family trip to California, sightseeing, camping, introducing the new son-in-law to extended family.  Bobbie wanted all this to go well as it was the first chance for him to experience the weird side of his new in-laws (mine), and she wanted it to go well.  Near the end of the trip I remember camping in the lovely campground near Donner Pass.  The next morning we had breakfast, loaded up, and began our last leg of the trip, eastward along the Truckee River.

Maybe it was nerves on her part, maybe something else, but with our son-in-law in the car we reached that spot spoken about above.  It was there that she, not me, perhaps in an effort to impress him, told our son-in-law that this was the only place in the world where water flowed uphill.  Being very polite, Steve didn’t say anything but the look on his face told me that he wondered what kind of nut case family was now part of his.  My wife looked at his face, realized what he was thinking, in less than a nanosecond realized my story of 25 years was just junk, and began the nearly fatal beating of her husband.  It is hard to laugh when your arm is being pounded over and over but I managed. 

I’m not sure to this day what Steve thought about the whole thing but I learned that in planning a 25 year joke it would be wise to consider the unintended outcomes.  I now play tennis left handed.

Garden City School Board Candidate Correction

The editor put in an old response from Bryce Huefner, this is his response and Tammy Calder's response side by side.  We apologize.  Be sure to vote November 4.

BRYCE HUEFNER GARDEN CITY DISTRICT

I recognize the impact a local school board has on the education of its children.  It is a solemn duty and honor to hold such trust of the people.  As many of my friends and neighbors in the community know, I am very concerned about the education of our youth. 

There are several things I would like to work for if elected:  1) Work to keep the federal government out of our school district.  The constitution of the United States of America expressly prohibits programs like Common Core and federal school lunch programs and we shouldn't allow the federal government to have power over our lives or our childrens' lives by taking money from "them".  2)  I will work to see more input by parents, also known as constituents.  We have felt for years that the school board represents the administration and teachers not those who elected the board.  3)  I will bring some business ideas to the table that can save money and improve the education.  4)  I will be tough but fair to employees in the district.  I say tough because I will work to have the boards' benefits & pay reduced to $0 then the board can require tough changes by the administration and other employees.  I say fair because I realize people rely on equitable treatment when providing a service for pay. 

 

TAMMY CALDER GARDEN CITY SCHOOL BOARD, Candidate

Hello residents of Rich County.  For those of you who don't know me, my name is Tammy Calder (Tamalyn E. Calder on the ballot) and I am running for school board member in the Garden City precinct.  

I have served on the Rich School Board for 16 years and would love to continue to serve you and your children for another term.  There is a common theme in the political arena at this time that it is "time for change", and I couldn't agree more.  There is ample room for both change and improvement in many of our governing bodies.  With that in mind, I am asking you to re-elect me at this time because of my stability,experience, and desire to offer our children the best education possible in this ever-changing and challenging world.

I believe strongly in keeping a small-town atmosphere and work ethic in our schools, while still preparing our students to compete in a global work force. I bring a "feminine" view point to our current board that includes four male counterparts, which is important in decision making.  

I do not believe in making political promises to sway your vote.  I will tell you that I will do everything in my power to make the best choices possible in educating our children, spending our tax dollars wisely, keeping a balanced budget, and constantly monitoring policies and procedures while making changes when necessary.  I am more than happy to listen to your concerns and discuss alternatives to current methods of instruction.  

I believe our administration and teaching staff is second to none and that they truly have the best interest of educating our children foremost in their minds and in their hearts.  I have lived in 
this community since 1983 and am proud to call it "home".

 I would appreciate your vote of trust and confidence in serving you with another term on the Rich School Board.  Thank you.

Tammy Calder