Garden City Fire Department Information

Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah. March 16, 2017.  A new computer has been purchased for Tiffany Wahlberg, Fire Board secretary and accountant.  She noted that it has arrived, and she will set it up during this next week.

Fire Chief Wahlberg was contacted by an individual from Harbor Village.  They thought it was starting to flood in that area again.  However, when he got there he found there was just a small stream of water running down Raspberry Road.

Water was overflowing behind the Fun Time Rental Business.  It was going over the banks of the canal and running into a culvert that empties directly into the lake. The water is slowly cutting through the snow and ice in the canal so that this will not be flooding in this area much longer.

Garden City area seems to be doing well.  There are some flooding problems in the South end of the County.  Wahlberg noted that he had offered to assist if more help is needed in those areas.

There are sandbags available at the City offices if needed.  Additional bags have also been filled and will be taken to that area when needed.

The fire department is currently working on a plan to contact citizens when there is a disaster that requires the people to gather into one area.  They thought they might use the alarm signal that is used when there is a major incident.  Currently this alarm is rung once when fire fighters are needed.  They thought that perhaps the alarm could be rung three times in succession as an alarm for people to gather perhaps at the Church building or maybe the city offices.  They feel it necessary to have some kind of signal when there is a major disaster.

A storage shed about 12’ x 14’ is needed by the Fire Department.  They have checked out pre-made sheds and discovered they cost about $4,500.  The volunteer firefighters have volunteered to put up the building if the Board will provide the money to buy the materials needed.  The materials will cost about $3,000.  The motion was made and passed to buy the materials and charge the cost to the equipment replacement account.

All vehicles are in working order.  The Marine 40 will be taken to Smithfield this next month for the annual tune-up and any need work to get it ready to put back in the water.

Chief Wahlberg noted that more rope is needed.  Currently they have a rope about 200’ in length.  They need at least two more ropes that are 300’ in length for rope rescues to be effective.

All the equipment is ready for service.

There were three fire alarms, one CO call, and four medical responses this past month.

Wahlberg was to be given some additional funds to help with his insurance.  The board asked if this money has been added to his monthly check.  Apparently he has not been receiving these funds. Tiffany Wahlberg noted that she would take care of this item.

The map showing the area covered by the Garden City Fire Department was to be put in the Policies and Procedures Manual.  Chief Wahlberg noted that he would take care of that item.

Chief Wahlberg asked if it would be possible to get some kind of security system for the Fire Department building and area.  Several suggestions were made of different possibilities.  The Chief said he would look into these ideas and check out costs and capabilities.

Eighteen Wheeler Philosophy

No one but a truck driver will understand!
By Mel Hansen, The Eighteen Wheeler Philosopher

I had the "blessing and privilege" the other morning of off loading at the Costco warehouse in Salt Lake City. My appointment was for 06:30.  I showed up 45 minutes earlier hoping I could get unloaded, or at least in line, sooner.

When I arrived there, my hopes were immediately shot to hell as I counted no less than 15 trucks in front of me! Thoughts of sitting there all day to get unloaded instantly spiked my blood pressure to the imminent stroke mode (code blue!  I have a DO NOT REVIVE card I carry around signed by my wife! She'll kill anyone who revives me!

Too my surprise, and relief, the line I was in kept moving, stopping only for less than a minute, giving the two gentlemen working the guard shack platform just time enough to take the BOL from the driver...stamp it..and then return it, along with a pager device, and away the driver went to his/her assigned door.

The guard checked me in, assigned me to door 269, told me where it was, said they were waiting for me! (Yea!...for 3 or 4 hours to unload me, I thought to myself!)

As soon as I backed up to the door..the light went from green to red..before I could get out of my truck to make sure I was backed up squarely to the door, the ol truck started rocking from the forklift driver starting to unload me!  The trucks on each side of me within a few minutes were unloaded, they pulled away from their doors and immediately were replaced by two other trucks!

I finally started to notice that trucks were coming and going like crazy! In less than 10 minutes I was unloaded..dock door light turned from red to green!  The pager they gave me started flashing green and buzzing, giving me the go ahead to move from the door and proceed to the guard shack, where a cute little gal took back the pager, and told me to drive safe and have a great day!

From the time I fell in line behind 15+ trucks at the start to the time I handed back the pager at the shack was under 45 minutes! What a way to start a great day!

My employer and myself do not get paid if Long Legs Lenoir's tires are not spinning forward. I can't tell you how many times I've sat for as much as 6 hours to either get unloaded or loaded! And with all the stupid ask regulations that the federal government has imposed upon the trucking industry such as driving restrictions..it makes it difficult to make a decent living at times.

Most times it's not too big of a problem getting unloaded at smaller facilities, but 98% of the time at places like Walmart distribution centers it can take half a day!

The actual unloading of product happens fairly quick...the problem is getting your paperwork back to get out the guard shack!

Most of these places that hold you up for hours to unload ya don't give a rats ass that your boss has a new scheduled pickup time and place for you to be later in the day!  Many times a driver will sit and miss out on the load, or be charged a substantial fine for being as much as 5 minutes late...with fines increasing every 15 minutes you are late!

Everybody I know who's unloaded at a Costco center has had nothing but praise for their efficiency at getting you in and out! Of course there are times when ya might have to sit longer, but nothing like Walmart and some Sysco places!

So from now on I will do all I can to encourage everyone to shop at Costco!! They seem to care not only about their customers...but the poor suckers that deliver the products that fill their shelves and depend upon quick unloading times to get on down the road to get the next load to try and make a living!

If the low lives that run our federal government could even be a 10th efficient as the people who get thousands of trucks in and out of Costco warehouses each day...we'd be in great shape!

Snow Melt On The Lake AND In Our Yards

Photo by Tammy Calder, Calderberry Photography, Garden City

Photo by Jennifer Cassilas, Garden City

Garden City Council Meeting

Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  March  9, 2017. Curtis Moldenhaur, KOA,  requested a name change to Bear Lake KOA Trailside for the RV Park at 145 N 300 W.  His business license for this park was granted.

Leo Spuhler appeared before the Council asking that he might be the concessionaire at the Garden City Park again this year.  He wants to continue to rent out water boards.  The Council members questioned him carefully and then agreed to give him the license required for this project.

A short term rental license was granted to Nick and Jackie Plumber.  The property is located at 889 Cambry Drive.

A discussion and approval of the cooperative agreement between the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands and Garden City was approved.  Further information concerning this agreement is in a separate article.  The Council felt this agreement be a very positive thing for Garden City because it limits costs when dealing with wildfires.

Ordinance #16-07 is an ordinance updating recreational vehicle requirements.  There were concerns dealing with sanitation, parking, and connections of other amenities.  After a short discussion, the ordinance was approved by the board.

The agreement between Garden City and Shore Lodge dealing with lake access was accepted by the City.  A copy of the agreement is contained in another article in this paper.

Elk Ridge Water System Easement and Property Agreement was approved by the Council.

Sharlene Millard was appointed to the Appeals Authority Board.  This year’s legislature passed a law that an employee needed to be part of the Appeals Authority Board.  

During the winter months, there is very little ordinance enforcement.  However, there are sometimes problems that do need to be addressed.

It was noted that a code enforcement hotline could be put in place that may make enforcement easier.  If there is a problem, an individual could call the hotline and give a short statement about the problem.  The hotline would make the connection to the individual in charge of that area. There will probably be further discussion on this item.

Garden City Council Reports

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich  Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  March 9, 2017.  Chuck Stocking, Council Member, started to give his report concerning the library when he was interrupted by Riley Argyle, Public Works.  Argyle told him that the book drop box had been smashed late this afternoon.  He noted that he would look at the book drop box and see if he could fix it in any way.  Otherwise, the library may have to come up with some other way of getting book back easily. Other than that, Chuck noted that both the library and swimming pool are doing well.

Jennifer Huefner, Council Member, reported that the City Park is rented out a lot in the summer.  She also reported that non-motor vehicles cannot go on the bike path.  However, an individual came the other day asking if they could use a battery operated bike on the Path.  The individual having the bike is handicapped and needs help pumping his bicycle.  Jennifer said she didn’t know how to answer that question.  If one uses it, will other follow suit and will those wanting to rent bicycles get battery operated bikes as well for rent?

Huefner also wanted to know of the TRT (Transient Room Tax) money could be used for infrastructure and trails.  It was noted that a small amount of TRT money could legally be used for trails.  Jennifer also wanted to know what the budget was for trails and was told that currently, there isn’t a specific line item for trails.

Councilman Darrin Pugmire, said that roads were high on his list because of Third West being designed and readied for next spring when it should be asphalted.

Mayor Spuhler reported that some legislation was passed concerning short term rentals.  However, the laws were so general that it wouldn’t interfere at all with the City’s ordinance dealing with short term rentals.

Apparently the legislature also discussed RDA monies and how they could be changed in the future.  This item will probably be discussed again in next year’s legislative session.

Marketing of Garden City needs to be changed.  Currently, most of the advertising about Garden City is Bear Lake in the summer.  Garden City is actually almost at full capacity in the summer.  However, there are real opportunities for winter activities.  The short term rentals have about 5 percent occupancy in the winter.  Garden City is close to Beaver Mountain and the sinks for snowmobiling and snowshoeing.  There is ice fishing and other activities available that should be made known to the public.  Beaver Mountain Ski Resort gave $6,000 to Garden City to advertise their business in hopes that more people can be made aware of the opportunities and fun that can be had during the winter months in this area.

Garden City is currently gathering data of why people come to this area, where they come from, what they are really looking for and so forth.  This information will then be used to target certain groups of people to encourage them to come here in the winter.

Garden City Public Works Report

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  March 9, 2017.  Riley Argyle, Public Works Supervisor, reported that the new software at the treatment plant has been put in place.  This is a huge step forward.  There is an old motor that will be sold.  They would like to use the money from the motor put into the road budget to help fix potholes.  Argyle reported that Buttercup needs a good chip and seal job done on the roads there. He again noted that the culverts on Third West do need to be replaced.

Argyle reported that he had attended some meetings in St. George that were helpful.  He will be attending some meetings in Rock Springs in order to maintain his certifications.

Bear Lake Water Company needs more water meters.  The BLWC has also requested that it become a public entity instead of a private company.  That request was made to the County Commissioners at their meeting a week ago.

In water rights laws, there is a non use clause.  That means that even if you own water rights, you must use them or lose them.  Water companies and cities can buy back shares that are not being used.

There are air compressors at the water treatment plant.  Glenn’s Electric sold the City a compressor for $2,200 which is a good price.  They switched brands from what they were using before.  This will give uninterrupted service for quite some time.  If, however, there is a problem Glenn Electric said they could have it replaced within a week.   Ever three years, the water treatment plant must have a sanitary inspection.  That helps keep everything in top running order.

Sunrise

Photo by Heather Loeser Moldenhauer, Garden City

Garden City Engineer Report

Anita Weston, Reporter
Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  March 9,  2017.  Zan Murray,  Garden City Engineer, reported that the Elk Ridge MOU has been signed by all but one individual.  There is a concern since Richard Webber passed away and his estate is in probate.  The City needs to finish up the easement, but the signature of Dan Webber may not be accepted until the probate is finished.

Garden City does own the water tank on Elk Ridge.  There is a document signed by Frank Smith giving all rights that he had to the next owners of the easement going across the Webber property.  All of the primary owners have signed a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) except Connie Webber.  

Legally, Garden City is recognized as the entity to own that easement.  Hopefully, this problem will be solved in the next few days.

The water project for this summer will be to get water under third west so that some construction can take place this fall.  Riley Argyle, Public Works, noted that the City will need to put in new culverts on third west.  There was so much drainage through there this spring when the canals overflowed that some of the culverts were squashed and a lot of sand bagging took place there.

There are some alignment items that need to be designed on the South end by the pond dealing with the third west road.  Murray reported that he will work on this project during this next month.  He will also work with UDOT in designing third west.  There are also some right-of-way issues that need to be taken care of.

Legacy Beach trail will be a boardwalk down to the lake.  Shore Lodge HOA is going to help the City in getting this boardwalk built.  The agreement with Shore Lodge HOA is fair.  They will pool their resources to give to the City.  They would also like to provide some labor on Saturdays during the summer and will make sure that the lumber for the walkway will be purchased at cost.  Members of the HOA voted on this agreement and approved it.  The design is pretty much there.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN GARDEN CITY AND SHORE LODGE ESTATES SUBDIVIDSION HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATION

Points for the agreement between Mayor John Sphuler representing Garden City and Jay Brown representing the Shore Lodge Estates Subdivision Home Owners Association (SLDSHOA).

The Shore Lodge Estates Home Owners Association makes the following suggestions to resolve our dispute over 6 driveways in the Shore Lodge Estates Subdivision.

SLEHOA is willing to help the city develop the existing access through the Legacy Beach Development by making a monetary contribution of $50,000.00 to Garden City, provided the funds are used for the specific purpose of developing that walking access. The HOA members would also agree to participate in providing labor as a part of a community improvement project to take place over a couple of Saturdays during the summer of 2017.  The HOA would also provide access to a member who has agreed to allow Garden City to purchase the needed building materials for this project at cost.  The monetary contribution of $50,000.00 would be made in two equal payments.  The first payment would be made within 10 days following the delivery of the documents contemplated by the parties’ agreement, with the subsequent payment to be made in 120 days thereafter, but not before the lot line adjustments discussed below are approved by the city.

Garden City would agree to provide a legally binding document that abandons Garden City’s right to exercise eminent domain over properties in the Short Lodge Estates subdivision now and in the future.  The agreement would state that if Garden City ever tried to disregard its commitment not to exercise eminent domain then in addition to paying just compensation required by law, Garden City would be required to refund monies paid by SLEHOA identified above.  The city would also agree to approve lot line adjustments for all of the members of the SLEHOA that would allow the HOA to transfer the appropriate portion of the driveways shown on the subdivision plat to the adjacent lot owner’s property, along with any wording changes required in the plat maps or other documents as required to achieve that end.

Garden City Building Inspector Report

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY.  March 9, 2017.  George Peart, Residential Building Inspector, reported

that Planning and Zoning Commission  did not approve the PUD presented by Mark Smoot.  There were a few issues that concerned the Commission.  One of the homes on a corner lot presented some safety issues.  The roads within the PUD are only 20’ wide.  Because these roads are for internal traffic and are not for public use, perhaps some solution can be found. 

"However, if the Fire Chief questions getting fire equipment down that size road, this may be a real problem," said Peart.

This PUD is really quite similar to the Legacy PUD where some exceptions have been permitted.  The City would like to see this PUD move forward.  Hopefully Smoot will be able to work out these issues with the Planning Commission at the next meeting.

Lakeview is following precedence on their plans.  However, there are some parking lot concerns if there two events at once.  Then, it appears there will not be enough parking. 

Peart noted that there have not been any building permits issued so far this year.  Blue Water is creating some new camping spots, and the Conestoga Ranch has some issues with impact fees on water usage.   There needs to be some follow through on this.

There were 26 building permits in 2016 which was down from the previous year.  However, there has been a tremendous need for subcontractors which is one of the reasons for the slow down.

There is a home show planning for Memorial Day Weekend.  

Three permits have been granted in the Legacy PUD for homes which will have basements.  If the water table is high, this could present problems for flooding.

Good Stuff

By John Brown, The Man

A simple calculator for how much home you can afford

It's March. Spring is here in most places. And this is when the house hunting season starts to get rolling. I used to moonlight as a realtor. I started from nothing, ran my own little gig, and did very well. Then I got a book contract, and there was no way I could do three jobs. But I learned a lot.

One of the things I learned is that home buyers very frequently have a very hard time staying within their budget.

They set a number, start looking in their price range, then peek at the homes in a higher price range, and of course those homes look better. Why wouldn't they? They're more expensive! And, geez, they have such nice faucets and cool counters and a shower with five heads so you can wash your body from every imaginable angle, and suddenly many of my buyers would refuse to see cheaper homes. Because they just had to have the ultrawash shower.

Or a dent in a wall that's officially called an alcove.

Or a super deluxe gas heater fireplace that runs on banana peelings and saves gerbils.

Or whatever.

It's called house craze. It's a temporary thing. It passes as soon as you get in the house and start making the payments.

And then you wake up and realize you have a hot tub, and you hate hot tubs! What in the world were you thinking?!

Well, you had house craze.

The unfortunate side effect of buying too much house is that the mortgage eats up so much of the take-home pay that it makes everything else exceedingly tight. Or impossible.

You don't have room to pay off debts. Don't have room to invest much, or at all. Don't have room to have fun vacations. Don't have room for anything except the fricken-ricken, blankity-blank, #$%!* house!

This condition is called being house poor.

So house craze leads to being house poor.

Which leads to second jobs and stress and often more debt. You may also end up in a roadside ditch. The situation below occurs with more than just with cable companies.

The lender will tell you that you can lend up to 36% of your take-home pay!

Your eyes go wide, and you being to think that maybe you can afford two ultrawash showers. But just slow down and think for a second--the lender is the one SELLING you the loan.

Right...

Don't listen to the lenders.

Listen to common sense.

My advice is the same as Dave Ramsey's:

1.      Don't buy a house until you're out of debt and have saved enough to pay 10% of the purchase price of the house.

2.     When you're at that point, get a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage with monthly payment that's no more than 25% of your take-home pay.

So that's my advice. You're free to do with it what you wish. Just know that being house poor sucks.

And all that to introduce the calculator which will tell you exactly how much home you can afford. It takes 10 seconds to fill in.

Download it and be happy.

How much home can I afford?

Morning

Photo by Tammy Calder, Calderberry Photography, Garden City

County Asked To Take Over Water System

Anita Weston. Reporter

Rich Civic Times 

RANDOLPH, Utah. March 6, 2017.  Terry Allen, Bear Lake Water System,  presented a petition signed by individuals living on Sweetwater Hill requesting that the County take over the Bear Lake Water System in that area.  It is currently a privately owned water system that covers four or five different subdivisions.  He also had a map showing the area currently providing water to those who live there.  He noted that it would be the entire system and excluded the sewer district which is an entirely different entity.

It was noted by the Commissioners that such a request would require holding a public hearing to talk about the system.  Allen noted that because it is a private system, they cannot apply for any grants or government assistance.  If the water system is taken over by the County, they could apply for grants to improve the system.

It was estimated that it would require at least $10,000 to survey the system to get all of the current boundaries on the map. 

The Commissioners made the motion to set the date for the public hearing for next month, April 5, 2017, at 1:30 p.m.

Allen also asked that protection of Zone 2, where all new water wells are being drilled be placed on next month’s agenda as well.  He would like to see the Commission create an ordinance to protect Zone 2.  Sunrise Engineering would be willing to send an engineer to the meeting to explain the justification and reason for such a zone.  The Commissioners set up an appointment at the next Commission Meeting on April 5 at 11:30 a.m. to talk with that engineer and Terry Allen concerning this item.

It was suggested that another public hearing be scheduled for April 5 at 1:00 p.m. to get public input concerning the Cisco Road Project.    This project will cost about $8.4 million.  The motion was made to hold the hearing.  A proposal was also made to perhaps borrow from the Community Impact Board for this project.

Mountain View

Photo by Sandi Gunderson Warner

Rich County Commission Meeting

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times 

RANDOLPH, Utah.  March 6, 2017. Troy Petersen and his wife appeared before the Commissioners asking that they be granted a license for running the old Camper World campground.  He has recently purchased this campground and would like to continue running the camp ground.  He reported that in the past, the campground was available only to those who had a membership with Camper World.  He, however, will make it an open camp area for anyone needing a place to camp.  The new name will be Bear Lake Venture Park.  He is planning on building a new office area, but will use the existing building until he gets the other completed.  There are 54 camping sites in this area.  His request was approved.

The County Short Term Rental Agreement was discussed.  It was decided to leave the ordinance as it is.  Conditional use permits will be needed in the Beach Front zone so it will be in force primarily along the lake.

There are currently 20 to 24 homes that are short term rentals in the County.  Commissioner Cox said that last week in the legislature it was determined that just because a home is advertised as a short term rental, it may not be being used that way.  Thus, in order to require a license for the short term rental, Mitch Poulsen will be asked to go to the people and prove that they are actually renting out the home.

The motion was made and passed to adopt the short term rental ordinance as written.  Poulsen will be the enforcement individual.  Those individuals who are managers of short term rentals were asked to get their clients into compliance with the County’s ordinance as soon as they can.

Indy Green is currently the president of the Barrel Club.  She asked the Commissioners to get new sprinkler heads on the water system so that the arena will be easier to use.  She noted that a certain amount of water is required in the arena blend in order to make the best use of the arena.  The sprinkler heads no longer turn so that the water doesn’t cover the whole area, only certain strips.  Commissioner Cox noted that he will get in touch with Bruce Dickamore and have him come check the arena blend to make sure it is still up to expectations.  He also said that the commissioners will make sure that the sprinklers work properly.

Green also asked that the commissioners fix the gate by the header box.  Currently there are two little gates that are actually a hazard.  The horses sometimes hit the gates.  She thought perhaps one large gate or no gate at all would be an improvement over the current situation.

The Commissioners noted that they are going to do some work on the arena this spring.  They are planning on getting handrails for some of the bleachers, build a ramp up to the bleachers, and upgrade several other items.  They will put the gates on their list.

Dale Wilson of the Road Department noted that there is a lot of rock that could still be crushed but that he didn’t think they needed much more.  The Commissioners said that he should have them hold off on the crushing.  This spring there will be a greater need for slurry seal and some of the money that would be used for crushing could be used to pay for this seal.

It was noted that there is approximately 18,500 tons of road millings available to the County at the present time.  Dale said that he thought that would be enough to be used on three city streets in Randolph, (about 1.8 miles), 1.4 miles over the hill to the Road Bridge, the Trail Road, and another mile from the bridge over to Brady's.  They would also like to surface the parking lot by the jail.  The surface will be 4 inches deep and 24 feet wide.  The distance for all three areas comes to about 5 miles of road which would require about 18,500 tons of road millings.

Last year they bought 130 loads for two miles on the Wills Road and the Golf Course road.  It cost about $35,000 for these two projects.

The company will charge for hauling the millings.  Going to Woodruff and back will be a bit more expensive than the other loads.  The Commissioners told Wilson to get a proposal from the company for what is available as well as the hauling. 

Kim Wilson came to get exemptions for all of the LDS Church buildings in the County.   The LDS Church has to file every year and have to have it approved every year by motion of the Commissioners.  This was done.

Many of the documents in the Courthouse are scanned.  They have been using a Company called Scanning Revolution.  However, they have been having some problems with getting the work done that is needed.  At least three departments in the Courthouse have documents scanned.  Debbie Ames, Kim Wilson, and Becky Peart all work in offices that do scanning.  They haven’t paid Scanning Revolution yet this year for scanning work.  They would like to buy a program from Brian Johnson.  He will charge the same this year as Scanning Revolution, but the software will be put on the others’ machines, and it will only be a cost this year.  The software will be on their machines from then on, actually saving the County money.  Debbie would need a new printer and special labels.  It would cost less than $500 for those items.  This will put the County online which will be a requirement in the near future.  The Commissioners agreed with their decision and encouraged them to go ahead and purchase the program this year.

Bear Lake Regional Commission Reports On Bike Trail

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

RANDOLPH, Utah.  March 6, 2017.  Mitch Poulsen, Director of the Bear Lake Regional Commission, and Tyler Stewart, an engineer, appeared before the County Commission to ask for permission to survey the proposed bike path going southeast of Ideal Beach.  The plan is to extend the bike path as far as the Epic Rental Area or a bit further just before turning to the south along Bear Lake.  Poulsen had written a grant asking for $600,000 to $700,000 for this project.  The project will have to be scaled back because the grant only brought in $300,000.

Poulsen asked that a survey be made to determine a more accurate cost estimate for the bike path project.  Estimates could then be made as to the quantities of material that will be needed and give a better idea of how far the path can be extended.

Commissioner Cox noted that UDOT had completed a boundary survey that could give Poulsen and Stewart the necessary points without having to resurvey that area.  Cox said that where the cut had originally been made for the road, it was discovered that it was almost solid rock in that area which may require more money and effort.

Poulsen asked if he could withdraw needed funds out of the $47,000 grant that had been obtained for this project.  Cox suggested that the funds be made available from the county and then reimburse the County as the project moves forward.  Cox told them that once the project gets started the funds will be available.  State dollars can’t be obtained until after the project is underway.

Poulsen is still working with proposed routes for special events.  He has developed a map showing several alternatives that could be used by those setting up these events.  Cox asked that he be sure and let the commissioners know when and where the special events will be held.  They want to make sure there won’t be any problems.  The Commissioners, after looking at the proposed routes, gave a few more suggestions of areas and roads that might be used.

Joe Cole had asked Poulsen to get him placed on the April Agenda to get permission for the triathlon race to be held the middle of September.  Mitch passed this information on to the Commissioners.

Poulsen then reported to the Commissioners on the progress being made on the Resource Management Plan that is required by the State.  He is currently holding meetings every two weeks with different individuals to get the needed information for the various sections of the report.  He noted that he wanted to put the policies and procedures in the front of the article with short summaries for each area.  He said he thought he should emphasize and focus on the main six topics and then touch on the other 21 areas. 

Cox told Poulsen that if all important information on all 27 topics in the management plan is not included, the BLM or the Forest Service can take over certain areas without even consulting with or talking to the local government agencies.  He said it was very important that every section have as much detail as possible.

Poulsen said he would continue working on the project and gather more information as quickly as possible.