Uintah County Commission approves USU Extension funding, AI policy and multiple ordinances; holds Deep Creek road-vacation hearing

The Uintah County Commission on Jan. 28 in Vernal approved a series of routine agreements and ordinances — including a $219,100 annual cooperative agreement with Utah State University Extension — adopted a county policy on acceptable use of artificial intelligence, and held a public hearing on a proposed road vacation in Deep Creek Ranches.

The commission’s actions came after routine business including approval of minutes and presentation of warrants. County staff presented the items ahead of brief discussion and votes.

The most consequential items approved were:

- A cooperative agreement amendment with Utah State University (USU) Extension, for $219,100, to support Extension programming in Uintah County. Cheyenne Reed, the county director for USU Extension, summarized 2024 outreach that included agriculture workshops, a Passport summer program for youth, Master Gardener training and health and nutrition programming, and asked commissioners to approve the annual amendment. A motion to approve the agreement carried.

- County policy 830, an Acceptable Use of Artificial Intelligence policy prepared by the county IT department, was approved. Kristen Clark of the IT department presented the policy as discussed in the work session and said the policy requires, among other items, an annual IT-led training for county employees on AI best practices. Commissioners voiced support for the policy and approved it.

- Several land-use ordinances were adopted after prior work-session review. Deanna Nyberg of Community Development presented: an updated airport overlay zone ordinance to align county language with state requirements; a transportation map codification (listed by ordinance number in the meeting); and housekeeping amendments to the county land use code (fixes to subsection references and standardized notice language to match state requirements). Each ordinance was moved and approved by the commission.

- The commission accepted an annual participation commitment with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, presented by county fire warden Corey Auger, to continue cooperative wildfire prevention, mitigation and training work. Auger described mitigation activities, volunteer firefighter compensation for mitigation work and periodic equipment updates. The commission approved the agreement as presented.

The board also approved a resolution supporting the statewide America250 Utah initiative and authorized formation of a Uintah County America250 community committee (Resolution No. 01-22-2025R1). Alicia Cothorpe presented the resolution, describing local events and outreach the committee may undertake to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Public hearing and next steps

During a public hearing the commission considered a petition to vacate a short county road in the Deep Creek Ranches area. Community Development staff displayed maps and described three connected sections of the road at issue. Applicant Kathy Atherton spoke in favor of vacating the portion on her property and said she had secured a co-applicant signature from Donald Johnson. Staff reported one portion of the road had not been properly noticed and that portion will be re-noticed for a subsequent hearing; commissioners closed the hearing on the portions that were properly noticed. No final vacate ordinance was adopted at this meeting; staff said the commission must return once the missing section is re-noticed.

Other business and procedural items

The commission heard the weekly warrants report (the warrants listing dated Jan. 23, 2025 was presented with an amount read as $738,765.39) and approved routine minutes from Jan. 21 and Jan. 22, 2025. One agenda item listed as “number 10” was tabled per the meeting record. The commission then voted to recess into a closed session in the small conference room; the meeting adjourned to that closed session.

What this means locally

The USU Extension funding secures a year of local programming in agriculture, youth programming and health education. The AI policy sets countywide rules and an annual training requirement for employees that county staff described as an important update to align county operations with emerging technologies. Land-use ordinance updates were described by staff as technical corrections and state-aligned changes rather than new policy choices.

The Deep Creek road vacation will return to the commission after the outstanding portion is re-noticed; staff indicated the applicant wants the vacation to clear title for a pending sale, and the commission discussed the need for recorded easements where a road relocation would become a county-maintained access.

Votes at a glance

- Approve minutes for Jan. 21 and Jan. 22, 2025 — motion to approve; outcome: approved. - Accept warrants presented Jan. 23, 2025 (amount presented as $738,765.39) — presented; routine processing noted. - Approve Forestry, Fire and State Lands annual participation commitment (as presented by Corey Auger) — motion to accept; outcome: approved. - Approve USU Extension annual cooperative agreement amendment, $219,100 (presented by Cheyenne Reed) — motion to approve; outcome: approved. - Adopt Resolution No. 01-22-2025R1 supporting America250 Utah and creating the Uintah County America250 community committee (presented by Alicia Cothorpe) — motion to approve; outcome: approved. - Codify Uintah County transportation map by ordinance (ordinance read at meeting) — motion to codify; outcome: approved. - Approve Policy No. 830, Acceptable Use of Artificial Intelligence (presented by Kristen Clark) — motion to approve; outcome: approved. - Adopt airport overlay ordinance amendment required by the state (presented by Deanna Nyberg) — motion to approve; outcome: approved. - Adopt ordinance housekeeping amendments to Title 17 (zoning/notice corrections) (presented by Deanna Nyberg) — motion to approve; outcome: approved. - Agenda item listed as number 10 — outcome: tabled. - Deep Creek Ranches road vacation — public hearing held; decision deferred (re-notice required for one segment). - Motion to convene into closed session for specified purposes — motion made and approved; commission recessed into closed session.

Funding and timeline notes

- USU Extension agreement: $219,100 for the fiscal year as stated in the meeting. - Forestry/Fire agreement: amount read in the meeting as “136.224” in the audio transcript; staff presented the participation commitment and will return signed copies to the recorder. The exact numeric amount as recorded in the meeting packet should be confirmed with the county auditor/recorder for procurement and budget tracking.

Commission procedure

Staff presented most items after prior work-session review. Commissioners asked clarifying questions on the Deep Creek road vacation about recorded easements and how a relocated county road would affect future subdivision rights on affected parcels. Staff said when the county establishes a road realignment in a case like this it usually secures a recorded easement so future owners are aware of the county access. The commission closed the public hearing on the properly noticed portions of the Deep Creek vacation and directed staff to re-notice the remaining section before a final decision.

(For complete motions, ordinance/resolution numbers and verbatim text, see the meeting packet and the formal minutes and signed resolutions on file with the Uintah County Recorder.)