Travel board ratifies MOU to direct TRT funds toward Farrin City's agricultural center rebuild

The Emery County Travel Bureau on Nov. 12 ratified a memorandum of understanding to direct previously approved transient room tax funds toward rebuilding Farrin City's agricultural center, the board heard.

Board staff said the board authorized a financial commitment to the stock show barn rebuild at an earlier meeting and signed a letter of intent; because of timing and year‑end spending constraints the MOU was circulated to members and supported by email. "Since then, we've been working with Farrin City's mayor to write an MOU," a bureau staff member said, adding that the invoice has been sent for processing.

Larry Johansson moved to ratify the MOU; the motion was seconded and the board recorded vocal assent from several members and proceeded. Members who explicitly voiced support included those identified in the meeting record as Ren, Cathy, Larry and Lacey. The meeting record shows the MOU had already been signed administratively and staff requested formal ratification to align the record and begin payment processing.

Staff framed the MOU as the next step after the board approved the initial commitment in September. The staff member said the timing required administrative approval in advance of a formal board vote so work and invoicing could proceed before year‑end accounting deadlines.

The board did not enumerate conditions or amendments to the MOU during the meeting. No additional funding allocations or implementation dates were specified during the ratification discussion. The staff member said the invoice had been forwarded to the finance office for processing and that the commission had already signed the document administratively.

Next steps described by staff include completing any required administrative steps for disbursement and tracking the project as part of the bureau's special projects reporting.