Draft Minutes of the Special DVLA Board Meeting of October 9, 2012
The Special DVLA Board Meeting was held at the Fire House, bay area. Twenty-eight landowners were in attendance.
Board Members attending: Bill King, Terry Taylor, Jim Johnson
Absent: Julie Cropper, Mac Thomson
President Bill King called the special meeting of the Dammeron Valley Landowners’ Association to order at 6:00 p.m.
1. Approval of the agenda:
Meeting proceeded per listed agenda.
2. Old Business:
Ongoing discussion of a Special Service District for the Fire Department:
Eric Clarke, County Attorney, defined the purpose of a special service district as a governmental entity, having taxing authority, and providing those services that are specifically defined when the district is established. The question of an SSD for the Dammeron Valley Fire Department was recently brought up by the State Fire Marshall’s Department due to difficulties encountered when they tried to work with the Dammeron Valley Fire Department as a private entity.
Per Bill King, the Dammeron Valley Fire Department was unable to register the state-owned Chevrolet Suburban that had been loaned to the department because the fire department was not a government entity, but a privately-owned fire department. A meeting was held between Bill and several county and state personnel to discuss the particulars involved in establishing an SSD. He was assured that Dammeron Valley could form its own SSD without joining any other community. Regarding liability, because the department is not an SSD, it is exposed to complete liability risk at any time it provides services outside the Dammeron Valley boundaries (as well as inside the Valley), without aid from any other governmental agencies. Eric Clarke is present at this meeting to discuss what an SSD is, how it is formed, what benefits there are to an SSD, and what detriments there are.
Eric Clarke explained that the establishment of an SSD can be initiated in two ways: 1) Ten percent of the citizens living within the boundaries of the proposed SSD can petition for an establishment of the SSD or 2) the County Commission can pass a resolution that the establishment of an SSD be explored. Next, a public notice is published that advertises set boundaries, indicates services to be offered, notifies that it would be a taxing entity that would raise taxes and fees to pay expenses, provides days of public hearings, and solicits written comments from landowners. Public hearings are held to answer landowners’ questions/concerns and to listen to comments for and against the issue. After this process, the commission determines whether the SSD will be established based on the percentage of landowners who voiced protests against and comments in favor of the SSD in their community. At the time of creation of the SSD, an initial Board is appointed by the Commission. Future boards can be appointed, elected, or made up of both appointed and elected members. All Board members must be registered voters within the SSD district, per Code Section 4, title 17D-1-304. Anytime a Board wants to raise taxes, they would have to go through the “truth in taxes process”, which is a difficult process to complete.
Per Bill King, he understood at the meeting with Commissioner Gardner that at the time the SSD is established, the community determines whether the monies raised will be based on a flat fee per property or a valuation ratio. Every property owner will pay the taxes, including those who are presently excluded from the Dammeron Valley Landowners’ Association fees. The County would collect the monies budgeted for the Fire Department under the SSD, and dues would also be collected by the landowners’ association, but would be considerably less than those presently collected.
Regarding liability, Eric Clarke indicated that anytime someone is sued due to an incident involving the fire department or the emergency medical teams, “everyone is going to be sued”. There are broad governmental immunities that apply in emergency response situations, which would assist under an SSD. In addition, the County’s insurance pool would cover their liability, and the SSD/DVLA’s insurance would cover theirs. Per one landowner’s comment, under an SSD, the landowners’ association should be much less exposed to liability and its cost of protection would be lowered. Eric Clarke indicated that the two big pros to an SSD would be lower liability risks and the opportunity to receive grant monies for operation of the fire department. The cons would be dealing with the governmental bureaucracy, i.e., state fire regulations. Eric clarified that he is not the attorney for the fire SSD’s, but does help with legal questions from them at various times.
In answer to a landowner’s question, Eric Clarke indicated that the boundaries of the SSD are established by the Commission prior to the public notice hearing that is sent out to all landowners.
Per Bill King, if a landowner is within the approved boundaries of the SSD, he/she would not have the option to opt out of the district. He also indicated that he had been informed it is no longer possible for a private fire department to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with government agencies, thus preventing the Dammeron Valley Fire Department from entering federal, state, and county land without incurring total liability in case of damage/injury to others.
Erick Clarke gave his telephone number as (435) 634-5723 and encouraged anyone with questions to call him.
Jay Workman, Assistant Fire Chief, indicated that he believes an SSD will benefit, not only the members of the Fire Department, but the whole community. In discussions with the fire chiefs from Diamond Valley and Winchester Hills, they mentioned no major problems within their SSD’s. If a flat fee per property is adopted, the County would be responsible for collecting taxes to cover the fire department expenses, and the remaining monies collected by the Association would be much lower per landowner than presently assessed. Regarding the fire trucks, if they are placed within the SSD, the County would be able to request use of the vehicles, but the decision regarding where they would go would depend upon the District. Use by other organizations/entities would result in reimbursement of expenses to the SSD. Also many more opportunities to secure grant monies are available to a special service district than are now open to the Dammeron Valley Fire Department. Presently, they were only two grants available to the department – an educational grant to educate five EMT’s and the “license plate grant” to aid in licensing the fire department vehicles. References for special service districts: Title 17B of Special Service Districts, State Statute, Utah Association of Service Districts, www.uasd.org.
One landowner suggested that written questions be solicited from landowners so that information can be compiled ahead of time to answer concerns - also that others be invited from surrounding areas to discuss their experiences in dealing with their SSD’s.
Per Bill King, a list of pro’s and con’s for establishing an SSD, with the source of the information, can be compiled to further help landowners make a decision. Fire chiefs and SSD board members from the surrounding areas will be invited to speak at our regular monthly meetings in an effort to provide further information. The next Diamond Valley/Winchester Hills board meeting will be held on November 1, 2012, 7 p.m. at the Diamond Valley Fire House if any member is interested in attending.
3. New Business:
Board approval of the establishment of a Dammeron Valley Fire and Rescue website
Jim Johnson MADE A MOTION that the Board approve monies for the establishment of a Dammeron Valley Fire and Rescue website to be managed by Chief Szczerbiak. Terry Taylor SECONDED the motion, and the motion carried.
4. Comment and Discussion by Landowners: No additional comments given at this time.
5. Adjournment:
A MOTION WAS MADE by Jim Johnson to adjourn the meeting. It was SECONDED by Terry Taylor, and the meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Carol Clason
Recording Secretary
The following e-mail was sent to the Dammeron Valley Landowners’ Association by Eric Clarke in answer to several questions asked during the October 9, 2011, special Dammeron Valley Landowners’ board meeting.
“It was a pleasure to attend your HOA meeting last night. I was really impressed by the community involvement and the tone of the discussion. It is clear that those in attendance are simply seeking to have sufficient information to make an informed decision. I wish you and the community at large the best of luck in gathering information and reaching a decision. I wrote down four questions and have one other thought that I was kicking myself over as I drove home.
First off, I was asked last night what the county’s interest is in having a Dammeron fire SSD. In answering the question I left one thing out—and it was a major omission. The county’s primary concern is public safety. We live in a high risk area when it comes to wildland fires, and it has proven beneficial in the past for fire departments to assist one another. I believe the county is concerned about your current insurance situation impeding your fire department from cooperating in firefighting efforts in Washington County.
The first question is over the number of protests required to prevent the formation of an SSD. After reviewing the code section again, I found the answer in Section 17D-1-102. If protest letters are received from over 1/3 registered voters or the signatures represent owners of 1/3 of the taxable value of the property the SSD would serve, then the SSD cannot be created.
The second question was whether other fire SSDs in the county are funded through taxes or fees. I spoke with Kim Hafen, the County Clerk-Auditor. To his knowledge, most of the fire SSDs collect property tax. However, the Northwest Fire SSD and Dixie Deer SSD collect fees.
The third question is if a Dammeron fire SSD were created, who would own the building and the land. I want to be clear that neither the county nor the SSD could demand that any property rights be given up by your HOA. As you gather information I invite you look into the advantages of keeping ownership of your equipment, building, and property with the HOA versus transferring some or all of these things to your SSD. You may want to consult with your insurance broker and your attorney. But no property will be transferred unless the HOA chooses to do so.
Finally, I was asked about the difference between an improvement district and an SSD (special service district). My understanding is an improvement district is created for a specific project, such as installing public utilities. An SSD is meant to provide long term services such as solid waste disposal, mosquito abatement, and fire protection.
Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to assist you. I know that Commissioner Gardner is interested in attending a future meeting and answering questions. I think it would be useful for you to take him up on the offer if you plan to hold future meetings on this issue. He would have come last night, but had a prior commitment at the Senior Games.
Thanks,
Eric Clarke
Deputy Washington County Attorney
W 435 986-2605
C 435 632-5549
F 435 634-5720”
