By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Juab County will now be part of the Utah Valley Dispatch Special Services District (UVDSSD) which will give them not only dispatch service but will provide membership voting power. Ben Reeves, Chairman of the Utah Valley Dispatch Board, was in attendance at commission meeting on Monday along with Nephi Mayor Mark Jones, Nephi City Police Chief Mike Morgan, Juab County Sheriff Doug Anderson, Juab County Sheriff’s Lt. and Emergency Manager Brent Pulver, and Nephi City Police Captain Bert Wright. Rick Carlton, Juab County Commission Chairman, invited those in attendance to make comments as they desired. “We have excess capacity,” said Reeves. The capital or member buy-in for Juab County would be $97,413.26 over a 20-year period which would equal $4,870.66 a year at 8 percent. The same package for Nephi City would be $85,254.17 over a 20-year period or $4,262.71 a year at 8 percent. For the fiscal year 2018, Juab County would have a fee assessment of $60,992 with the 8 percent buy-in adding $4,870.66 for a total payment of $65,862.66. Nephi City, for the same period, would be $53,379 with the 8 percent buy-in adding $4,262.71 for a total payment of $57,641.71. “Juab County and Utah Valley Dispatch will have to change boundaries,” said Reeves. “The boundary expansion may possibly, though it is not probable, cause some taxation.” “The benefit to membership,” Reeves said, “is that the city, the county and the sheriff’s office will all have a seat on the board.” “How do we choose a member for the board?” asked Byron Woodland, commissioner. The commission, and the city, could choose an elected person or could advertise for a qualified person to represent them, said Reeves. Utah Valley Dispatch Special Service District is funded through fees paid by each of the cities, towns and county receiving dispatch services, as well as through 911 telephone surcharges. At a work session held on September 26, the Nephi City Council discussed the options to begin using dispatch services from Utah Valley Dispatch. The proposed non-member or premium rate for the county would be $60,992 with a 4 percent surcharge of $2,439.68 for a total payment of $63,431.70 and for Nephi City would be $53,379 and adding the 4 percent surcharge would bring the total to $55,514.20. The services can be provided by becoming a member of the district or by paying a premium charge. “After deliberation, the council direction was to pursue the option of becoming a member of the district,” said Seth Atkinson, city administrator. “The agreement with Utah Valley Dispatch will be prepared to reflect this option and be brought before the council for official action.” All assets of UVDSSD would belong to members. “After looking at all the proposals,” said Jones, “we did our research and our due diligence. We knew we needed to do something and we would like to do the buy-in.” “We made that determination as a city council,” said Jones. Juab County buy-in would take seven and a half years and the non-member surcharge would last 15 years. The Nephi City buy-in would take eight and a half years and the non-member surcharge would take 17 plus years. “The dedication of the Central Electronics Bank (CEB) will be a $73,000 credit shared by both parties and would be applied to either the buy-in or to the non-member surcharge,” said Reeves. All Utah County cities except Provo, Orem, Lindon, Pleasant Grove, Springville and Mapleton utilize Utah Valley Dispatch’s services, accounting for about half the county’s population. Nephi City would have a member, Juab County would have a member and Juab County Sheriff’s Office would have a member for a total of three. “My fear is that there will be an unexpected cost,” said Clinton Painter, commissioner. “Also we are a member of the board on the Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD), but we do not have that much of a voice.” Each member has the same voice, said Reeves. Each have equal representation and Santaquin has a good voice. On the Central Utah Water board, Woodland represents the county. However, Woodland said, Salt Lake County and Utah County end up having a stronger voice than does Juab County. “This board would be similar to the Utah Municipal Power Agency’s board,” said Jones. “On UMPA there is one member and one vote. Levan has approximately 4,000 people and Provo has approximately 100,000 people but each one of those entities has one vote. I don’t have a concern.” “A buy-in would be best,” said Chief Morgan. “They (UVDSSD) are wanting us (Nephi City) to be part of the board.” He said that it would contribute to officer safety and would be beneficial to be on the same radio system throughout the county. In addition, he said, Nephi City had not had a major say in the way the dispatch service was run because it had been run by the county. He said the officers in Nephi have a lot of joint operations with those in Utah County. He thought it would be useful for law enforcement to use the same dispatchers and be on the same radio dispatch system. “We will have three voices on the board,” he said. Reeves said that the state legislature would also like to see all law enforcement on the 800 megahertz system. Carlton said that commissioners had all visited the Utah Valley Dispatch center. “We have done our due diligence and are ready to move forward to provide better and seamless coverage.” He called for a motion. Woodland made the motion and Painter seconded, to buy-in to UVDSSD.h4> | 