By Sandra Mangelson
Times-News Correspondent
Rod Wankier relayed concerns of the Planning and Zoning
Committee about the policy for paving streets in Levan.
Mayor Robinson stated, "the pattern established before I got
here, we started clear to the west." Craig Worwood corrected
the Mayor by stating the paving last time had started at the
church and went to third east. Before that, it was mostly
just maintenance. Worwood continued, "we ended up about half
a block north of Enid Worwood's. We will start there and
continue on third east, move up to fourth east, do all of
fifth east. Do from the store to third north."
Wankier said, "the big question was about the gravel
roads. Shouldn't that be the responsibility of the property
owners when they sell building lots to pave them?" Worwood
and Robinson answered by saying that in the past if it was
an existing road, it was paved. Wankier continued, "What's
going to happen is you are going to have Brian Huntsman come
in and want third west paved, because that's always been a
Town road and I think we told him he had to pave that." "He
does, but that isn't a road that is traveled." said Worwood.
"I think George Kendall has used it for a long time,"Wankier
said. There was a discussion as to what Brian Huntsman had
been told he had to pave. Some said it was just first south,
others said he was told to turn the corner and do third
west, too, if he sold the lots along third west.
Mayor Robinson said he could make two statements about
these roads, "First of all, they are very frequently
traveled roads, they are within Town limits, they were
established gravel roads, not some lane." If lanes in the
Town are "brought up to grade, deeded and it's graveled and
becomes a very, very frequent 'drived' road and in five
years that's the most frequently 'drived' dirt road in Town
and a dust problem, we'll have to consider it at that time.
That is the highest traffic area in Town that is still a
gravel road. We're not paving anything in the subdivision."
The Town is paving fifth east around the corner by Farrell
Wankier's farm to the town limits on the lane that goes to
the Bateman residences and on that lane to the north to the
Town limits, if that north lane is widened.
•Wankier read the minutes from the P and Z
meeting held in July. Building permits were issued for a
garage for Elder Wood, change garage space to living space
for Kyle Carter, addition to Speedy Turtle and car wash for
Amberlee Worwood.
•Alden Shurtz asked if the property by Brent
Taylor had been deeded yet. Robinson said he talked with the
engineers "yesterday" and the information was at Juab Title
to have the titles drawn up. After the signatures of those
who will sign are obtained, the rest of the deeds will have
to be signed when properties are sold in the future. Shurtz
asked, "Do we have an approximate date when this will
happen?" Robinson said it should only take a few days and
Juab Title would handle it. Shurtz asked if it would be
wrapped up by the next meeting and Robinson said it
would.
•Shurtz then addressed the Council about the
resignation of Fire Chief Bruce Rowley. "Obviously you guys
don't feel like I do about Bruce quitting. When I got the
letter that Bruce was quitting, it bothered me. Mike Seeley
called me and it bothers him, too. You guys who don't really
care if he quits or not, why don't you go through this set
of 14 certificates that Bruce has accomplished for our city.
I can tell you right now, if we don't pull it together and
somehow encourage Bruce, I am concerned." Mayor Robinson
asked, "Does Bruce want to do it? If Bruce doesn't want to
do it, I don't know what we can do." Shurtz said, "Bruce
wants to do it, but he said Rod and Andrew said, so be it,
good luck, we don't care." Wankier said, "I told him I
wasn't going to beg him to do it. I told him I didn't want
him to come to me in 8 months and say why did you beg me
stay." "No body needs to beg him, but somebody needs to say,
Bruce thanks a lot for what you've done. You guys can laugh
all you want." Robinson said, " No, I'm not laughing."
Shurtz continued,"I can tell you right now, if there is a
fire here, if it's my house, I hope Bruce Rowley is the head
of it." Robinson said when Rowley had talked to him, he
indicated that he had too much going on in his life and was
gone from home too often. Wankier said, "He has give us two
resignation letters. He give us one a year ago, we went and
talked to him then and said, hey, don't quit. Then he gave
us one a month ago." Shurtz said no one was better trained
than Rowley.
Robinson said the firemen have always appointed the
fire chief and the council has ratified it. "We put him on
the board in the Fire District." Shurtz said to let Rowley
know that you do support him and help him get an assistant
fire chief. Robinson said, "It is a Fire District issue
now."
Don Ipson told the council how hard it was to be a
volunteer fireman and how extremely busy they were last
year. Ipson said Rowley needs an assistant and more men to
get Fireman One trained. Ed Sorenson asked what the
council's answer was to fighting fires in Levan. Mayor
Robinson said the Fire District had taken all that
responsibility from them. An argument developed over who was
now responsible for fires in Levan and why council members
themselves were not members of the fire department.
Ryan Aagard said, "You can look at what the fire
department was six years ago and it was basically nothing.
Bruce Rowley got in there, Mike Mann was the chief, but I
know that Bruce Rowley was the driving force behind 90% of
what Mike done. But he is a volunteer, if he doesn't want to
do the job, we can't make him."
Lynn Bateman said that there was an assistant fire
chief, Ipson disagreed and said there was no formal
assistant. Bateman said there are about four guys that show
up regularly to fires, every member of the fire department
has other "irons in the fire". The assistant chief is
probably willing to be chief, but he is not in town all the
time. Bateman said that Rowley had to call him at his farm
on his cell phone because Levan's pagers do not reach that
far. "But Nephi gets 32 new programmable pagers and Mona
gets 16, what does Levan get? Diddly squat that's what Levan
gets. The Mayor needs to stand up to the County and say if
you want Bruce Rowley on the fire department, do something.
Don't treat us like the illegitimate children," said
Bateman.
Craig Worwood said, "it is hard to fix a problem if
you don't know what the problem is. If he would have come to
one of us and said this is how I feel, we would have worked
with him. But if someone sends you a letter and says my
family is suffering and my business is suffering, I don't
care who it is, I am not going to beg them to keep that
job."
Aagard asked if anyone expressed appreciation to any
of the council members for the work they do. He felt that no
one gets thanks expressed to them.
Mayor Robinson said he would call the Fire District
and tell them of the problems in Levan. Ryan Aagard was to
meet with the fire department the following night and see
what they wanted to do. It was suggested to help Rowley with
his burden of responsibilities by appointing someone else to
the Fire District Board.
It was suggested to try and get out of the Fire
District. The balance of representation is a problem.
Robinson said that the fire district in Millard County each
city has one vote on the board. On the Juab Fire District,
six of the members are appointed by the county commission
the towns have five. If all the towns voted together, they
still could not get the majority. Janet Carter said, "They
misrepresented it to all of us." Mayor Robinson explained
that Levan could not get out of the fire district now
because of the debt that has been incurred by the district
to operate the first year before they received any tax
money.
Rachelle Bryan thanked the Mayor for his research and
work on the fire district issue.
•Craig Worwood reported that Levan has almost
reached an agreement with Nephi to use their dog pound.
•Worwood has an application for a grant for trees
and sprinkling system. He wants to apply for $5,000.
•Roads will be oiled beginning August 23.
Driveways will be paved for citizens for a low price while
the equipment is in town.
•The sidewalk project is now going to an engineer
to draw up the plans. After the State approves the plans,
then "it is a go." Rachelle Bryan thanked Craig for his work
to get sidewalks for Levan.
•The Mayor said the pump in the Town well on 4th
East. The well "went out" on August 13. It will be out for a
week to a week and a half. Watering is to be at a minimum
until them.
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