December 8, 2022 – Torrey Town Council Minutes

Download the Minutes PDF using the link below.

Torrey, Utah
PO Box 750027
Torrey, UT 84775
torreyutah.gov

Welcome Mayor Mickey Wright

Administrative Business

            Welcome/ Opening Remarks

Roll Call: Mayor Wright, Doug Robinson, Pat Kearney, Pearl Thorndal-Stewart, Jordan Pace, Dustin Oyler, Dave Love, Karen Mayne

            Pledge of Allegiance: Lead by Jordan Pace

            Review & Approve Minutes of November 3^rd Special Town Council meeting 

Pat made the motion to accept the minutes as presented, Pearl seconded the motion and the council approved unanimously.

Review & Approve Minutes of November 10^rd Regular Town Council meeting.

Pearl made the motion to accept the minutes as written. Doug seconded the motion and the Council approved unanimously. 

Agenda Requests/Discussion 

            Torrey Dark Skies Sign Review – Mary Bedingfield-Smith

Mary presented the proposed sign design of the Torrey Night Sky designation. The sign reads, “Welcome to Torrey, Utah’s First Night Sky Community”. Mary worked with UDOT guidelines to develop the sign. A discussion was held about the design and placement of the sign. The sign measures 18” x 24” and part of the sign is reflective. A suggestion was made to install the sign on the East side of Torrey near the speed limit sign and the flashing speed display.  On the West side of town, it was recommended to place the Night Sky sign near the Town entrance monument sign. Also discussed was a solar powered camera to deter vandalism to the sign. The council members felt it would be a good idea to order four signs so that two could be held in reserve.

Pat made a motion to have the Town Council write the necessary letter to UDOT to request the posting of the signs. Pearl seconded the motion, and it was passed by the council unanimously. Mary will provide the contact information to Pat and the mounting requirements.

            Water Connection Issue – Morgan Wehtje

Mr. Wehtje explained that he has two adjacent lots #491 and #523 on 1,000 North. His home is on lot 491 however the water supplies water to both lots. He would like an additional meter to keep the lots each with their own meter. He is in the process of separating all utilities to each individual lot. Discussion was held about the properties being currently nonconforming with the water ordinance. 

Pearl made a motion to approve a meter for lot #523 once the water moratorium is lifted. Pat seconded the motion, and it was approved by the council unanimously.  

            Water Connection Broken Spur – Travis Van Orden

Mr. Van Orden approached the Town Council to discuss the number of ERC’s needed to accommodate the additional cabins and luxury tent spots at the Broken Spur Resort.  He provided a letter from Ensign Engineering outlining the ERC’s needed for the additional 17 cabins each with one bathroom. Total request for the addition units is calculated at 3.2 ERCs.

A discussion continues regarding the amount of water currently be used. 

Mayor wright plans to evaluate the current ERC usage of the Resort. If additional water needs to be approved, the approval will take place after the water moratorium is lifted. 

Mayor Business: 

Discuss and Approve Resolution limiting the number of ERUs for commercial accounts. Resolution #2022-5 was discussed regarding regulations concerning the water system. This resolution is for the purpose of amending Clause 19 of Resolution No. 2008-1 adopted May 8,2008. 

Section 1:Clause lV Section 17 establishes the annual limitation of water connections to include

(a) Application for commercial accounts shall be limited to not more than 10 % of the outstanding ERU’s available. A discussion continued of Torrey taking a fair approach to the amount of water allocated to commercial properties.

Doug made a motion to adopt Resolution #2022-5 as it is written. Jordan seconded the motion, and the council approved the motion unanimously. 

Review update of Water Ordinance draft update

Discuss scheduling and Approve Public Hearing for Water Ordinance update before January town council meeting. 

The changes, updates and clarifications of the water ordinance as it has been amended will be presented in a public hearing on January 12, 2023. Karen will post the public announcement in the Insider as well as in town for two weeks; December 29, 2022, and January 5, 2023.

Pearl made a motion to hold a public hearing on January 12, 2023, 6:00PM. Jordan seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously by the Town Council. 

The revised water ordinance will be published on the Website. The public hearing will be scheduled for public comment on January 12, 6:00PM.  

Review & discuss rate schedule so it can be published in January:

Kelly with Ensign Engineering is working on the Torrey water plan. Included in the plan will be an outline of water rates. Kelley is waiting on water usage reports form Colleen. The water rates will be addressed at a future time.  

Discuss & decided how to use water impact fee revenue, sales and use tax.  

A discussion was held regarding the needs of the town and what can be funded with the water fund. It was mentioned that The Town could spend funds on new water meters, fencing the cemetery, town computer needs, and any other water related needs. 

Pat made a motion to approve the spending on Town water related needs from the water impact fees, and to spend sales tax on other Town needs. Pearl seconded the motion, and the Town Council passed the motion unanimously.

Grant status updates:

CDBG Grant: The grantbeen approved. Pearl, the project manager, got it approved. Mayor Wright then approved it. Now we are waiting to receive the funds.

The road master plan: Kelly from Ensign engineering will be here next week. He and Mayor Wright will look at the roads. Kelly will start the road master plan and will determine how much funding to request for the road improvements grant.  

Also, next week is a DEQ board meeting regarding the water reuse study. Kelly and Dustin will attend the meeting to answer some questions. 

A USDA grant to fund Town halls for small towns was discovered by the mayor. This discussion will continue. 

Planning & Zoning membership: Commission member, Jeri Austin, has decided she wants to remain on commission. 

Jordan made the motion to reinstate Jeri Austin on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Doug seconded the motion. The Council passed the motion unanimously.

Sound panels for Pavilion: Research has been done on pricing and it seems that perhaps we can make them ourselves to be more cost effective. Pearl will recommend measurements for the panels. She and Dustin will continue the conversation about building our own sound panels.  

            IT Report: Mayor Wright will begin shopping for the computers needed by city employees. 

Clerk Report: Karen Mayne

            GRAMA Requests: Mr. Rockwood made a GRAMA request. It was satisfied. 

The newsletter for December and January was prepared and ready. The newsletter was mailed with December’s water billing.    

Dave mentioned that Renee Fitzpatrick has submitted her building permit.  

Financial Report: Colleen Dudleston 

November 2022 financial report review will be postponed until January. Colleen has been ill. 

Jordan made the motion to pay the bills and conduct the November financial review next Month. Doug seconded the motion, and the Town Council carried the motion unanimously.

Approve and Pay bills.

Council Reports: 

Pat Kearney, Pioneer Cemetery, Cemetery, Trees & Office

Pat met with the Utah Department of History regarding the pioneer cemetery. They are in support of any preservation efforts to protect the historical area as the opportunity presents itself.  They surveyed the cemetery and made recommendations. 

Pat has received bids for the fencing for the cemetery. The bid discussed was for a 6-foot chain link fence; received from the Rafter Lazy J Fence Company. The areas needing fencing and the design/configuration of the fence was discussed. 

Doug made a motion that the council award the fencing bid to Rafter Lazy J Fence Company and that we include the privacy feature in the bid. Jordan seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Pat will contact the company for scheduling. 

Pat is also working with the Wayne County Sheriff’s office for trespassing citations to be served.

Jordan inquired about the legal opinion on the cemetery property that is being used to collect and store items by a resident. Mayor Wright is still working with the Torrey Town Lawyer on that situation.

The dead trees on Main St. have been taken down and removed. Thanks to Pat for coordinating all that effort.  

Doug Robinson, Water

            Doug presented his update that was shared in the Newsletter. 

“Behind the scenes, much has been going on with our Torrey Culinary Water system during this past year or so.  Two springs have been developed, The Hell’s Hole spring, and the West Sulfur Springs.  With this development we were able to capture approximately 50 gallons per minute (equates to approximately 72,000 gallons per day).  All of the water samples so far have come back clear and usable.  This water will be turned into the water system sometime during this next spring.  As well, the proposal and project for an extra 500,000 gallon water holding tank is moving right along.  Most likely, bids for the tank will be in the works after the first of the year.  Just a bit more ground testing needs to be completed at the proposed site, which is located nearby the existing tanks.  Both these projects are great upgrades to our Torrey Water system.”  

Doug mentioned that there are 41 acres for sale by Mary Hickman Grant on the South West side of Torrey. Could be considered for the potential Sewer System plant, Holding Ponds etc. A discussion continued about the Water Reuse program.

Discussion of metering water. 

Jordan Pace, Water, Roads

Street signs on Sleeping Rainbow have been installed. Additional road signs that are needed were discussed.  

Pearl Thorndal-Stewart, Park, Pavilion, Post Office, & Town Events,

The Christmas Hoe-Down was a success as was the Tree Festival which raised approximately $1,700. The town lights were installed by Dustin, and they look wonderful. 

Dustin Oyler, Maintenance Report 

Torrey Town will be accepting bids for the water tanks in late January when the comment period ends. A long section of the water pipeline, from Sleeping Rainbow to the chlorinator, contains Indian artifacts on the pipeline path. A letter has been sent by the State to the reservation for their comments. The comment period will be 45 days. This will take until about the 20^th of January. Then a week will be taken for the Forest Service to give their comments. The project will be open for bids the first week of February. 

Dustin dug a trench for the Tanks to test the ground. The tests came back good. 

The Mayor and Town Council expressed thanks to Dustin for all his work getting the town ready for the holidays and for working on the new water projects. 

P&Z Report, Dave Love

Dave has been aware that many people are confused about the need for a building permit when making changes to an existing building. Dave is working on an article for the February newsletter to explain the “when” do you need a building permit, “where” to get one and “why” do you need a building permit.  

Dave would like to make changes to the wording of the Building Permit Ordinance which would explain more clearly when you need a building permit. It would be a simple fix.

Dave mentioned Kathryn Bolz and her purchase of the Capitol Reef Resort. She plans to demolish the restaurant and add cabin sites. Jackson Excavation has presented a demolition plan. Dave is working with her to prepare for the permit. A septic plan has been received for the site.

Janet and other commission members have been discussing the Torrey Town General Plan. The Planning and Zoning Commissioners would like an electronic copy of the new water ordinance to help with their review of the general plan.  

Dave opened a discussion about the current town office and the idea to build a new town hall.

Mayor Comments:

Cody Clark and Kurt Robbins will be at the January Town Council. Nomi Gordon, the new Public Affairs officer for the Forest Service will be here. Mayor Wright is researching the correct BLM person to invite to a town Council meeting. Sue Frisky will be here in February.  

A letter was sent to the Juniper Drive residents to clarify the maintenance question concerning the situation. 

Old Business, None

Citizen Concerns, None

Motion to go into closed session for personnel issue.

This meeting will be postponed till January

Adjourn

Pat made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:11 PM. Pearl seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.