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Emery County Commission: grants, tourism funding, opioid settlements and project allocations approved
Summary
At its Sept. 16 meeting the commission ratified multiple grants and agreements (JAG, airport revitalization, tourism cooperative marketing, OHVR trails grant), approved a $500,000 tourism funding commitment to rebuild a livestock event center, authorized opioid settlement participation and allocated $42,000 in solar revenue for flood recovery to North Emory Water Users SSD.
Emery County commissioners used their Sept. 16 meeting to ratify several grant applications, approve local allocations and take part in national litigation settlements.
Actions the commission approved included ratification of the Emery County Sheriff's Office application for a JAG local law enforcement block grant; ratification of a Utah Airport Revitalization grant application; and approval of a $46,214 cooperative marketing grant contract between the county tourism office and the state's governor's office of economic opportunity to support county events. The commission also approved a $6,000 grant from the State Division of Outdoor Recreation with a county $6,000 match to produce motorized and non-motorized trail maps.
The commission approved a $500,000 funding commitment to Ferron City toward rebuilding the Livestock Event Center (presenters said the total project budget is approximately $6 million with a pending CIB grant and insurance proceeds), and directed staff to craft a cooperative-agreement form to ensure use of Tourism, Recreation and Transportation (TRT)-eligible funds in line with state rules.
County counsel recommended—and the commission approved—participation in multi-party opioid settlements (including the Purdue direct settlement and national manufacturer settlements) and authorization for related documents. The commission also approved a resolution authorizing filing of cross-appeals relating to 2025 centrally assessed properties (Urban Oil and Gas Group LLC) to preserve county litigation rights under Utah law.
Separately, the board approved a $42,000 allocation from solar revenue funds for North Emory Water Users Special Service District to aid flood recovery at its treatment plant, with staff instructed to confirm the appropriate budget source (flood mitigation funds or solar revenue). Other routine items included approval of veteran/blind/homeowner tax abatements, a low-income tax payment program for named residents (up to 50%), and subdivision amendments.
The meeting also featured a presentation of a draft "rural economic blueprint" by August Granath of the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity: goals include supporting core energy industries, workforce training, water-resource projects, housing initiatives, and creating an implementation committee to oversee projects.
Several motions were approved by roll-call-style affirmations; a small number of items drew sustained public discussion (see separate coverage of the Claussen 1 solar project). The meeting adjourned after routine commissioner reports and an update from the sheriff regarding a recent high-water rescue in Green River.
