KUHNI SITE • Wondering what all
the fuss is about? Well, this site 8.9 road miles from
Levan at the Mill's Junction is the proposed site that
Kuhni's have picked out to place their new plant. A
group from Levan and Nephi have found a loophole and
another public hearing will probably be needed before
the process can go forward. Where is "Chicken Little"
when you need her!
By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Seven people from Levan learned that they have the
right to protest the way the planning commission handled the
conditional use permit granted to Kuhni's by filing an
appeal with Glenn Greenhalgh, the county planning commission
director.
Graham Misbach, acted as spokesman for the group which
included Colleen Misbach, Blaine Malquist, Sandy Brooks,
Sharon Sorensen, Sandy Wright, and Sandra Mangelsen.
"The question for the appeal is, has Juab County
followed the proper procedure?" said David Leavitt, county
attorney. "It is a paper trail process."
Leavitt said that it seemed clear to him that Graham
Misbach, from Levan, Robert Steele, commissioner, and Joseph
Bernini, acting commission chairman in the absence of Wm.
Boyd Howarth, disagreed and that they could continue to
debate the issues without coming to a solution.
Commissioners were of one opinion and Misbach of
another.
There was an appeal process written into the county
zoning ordinance, he said.
"It is true that county government, or any level of
government, for that matter, cannot anticipate every problem
which may arise and, therefore, the appeal process has been
written into ordinances," said Leavitt.
However, the appeal process is orderly and, in order
to file an appeal, those protesting must prepare properly.
The appeal must seek a review for each condition protestors
think was violated.
The county commission serves as the board of appeals
and, as such, would hear the appeal. After the appeal was
filed commissioners would review the processes used by the
planning commission at arriving at the granting of the
conditional use permit.
"The issue isn't whether the rendering plant would be
a terrible thing but whether the county planning commission
has dotted its 'i's' and crossed its 't's'," Leavitt
said.
He said there was no time limit set forth in filing
the appeal, Leavitt said.
"Nevertheless, it is prudent that the appeal be filed
in a timely manner," said Leavitt. "The appeal would, at
least, cause pause because, once it is filed, the procedure
would stop until the appellate board, in this case the
county commission, reviewed the processes you protest."
Protestors must file the appeal with the arguments
they have that the process was not followed in a proper
manner.
"If you stop the project, then let's stop it on
facts," said Steele.
Some of the arguments which Misbach entered in his
protest before commissioners, as an individual who had
placed his name on the agenda of the commission meeting,
were emotional.
One of those was his choice of likening the placing of
the Kuhni's animal rendering plant to the mud slide in
Santaquin. Those living in the path of the mud slide
probably had a difficult time sleeping at night, he said, as
did he.
"Is it going to be a problem or not?" Misbach said.
"If property values decreased dramatically it would be
devastating to us."
Misbach said he had been a school psychologist and had
also been a real estate agent. He and his wife, Colleen, had
purchased property in Levan four years ago where they
located their home because they liked the rural lifestyle.
They then had served a mission for the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in Thailand only to return to
find that Kuhni's would be locating nearby.
The mud slide was an act of nature but commissioners
had a choice in the case of the re-locating of Kuhni's from
Utah County to Juab County.
"Kunhi's is under a deadline," said Misbach. "To my
way of thinking that should be irrelevant to the process
which should be done in the proper way with every safeguard
taken."
"I have lived in Nephi all of my life," said Steele.
"I have three sons who all live here. I own property in
Levan and if I thought, for a second, Kuhni's would lower
property values I wouldn't want it there."
He said he owns 40 acres in the valley and 360 acres
by his mine.
Steele said he had worked all of his life to make the
communities of the area better for all the residents of
those communities and asked for the trust of the residents
of Levan.
Malquist also said he had a friend who had a son who
had worked for Kuhni's at one time. The friend asked his son
about his former employers for Malquist. Malquist then
stated that he had heard that the experience had not been a
positive one.
Other of the actions protested by Misbach were less
emotional. One of those was the charge that the planning
commission had not established conditions to go with the
conditional use permit before it was granted.
"The conditions should have been concurrent with the
granting of the conditional use permit," he said.
Steele said the conditional use permit gave Kuhni's a
place to start. They could find out if there was enough well
water to support the needs of the processing plant.
Kuhni's could check out property by a nearby lake to
determine if it was a wetlands and if the plant would have
an effect on it if it were.
In addition, other agencies would also be involved in
the planning process.
"There is a terrible lot of work to be done before
Kuhni's can actually begin to build," said Steele. "We, as a
county commission, will put the final conditions in place in
the conditional use permit."
He said the commission was working on an ordinance
which would control animal rendering facilities in Juab
County. The ordinance would impose fines for violations and
would be as tough as the one drafted to serve the Boston
area, where commissioners and planning commission members
visited.
Misbach also wants the county commission to hire an
odor control consultant to oversee construction of the plant
rather than requiring Kuhni's to hire such a person because
of the possible "conflict of interest" and did not think
anyone in Juab County was knowledgeable enough to oversee
the construction.
The county, said Steele, has a building inspector who
will oversee the construction and will work, in addition, to
the consultant.
Misbach said the property, as to number of acres, was
never clearly defined. At the public hearing, Kuhni's said
they were purchasing 150 acres, he said.
"When I talked to Jerald Hall, the person who is
selling the property to them, he said they were buying 60
acres," said Misbach.
Steele said all that was needed for the building was
10 acres and the actual amount of the purchase, as long was
it was adequate, was of no concern.
"I agree that it is a small problem," said Misbach.
"To me this is an indication that things were not done
properly."
Another protest the group is making is that the
conditional use permit was issued to Kuhni's but the
property is not actually owned by the company.
"Kuhni and Sons are not the certified owners," he
said.
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