General Information

Government Type

Municipality

Entity

Oak City

Public Body

Oak City Town Council

Notice Information

Add Notice to Calendar

Notice Title

Minutes

Notice Type(s)

Meeting

Event Start Date & Time

May 21, 2026 07:45 PM

Description/Agenda

Minutes of Town Board Public Hearing and Regular Meeting Held May 21, 2026 The meetings were held at the Oak City Town Hall in the Conference Room beginning at 7:45 p.m. The following were in attendance: TOWN OFFICIALS OTHERS Mayor Kirt Dutson Phil Finlinson Council Member Copeland Anderson Shawn Finlinson Council Member Shawn Gonder Tina Anderson Council Member Tom Nielson Camron Nielson Council Member Jared Rawlinson Dave Steele Town Deputy Clerk Karen K. Lovell Shim Callister Town of Oak City Recorder Alyssa Nielson Deb Lopez Town Treasurer Courtney Finlinson Brandon Christensen Leslie Lovell Hans Lovell Martel and Hollie Anderson Rosie and Eldridge Travis Wid Ritchie (Vision Metering) Attended by phone The Public Hearing began with an invocation by Tom Nielson. The purpose of the Public Hearing was to get public comment on the proposed issuance of the Parity Water Revenue Bonds in an amount not to exceed $1,500,000. The Mayor explained that this meeting might have a lot of comments and that this was fine but he wanted to make sure and maintain respect and order for all meetings going forward he explained that he might request, depending on how many comments were made, that each party would only be able to make one comment and that comments might be held to three minutes or less. One comment at a time. Some of the purposes for the bonds: The tanks need to be relined and if the Town doesn't do it, the EPA will be charging about $13,000 per day in fines. The cost of Well recharge. The construction of culinary water system improvements, including improvements to existing well, installation of new meters, pipeline, SCADA improvements and addition of an ASR system, together with related improvements (the 'Project'), and pay costs of issuance of the Bonds. The estimated total cost of the bonds: Although the Issuer declared its intention to issue a Bond in a principal amount of up to $1,500,000 with interest at a rate not to exceed 3.0% per annum, the Issuer currently anticipates that the Bonds will be issued in the amount of $1,263,000 and bearing interest at 1.0% per annum. In that case, the estimated total cost for the proposed Bonds would be $1,399,810, which would include interest of $136,810. With the Town's low water rates and average Town income, it has been very difficult to get approved for any grants. Tom has tried several avenues and has not been able to find any available grants. The Mayor is still pursuing one other grant avenues for the secondary well. The Town has just paid off a loan recently which will give the Town some extra money to pay this loan. The Mayor asked if anyone felt that the Town was doing anything unethical or illegal to state it now. There were no comments. The Mayor adjourned the Public Hearing at 7:50 p.m. The Regular Town Board Regular Meeting began at 7:51 p.m. The same parties were in attendance. The following agenda items were considered: A. Adopt Agenda. Copland moved, seconded by Tom, to adopt the Agenda as written. Roll Call Vote: Mayor Dutson- Aye. Shawn-Aye. Tom-Aye. Jared-Aye. Copeland-Aye. B. Adopt Minutes of Town Board Meeting held Thursday, April 16, 2026. Shawn moved, seconded by Jared, to adopt the Minutes as written. Roll Call Vote: Mayor Dutson-Aye. Copeland-Aye. Shawn-Aye. Tom-Aye. Jared-Aye. C. Discuss Digital Electrical Meters Being Implemented. The Mayor explained that the Town is looking at AMI automated meters. Wid is helping with this. There has been a question of a signal issue but he doesn't think that will be a problem. The total cost of the project will be $64,000 but the Town has that much money in its account at Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) so the money can come out of that account. There will be a $600 monthly charge and we are currently paying $300/month to read the meters. One of the automatic meters sent out a code that showed an issue and gave information so quickly that the Town was able to fix the problem before it caused any damage so there was no cost to replace parts because the problem was found before it damaged anything. Rosie and Eldridge brought up privacy issues. Can anyone access the information from the meters? Wid stated that only parities with administrative clearance can access information and that information is very minimal. The meter can only read what power was used, not what it was used for. Tom, understood if the system was hooked to the internet is could be hacked and someone could hack in and see your power activities such as when you leave or come home because it would show when you are using power. Wid explained that the system is only getting a reading it is not showing when you are using a washer or dryer or whatever. There would have to be something more sophisticated on your personal system to show what appliances are being used and when. Eldridge, asked if the systems gives the Town the ability to shut of the power? Wid said yes that the Town can shut off power in an emergency. Tina asked if the Town will own the system? No, the Town will pay a $600.00 monthly fee for the Vision system but the Town will own the meters. Tom wondered if they can arbitrarily raise fees or costs of services. Wid explained that they will be able to raise the fee, of course, but costs of the non-auto meters can raise also. It is not likely the fees for Vision will raise too much or in the near future and he feels that the Vision System is the least costly option for the Town. Shawn stated that it now costs $300.00 a month to have the current meters read. Hans, pointed out that we might be paying a little more for this System but it could save a lot of money if it catches a problem before someone loses a fridge or appliance that was ruined due to a brown out. Copeland explained that it will be worth a lot to him as he is gone for extended periods of time and it should catch the issues while he is gone. Rosie asked if the Town goes with the system, can a party opt out? Wid said that one might be able to do so and some have done so in other towns but most end up coming back and wanting to go on the System. The Council is not making opt out an option for this program Tom asked how the Town will know if the meter is reading right? Wid stated that the new meters are tested before they are added on the system. Tom asked the cost per meter? $160.00. Eldridge asked if the manufacturer has access to the meter? Wid said yes, but the information is protected. Phil asked if the meters have a digital display? Wid said Yes. Tina asked what would happen if the meter were to read wrong and it costs the owner money. Would the owner get a pay back? Wid stated that there is a two-year warranty on each meter. Camron understood that some of the new meters are already in. Have they had any issues? No, the system is reading better than planned. Shawn reported that he was totally against the System at first, but he has been looking into it and is finding how some of the current meters are working so poorly and he has been talking to Dixie Power about things and he now feels that the Town will benefit greatly with the Vision System. Dave Steele has always felt the Vision System was the right way to go. Copeland moved, seconded by Jared, to Implement the Digital Electric Meters. Roll Call Vote: Mayor Dutson-Aye. Shawn-Aye. Copeland-Aye. Jared-Aye. Tom-Nay. D. Discuss 2025-2026 Budget and 2026-2027 Budget. Alyssa went over the Budgets. She passed out copies. A few changes were made to the budgets. Alyssa asked if it would be okay for her to make a few minor changes to budgets if she sees a need as long as she sent copies of the changes to the Council. This will be fine. She will send the changes as soon as possible after they are made. The Mayor mentioned that the General Ledger is behind about $65,000 so will be looking at this. E. Discuss Water Rate Adjustment. The Mayor went over water issues. He had a presentation where he showed the current water rates and where the water budget has been for the past few years. With the current base rate of $24.10 per connection, the Town is falling behind thousands/year or $16.80 per connection per month on average. This water rate is so much lower than most the rest of the State that the Town can't get Community Impact Board (CIB) monies as they feel the Town could take care of its needs if it charged more for water. The State recommends the Town should have an average charge of around $90.00 per month or 1.7% of the income of each meter owner. If the Town were to charge for water year-round, parties would probably stop using the water and it would go to waste as the Town has no way to store the water. Martel Anderson asked about the cost of putting in a retaining pond. The Mayor thought it would be around 2 Million. Based on information from the engineers, the Mayor feels he would like to pursue a 2nd Well especially now that the Governor has declared a State of Emergency due to the drought. A few years ago, it would have cost about $1.3 Million to put in a Well. Now it will cost about 2.5 million. The costs will continue to go up. Need to look at doing it now. Cameron stated that we live in a pretty unique community where we have the Springs but pumping a well will cost more. If all the water were pumped down the well, it would not be good. The Mayor stated that all the water would not be put down the well since the recharge line is only 2'. Tom stated that the aquifer seems to be down. If the Town were to charge for water year-round, it would probably help with water conservation and cause less wear and tear on the system if less water is used. The Mayor suggested the idea of a $40 minimum and go with year-round reading. Will cost about $300 more/month to pay for meter reading, year-round. Shawn asked about the idea of reading for 9 months or could look at a $40 minimum and going with less teering. Deb stated that in some areas, people don't understand that water pressure is an issue in some parts of Town. They have plenty. She felt this needs to be considered if the Town were going to do any more annexing. The Mayor asked if anyone had any more input, to please call him. Camron asked where the proposed site of the new well is. By Peterson's North of Town. Copeland asked everyone for their thoughts. With such a big group, this could give the Council a good idea of what everyone is thinking but no one had any more input at this time. The Mayor stated that there will be another meeting on water in June or July. F. Public Comment. There was no public comment. G. Monthly Financial Report. The Financial Report was Read and Approved by Board Action. The Mayor went through the Financial Report quickly. H. Departmental Reports. Copeland Anderson. Copeland was talking to Ben Nielson, Town Public Works Specialist, and found that there is a back-flow preventer that needs protecting so will put some cement in and build a fence to protect it and will put in a cement pad for the bleacher at the Park. Shawn Gonder. It is a little scary to Shawn as how to see that the Town gets the power it needs and keeping the power costs as low as possible. It is a pretty big responsibility and he doesn't have a lot of expertise in this. He is new but he knows the Town needs to spend money now in order to have power and not have to go on the market for power on its own. Tina agreed with Shawn's forward thinking. She brought up the town of Lake Tahoe and how much trouble it is in with their power. The Town needs a plan. Dave has been looking at two documents that deal with the call back of Intermountain Power Plant (IPP) power. UAMPS is recommending the town take a lot more power back. Jared Rawlinson. Need to spend a lot more money on roads. About 30% need to be replaced and many others need work or will end up needing to replace all the roads before long. He is wondering if the Town can get a loan or something and replace all the roads. It would cost about 1.2 Million but there might be some grants available. Will look to see if the Town can get a loan with the current road budget. Tom Nielson. Shim and Ben have the memorial looking really good. The aquifer recharge system is now set up. Had a meeting with the guys about the tank lining. Have another meeting coming up with the engineers. Trying to get it done this Fall if possible. The water is not looking good. The creek is as low as it has been all year. The Mayor has been wondering if the Town should buy more shares but thinks it would be best to keep the money for current infrastructure instead. Don't have many delinquent utility accounts left and most are three months or less. I. Miscellaneous. There were no miscellaneous items. J. Adjournment. The Mayor adjourned the meeting at 9:25 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, __________________________________ Approved by: ____________________________ Karen K Lovell, Oak City Deputy Clerk Kirt Dutson, Mayor

Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)

NOTICE OF SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION DURING PUBLIC MEETINGS In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals needing special accommodations (including auxiliary communicative aids and services) during this meeting should notify Karen Lovell at 435-846-2707.

Notice of Electronic or Telephone Participation

N/A

Meeting Information

Meeting Location

30 West Center
Oak City, UT 84649
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Contact Name

Karen Lovell

Contact Email

oakcitytc@gmail.com

Contact Phone

4358462707

Notice Posting Details

Notice Posted On

August 26, 2026 09:03 PM

Notice Last Edited On

August 26, 2026 09:03 PM

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