Uintah County commissioners approve contracts, fee changes and grants; discuss TV emergency alert concerns

Uintah County commissioners on Aug. 20 approved a slate of contracts, an ordinance updating county advertising requirements for leasing mineral rights, changes to the county fee schedule and a $200,000 rural county grant contract, and authorized a multiyear administrative agreement with Weber State University for the Wildcat Micro Fund.

The approvals came during the regular meeting of the Uintah County Commission at 147 East Main in Vernal. Commissioners voted on multiple competitive-bid awards and intergovernmental contracts after staff presentations and brief discussion.

The commission’s action items included awards from two recent requests for proposals and several ordinance and contract approvals. Trina, from the purchasing department, told commissioners the evaluation committee reviewed three proposals for UC-25-11, HVAC Energy Management Controls, and recommended Wake LLC as the bidder that “met all the mandatory requirements and provided the most advantageous solution.” Commissioners moved to award that contract to Wake LLC.

Jenny Bird, purchasing and grants staff, presented the award for UC-25-12, insurance consulting services for the county’s employee benefit plan. After a written evaluation and interviews, the evaluation committee rated GBS highest on technical merit. Bird said the proposal’s cost “aligns with our budget,” and the commission approved awarding the contract to GBS.

County staff presented a warrants report showing the current check run totaled $2,083,227.21. Mike Wilkins, county staff, said several large one-time items stood out: a payment to Asphalt Systems Inc. for roughly $102,838, a federal pass-through check for the Central Canal of roughly $1.23 million, and a medical claims payment of about $242,704. The commission approved the warrants as presented.

Matthew Gehring, GIS, asked the commission to approve Resolution 08-06-2025-R1 to reclassify a portion of 1500 South from a Maple City city road to a county B road (gravel). Gehring said the change reflects current jurisdictional control; the resolution passed on a motion and vote.

The commission approved an update to the county ordinance governing advertising for leasing county-owned mineral rights (county code section 2-32-060) to match current state class A advertising requirements and to include website publication. Lauren Anderson, county attorney, and staff confirmed the change reflects ten-plus-year-old language that referenced newspaper-only advertising and needed alignment with current statutory advertising categories.

The county fee schedule ordinance also was updated. Community development staff proposed adding an annual professional guiding services fee for Via Ferrata operations of $300 and moving and adjusting road-cut and encroachment fees to the road department section. Matt Kizer of Community Development asked that the Via Ferrata guiding fee take effect Jan. 1, 2026; the commission approved the fee with that effective date and noted the road-cut changes take effect 15 days after approval.

Travis Campbell, economic development director, presented the 2026 Rural County Grant contract with the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO). Campbell said the county’s successful application secured the maximum award of $200,000 and that the county will use the funds across several programs identified with the county’s economic development advisory board. The commission voted to approve the contract.

Campbell also presented a proposed three-year agreement with Weber State University to host the Wildcat Micro Fund locally. Campbell said the county’s portion is administrative funding — about $33,000 per year, roughly $100,000 total over three years — to help advertise and administer the program locally; Weber State will administer the grants themselves. Commissioners approved the agreement.

Brenda McDonald, county recorder, asked the commission to approve a software services agreement and statement of work with Medici Land Governance to index recorder office documents and produce title-reporting aids. McDonald said the system will speed indexing of large file sets and allow staff to be reassigned to mapping work. Several staff and commissioners asked about data ownership and licensing language. Ryan (IT department staff) noted licensing restrictions in the draft contract that limit reverse engineering and reselling the services; Lauren Anderson said she would review the contract language to confirm county ownership of indexed data. The commission approved the Medici agreement “pending review and approval by our attorney’s office, Lauren Anderson.”

Public comment included a presentation from Randy Anderson, who told commissioners he believes several county-associated television broadcast channels are off air or weak and that the county lacks a recorded representative with the Federal Communications Commission. Anderson said this affects channel 2, which serves as a local Emergency Alert System outlet, and urged attention to the matter; he was directed to an upcoming Special Service District meeting and to county staff for follow-up. Commissioners noted public comment is for input only and that some responsibilities may lie with the special service district rather than the commission.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of meeting minutes for Aug. 5 and Aug. 6, 2025 — motion made and approved (vote recorded as aye). - Approval of warrants dated Aug. 7, 2025 (total $2,083,227.21) — approved. - Award UC-25-11 (HVAC Energy Management Controls) to Wake LLC — approved on motion. - Award UC-25-12 (insurance consulting for employee benefits) to GBS — approved on motion. - Resolution 08-06-2025-R1 (reclassify portion of 1500 South from city road to county B road) — approved on motion. - Ordinance update to county code 2-32-060 (mineral-lease advertising to match class A advertising requirements) — approved on motion. - County fee schedule ordinance (adds $300/year Via Ferrata professional guiding fee effective Jan. 1, 2026; moves and adjusts road cut/encroachment fees for micro-trenching) — approved on motion; road cut changes effective 15 days after approval. - 2026 Rural County Grant contract with Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) for $200,000 — approved on motion. - Wildcat Micro Fund agreement with Weber State University (county administrative funding ~ $33,000/year for three years) — approved on motion. - Medici Land Governance software services agreement and statement of work — approved on motion pending attorney review and confirmation of data ownership language. - Motion to adjourn — carried.

What matters: The actions approved on Aug. 20 allocate grant funding, adjust county fees linked to recreation and road operations, and authorize several vendor contracts that county staff said will update infrastructure (HVAC controls), streamline benefits consulting and speed document indexing in the recorder’s office. Commissioners instructed staff and counsel to verify contract language on licensing and data ownership in the Medici agreement before final signature.

Minutes: The meeting opened at 3:00 p.m. with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, proceeded through routine business and staff presentations, included a 15-minute public comment period, and adjourned after the listed votes.