Blanding City hears water and fire reports, and begins search for Administrator
by David Boyle
News Director
Members of the Blanding City Council received water and fire reports, passed their budget and will be looking for a new city administrator.
While not reported at their latest meeting, news has recently broke that the city will be seeking a new administrator.
City Manager Trent Herring shared he accepted a job as the Human Resource Director for Utah Navajo Health System.
Herring’s last day at the city will be August 1st, he was appointed city administrator by the city council in October 2023.
Herring shared with the San Juan Record
“I love where I live, that’s why I had interest in this job. We've done some positive things in the past 18 months and hopefully someone wants to continue to be part of that positive change.”
Herring added he hopes to stay involved as much as possible.
The City Administrator is the highest administrative position in the city of Blanding and serves under direction of the elected officials. The job listing describes the position as overseeing all administrative tasks necessary for city operations, supervising all city departments, maintaining the city budget, and representing the municipality in a variety of settings.
Interested applicants can send a resume, cover letter, and any letters of recommendation to Mayor@Blanding-Ut.Gov
At their June 24 meeting members of the city council heard reports including from the City Engineer Patrick Parsons focused on water usage.
The report included a correction to previous figures at their last city council meeting; an earlier report had over-projected usage by 100 acre-feet which was incorrect, with figures closer to 5-10 acre feet over last year.
The city did clarify that numbers indicated residents are using more water this year compared to last despite having less water available with continued encouragement to conserve water.
While the city has not changed its water rate the city is in a higher Yellow Tier which means water is more expensive than in a more abundant Green Tier year, with the city hoping to encourage water conservation.
Blanding city reservoirs are at about 80-percent capacity with Recapture Reservoir at 40-percent. The city did report that Well B is repaired and online helping to reduce the reliance on stored water.
A significant portion of the meeting was spent on the fire report from Chief Corey Spillman. Spillman gave acknowledgement for his department's quick response to the fire on June 15 in Westwater canyon. While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, it was reported that the ignition was not naturally caused. The fire burned about 20 acres with firefighter efforts focused on home preservation. The fire did burn mostly grass trees and shrubbery but did consume one barn, and old school bus and tires. Multiple agencies responded to the flames, which was able to be put out the same day.
One concern raised was the amount of onlookers who’s private vehicles could’ve threatened access to the fire. At the meeting council members advocated for public education to keep non-essential personnel out of the way.
Members of the Blanding city council held a public hearing before adopting budgets as the fiscal year came to an end on July 1.
Among the items reviewed included the 2025 amended budget, the 2026 budget and fee schedule and the 2026 officer salary increases. Members of the council noted that publishing officer salary increases, as recently required by the state, is a positive development for public awareness, those increases including a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) but no merit increases.
At the meeting the council also passed a resolution formalizing the agreement between Blanding City and the County for an equipment exchange agreement.
The agreement facilitates the exchange of a city backhoe for a waived demolition fee of building on city property at the San Juan County Landfill. The agreement was approved by the county commission at their latest meeting.
At the meeting the council also recognized the Little Miss Blanding Royalty, thanked citizen volunteers for clean-up efforts in the town in preparation for the 4th of July and recognized the San Juan County Clean Energy Foundation for their contributions and funding to the ice cream social and grand opening at the pavilion at central park.
Members of the Blanding city council also held a discussion regarding concerns about children on electric scooters. Multiple complaints were cited regarding unsafe riding including excessive speed, blowing through intersections, carrying multiple riders or items and a general lack of awareness on what is legal.
Suggestions were shared for community trainings including a possible ‘scooter rodeo’ to educate kids and parents. Intersection safety particularly near local schools was noted as a specific problem area.