Attending Members: Dall Winn; John Nichols; Jeff Gardner; Herman Nordbruch
Also Present: Gerald Schiefer, Fire Chief
George Cropper, Treasurer
Beverly Udell, Secretary
Absent: Mary Esther Putnam, Chairwoman
Guests Fred Pendleton, Ford Northington, Sharon Northington, Gene Phillips,
Guin Winn, Joe Rechsteiner, Allen Cannon, Steve Shakesspeare, Kirk Smith, Rob Tersigni
Dall Winn (Vice Chairman) led the meeting in Mary Esther’s absence. He called meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.
Welcomed and introduced was new the Forest Ranger, Joe Rechsteiner. He was told he really had to be on top of his game to replace Bevin Killpack, who was loved by all.
General Business: Minutes of April 2, 2014 were reviewed by each Board member..
Building Permits: 1) Building permit for Earl Snow, Lot # 6112-A-1-A-1-C (0172984). Mailing: 1447 Montezuma Circle 84790 2) Howard Chamberlain, (see envelope)
Election of 2014 Officers: John nominated Mary Esther as Chair and Dall as Vice Chair. Jeff seconded that nomination. All were in favor.
Purchasing Policies: George has received a report from Gerald which he will try to conform to meet State regulations. He will then try to get that out to the Board for revue before the next meeting, so possible action can take place at the June meeting.
Joe Rechsteiner – Forest Ranger: Joe spoke about the decisions that went into shutting down several of the dirt roads in the Forest area. He said that was part of the “Travel Management Plan” that went into effect in the early 2009. The decision for exactly which roads was made in conjunction with the County Commissioners, and closures are now being implemented. Roads were chosen by either 1) They didn’t lead to anywhere, or 2) They were a duplicate of another road in terms of where they both led. The purpose is to help keep the Forest lands more pristine by stopping traffic where it doesn’t need to be. Off road vehicles will be impacted the most, however there are still so many other roads they can use to access the Forest land. Large rocks were laid on the terminated roads to discourage access; however there is still room to get around them if there is a fire. John voiced that he applauded the effort because he hoped it will curtail Saturday night parking. Gerald also thought the idea was very good because it would slightly limit where the ATVs were allowed to go. However Kirk felt that enforcement would be a nightmare. There is a map on the Forestry web site of the road closures.
Board Member Reports
Mary Esther (absent)
Dall: Reported that Spence Beckstrom had spoken to the County Attorney about the addition of Animal Control to the Board Bi-Laws. Herman will contact the Attorney to see what the responsibilities would entail.
Jeff: The County has done a very good job on grating the roads in Pine Valley.
John: Chad is being used for road resurfacing and chip seal on the exiting asphalt. No ‘new’ road construction is planned. * The County is responsible for fixing the gate on the cattle guard where there was a vehicle accident. * A question was asked as to whether Pine Valley residents were allow to use the cinder from the pit by Grey’s Ranch. Answer: That would be up to the Forestry Department, however since there is currently a lock on the gate, that is indication that they want the public to stay away. That area used to be a good shooting spot, but the walls have become to sheared and feared dangerous as a public hazard. Also some members of the public have been taking cinders without a permit.
Herman: N/A
Fire Chief Report: Gerald Schiefer provided report of activities for April 2014. (Copy attached) * No more burning – fires are now restricted for the season. * Gerald again expressed concern about the number of homes being short term rentals in the Valley. George said that a letter had been sent to the County regarding this issue, but since there are not laws saying that short term rentals are illegal, there is nothing that can be done to stop them. Geralds concern was that the owners/managers of the property are advertising that fires can be had on the properties, and renters would not know that there are restrictions for the season. He has had to request several fires be put out already. Allen Cannon suggested that the owners get a guideline of courtesies to give each renter, which would include a statement about fire rules. Jeff said he would be happy to call the home owners and suggest removal of the fire pits on the properties used for rentals.
Treasurer Report: George Cropper provided Profit & Loss Statement for the month of April 2014.
(Copy attached) * The L.N. Curtis refund has come in. * There is a State Auditor’s meeting on Thursday at the SUU St. George Center. * 2013 financial information has been given to the accountant. There is now a new State Auditor, and along with that also comes new procedures that could affect us. We are currently at about $104,000 in our annual budget, but we need to be under $100,000 to be exempt from those new procedures.
Citizen Comments:
Gene said there is a training schedule for CERT. Wilderness Medicine training is scheduled for August 8/9. He would like to hear suggestions of other possible trainings that people might want.
Jeff motioned to close the meeting at 7:20.
The next scheduled PVSSD meeting will be on Wednesday, June 4, 2014, at 6:00 p.m.