By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
he Kuhni rendering plant, which recycles animal
carcasses, could be relocated from south Provo to an area
two miles south of Nephi by the end of the year.
That is if preliminary plans are ratified and if the
public, who will have a turn at stating how they feel about
the proposal, approves.
A public hearing is being held by the Juab County
Planning Commission on Thursday, June 13, at 8 p.m. in
county commission chambers at the county building. The
purpose of the hearing is to receive public comment on a
conditional use permit application.
Provo City Council members still must ratify
preliminary plans which are to purchase the current Kuhni
plant and then re-sell the property it stands on.
Provo City council members will vote on the land
proposal during their June 18 meeting.
"I am not certain what the majority of people in Juab
County think about the proposal," said Glenn Greenhalgh,
county economic development director and county planning
commission administrator. "I haven't had much feedback from
residents and, as a result, I really don't have a feel for
what they're thinking."
The proposed Juab County site is in an agricultural
area of the county and is expected to generate less
controversy than Kuhni's present rendering plant next to the
East Bay Golf Course and Novell business park.
That area of Provo has mushroomed with growth in the
past two decades and golfers, business owners and residents
in south Provo have complained for much of that time that
the plant creates a foul smell.
In Juab County, Kuhni's would be located adjacent to
the Utah State University experiment station south of Nephi
and north of Levan (Section 25 Township 13 South Range 1
West).
Kuhni owners are working with Juab County officials in
hopes of relocating by the end of the year.
The Kuhni plant recycles 2.5 million tons of animal
by-products a month which are processed at the site into
products such as soap and animal feed.
It is estimated that re-locating the plant will cost
approximately $7 million, an expense the state, Provo, Kuhni
and East Bay businesses are prepared to share.
It is proposed that a $2.3 million contribution to the
relocation will be made by Provo. The rest of the needed
funds will come from East Bay businesses ($400,000), Kuhni
($1.3 million) and the state ($2 million).
Earlier this year, a House/Senate conference committee
decided Kuhni should get $2 million in state funds to move
out of south Provo and, later, the entire House
approved.
Part of the reason the Utah Legislature agreed to
donate $2 million to help Kuhni move is because, as the only
rendering service in Utah, the plant provides a necessary
benefit. Without the plant farmers from as far away as
Wyoming would likely be forced into burying or burning dead
animals because many landfills don't accept them.
At the time of the Legislature approval, Hans Kuhni,
representing the owners, said new technology "will allow us
to be almost odor-free. . . . We will be good
neighbors."
A new rendering plant has recently opened within a
mile of the Iowa state capitol building and, because of
modern technology, no complaints have been lodged.
The site in Juab County is in an agricultural belt.
"There isn't a house within a couple miles of the site,"
said Greenhalgh.
Using Provo's water reserve money during a drought
year is of little concern. "The plan is to repay it," city
public works director Merrill Bingham said.
The Provo City contribution includes the purchase of
the 8 acres on which the plant currently sits. The city
plans to rehabilitate the land and sell it for development
along with 15 adjacent acres the city already owns.
The funding for the purchase would come from the
city's water department reserve fund which will be
reimbursed when the land sells. Provo's water department's
reserve fund totals $4.5 million and borrowing $2.3 million
from the fund to complete the Kuhni transaction is cheaper
than getting a loan and paying interest.
It is anticipated that the land package should sell
quickly and easily&emdash;for one thing there aren't many
23-acre parcels left in Provo.
The water department would hold the deed and be paid
back when the land is sold.
"It would be very attractive property because it's
right by the golf course and close to the freeway," Provo
City chief administrative officer Bob Stockwell said.
How the public will react to the proposal of moving
the plant to Juab County remains to be seen. The difference
between the agricultural community's reaction to the
proposal and the business community's reaction may, or may
not, be the same.
"We've never threatened to move because of Kuhni's,
that would be insane," Novell spokesman Bruce Lowry said.
"But it does discourage further development, not just for us
but for other businesses in the area."
Novell is lending an unspecified sum of money to the
Eastbay Business Association and Kuhni to help with the
relocation.
"This is a solution that is beneficial to all
parties," said Provo City Council Chairman Stan Lockhart.
"Kuhni is getting what they want out of this, and Provo city
is as well. At the end of the day, it's a solid
public-policy decision."
The Kuhni family has run the service at its present
location for more than 60 years. The main concern in
relocation has been finding a spot with easy access to the
freeway which the Juab County site can provide.
Recently, Kuhni's stated the company wanted to be a
good neighbor and to find an appropriate place to
relocate.
"We're not going to put this place where the sky is
going to fall on us," said Kevin Kuhni, company president.
"We're better off where we're at than to go somewhere else
and cause problems."
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