County
council approves ag protection area, mulls 4-day work
week
By Gideon Oakes
February 25, 2009 | Logan--In stark contrast to almost
every meeting since George Daines resigned as county
attorney in early January, finding a seat at the Cache
County Council's regular meeting Tuesday night was no
problem.
Among the scant audience were Curtis and Suzanne Dent
who came before the council to request an agriculture
protection area for their property. The Dents have received
complaints from neighbors regarding the agricultural
operation on their land and wanted to head off any future
problems by getting the protected status.
A public hearing regarding the proposed protection
area failed to attract any comments, either positive
or negative.
Before the council unanimously voted to grant the
approval, Councilman Gordon Zilles joked with Curtis
Dent saying he had heard rumors of a pig farm being
built on the Dents' land.
Dent laughed and replied, "I hate pigs."
Later in the meeting, the council discussed the four-day
workweek for county employees, which has been in effect
for about six months. Although it was not a public hearing,
several points of view were heard from audience members.
County Recorder Mike Gleed told the council ambiguity
over Friday hours was taking its toll on his office
staff, saying he has been called at home on several
occasions to come in for "emergency" recordings on Fridays.
He said he would no longer do that unless it was clearly
a matter of urgency.
Josh Runhaar, who heads up the development services
office, urged the council to consider the toll being
taken on employees every time a switch is made.
Local Realtor and lender Bracken Longhurst told the
council that he has lost thousands of dollars because
certain actions could not be recorded on Fridays.
The council made no decision on the matter, opting
instead to set a time for a public hearing on the matter
at its next regular meeting March 10.
In other business, the council heard reports from
Julie Hollist from the Cache Valley Visitor's Bureau
and Wally Bloss from the Cache Valley Center for the
Arts.
In her report, Hollist lauded the new Marriott and
Holiday Inn lodging facilities whose completion has
boosted the number of available rooms in the area by
25 percent. She also outlined actions being taken to
snag international tourism dollars as visitors travel
from the airport in Salt Lake City to destinations such
as Yellowstone National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Bloss detailed some of the upcoming programs being
put on through the CVCA, including sold-out performances
by "clean" comedian Brian Regan Feb. 26-27, and a concert
by folk artist Arlo Guthrie March 27-28. He also fielded
questions about the center's financial status, telling
the council that the CVCA is still "in the black", despite
being a nonprofit organization during tough economic
times.
"Nonprofit is a tax status, not a management style,"
Bloss said.
The council also set a public hearing for March 24
at 6 p.m. regarding a proposed amendment to the utility
corridors code.
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