Minutes for 2004-08-10, Direct pdf link.

Each Commission meeting is recorded on CD or audio tape, which is available to the public through the County Clerk's Office. In accordance with the requirements of Utah Code Annotated Section 52-4-7(1)(d), the County Clerk records in the minutes the names of all citizens who appear and speak at a County Commission meeting and the substance “in brief” of their comments. Such statements may include opinion or purported facts. The County does not verify the accuracy or truth of any statement but includes it as part of the record pursuant to state law.
Commissioners Present: Commissioner Camille T. Cain, Chair, and Commissioner Kenneth A. Bischoff. Commissioner Glen H. Burton was excused

Others Present: Linda G. Lunceford, County Clerk/Auditor; David C. Wilson, Deputy County Attorney; Fátima Blackford, Clerk/Auditor’s Office, took minutes.

A. Welcome by Chair Cain
B. Pledge of Allegiance was conducted by Brad Dee
C. Thought of the Day was offered by Commissioner Bischoff

D. Consent Items:
1. Purchase Orders in the amount of $509,277.59
2. Warrants #191435 - #191662 in the amount of $2,221,661,61
3. Approval of Minutes of the August 3, 2004 Commission Meeting
Commissioner Bischoff moved to approve the consent items; Chair Cain seconded, both voting aye.

E. Action Items:

1. Contract by and between Weber County and the Administrative Office of the Courts to provide bailiff services to all judges in the District Court - Contract C2004-94

Weber County Sheriff Brad Slater presented this contract renewal which remained unchanged from last year. The contract term runs from July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005 and total compensation for this period is not to exceed $145,000.
Commissioner Bischoff moved to approve Contract C2004-94 by and between Weber County and the Administrative Office of the Courts to provide bailiff services to all judges in the District Court; Chair Cain seconded, both voting aye.

2. Contract by and between Weber County and the Utah Department of Corrections to house state inmates at the Weber County Correctional Facility - Contract C2004-95

Weber County Sheriff Brad Slater stated there had been a few changes from the previous contract which included a paragraph on notifications in the event of an escape and a paragraph regarding how inmate funds accounts are managed (requiring them to be directly managed by either the jail or UDC). He addressed the commissioners’ questions stating the daily rate remained the same but the transportation and medical processing rates had increased.
Commissioner Bischoff moved to approve Contract C2004-95 by and between Weber County and the Utah Department of Corrections to house state inmates at the Weber County Correctional Facility; Chair Cain seconded, both voting aye.

 3. Amateur Radio Repeater and Frequency Coordination Agreement - Contract C2004-96

Lance Peterson, Weber County Emergency Management, said that the amateur radio community had expressed concerns to him about 4 ½ years ago that they did not have reliable back-up emergency communications infrastructure. Because this is a critical back-up capability for all the county’s emergency planning, Mr. Peterson obtained some grants and installed four repeater backbone infrastructures. The Ogden Amateur Radio Club has four repeater systems that the county can utilize and this agreement creates a partnership whereby the Club will make available for the use of all licensed amateur radio operators in Weber County and to the County Sheriff’s Office the coordinated frequencies. Mr. Peterson stated that the agreement established a Joint Repeater Committee and that it did not encumber the county in any way.
Commissioner Bischoff moved to approve Contract C2004-96, Amateur Radio Repeater and Frequency Coordination Agreement with the Ogden Amateur Radio Club; Chair Cain seconded, both voting aye.

4. Discussion and/or action to ratify the 2004 Tax Sale of the following properties:
a. LSN 06-014-0020
b. LSN 09-346-0011

Monette Hurtado, Deputy County Attorney, presented these items. Two successful bidders in the 2004 tax sale, Grant Wright (LSN 06-014-0020) and Mike Cummings (LSN 09-346-0011), had each submitted a written protest to the County Commission within the ten days after the tax sale as permitted by County Ordinance and the County Attorney’s Office responded to them in writing. Ms. Hurtado had given personal notice to both of these petitioners of this meeting; Mr. Wright was present.

A) LSN 06-014-0020 - Ms. Hurtado first responded to the written arguments by Mr. Wright who had been unhappy with the address that was published in the newspaper. She showed a copy of that legal notice noting that it had been published in the newspaper and that it was an appropriate address based on the review of the Recorder’s records. Ms. Hurtado had reviewed the tax sale process and determined that the county had complied with State and county statutes. Tax sale properties are sold and conveyed by land serial number and legal description but the county lists a physical address in the newspaper, along with the land serial number, to put a property owner on notice of the location of the property because most property owners do not know their land serial numbers nor their legal descriptions. If the Recorder’s ownership records indicated a physical address, this was listed in the newspaper for the 2004 tax sale notice. If those records did not contain a physical address, modifiers such as “behind” and “next to” were used in the newspaper publication as an additional means to help people locate the properties.

Prior to entering the 2004 tax sale, all bidders received a copy of the county ordinance which contain the disclaimer that “all properties sold during the tax sale shall be conveyed by a Tax Deed. A Tax Deed is not a warranty deed and the County makes no representations as to the title conveyed or the purchaser’s right of possession of the property as certain entities or persons, including but not limited to agencies or divisions of both the state and federal government, may have certain rights of redemption. Therefore, buyers of properties at the tax sale make any purchase at their own risk.” Ms. Hurtado, who had been present at this tax sale, noted that Linda Lunceford, County Clerk/Auditor, who conducted the tax sale, had outlined the requirements, expounding upon the disclaimer, and stating that all bidders should have done their research prior to the sale, that it was a buyer-beware market, that no further information was available on the properties during the tax sale–that the property information had been available at the county and on its website for some time. Ms. Hurtado had also warned bidders that without researching the records there might be issues they were not aware of and that the county warrantied no title. Mr. Wright stated he had purchased LSN 06-014-0020 at the tax sale and had submitted a written statement to the county contesting the purchase of this property because he and others had been misled by the county, even though inadvertently, by listing the address as 4752 S. 575 W. He said that the word “behind” would have better alerted potential buyers.” Mr. Wright stated that he had failed to do the property research prior to the tax sale. He was appealing the July 20, 2004 response from the County Attorney’s Office concerning his claim. He said the property was worthless to him because it was landlocked.

Chair Cain noted that he had purchased the property by the land serial number and Mr. Wright said that on the bid sheet it was listed with a land serial number and the address. He felt it should have contained a clarifying word such as “landlocked.” Ms. Hurtado clarified that the county only listed on the notices words such as “next to” or “behind” for those parcels that did not have a physical address listed as part of the public record at the Recorder’s Office. In response to Commissioner Bischoff’s question, Ms. Hurtado stated that listing the physical address was helpful to people and the emphasis of the law was to protect owners.

B) LSN 09-346-0011 - Mr. Cummings had a concern with the wording “next to” used in the newspaper rather than using “behind” and that the parcel is landlocked. Ms. Hurtado stated, however, that with due diligence the purchaser would have discovered the characteristics of the parcel. Ms. Hurtado showed the notice published in the newspaper stating that for the property location the language “next to” was used because property owners had never provided a physical property address. This parcel is part of the Lewis Farms Subdivision, Lot 11, and the property had been further subdivided without going through the subdivision process and only the meets and bounds description had been recorded. The parcel is still tied to the original address because the physical address was assigned to Lot 11. The county did not use the word “behind” in the publication because the parcel adjacent to 4823 S. 3100 W. is recorded on a separate page and to locate parcel 09-346-0011 one has to go back to the original subdivision plat.

The commissioners wished to have a full quorum to take action on this item and it was tabled until next week to give Commissioner Burton an opportunity to review it.

5. Request for final approval of Russell’s Run Subdivision, consisting of 1 lot at 900 South 9400 West in the Little Mountain area of western Weber County, with road dedication and request for deferral of curb, gutter and sidewalk

Kelly Grier, County Planning Department, showed plat maps stating that the applicant was requesting final approval of this 1-lot subdivision located in unincorporated Weber County with a deferral for curb, gutter and sidewalk. All requirements had been met and a road dedication was shown on the plat. The Western Weber County Township had voted unanimously to recommend final approval of this subdivision with a deferral of curb, gutter and sidewalk due to the remote/rural location. This property is only being used for dog kennels, which is a permitted use in this zone.

Commissioner Bischoff asked if there were other developments in the area and if this property was in the sewer district. Ms. Grier responded that there weren’t other developments nearby–there was vacant land and it was in the Little Mountain area. She said it was not within the sewer district. The Fire Marshall had waived requirements for fire suppression due to the unique circumstances and use of the site. There is notification on the final plat to anyone building structures for human habitation that they will need to have approval for septic tanks from Environmental Health. Environmental Health had approved the method of waste disposal without a septic tank. Ms. Grier noted that there was a State approved well with a 100 ft. easement.
Commissioner Bischoff moved to grant final approval of Russell’s Run Subdivision, consisting of one lot located at 900 South 9400 West in the Little Mountain area of western Weber County, with road dedication and deferral of curb, gutter and sidewalk; Chair Cain seconded, both voting aye.

6. Request for final approval of Swan Flat Subdivision, consisting of 1 lot at 319 South 7900 West, with road dedication and request for deferral of curb, gutter and sidewalk

Kelly Grier, County Planning Department, showed area maps. Ms. Grier stated that this subdivision had previously received final approval and contained all the signatures, however, the plat had inadvertently not been recorded and she requested ratification of final approval. Ms. Grier had resubmitted this item for review and it went before the Western Weber County Township, which unanimously recommended final approval with a deferral of curb, gutter and sidewalk due to the remote/rural location. A financial guarantee for chip and seal for the temporary turn around at the end of 7900 W. had also been previously approved in the form of an escrow account with the County Engineer, which is still valid. All requirements had been met and a road dedication is shown on the plat. There is no curb, gutter and sidewalk in adjacent properties and this subdivision is not within the area required by the school district to contain these improvements.
Commissioner Bischoff moved to grant final approval of Swan Flat Subdivision, consisting of one lot located at 319 South 7900 West, with road dedication and deferral of curb, gutter and sidewalk; Chair Cain seconded, both voting aye.

7. An Agreement for the sale of property described as LSN 08-278-0005 - Contract C2004-97

Gary Laird, County Operations Director, showed an aerial photo indicating that there is a steep slope from the Tullis Industrial Park to some backyards. He stated that this property had been declared surplus and subsequently advertised. Two offers had been received–one was from Marc and Glenna Desobeau, the highest bid at $5,100. The Desobeaus had initially submitted a bid but retracted it and resubmitted a higher bid within the 10-day period. Mr. Laird addressed the commissioners’ questions. The subject parcel is directly behind the Desobeau’s property. Ms. Desobeau had requested that the county help her combine the two lots and Martin Moore, County Surveyor, had said he would with the Commission’s approval. Chair Cain said that it made sense for the petitioners’ tax paying purposes.
Commissioner Bischoff moved to approve Contract C2004-97, Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement for LSN 08-278-0005 with Marc and Glenna Desobeau; Chair Cain seconded, both voting aye.

F. Assign Pledge of Allegiance & Thought of the Day for Tuesday, August 17, 2004 at 6 p.m.

G. Public Comments:

Matt Leavitt of West Point said he wished to comment on LSN 09-346-0011–item E.4(B). He felt that the county should exert some effort to find out who is in possession of a tax sale property and if landlocked, the county should strive to give preferential opportunity for an adjacent property owner to purchase it. Linda Lunceford, County Clerk/Auditor, said that before she starts the bidding on every parcel that she first checks to see if the owner is present and then if anyone with possessory interest or an adjacent property owner is present because these do receive preferential bidding at the sale. She believed that adjacent property owners were also notified by mail before tax sales and would verify this.

Grant Wright (item E.4(A) said that he had checked with some of the abutting property owners of the landlocked property he had bid on and had not found any that received written notification. He recommended that the county notify all abutting property owners when tax sale property is landlocked.

H. Adjourn
Commissioner Bischoff moved to adjourn at 11:11 a.m.; Chair Cain seconded, both voting aye.

Camille T. Cain, Chair Linda G. Lunceford, CPO
Weber County Commission Weber County Clerk/Auditor