Bluff council talks road and airport
Members of the Bluff Town Council talked about road improvements, airports and power at their meeting on October 13.
Members of the Bluff Town Council heard a report from Michael Haviken regarding road improvements in the town.
Haviken shared potential projects in the city with a conversation regarding how to prioritize updates to the city.
Annual road maintenance funds cover pothole patching, crack sealing and seasonal grading through state fuel tax distributions, county matching funds and annual rollover balances.
However it was noted that fully paving and repairing streets through major capital improvements would likely cost the city $3.88 million.
In discussing those needs council reviewed projects in the center of town such as on Mulberry avenue, Black Locust Lane, and Navajo Twins Drive; also discussed were high-trafficked tourist thoroughfares including the Bluff Bench Road and Sand Island Road.
Council shared a preference to focus their funds on projects located in town with an interest in working with partners such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to potentially help with maintenance of Sand Island Road which serves residents as well as visitors.
Mayor Ewing also pointed to the Bluff Bench Road as a potential project that could be attractive to the Community Impact Board (CIB) as they gather funds through royalties from oil and gas producers operating on public lands. It was noted that oil trucks are among the main users of that road.
"It does seem like at it's going to be hard for a small town to pull off any big project like this without some borrowing," Mayor Ewing observed, recommending that staff explore lower-cost hybrid options and focus near-term resources on straightforward, non-controversial projects like the street adjacent to the local school.
Council also expressed support for acquiring a $2,000 to $5,000 mobile radar speed trailer to educate drivers on interior town speed limits.
Members of the Bluff town council also heard from Volunteer Airport Manager Jim Hook on the needs at the Bluff airport. Upgrading to basic standards, the airport's asphalt surface will require a complete overhaul and a runway turnaround loop by 2029.
While the vast majority of airport projects are covered by state and federal funds there is a local match requirement from the town of Bluff.
With hundreds of thousands of dollars needed for the local match members of the council were urged by Hook to begin setting aside funds to cushion the financial impact of upgrades to the airport.
Members of the town council also reviewed plans for a grant that would provide an emergency generator at the Bluff Community Center, but a revelation on how that building is powered has raised questions for the project.
At the meeting it was shared that the community center operates across four electrical supplies which reportedly is preventing the integration of the grant-funded emergency generator as well as stalling a planned solar panel installation.
The generator could act as emergency power for one of the four electrical supplies, or it would need a rewiring of the building.
Another option would be to pivot the project to provide emergency power for the old elementary school also known as the BRICC.
Council member Spencer Wade reported he would coordinate with Rocky Mountain Power to evaluate options by getting more firm price estimates on the projects.
Members of the town council also accepted an invitation from the BLM to participate as a cooperating agency during environmental reviews and resource management planning for the Bears Ears National Monument.
Members of the council also discussed a potential update to the city off-street parking ordinance to accommodate solar installations and right-of-way parking for municipal projects.
The council also celebrated the formal recording of deeds transferring sole ownership of the Bluff Cemetery to the town.