Residents of Paradise complain about dusty, unpaved roads

By Jen Beasley

October 20, 2005 | PARADISE -- The Town Council spent an hour listening to a laundry list of complaints from residents Heather Jensen and Rosemarie Jorgensen at Wednesday's meeting, causing the meeting to stretch past 11 p.m. Jensen and Jorgensen were listed on the agenda as having "road & agenda concerns," but their concerns extended into other areas as well.

Jorgensen, who lives on 300 East, which is a dirt road, expressed frustration that the town had not paved her road but had paved other roads she thought were less urgent.

"I've had a bus driver say 'I hate to go on that road because of all the dust it creates,'" Jorgensen said. "I have had a neighbor that says 'Why do you put up with that?' And I always said, 'Well, that's the way it is,' but now I see all these other roads being improved. So what I'd like to know is, what is the future for road improvement?"

Mayor Lee Atwood said one reason 300 East hasn't become a priority is because there are other, more heavily trafficked areas in Paradise that needed the improvements more.

"It would be (a priority), but you have to look at it and say, 'Is it as heavily traveled as 8800 South?'" Atwood said. "I'm sure that 8800 South is a lot more traveled than 3rd East. More traveled roads get moved up on the priorities list."

Jorgensen disagreed. "I want you to be aware that it is a dust bowl, it is heavily traveled," she said.

Jensen then raised her concern that Paradise does not require people to present proof of registration from the Utah Department of Commerce in order to obtain a town business license. She said she had speculation that some of the businesses in town were not registered.

Several council members questioned what the reasoning would be behind requiring the documentation, called a "Proof of Existence," which can be obtained online. Councilwoman Margaret Obray said she didn't think it was a state law to do such a thing, and that the council would have to research it.

"It is my understanding that all registering does is make it so some other guy can't use your name," Atwood said. "Our ordinances just say that you have to be operating in your home, under your roof."

Councilman Dale Anderson said requiring the proof would not further any purpose for the town. "I don't think the city has any reason to see if you have a federal ID number or anything else," he said.

Jensen was reluctant to reveal which businesses in town she felt were not registered, but when Councilman Dave Anderson said the council was unable to see the reasoning without specifics, Jensen said her concerns were about CarService, an automotive repair shop. She did not explain why she believed the business was unregistered.

"I just don't see why you'd want businesses operating illegally in your city," Jensen said.

Jensen also told the council that she felt some of the posted agendas for council meetings are too vague, at which point the meeting became tense. "I don't know if that's intentional, or what--" Jensen said, to which Bev Schieffer, the town recorder, responded, "We don't have time to do conspiracies, OK?

Jensen then said that she thought some of the agendas were better than others, but cited the "unfinished business" portion of the agenda as too vague. "I think sometimes you know those things that are loose ends, and you could just be more specific so people would know," she said.

Atwood took the blame for some of the problems. "That's probably my fault," he said. "Sometimes I get in a hurry when I write these at midnight."

Jensen also said she was unsure of the regulations regarding when and where the agendas were posted. Shieffer told her that they are always at the post office 24 hours before the meeting, as well as at the Cracker Barrel, though that posting sometimes gets removed.

The council took no official action on any of the complaints, but Atwood said he was happy to have heard their concerns.

In other business the council:
--denied Scott Summers' petition for annexation, because the irregular property did not work within the town's grid plan.
--heard from Fire Chief Troy Fredrickson, who said the town did not receive a FEMA grant it had applied for in order to fund a monthly public safety newsletter.
--explained to Bill and Cindee Young what they needed to have in order to file a petition for annexation.
--heard preliminary ideas from Justin Wilding, who is considering building a subdivision.

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