Blanding City Council calls for county civility

The Blanding City Council called for civility and cooperation among San Juan County residents in an August 27 meeting. 

The council discussed a letter and press release condemning the comments former San Juan County Commissioner Mark Maryboy made in a Mexican Water town hall meeting held August 22. The council expressed a desire to come together and unite the county. 

The letter is printed on page 4 of the San Juan Record.

Councilmember Cheryl Bowers said, “We’re trying right now as a county to bring us all together and stop all this negativity and all this in the media. I think if this type of behavior happens anywhere in the county, including down south, it’s not going to get better.

“We condemn this behavior. We won’t take part it in, and we don’t think public officials should take part in it either.”

Bowers added, “I also want Commissioner [Kenneth] Maryboy to know that we care that he didn’t stop it. That was one of my biggest concerns. 

“I am going to address that with him personally, but I also think it’s important that he know we are his constituents and he needs to be careful that he’s defending us all if that behavior continues.

“That is our end goal – we want this to stop, and we want it to be condemned by whoever does it, so we can all come together and try to do a better job of bringing our county together.”

Bowers also discussed concerns about Utah Diné Bikeyah, a special interest group that appeared to “sponsor” a recent county commission meeting. A resolution was drafted for the council to approve, but the council agreed to hold off on any action until the county addressed the issue. 

In other city matters, City Engineer Terry Ekker discussed ongoing and planned projects. A storm drain project is estimated to open bids early in 2020 and close a bond in April before starting on the project. 

Public input for the proposed changes in water and sewer impact fees is scheduled for the next council meeting.

Ekker also discussed the status of the streets project. While a high-density mineral bond project has been completed, the chip seal project still had a little work left. 

Councilmember KD Perkins expressed appreciation for the professional nature of advance notice given to residents on the streets project. Ekker noted how the city was able to work around a wedding reception and other issues at the senior center. 

Ekker mentioned that the transportation master plan and fuse coordination study were both moving forward. 

The financial report for the month showed an 11.13 percent year over year increase in sales tax revenue for the city.  This amount is largely attributed to ongoing construction projects.

Finance Director Kim Palmer noted that while the county still has the third-highest unemployment rate in the state, the numbers are the lowest they’ve been since 2007. The county added 168 new jobs between March 2018 and March 2019. The unemployment rate reported by Workforce Services sits at 5.3 percent. 

The council re-appointed Deb Bayles to chair the Planning Commission. They also approved Len Gasser and Kellen Nielsen for four-year appointments to the Planning Commission.

Changes are coming to the Pioneer Park pavilion reservation system. The Pioneer Park pavilion operates on a “first come, first serve” basis.  

City Recreation Director David Palmer asked for a reservation system similar to what is done at Centennial Park. Councilmembers agreed a change is needed. 

The council approved changes to the Blanding Area Travel Council Bylaws. 

Councilman Logan Shumway gave the council a heads up on a revised PUD ordinance which would be on the agenda for the next council meeting.