By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Corspondent
Shareholders of Levan Irrigation Company heard the
financial report for year 2000. Two questions were asked
regarding the financial statement. The first question was
concerning the property purchased by the Irrigation Company
for $35,010. Irrigation Company President Golden Mangelson
stated it was a pond site for the west field sprinkling
project. It was purchased from Stuart Wakefield. A second
question was asked about a payment of $3,997 to Stephenson
Well Drilling. Mangelson explained that this was a payment
to equip the well on Third North. The question was then
asked as to who personally gets the benefit of the water
pumped by the well on Third North. Mangelson said the
Irrigation Company as a whole benefits from the pumping of
that well. "Does it go into the pond system or the field
system?" Mangelson's reply was that all the wells in the
company go to different places. The water master divides the
flow into 1,590 shares. Each share is equal to 1/1590 of all
the water that comes from the canyon and all the water that
is pumped. It has been a dry year and there has been more
pumping than in other years.
A call to approve the financial report was made. After
more discussion about the property purchase the financial
report was approved by the share holders.
Mangelson told the share holders of the progress on
the west fields sprinkling project. The Irrigation Board did
as the share holders had instructed the board to do at the
annual meeting. The Board approached the Division of Water
Resources for a loan of $697,000 to put in the base system
of the project. It was approved by DWR. The Irrigation
Company will have to put in kind services or money for an
additional to $123,000. It was initially agreed to get the
loan for five years interest free because of the five year
loan already being paid to the DWR. On Nov. 20, Mangelson
received a phone call from the DWR engineer in charge of
Levans loan and he offered to restructure the loan to the
Irrigation Company for no interest for the whole term.
The route of the pipeline has been changed from the
original proposal because of the cost of drilling the line
under the highway. The south pipeline will be on the south
side of Chicken Creek instead of along 2nd South. Most of
the rights of way have been obtained for the project. There
will be one pond for the initial system. A second pond will
have to be built when the sprinkling system in town is
built.
The contract has not been given to anyone yet, but
because the price of pipe was down, pipe was bid.
The proposed construction schedule has been changed.
Construction was originally set to begin in October 2000 and
be finished in December 2000. Now it is set to begin in
spring, 2001 and finished in April or May 2001. Mangelson
said, "We will be in construction during high water."
There has been no raise in the assessment so far. If
expenses for the Irrigation Company remain the same, then
assessments will remain $30 per share in the spring and $30
per share in the fall.
The share holders were asked to ratify the Articles of
Incorporation to have the by-laws concerning the assessments
and how they are collected read like they are currently
being done.
Three director positions on the Irrigation Board were
up for vote. David Shepherd, Bob Shepherd and Jack Bosh were
currently holding the positions on the Board. Tim Larsen,
David Shepherd and Bob Shepherd were nominated. They were
put in by acclamation. Marion Wankier, and Golden Mangelson
are also on the Board. Secretary for the Board is Lee
Spring.
Bob Shepherd told the share holders that Levan
Irrigation Company had twice applied to the Central Utah
Water Conservancy District for water project funding. They
have been turned down both times. The reason for being
turned down was Levans projects did not have "environmental
enhancements" even though they had the most economical
project. Mangelson said we can save our kids from falling
into ditches by building an irrigation pipeline, but that's
not half as important to the CUP as making a pond for frogs.
Levan has paid into the CUP since 1956. The projects are all
for the Utah Lake drainage and Levan is in the Sever River
drainage. The motion was made to pursue pulling out of the
CUP. The motion passed.
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