County Commission acts on Navajo Mountain Road and cancer screening issues

San Juan County Commissioners signed resolutions, and denied a rezone request for a plot in Spanish Valley at their latest meeting on April 5.
Commissioners signed a resolution requesting the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) give priority to funding for a feasibility and environmental review for a road between Oljato and Navajo Mountain. 
The state legislature recently allocated money to UDOT as part of their $264 million infrastructure bill, with the directive to oversee various road infrastructure projects around the state.
Commissioners expressed concern UDOT “can’t see over the mountain” referencing a tendency of the state’s to prioritize metropolitan areas’ needs over those of rural areas. The letter explains residents of Navajo Mountain endure undue hardships due to the lack of a safe transportation route. 
The commission also signed a resolution expressing gratitude to U.S. Congressman John Curtis and his office for their aid in securing $520,000 in federal funds for cancer screening for victims of the Monticello mill superfund site. 
Commissioners encourage current and former residents of Monticello to take advantage of this program. A person does not need to be a current resident of Monticello to qualify for a subsidized cancer screening. 
A public hearing was held during the meeting as part of a request to rezone an acre plot in the San Juan Subdivision Phase 3 located in Spanish Valley. Katherine Lemus, the owner of the plot made the request to rezone her plot from Spanish Valley Residential to Highway Flex. The property is approximately 1 mile from Highway 191. 
At their meeting held on February 10, the Planning Commission also held a public hearing concerning this issue and ultimately recommended the request be denied as it is technically illegal spot zoning.
Scott Burton presented the request and minutes from the February 10 meeting. Property zoned in Highway Flex allows for overnight rentals of the property, while properties zoned under Spanish Valley Residential cannot function as an overnight rental. Burton explained Lemus intended to sell her property to someone with the intention of establishing an overnight rental. 
While the subdivision in which Lemus resides is not zoned for overnight rentals, neighboring properties do allow overnight rentals. During the public hearing Spanish Valley Residents Ed Williamson and Monette Clark both expressed disdain for the overnight rentals in the area and the havoc tourists bring to their neighborhood. The commission unanimously voted to deny the request for the rezone. 
The commission approved the use of a $10,000 grant to purchase Endpoint Security Software to provide cyber protection to the county’s servers, computers, and mobile devices. Trae Bushore, the County’s IT Director, explained to the commission there is currently a server being used by a virtual coin miner. Which means a server has been hacked and is being used to mine cryptocurrency. 
The county currently relies on the default Windows Defender for cyber security. Bushore explained this gives the county little protection against any sort of sophisticated hacking. Bushore reported a trial version of Endpoint Security Software detected a number of viruses that had gone undetected by Windows Defender.