The Meads’ love of Model A cars keeps them rolling See B1 TOOELETRANSCRIPT BULLETIN TUESDAY January 1, 2019 www.TooeleOnline.com Vol. 125 No. 61 $1.00 OF PERSONS THE YEAR DANIEL PACHECO • ROBIN DOUGLAS • ROB CLAUSING • MARIA SWEETEN RICHARD MITCHELL • ERIK GUMBRECHT • BRENDA FADDIS 2018 FRANCIE AUFDEMORTE/TTB PHOTO Daniel Pacheco, Robin Douglas, Rob Clausing, Maria Sweeten, Richard Mitchell, Erik Gumbrecht and Brenda Faddis served on the Tooele County Government Study Committee. The group’s members have been awarded the Tooele Transcript Bulletin’s Person of the Year. Government study committee Study committee of different backgrounds, experiences wins Person of the Year Award comes together for change Committee’s 2,500 hours of volunteer labor gave voters the chance to STEVE HOWE shape the future of Tooele County’s form of government STAFF WRITER A year of weekly meetings working toward a com- mon goal has a way of bringing people together. TIM GILLIE Commission will become history and the county will be When seven members of the Tooele County STAFF WRITER led by a five-member part-time legislative council and an Government Study Committee gathered this past week The Tooele County Form of Government Study appointed county manager. for a photo, you could hardly tell some of them had Committee logged over 2,500 hours of volunteer labor The study committee started weekly meetings in only met in 2017. There were plenty of smiles, laughs with the estimated value of $312,500 while reviewing the February 2017 with 11 members appointed by a special — and goofing off for the camera — during the shoot. county’s form of government. appointment council. Of course, the study committee meetings were only By a majority 52.7 percent, local voters last November Through attrition, the ranks of the committee were part of a process that began more than two years ago. accepted the study committee’s final report and recom- eventually reduced to nine members: Rob Clausing, While the study committee submitted its final report mendation to change the county’s form of government. Lake Point; Robin Douglas, Tooele City; Brenda Faddis, this February, the process didn’t end there. For their sacrifice of time and effort on behalf of the Stansbury Park; Eric Gumbrecht, Tooele City; Richard Many of the study committee members were citizens of Tooele County — both present and future — Mitchell, Rush Valley; Howard Murray, Grantsville; Daniel involved in supporting the ballot initiative through the the study committee’s members have earned the Tooele Pacheco, Tooele City; Kent Sagers, Vernon; Silas Smith, Transcript Bulletin’s 2018 Person of the Year Award. Grantsville and Maria Sweeten, Erda. Because of the study committee’s work and voter sup- SEE CHANGE PAGE A7 ® port, on Jan. 1, 2021, the county’s three-member County SEE AWARD PAGE A7 ® New $8.7M sewer line through West Erda approved back into the general fund. It Wastewater from Lakeview Business Park and future growth in Erda will flow downhill to Stansbury Park will not be paid back by prop- TIM GILLIE ing $8.7 million to build the a special County Commission Park. because it will be all gravity erty taxes,” he said. “We’ve STAFF WRITER sewer line from near SPID’s meeting held Thursday at 1 “While there are other fed.” even included an interest rate West Erda will soon have wastewater treatment plant p.m. in the Tooele County less expensive solutions, The cost to install the line of 2.5 percent when we calcu- access to a new $8.7 mil- north of state Route 138 to the Building. the West Erda trunk line will essentially be a loan from lated the E.R.U. cost — equiva- lion sewer line served by the property now owned by the The installation of the sewer has two advantages,” said the County’s general fund bal- lent residential units — that Stansbury Park Improvement Romney Group east of Utah line came out of discussions County Commissioner Myron ance, according to Bateman. will be used to determine con- District. Motorsports Campus. The new with the Romney Group and Bateman. “It gives West Erda “Developers and other nection fees.” The Tooele County line will run parallel to Sheep Grantsville and Tooele cities on access to a sewer line to pro- people that hook into the line Bateman said current prop- Commission approved a Lane. how best to bring sewer service tect their groundwater and it will pay for it when they hook motion to authorize spend- The approval came during to Romney’s Lakeview Business will have lower operating costs up with the fees they pay going SEE SEWER PAGE A10 ® INSIDE BULLETIN BOARD B4 CLASSIFIEDS B6 Brian Hall Sale extended Tooele beats HOMETOWN B1 donates hair for 1000 North Grantsville OBITUARIES A6 and beard property again in holiday OPEN FORUM A4 See A10 See A3 tournament SPORTS A8 See A8 A2 TOOELE TRANSCRIPT BULLETIN TUESDAY January 1, 2019 County reopens 2019 budget, makes last-minute tweaks West Erda sewer line, audiovisual equipment and new windows for county building added to next year’s budget TIM GILLIE meeting held Thursday at 1 Zions Bank suggested that if meeting chambers, including and air conditioning costs, to make some corrections to STAFF WRITER p.m. in the Tooele County the county had the cash in its audiovisual updates. This Bateman said. the Wendover Airport fund The Tooele County Building. fund balance and a revenue project was in the 2018 bud- “The windows in my office budget. Commission approved its With $5 million for source to pay it back, the best get but the improvements leak water and they let flies The airport’s debt ser- 2019 budget on Dec. 4 but the West Erda sewer line way to proceed would be were never done, according in,” said County Commission vice budget was reduced by made some tweaks last week already in the 2019 budget, to go ahead and pay for the to Deputy Clerk/Auditor Chairman Wade Bitner. $102,330 and the adminis- before the start of the new the County Commission sewer line without bonding Tenille Tingey. Altogether the budget trative transfer was increased budget year. approved the addition of to save interest costs, accord- The County Commission adjustments increased the by $15,517 due to an error in The County Commission another $5 million to fully ing to County Commissioner also added $200,000 to the general fund’s transfer to the the formula used to calculate approved increases in the fund the sewer line (See Myron Bateman. 2019 facilities budget for new capital fund by $5.03 million the transfer amount. capital fund budget and related front-page story). The County Commission windows and air conditioning to a total of $14.89 million. The amount of allocated facilities budget expenses, The county considered bor- also approved a $30,000 improvements for the Tooele While the 2019 budget was retained earnings for the as well as two corrections to rowing, or bonding, for the addition to the capital proj- County Building. open for adjustments, Tingey airport in 2019 was reduced the Wendover Airport budget balance of cost of the sewer ects fund budget for improve- The new windows should said she wanted to take accordingly, Tingey said. for 2019, during a special line, but representatives of ments to the commission’s drastically reduce heating advantage of the opportunity [email protected] “ Tooele City’s money procedures are ‘clean,’ says new audit DAVID BERN EDITOR told the City Council on Dec. Tooele City Hall’s finan- 19 that his firm did a rigor- cial procedures and policies ous audit report according have been given high praise to U.S. accounting principles in an independent audit of and standards and has issued the City’s 2017-18 fiscal year a “clean or unqualified budget. opinion” of the city’s overall Randy Jensen of Salt Lake- financial statements. based accounting firm WSRP, In auditing parlance that means the city’s books are in good shape. While giving a financial Something recap of the report, Jensen said the net position of total The Tooele Valley Regional Chorus and Orchestra join forces to perform in Handel’s “Messiah” under the direction of Pamela Dale. On Your assets of governmental activi- ties was $120.19 million compared to $123.9 million TOOELE VALLEY REGIONAL CHORUS Mind? in 2017. The net position of total assets of business-type PERFORMS HANDEL’S ‘MESSIAH’ Write a Letter activities was $125.67 million compared to $123.2 million PHOTOS FRANCIE AUFDEMORTE to the Editor! in 2017, and the net position of total primary government assets was $245.86 million Tooele Transcript Bulletin compared to $247.1 million P.O. Box 390 in 2017. Tooele, UT 84074 “So [the numbers] are very comparable from year [email protected] to year,” Jensen said. “It’s a good size corporation when you look at it from the stand- point of a business. You’re basically managing a $200 TOOELE TRANSCRIPT million corporation.” BULLETIN He said total liabilities have been reduced from ADMINISTRATION $54.2 million in 2017 to Scott C. Dunn Publisher $49.8 million in 2018 for Joel J. Dunn Publisher Emeritus both governmental and OFFICE business-type activities. He Bruce Dunn Controller said the net position, which Chris Evans Office Manager is basically the difference Vicki Higgins Customer Service between the assets less the EDITORIAL liabilities, is $192.37 million David Bern Editor compared to $190.24 million Darren Vaughan Sports Editor in 2017. Francie Aufdemorte Photo Editor Jensen said total revenues Tim Gillie Staff Writer for the city’s primary govern- Steve Howe Staff Writer ment were $35.4 million Mark Watson Correspondent compared to $33.4 million ADVERTISING in 2017.