This is an old news article. The events in this article are from November 2022.
JUNCTION, Utah (November 14, 2022) — The Piute County Commission met at the courthouse in Junction on November 14.
EMS Volunteering
Warren Archer spoke to the commission about many of the county’s EMTs exceeding the maximum amount of time on ambulance runs set by the state’s “20% rule.” That rule states that for insurance purposes, volunteers cannot be paid more than 20% of a regular, full-time employee, in order to retain their status as a volunteer. Commissioner Darin Bushman suggested that a legislative fix to the rule might be the best solution. In the meantime Piute will continue EMS, as an essential service.
So far this year, there have been 103 EMS runs in the county.
Recertifying Justice Court and Maintaining the Courthouse
The commission voted to recommend recertifying their justice court, which will run for another five-year term. The county pays Judge Mark McIff $15,000 a year for his services. He also covers Sanpete and Sevier counties.
Piute County will seek several bids to install sliding doors at the main entrance of the county courthouse. This will solve the ADA accessibility issues presented every time the existing automatic door opener has broken down. The door replacement would be paid with ARPA funds, approved by the American Rescue Plan Act.
The commission voted to pay off the remaining debt on the courthouse itself. The county courthouse was completed in 1997 at a total cost of $1,850,000. The payoff amount is estimated to be between $100,000 and $150,000, since the county does not yet know the fee Zions Bank will charge for early termination of the loan.
At the same time, the county will also pay off all loans on the sheriff vehicles. After that, the county will be debt-free.
Conserving Water
Piute High School’s FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) presented to the commissioners their campaign to educate citizens on water conservation. Previously, the FBLA team presented to Oscarson Elementary and Circleville Elementary.
On the lines of water conservation, the commissioners talked about the urban creep of the Wasatch Front filtering into Juab County and Nephi as an example. There, water historically used by farmers turns to residential use as new homes are being built.
Commissioners Dalton and Talbot mentioned previous thoughts on this when they agreed, “If you don’t have agriculture, you won’t have to flush the toilet.”
– The Byway
Feature image caption: Piute’s FBLA presents their plan for conserving water to the Piute commissioners.