General Information

Government Type

Municipality

Entity

Holden

Public Body

Holden Town Council

Notice Information

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Notice Title

March 13, 2024 Holden Town Council Minutes

Notice Tags

Public Meetings

Notice Type(s)

Meeting

Event Start Date & Time

March 13, 2024 07:00 PM

Event End Date & Time

March 13, 2024 08:00 PM

Description/Agenda

Holden Town Council Meeting February 14, 2024 Started: 7:00 pm Present: Council Members: Mayor Darren Fox, LaRee Stephenson, Tamara Dallin, David Wood, and Phil Whatcott Staff; Caralee Wood, Rod Dastrup Visitors: Mark Stephenson, Molly Stevens, Paul Johnson, Kirk & Bonnie Mundy, Thane Hillestad 1. Pledge: LaRee Stephenson Prayer: David Wood 2. Approval of January 10,2024 Town Council Meeting Minutes a. The council discussed the minutes. The clerk was asked to clarify an item in 6-a (Roads and Landfill) and to fix a typo. Tamara Dallin motioned to accept the minutes for the Holden Town Council Meeting held January 10,2024 David Wood seconded. Roll was called, LaRee Stephenson- yes, Tamara Dallin-yes, Phil Whatcott - yes, David Wood - yes, Mayor Fox-yes 3. Payment of payroll/reimbursements and bills a. The bills/payroll/reimbursement invoices dated January 11- February 12, 2024 were given to the council before the meeting. Tamara Dallin asked for clarification on the internet and phone bills. Centra Com only being internet and Frontier only being the phone. And the pay to the fire chief, half being paid by the town and the other half being paid from the fire department. Phil Whatcott motioned to pay bills/payroll/reimbursement invoices January 11- February 12, 2024 Tamara Dallin seconded. Roll was called; , LaRee Stephenson- yes, Tamara Dallin-yes, Phil Whatcott - yes, David Wood - yes, Mayor Fox-yes 4. Petitions, Remonstrance and Communications 5. Planning and Land Use- Ted Bennet Not in attendance, does not appear that planning and land use met this month. 6. Report of Officers a. - Roads & Landfill SWANA Membership/ conference-The town received an application renewal for SWANA membership and an upcoming conference. Councilwoman Dallin has looked into the benefits of being a member of SWANA and has found that for the size of Holden and the type of landfill that we operate being a member of SWANA does not benefit the town. At the upcoming conference there would be a 45 min class that would benefit the town but the rest of the classes would not. Holden Towns landfill does not work with Hazardous materials or the disposal of such materials. The town has access to what we need at the state level. SWANA is mainly for bigger municipalities with waste disposal and transfer stations. This membership and conference were also not budgeted for the year, as such councilwoman Dallin feels it is an unneeded expense. David Wood motioned to discontinue being a member of SWANA, LaRee Stephenson seconded. Roll was called; LaRee Stephenson- yes, Tamara Dallin-yes, Phil Whatcott - yes, David Wood - yes, Mayor Fox-yes b. Parks, Recreation and CERT *Defibrillator- Councilwoman Stephenson has received information from Millard County and Amazon on pricing and types of defibrillators. Millard County Emergency services had the best price, Kim Rowell can order the defibrillator through Millard County and train the council, fire department and residents on how to use the device. The county device comes with a case, 3-year battery and is easy to use. It is also the same device that Millard County uses. Phil Whatcott motioned to purchase the difibrillator through Millard County, Tamara Dallin seconded. Roll was called; LaRee Stephenson- yes, Tamara Dallin-yes, Phil Whatcott - yes, David Wood - yes, Mayor Fox-yes *Easter Egg Hunt- This year spring break for the local schools is March 25-29. Councilwoman Stephenson would like to hold the town easter egg hunt on Friday March 29 in the morning. She has looked into the cost of pre-filled easter eggs and will get with Caralee Wood on what has been done and purchased in the past. Council members agreed to purchase the supplies and continue on with the town easter egg hunt. *Town Hall/ Pavilion Rental-Councilwoman Stephenson has proposed new rental prices for Residents and non-resident for the renting of the Town Hall. For Residents the cleaning deposit will raise from $30 to $35, 0-3 hours from $25 to $30, 3-5 hours from $50 to $60, 6+ hours from $100 to $125. For Non-residents; Cleaning fee $35, 0-3 hours $40, 3-5 hours to $70, 6+-all day $150.00. At the present time the fee schedule for the use of the pavilion and town Hall are the same. It was noted that the fee schedule should be different as the pavilion does not require as much cleaning or maintenance. Councilwoman Stephenson will look into a new fee schedule for the pavilion. The rental fees will be added to the March agenda and re-evaluated then. David Wood - Electric The town council members met with the members and the CEO of UAMPS on Monday the 12th of February in Fillmore. They were able to hear about the power issues going on and to get questions answered. UAMPS had a chart that showed the power usage from 1995 to present time, it has been sitting around $60 a megawatt, fluctuating between $40-70 mg. Over the years the town hasn't had much of a price change. Because the government wanting to switch over to green power the use of coal power plants is diminishing, that has changed the dynamics of power generation. UAMPS went over the town's power budget of what they think the town will use, they then have the town verify that amount. This past year UAMPS budgeted 53 thousand for our electrical costs, actuals were $144 thousand. Each month the town needs to lock in an electrical rate or pre-buying, some months we are short, and some months we are over. The months electrical costs are low helps to balance out the higher months. *Rate Study Approval Councilman Wood has looked into the town taking part in a rate study for the towns utilities. This study would be conducted by UFS, Utility Financial Solutions, they look at the towns cash flow, income and expenses, how to handle the fluctuating power rate funding, and suggested rates. This rate study would include all the town's utilities not just electrical. The cost of the rate study would be $29,500.00. This study would be funded through the town and can be billed outright or through UAMPS, paid on time. Electrical would pay most of the bill with water contributing a small amount. Once UFS is given approval to do the rate study it will take approximately 12 weeks or as slow or quick as the town gets them the needed information. This is not included in the town being a member of UAMPS, the rate study is done through another company. The town does not have to go with the pricing the rate study sets, but it will give the town an idea of where costs are. This study will help the town know where our money is going so that we aren't over or undercharging for services. There is money in the electrical savings to help cover the cost of the rate study. Impact fees also need to be looked into, and what the cost of adding users impacts the system. Dixie power charges a $30 dollar connection fee. Holden town does not have a connection fee or base rate. Phil Whatcott motioned to have UFS do a rate study for the towns utilities, LaRee Stephenson seconded. Roll was called; LaRee Stephenson- yes, Tamara Dallin-yes, Phil Whatcott - yes, David Wood - yes, Mayor Fox-yes *AMI Study Approval UAMPS has multiple projects, one of which is AMI (Automated meter study) A benefit of being a part of the AMI project would be the electrical meter readings each month. A better way of tracking what our load is and will be. This is not a purchase agreement, but an agreement to be part of the study to come up with best solutions for meter reading. This study will be spread out over 5 years. No estimated cost as of yet as this is a new project. The study will be done first and then it will be offered to those who want to be a part of the AMI project. This project has come about because of the pulling out of the CFPP project. New avenues for power need to be looked into. This is just a study to see what other sources will work best for Holden Town. These type of AMI meters can either be radio read or readings will be picked up from an antenna and sent to a computer. This study will enable UAMPS to look at the various systems and find matches to other similar systems to enable the town to get a better price. There are bigger cities that are a part of it that will enable the town to get better pricing. Meters can be bi-directional. Right now, the cost for a net metering meter is $400 more than a traditional electrical meter. Phil Whatcott motioned to be a part of UAMPS AMI study Tamara Dallin seconded. Roll was called; LaRee Stephenson- yes, Tamara Dallin-yes, Phil Whatcott - yes, David Wood - yes, Mayor Fox-yes - Electric reserve money with UAMPS. The money that would be given to the town for the sale of excess power hasn't been much due to the power increases, but what we do get has gone into an account with UAMPS and is being used to pay off our portion of the CFPP project. The number of delinquent accounts went down in January. *Net Metering- Councilman Wood met with Dixie power on their net metering policy. Dixie powers policy is 12kw,system, UAMPS says that is to big and should be around 4kw. The net meter is an additional $400 above a regular electrical meter. Dixie Power has an application fee of $60. The homeowner is responsible for any harmonic distortion, and the customer can be shut off at the town's discretion. There is a contingent of liability, the homeowner is responsible for any damage to the town's electrical system or those in proximity to said owner. The homeowner will need to check on their homeowner's insurance. Who is liable due to harmonics? Set up a work session to put a policy in place. c. Phil Whatcott -Fire Department Members of the fire department will be participating in wild land training on Tuesday February 20th. Water - Rod and Danny have been exercising the water valves around town. Some they have found and have had to unbury them from dirt and debris. Some of the valves are very stiff and won't budge, others are very low in the ground and hard to get the T in to turn them. They will continue to work on these. A couple of years ago there was an incident in town where a water line broke and the needed valve to shut off the water was buried and inaccessible. We don't want a repeat of that. This is a needed expense that effects the waters maintenance budget. - A town resident who has a second meter would like to have that meter taken out. This was acquired by the purchasing of an existing home in town. He no longer wants to pay for that second meter as he doesn't use it. Councilman Whatcott is reluctant to cap the meter off. Once a meter is put in the ground it is hard to cap it and not have issues as years pass. Councilman Whatcott would like to put a lock on the meter and keep it associated with the property. In the event when the house is sold, and the new owners would like to use the second meter they would pay a reconnect fee. Once the meter is disconnected it cannot be re-connected. DW- Would this connection still be on the water reports? Yes The town would then still be paying for water on that locked meter. It would be best to get rid of the second meter. DF- There is an issue with just capping the meter as it is no longer usable but there is still a pipe system going to where the meter was, causing future leak issues and not knowing the cause of the leak because the homeowner is unaware there was a second meter at one time. The best way to disconnect the meter and have no issues in years to come would be to go to the main line on the east side of main street and dig it up, finding the petcock and shutting it off. The decision was made to just pull the meter and cap it off on the property. The homeowner needs to pay for the expense of having it removed. - Water meters were read in January so that Rod has the information to take to the water conference for his meeting with the state. - In February we are getting 240 gal a minute coming into the town's water system. Levels have begun to drop. d. Mayor Darren Fox *Water project update- The state will be looking into the funding package given to the town to fund the water project. This will take place at the water board meeting on February 29. They will be deciding whether to allow the town to keep the money or pull it back. The town has been lowered from approved to corrective action. The town has until March1, 2025 to correct the deficiency or they will start fining the town. The town is at a standstill with the property owner where the well would be located. 7. New Business *Business Licenses- Councilwoman Dallin would like to have the business licenses printed in color or on a nice certificate. This year they are being printed in black and white due to the town printers color not printing correctly. Can they be printed on certificate paper? The town will look into a new printer for the post office and town use. *Library contribution- The town received a letter from Millard County Library to contribute $1.00 per resident with a total contribution of $375.00. Darren Fox motioned to contribute $375.00 to the library, David Wood seconded. Roll was called; LaRee Stephenson- yes, Tamara Dallin-yes, Phil Whatcott - yes, David Wood - yes, Mayor Fox-yes *Town Treasurer-- Roseanne Frost has been doing some of the treasurer duties for the past couple of years, Roseanne is interested in taking on more of those responsibilities in the capacity as Town Treasurer. Roseanne will remain a Post Office employee as well as fulfilling the duties of the treasurer. Caralee Wood will become the official Town Clerk. Caralee has been filling that capacity in the absence of a clerk since February of 2023. Darren Fox motioned to employ RoseAnn Frost as town treasurer, Phil Whatcott seconded. Roll was called; LaRee Stephenson- yes, Tamara Dallin-yes, Phil Whatcott - yes, David Wood - yes, Mayor Fox-yes 8. Outstanding Business Subdivision code update- The subdivision code update has not been started as of yet. It will be done with the town's general plan update being worked on by Sunrise Engineering. The town has until the end of the year to get the subdivision code update completed. This project is being funded by the state. *GRAMA requests- what is the protocol for responding to those requests and who does it? The town clerk takes care of them. The town has an ordinance in how grama requests are handled. 9. Adjournment: Phil Whatcott motioned to adjourn the town council meeting at 8:25p.m and move into a closed meeting, Tamara Dallin seconded. Roll was called; LaRee Stephenson- yes, Tamara Dallin-yes, Phil Whatcott - yes, David Wood - yes, Mayor Fox-yes - Closed meeting Caralee Wood Holden Town Clerk February 15, 2024 Holden Town

Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals needing special accommodations (including auxiliary communicative aids and services) during this meeting should notify Caralee Wood, town clerk, at 435-795-2213.

Notice of Electronic or Telephone Participation

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Meeting Information

Meeting Location

185 S. Main
Holden, UT 84636
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Contact Name

Caralee Wood

Contact Email

clerk@holdenutah.us

Notice Posting Details

Notice Posted On

March 14, 2024 04:55 PM

Notice Last Edited On

March 14, 2024 04:55 PM

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