Newly elected Mayor Darrell Simmons led his first city council meeting Wednesday night. “You know what it means to cut teeth?” asked Simmons of the sizable audience. “We’re cutting teeth tonight.” Everyone laughed and someone in the back added, “Hopefully without the crying.” The council considered many items including an agreement with Hyde Park over annexation, a proposal by the county to require permits for events using county land, and an update on the canal reconstruction.

Hyde Park annexation agreement

City Manager James Gass said that in 1992 the cities of Smithfield and Hyde Park agreed to which areas between the two towns they were willing to annex. A map was created with a line running west to east across the main highway to the east canal.

Smithfield still has the map, although Gass said sometimes it was hard to find. However, Hyde Park has lost the map and recently discussed potential annexation of land as far north as 600 South in Smithfield. Also a developer is requesting annexation by Hyde Park of 400 acres on the East Bench.

Gass said the original map did not show the East Bench. It concentrated mostly on the valley floor with only a line pointing to the east towards the bench. If the line were followed, it would split the proposed property between Smithfield and Hyde Park.

Last month Gass and Monson met with leaders of Hyde Park to discuss the problems. They brought the map along with original agreement. Hyde Park recognizes the original agreement, however there are concerns over where the East Bench development should be annexed.

Gass said that if you examine the topography of the bench, it is difficult to make a straight line to divide the area between Smithfield and Hyde Park. The topography of the land in question tends to slope towards Hyde Park. It would be easier to build infrastructure to the land from Hyde Park. And socially the land will be strongly associated with Hyde Park.

The ridge on Long Hill (the old SV hill) makes a better, natural dividing line. The roads and sewers on the south side will slope naturally to Hyde Park and the north side will flow naturally to Smithfield. It saves the cities money in maintaining the systems, it makes it easier for the developer who won’t have to create two systems in the development, and the residents will deal with the city which is naturally their city.

Sometime in spring, representatives of both communities will define an exact line from the east canal to the forrest service property. This new division will need to be approved by both city councils

County charges for extra events

The county leaders are considering charging for special events that utilize county resources. For example, the Top of Utah marathon, the MS 150 bike ride and the Mountain Man Rendezvous — where one man died. Each of these events require county manpower, especially from the Sheriff’s department.

According to Gass, the proposal would not charge cities, but would requests cities apply for permits for events in the unincorporated areas of the county. The Shamrock Shuffle and Turkey Trot are two runs the city sponsors that do use county roads.

However, the city provides all services including police support for these events and the county is not even involved.

The county has a public hearing set for Jan. 26 to discuss the proposal.

Senior rates

Nadine Nethery addressed the council about the increase rent at the Senior Citizens Center. She said their club, the Empty Nesters, meet their during the winter. It used to cost $40 to $60 for two to three hours of use, now it costs $50 to $75. She said they don’t use the facilities, they clean up. Most of the time it’s pot luck.

Tom Anderson also voiced his concern over the increase. He didn’t feel the increase was insignificant to the city, but did impact the Empty Nesters which consists of 40 couples and about six widows. The impact of even $2 on a widow on fixed income is significant, according to Anderson.

Councilwoman Kris Monson said they need to talk to the Recreation Center who is in charge of the Senior Center. The city council will put this on the agenda to consider at their next meeting.

New police officer

The council voted to hire Curtis Shumway as a full-time police officer for the City of Smithfield. He’s been serving for six-months on the police reserve. He is currently renting a home in Logan but plans to move to Smithfield as soon as possible, according to the City Manager, James Gass. The council set his salary at the city minimum of $29,950.

Uncollectable bills

About $4,000 overdue utility bills were written off by the city. These were from accounts where the owners either filed for bankruptcy or moved away without a forwarding address, said City Recorder Dean Clegg. THe city brings in about one million dollars of income. Clegg said that writing off these bad accounts saves the city time and money in pursuing bills that will never be paid.

Jewkes on Planning Commission

With Barbara Kent newly elected to the city council, her seat is vacant on the Planning Commission. The council voted to appoint Richard Jewkes to the planning commission starting January 31 for a term of five years. They also voted to re-appoint David Price to the commission for another five years.

Disaster Mitigation

Gass handed the council a draft copy of the the state’s pre-disaster mitigation plan. It identified several sources of natural disasters that affect Cache Valley. These include floods, landslides, earthquakes, liquefaction.

For example, over 200 structures are in a flood plain in Smithfield. Only six structures in a moderate landslide area versus 843 structures in Logan and 84 in Providence. There are 250 structures built near fault lines.

The city is being asked to consider the disaster plan and incorporate it into the city’s own disaster preparation.

Thornley stepping down

Glen Thornley is stepping down as the president of the Smithfield Historical Commission. A replacement has not been appointed. Mayor Simmons thanked Thornley for his hard work and service.

PUD roads

Last month the city discussed requiring Planned Unit Developments, or PUDs, to make all roads public roads owned by the city. The proposal is based on issues raised in other parts of the country where PUDs are not maintaining their utilities and roads.

Gass gave the city council a design for a smaller 40-foot wide street design that could be allowed for PUDs. The 40-foot design allows for 5-feet of space for “snow storage” when plowing the roads. By having the roads in PUDs owned by the city, the city would maintain them and plow them as part of their normal maintenance.

Another key part of the proposal is a requirement that buildings must be set back at least 20 feet from the curb. These proposals could be added to the PUD ordinance with the additional requirement that the city cannot go less than these distances — both for the road and building set backs.

The proposed changes will need to go to the planning commission before they could be acted on by the city council.

No Terrazzo floor

The new city will not have a Terrazzo floor. Heritage Glass planned to donate the materials for the flooring, however the cost of installation was too high. Tile floor will be used for the city hall. However, they may use Terrazzo for the reception counter-top.

Gass reports that the bottom floor of city hall has the sheetrock installed and the second floor will be installed the first of next week. The structure is mostly complete and work is moving along nicely ever since the contractor replaced the superintendent. He said morale has improved among all the contractors.

Canal update

The damaged upper canal is scheduled for an overhaul with the federal government committed to pay 75 percent of the $24 million dollar bill. The remaining 25 percent will be split among the canal shareholders including Smithfield. THis is according to Chris Slater who discussed it with the council.

The improvement calls for piping the canal to 3100 North. This change means more water can be piped through the upper canal with less loss through infiltration. Slater said the canal would lose as much as 20 percent of the water which will not be kept and will greatly enhance the water flow to Smithfield.

The flow would also be more stable. The city will also benefit from decreased flow in the lower canal which can now be used for storm drainage.

“We probably will not get an opportunity like this in the future,” said Slater.