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By Kimberly Ralphs
The concerns stemmed from Mendon's increasing need for water. Mayor Sydney Larsen said conservation is necessary if the city is going to grow. "Water is going to be the key limiting factor for Mendon," he said. The council discussed raising the culinary water rate from its current base level of $18 per gallon so the city will have enough revenue to pay its bills and to encourage residents to conserve water. Councilwoman Leslie Larson suggested a tiered rate structure so that residents who use more water pay more for it. She suggested that after a certain point, the rate increase enough to encourage residents to conserve water. Councilman Jon Hardman said another way to encourage conservation is to educate residents about water use. Two representatives from the Utah Rural Water Association attended the meeting to advise the council. One said dealing with water "can be a pretty complicated, detailed thing" and offered to come back and discuss the issues in more detail. The council decided to hold a water workshop and set a tentative date for the first Thursday in March. The council also discussed putting in a new water tank sometime in the near future to accommodate water needs. Another issue brought up at the meeting was the way city bills are handled. Councilman Allen Gardner expressed his concern that the city's bills aren't approved by the council until after they are paid by the city recorder. Gardner is new to the city council this year and questioned if the recorder had that authority and if it was really his duty. Mayor Larsen said, "in a city this size, it is the recorder's duty to pay bills." He and other council members voiced their trust in the current system of paying and approving bills and in Paul Cressall, the city recorder. "As far as it working smoothly, it seems to work," Councilwoman Larson said. Cressall said waiting until after city council meeting to pay the bills so they can be approved would cause many of the bills to be late. He said he has been recorder for 20 years and knows to only pay the regular monthly bills and other approved expenses. "I dare say in my 20 years I've never paid a bogus bill," Cressall said. "I'm asking you to trust me." The issue was resolved when the mayor told Gardner that if he wants to approve the bills in his department, he can. "You run your department however you want to run it," Larsen said. In other money matters, Cressall reported that Mendon has only $26,000 in its budget for the rest of the year. "We have spent heavy and it's going to catch up with us," said Mayor Larsen. He also said the city needs "to be austere from here to the end of the year" so they don't run out of money. Other items the council discussed were having a local resident store the Mendon float so the city doesn't have to pay $65 per month to keep it in a storage unit in Logan; increasing animal control fees to discourage residents from letting their pets stray; and putting bathrooms in city parks.
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