Present –

Commissioner Irene Hansen, Commissioner Tracy Killian, Attorney Stephen Foote, Clerk-Auditor Chelise Jessen, Public Works Director Mike Casper, Public Works Deputy Director Clint Curtis, Human Resource Director Judy Stevenson, Community Development Director Mike Hyde, Community Development Assistant Director Mike Gottfredson, Economic Development Director Deborah Herron, Treasurer Stephen Potter, Duchesne County Residents Tracy Ross, Jeff Chug, Bryan Winterton, Hobart Willis, and Fred Goodrich, and Commission Executive Assistant Melissa Hughes is taking the meeting minutes. Commissioner Greg Miles via Zoom until the 1:00 pm Public Hearing.

Opening Comments

Chairperson Hansen welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Pledge of Allegiance

Public Works Update

Public Works Director Mike Casper gave an update on existing projects and upcoming work. They teamed up with Moonlake Electric again to trim trees. The County provided traffic control. They are working on the shoulder of LaRue Lamb Trucking Road (CR 49). It should be completed this week. The culverts they received calls about are being assessed and cleaned out. UDOT owns one of the culverts in question. Director Casper will contact them. The bolt-a-plate culvert on Koch Road (CR 377) is assembled. They are backfilling it in. The project should be complete within a week or so. The parties discussed County parking lots that need to be repaired or repaved.

Auditors Office – Vouchers

Clerk-Auditor Chelise Jessen presented the April 15, 2024, vouchers, check numbers 164766 through 164853, for $755,511.63. The parties reviewed the vouchers submitted. Commissioner Miles made a motion to approve the vouchers for April 15, 2024, as presented. Commissioner Killian seconded the motion. Commissioner Miles voted aye, Commissioner Killian voted aye, and Commissioner Hansen voted aye. The motion passed.

Treasurers Office – Tax Adjustment

Treasurer Stephen Potter presented a tax adjustment for parcel 9267. We need to remove the tax due to a state valuation error. Confusion arose from the sale from RNI to Rewater LLC for a credit of $366.64. The parties discussed the tax adjustment. Commissioner Killian made a motion to approve the tax adjustment as presented. Commissioner Miles seconded the motion. Commissioner Killian voted aye, Commissioner Miles voted aye, and Commissioner Hansen voted aye. The motion passed.

Discussion & Consideration for the Letter to the BLM for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)

Community Development Director Mike Hyde presented a 13-page letter to Mr. Jeremy Bluma at the National Renewable Energy Coordination Office, Bureau of Land Management Headquarters, addressing utility-scale solar energy development across 11 western states, including Utah. A portion of the letter reads: After an exhaustive attempt to provide substantive comments as a Cooperating Agency, the County cannot in good faith support any of the five proposed alternatives. During the Cooperating Agency review of the draft documents, the County, as well as several other governmental entities, proposed a sixth alternative that was discounted by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) as being “substantially similar” to the existing alternatives. This is a false narrative since Alternative 5 is similar in many ways to Alternative 3 and 4 but not to the Western Alliance “Smart from the Start” Alternative (proposed as Alternative 6). The Smart from the Start Alternative focuses on “Disturbed Lands” and “Low Conflict Lands.” These definitions were not analyzed in Alternatives 1 through 5.