Utah County commissioners provisionally approve protests, citing missed notices in tax-sale of Provo Canyon parcels

The Utah County Board of Commissioners on Monday provisionally approved protests to two tax-sales involving properties tied to Provo Canyon Mining Company, citing failures in the county’s notice process that left some recorded lienholders uninformed.

Steve Turley, the owner of record for the parcels and owner of Provo Canyon Mining Company, told the commission he relied on county notices that listed the auction date as May 21 and that he had funds available to pay the taxes before the sale. "This says May 21... I relied on Utah County's noticing," Turley said, describing how the apparent error in the printed notice led him to miss the auction date he believed applied.

The commissioners heard testimony from purchasers and lienholders, including Tim Britton and Jamie Evans, who bought undivided interests at the sale and described post-auction efforts to contact owners and title companies. David Jeffs, representing purchaser Jamie Evans, and other county advisers debated whether the statutory notice requirements had been met and what remedies were available to affected creditors.

County staff acknowledged mistakes in the notification process. "We do accept responsibility for that missed notification," a county auditor said during the meeting, describing how certified and first-class mailings and newspaper publication were used but that a set of hand-delivered postings contained the wrong year on the auction date and that at least one recorded lienholder was not sent certified notice.

County counsel and staff advised the commission that the record showed a recorded assignment and trust deed naming Heart Mountain Holdings and a trust trustee (Provo Abstract) and that those parties had not received certified notices. Counsel recommended overturning the two residential sales, noting that state law entitles recorded owners and other parties of record to receive notice and that the county should prepare written findings of fact and conclusions of law to formalize any decision.

Commissioners voted to approve the protests and to direct the county attorney to prepare the formal findings; the recorded action instructs staff to return the prepared findings to the board for adoption. Commissioners also discussed the centrally assessed gravel-pit parcel sold at the same tax sale and acknowledged similar notification complications for that parcel, tied to the different record systems used for centrally assessed mining properties.

County staff said the tax-sale proceeds remain available to satisfy lienholder claims: the county treasurer’s account holds excess proceeds from the sale that counsel said could be used to satisfy succeeding claims if lienholders file proper claims. Purchasers and lienholders were urged to follow the statutory claims process to recoup amounts from the sale proceeds.

The commission’s direction ends the meeting’s public phase on the dispute: staff will draft formal findings and conclusions for the board to adopt at a future meeting, and the commission signaled a desire to review and tighten notice practices for future tax sales. The meeting adjourned after the commission scheduled and held several closed sessions on unrelated agenda items.

The commission’s provisional action does not itself finalize title outcomes; parties with recorded interests retain statutory routes to assert claims against sale proceeds and to seek judicial relief if they challenge the commission’s ultimate decision.