2023.03.01 PC MTG AGENDA & MINUTES
Town of Leeds
Agenda
Town of Leeds Planning Commission
Wednesday, March 1 , 2023
PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that the Town of Leeds Planning Commission PUBLIC MEETING scheduled for Wednesday, March 1 2023, at 7:00 P.M. This meeting will be held at Leeds Town Hall, 218 N. Main Street, Leeds, UT 84746.
If you are interested in participating remotely via Zoom, please contact Town Hall at 879-2447 or email Clerk@LeedsTown.org for the Zoom details.
Regular Meeting 7:00 pm
- Call to Order/Roll Call
2. Invocation
3. Pledge of Allegiance
4. Declaration of Abstentions or Conflicts
5. Consent Agenda: (These items will be a single motion unless removed at the request of the chairman or board Members)
a. Tonight’s Agenda
b. Meeting Minutes of February 1, 2023
6. Announcements:
a. Dumpster Days, March 10 ,11, & 12 Acceptable item drop off location on Cherry Lane
b. Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day is April 15, 2023. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.,
residents may drop-off household hazardous waste, no charge at Washington Landfill
c. Nominations for Leeds Aesthetic Award presented at Easter Day Festivities
7. Public Hearing: None
8. Action Items: None
9. Discussion Items:
a. Presentation of conceptual plan for a booster pump station facility by Water
Conservancy District consultants Aaron Anderson, and Randy Johnson
b. Discussion regarding establishing a Leeds Beautification Committee
10. Staff Reports
11. Adjournment
The Town of Leeds will make reasonable accommodations for persons needing assistance to participate in this public meeting. Persons requesting assistance are asked to call the Leeds Town Hall at 879-2447 at least24 hours prior to the meeting.
The Town of Leeds is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Certificate of Posting.
The undersigned Clerk/Recorder does hereby certify that the above notice was posted February 27, 2023, at these public places being Leeds Town Hall, Leeds Post Office, the Utah Public Meeting Notice website http://pmmutah.gov and the Town of Leeds website www.leedstown.org.
____________________________________________
Aseneth Steed, Clerk/Recorder
Town of Leeds
Planning Commission Meeting for
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Call to order: 7:00 p.m.
Chairman Swenson called to order the regular meeting of the Planning Commission at 7 PM on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
ROLL CALL:
Present Absent
CHAIRMAN: CHAIRMAN SWENESON __X___ ______
COMMISSIONER: JENNIFER LUFT __X___ ______
COMMISSIONER: MIRANDA NESSEN __X___ ______
COMMISSIONER: GARY ROSENFIELD __X___ ______
COMMISSIONER: ALAN ROBERTS __X___ ______
Alternant Commissioners present: Ken Hadley, Bill McLaughlin
Invocation: Chairman Swenson
Pledge of Allegiance:
Declaration of Abstentions or Conflicts: None
Agenda:
Commissioner Roberts moved to approve the consent agenda of March 1, 2023. Commissioner Rosenfield seconded. Motion passed in a roll call vote.
Yea Nay Abstain Absent
CHAIRMAN: CHAIRMAN SWENSON _X__ ___ ______ ______
COMMISSIONER: JENNIFER LUFT _X__ ___ ______ ______
COMMISSIONER: MIRINDA NESSEN _X__ ___ ______ ______
COMMISSIONER: GARY ROSENFIELD _X__ ___ ______ ______
COMMISSIONER: ALAN ROBERTS _X__ ___ ______ ______
Commissioner Rosenfield moved to accept the Meeting Minutes February 1, 2023, roll call correction. Commissioner Luft seconded. Motion passed in a roll call vote.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
Yea Nay Abstain Absent
CHAIRMAN: CHAIRMAN SWENSON _X__ ___ ______ ______
COMMISSIONER: JENNIFER LUFT _X__ ___ ______ ______
COMMISSIONER: MIRINDA NESSEN _X__ ___ ______ ______
COMMISSIONER: GARY ROSENFIELD _X__ ___ ______ ______
COMMISSIONER: ALAN ROBERTS _X__ ___ ______ ______
Announcements:
- Dumpster Days. March 10,11, & 12. Acceptable items drop off location on Cherry Lane
- Household hazardous drop off location day is April 15, 2023, from 8am to 1:00pm residents may drop-off household hazardous waste no charge at Washington Landfill
- Nomination for Leeds Aesthetic Award at town hall to be presented at Easter Day Festivities
Chairman Swenson announced a new opportunity to recognize individuals who have gone above and beyond to make the town more presentable and beautiful, whether it be through their yard or other efforts. The recognition will be presented during the Easter day festivities and applications are currently being accepted with no closing date. Chairman Swenson encourages everyone to nominate deserving individuals.
Public Hearing: None
Action Item: None
Discussion Items:
- Presentation of conceptual plan for a booster pump facility by Water Conservancy Special Service District consultants Aaron Anderson and Randy Johnson
Chainman Swenson said we have a few discussion items to cover, including a presentation by the Water Conservancy District consultant, Aaron Anderson, who unfortunately couldn’t make it. Instead, we have Todd Olsen here with us. Randy Johnson, the project manager for the Water Conservancy District, is leading the presentation on a project they’ve been planning for some time now.
Johnson said, this is in conjunction with another project going through Leeds. That project involves replacing an old 14-inch line with a larger 24-inch ductile iron pipeline. The replacement project stretches from just north of the fire station to just before Harrisburg. Additionally, they plan to connect a 24-inch line from the Quail Creek treatment plant to the Cottam Wells system, with the idea of building a pump station at the Quail treatment plant to pump water to the Cottam tanks. The second pump station needs to be located in Leeds, which is why they’re presenting a property they plan to purchase for the station’s construction. The project will provide additional flexibility and eventually they will replace the pipe that turns and goes toward the town of Virgin, as well as any future growth in the area. The presentation includes an overview of the project, including the pump stations and lines to be installed, with the final pump station located in Leeds.
Randy Johnson explained We are replacing a project that connects near Harrisburg and involves installing a 24-inch line that will run from the Quail Treatment Plant to the Cottam tanks. We plan to build a pump station at the treatment plant to boost the water, as there is a significant elevation difference between the plant and the tanks. We need a second pump station in Leeds to maintain the required pressure, which is why we are presenting a property that we are looking to purchase for this purpose. The project will provide a redundant source of water to the east side and benefit both existing residents and potential future growth. The pump station has to be located in Leeds due to pressure issues, as currently, there is a pressure reducing valve down on the southern part of the town. We will be putting a holding tank in the same general area to manage the pressures. The proposed location for the pump station is owned by Tom Beach and the Sullivan family and borders the Red Cliffs Road. It is the best location for the functionality of the entire project.
Randy Johnson said they have worked with Tom Beach to ensure that the project will not impact any agriculture and his current operation. The proposed location is a marshy area that has not been watered by the wheel line. Randy Johnson explains the facilities that they will need to operate and build the project, including a pump station, a holding tank, and an underground vault. They plan to access the facility from Red Cliffs Road and extend the existing 48-inch culvert to protect their lines and improve the drainage. The total area that they are proposing to purchase is 1.3 acres. Randy Johnson also discusses the zoning requirements and explains that public utilities can place infrastructure without having to modify the zone. They plan to design the buildings to accommodate the town’s aesthetics and appearance, and they can change the colors and designs of the blocks. False windows will be used for security purposes.
Randy Johnson explains that they have worked with Tom to establish a boundary just south of his wheel line in order to avoid impacting his agriculture. They plan to utilize a marshy corner of the property for their project and have established a right of way for Tom to access the back edge of his property. The proposed project will include a pump station, a holding tank, and an underground vault, which they plan to access off of Red Cliffs Road to avoid disturbing existing drainage. They propose extending the existing culvert to go over their pipelines to protect them and widen the entrance to the road. The proposed purchase is 1.3 acres, but they are concerned about the current zoning, which is one-acre residential, and they ask if decreasing the size to one acre would remove the need for a zone change.
Commissioner Roberts verifies the zone is R-R-1 rural residential and not agricultural, Roberts explained that zoning regulations have certain provisions that permit the use of public utilities without necessitating a change in zoning. Some individuals may assume that proposal constitutes commercial use and requires a separate zoning designation, but this is not the case for public utilities. They have the option to install necessary infrastructure, such as tanks or pump houses, within the existing zoning without requiring modifications and that they are proposing a holding tank with pumps for public utilities infrastructure.
They clarify that the water treatment happens elsewhere and that the design of the building can be adjusted to fit the aesthetic of the town. The commissioner encourages them to keep in mind the appearance of the town and suggests that the block wall may be more intrusive than the building itself. The speaker explains that the wall is necessary to enclose the area where they will install three pumps, which are heavy and require maintenance access. They propose enclosing the entire acre with a block wall but mention the possibility of adding gates for access. The commissioner asks about the vegetation near the property, and the speaker clarifies that they would purchase the property but leave the drainage as is.
Todd Olsen suggests that they should adhere to guidelines or codes for aesthetics if Leeds has and but that as Leeds does not the Mayor encouraged them to bring the proposal to the Planning Commission. They plan to go through the subdivision process but first want to determine if they need to rezone and what aesthetic requirements exist. They aim to complete the project by next winter and propose building a six-foot block wall and a 13-foot-tall building. Commissioner Roberts is concerned about the industrial prison type look and suggests that they can add step patterns and use concrete to match the old historic walls and building around town like the CCC Camp and Tithing house. Although they have standards for the height, they do not have specific requirements for the building’s construction. The Commissioners suggest putting together some ideas to make the building blend in with the look of what Leeds wants to be presented as. Randy and Todd assure the Commission that the proposal will not affect the floodplain, and there will not be much noise. There is a potential noise issue with the venting of the building. He says they have not received complaints from locals near the other facilities about noise.
Chairman Swenson asked if there’s a broken water line and someone is concerned about the possibility of flooding and is wondering how long it would take for someone to come and shut off the water.
Johnson answers, the estimated time for staff to arrive on site is about 15 minutes, but the duration of the actual shut off will depend on the location of the break and how much water needs to drain out to release pressure. The current ductile iron pipe being used is rated for almost double the pressure that will be running through it, providing a safety factor. The elevation drop would reduce the pressure to about 200 pounds, but if it wasn’t reduced, it would be around 420 pounds by the time it reached Harrisburg. The owners of the property have been informed of the situation and have no objections.
Susan Savage inquires if the pipe line would convey water in either direction and Johnson replied, Correct. He told her the new tank was a three million gallon tank.
Susan Savage asks, so you fill that tank then where would it bring water from? To the Cottam Wells? From where?
Johnson said Yes, it’s kind of a function of the timing, and how much of our Cottam Well water we use. One of our limitations with the Cottam Wells system is it has limited water rights associated with the wells, there’s a ton of water underneath the ground, but we can only pull out about 580-acre feet per water. The limitation isn’t the amount of water that’s there. It is the limitations how much we can actually pull out. We’ve now reached the full capacity of that well every year, we actually have to strategically pump that not to exceed our water rights. By adding another source, and being able to pump water from our treatment plant up to that tank, whether it’s during the winter or the summer, that frees up more water that we could pump out of the Cottam Wells. Once the water is in those tanks, whether it comes from Quill or Cottam Wells it can go to any of the cities on this eastern side of the county.
Susan Savage asked, what do you mean frees up more water to be pumped? Randy Johnson said instead of using the entirety of our water rights at the Cottam Well, they would use Quill water and it adds to the supply. Maybe free up is not the right term, maybe a better word is that once we exceed what we have available at the Cottam Well system that we would just be adding different water or more water from Quail into those tanks. Susan said if you are not putting the water in two pipes, one to take it way and bring it where is this switch? When does this switch happen? Johnson replied when they kick on the pumps. We do not pump it down. Its gravity flow down. We start the pumps to move it up the other way. The Cottam wells are right next to the tank, currently. Those wells fill the tank, and then gravity feeds down this line. past Leeds down to Harrisburg and the Hurricane takes it for their industrial park. The line stays full. The waters flowing gravity from the Cottam Wells, we decided we want to pump and now use Quill water instead of Cottom. We turn on the pumps, the water goes back the other direction.
Susan asked about back pressure and at what point they decide to send water the other direction. Randy Johnson said it was a function on demand. How much water the cities over in this area are using, and kind of an operational strategy on our part as to whether we want to use Cottam water or Quail water to fill those tanks.
Kohl Furley asked, Will any fire hydrants be removed from this line and will it affect the pressure? Johnson replied, “Do we have a fire hydrant off our line near the fire station that is purple and wrapped in plastic? I am not sure if it was put there for construction purposes. However, the intention is not to provide fire suppression from this line. It would be helpful if we could label these hydrants to prevent confusion with the fire department. We do not want to risk a situation where 230 psi water pressure is being used. The location where this hydrant is located would not have this issue, but it is not ideal for it to be installed here. We are also concerned about the impact on the water levels at Quail Creek. However, Johnson believes that the amount of water we are bringing this way will have minimal impact. Moreover, Hurricane is already taking water in this direction for use in the industrial park, so the answer is no. A significant amount of water used in the industrial park will be sourced from Quail. Even if we do not pump water, it will still flow from Cottam in this direction. Quail and Sand Hollow reservoirs are filled with water from the Virgin River, which we control. It is our responsibility to manage and regulate the amount of water we put into these reservoirs. We strive to create multiple sources of water for our customers to ensure that we can supply water even in difficult scenarios. This project has significant benefits, particularly on this side where our water rights are already maxed out. As our population grows, additional water is needed in this area. This project is crucial in meeting that need, especially during drought scenarios when the availability of water is limited.
Chairman Swenson requested an update on the proposed reservoir in this area. Johnson replied that the project is still ongoing, and you may have seen us constructing the pipelines recently. The dam has been designed and has undergone third-party reviews. Before the dam safety review, we usually have multiple professionals examine and provide feedback on the project. We have completed that process, and we are currently collecting their comments to present the plan to the Division of Dam Safety for approval. We anticipate starting construction by fall.
Chairman Swenson said the water to fill those reservoirs is coming from where? Johnson answered, That project is called the Ash Creek project and we’re running a pipeline from Ash Creek Reservoir at the top of Black Ridge, which is that dry reservoir that fills up with runoff and then drains out along I-15. We’ll be capturing three different tributaries that come off Pine Valley: Leeds Creek, South Ash, and Wet Sandy. Over this last summer and fall, we completed the Pintura project which we captured Leeds Creek, South Ash with diversions, and built a regulating pond and brought the pipes and things down into Pintura for a pressurized irrigation system and also tied into a section of the mainline that we installed. Currently with Bowen Collins, we’re installing the lower half of the main pipeline, which is what you see there in Anderson Junction and Wet Sandy we just connected last week. All three tributaries are now connected into the main line. And we just have to finish the main line that goes from the Toka reservoir that we will build up to Ash Creek Reservoir, so we’ll be able to capture all that runoff. Those are underway and will be completed in probably 14 to 15 months from now. We’ll have the pipelines in place, but the reservoir won’t be complete until probably 2025.
Chairman Swenson said, the three reservoirs then will be interlinked with this system? How many without acre feet, compared to the size of Quail or Sand Hollow?
Johnson said it was much smaller, half the size of the Kolob, just to give perspective.
Chairman Swenson said, with all these improvements, everybody always worries about cost. Where’s the funds coming from? Is there raises in water rent rates? Is it taxed? Johnson answered, This project, and I mean, we did talk about the Ash Creek project as well, those are funds that the district has which have been gathered from impact fees, property tax and rates, they won’t require additional raises to accommodate these projects, in particular, they’re part of the district’s master plan that we’ve put together and have been gathering those funds for. No specific or additional increase to accommodate these particular projects. We do have like some larger, more county wide projects that are in the planning stages. If those are pre-approved, there would be some impacts at that point, but they’re kind of still in the works and are in the planning stage to where we wouldn’t see anything like that coming out for years.
Chairman Swenson asked, How long have you been limited on what you draw from those wells up there? What is the impact on our local water system from those Wells and the reservoir project?
Johnson said the wells supply itself hasn’t diminished, just the amount of water we’re using of our water rights because of more people. The same amount of water from what we’ve seen and our pumping rates and how quickly the wells recover when we turn them off is still the same so we don’t believe the amount of water that’s available is any less. It’s just the amount of water we supply from those wells have reached the extent of our water rights.
Chairman Swenson asked, you don’t foresee any impact financially or impact on the local supply a water? Johnson repeated No, none.
Chairman Swenson voice appreciation to Johnson and Olson for the information and their time. They exited the meeting.
Discussion regarding establishing a Beautification and Leeds Outreach Committee, acronym BLOOM.
Chairman Swenson said Kohl is representing that committee, he’s been asked to chair it as representative from the town council, and from the mayor, I’m sure you didn’t have a lot of say, but we appreciate you doing it and it is a good fit.
Councilman Furley mentioned that Aseneth asked for help and he thinks it’s a good cause. However, he’s busy this summer, so he’s delegating tasks to make sure it gets off to a good start. The aim is to organize many individuals who are willing to contribute their available time and effort but may have limited availability. The goal is to engage the town of Leeds and people who may feel intimidated or excluded. Bloom is committed to creating opportunities for people to get involved and make a difference, and they believe that everyone can play a valuable role in creating a beautiful, vibrant community. They welcome all members of the community to join them in this effort. Bloom is currently looking for various positions, and job descriptions will be posted for people to submit their letter of interest. They are also accepting nominations for acts of service or landscape and style to recognize individuals who go above and beyond the community. The nominations will go before a committee to decide on rewards or recognition.
Other Members of the Commission expressed enthusiasm and support for the Committee.
Susan Savage asked for some time to update the Commission on some matters she felt were important. She said, Having had the meeting talking about sewer, and all the big developments that people want as well. The Toka Reservoir that’s going to be filled from Ash Creek and Leeds Creek and Wet Sandy and so on. What we don’t know is where the water has been coming from to fill our aquifer. So that the dry reservoir at the top of the Black Ridge that dam was built when the freeway came in in 1960. There is no data previous to that there weren’t Cottam Wells or the wells around here at the time so we don’t have a baseline to compare what’s happening now or might happen with what was happening then we don’t know what the aquifer was. But the removal of the water from that reservoir which at times, gets a lot of water in it, and then before long it disappears. So, it wouldn’t hold water because that water seeps out into the volcanic rock. And so now when they remove it from up there, we don’t know. And the removal of these other streams, we don’t know how that’s going to affect our aquifer. The application during the from the district to remove that water and pipe it down to the Toka Reservoir has not been approved by the state engineer. It’s still under protest. Cost. I just think we’re fortunate that, that in our area, we have people with some expertise of researching things. So, there’s some interesting research being done on a number of things right now just by citizens interested in finding out but I talked with a water manager in Veyo and I didn’t know if they always incorporated, they’re not. And so I said, do you get water from the Conservancy District? And he said no, they have a private system. But you pay taxes into the Conservancy District, right. So when we talk about cost, past cost, future costs, the Conservancy District was organized in 1962. And since then, whether or not you use their system, you’ve been paying taxes into it. So our taxes here have helped build a lot of stuff for other people. The person from Veyo the people from I just think it’s so important for the town, to work together with the Water Board to manage these things and to be educated about what’s going on and to work together for our water situation here. So the man from Veyo said to me, Well, let me say that in the water in the LDWA meetings they’ve said, they approached the Conservancy District about helping us with this new project helping us financially with the new project that the water company is trying to do. And the district has said that they don’t want to get into helping private companies. I’m saying, we’re not asking for a handout. We’re asking for a return on our investment. And so, the water manager from Veyo, they have accomplished that. And so that’s a project that some of us would like to maybe work on is to find out how much our area has paid in taxes that have built reservoirs and treatment plants and pipelines and all sorts of things for the rest of the county. That’s what they did in Veyo, they found out he researched what their community had paid in taxes. And then he said, “I just went to all of their meetings for a year. I just kept going. And they did get many from the district to help with that. When you were asking about cost, what did you mean about cost in the future. But we are paying for all of that. We are helping everybody else. Some of us are saying maybe it’s time for the rest of the county. You know, at work, we help everybody else plus we pay for our own. There should be a return on it. And it has been done successfully by somebody else.
I want to say that there are all sorts of studies about how the Cottam Wills are affecting our area. And my dad was involved with water with LDWA in the seventies. And I just ran onto one of the documents in his papers. That was from the state engineer that said people in this area need to understand that the water supply will not be constant. They need to work out some kind of an average of what actually is available so that we don’t over subscribe. We don’t promise water in good years, and then not have it. And so at that time, then there one of these studies says that I was just reading today from the State Water engineers that during the 70s There was a period of years from the 70s into the 80s when the aquifer actually rose 17 feet. Right now we know we’re in a drought, but right now we’ve lost springs. Hidden Valley has lost water, I keep a close check on our water. We have the right to use our well from, we don’t have a right to use it during the winter. It’s from March to the end of November, the first of March the end of November. So I keep measuring it in the winter to see how fast it’s recovering. So it’s recovered about it started out recovering a foot and a half at the end of November. And then it went down to a foot. And this week when I measured it, the increase decreased. Last week, it had risen that half a foot. And this week, it had dropped half a foot. So now it’s going down, it’s still recovering. When we go to the hearings, the district always says we have studies that show that our aquifers are not connected. But their own experts, then the studies that they refer to that are on their website, say, I respect people I’m not I’m not trying to talk badly about individuals, I have friends in the Conservancy District that I have a lot of respect for, but the system is what I’m talking about. So, they’re saying that the Cottam wells are stable. They are sure that they’re not affecting us. That’s what always is said in the hearings. They always say that. They say there’s a lot of water down there in the aquifer, but they just don’t have the rights to all of it. Okay, they’ve just recently added rights from homespun, you know, the people at homespun, have trouble with their well so the district has taken out. Periodically, they add rights to that. And so, you know, when they say there’s plenty of water down there well, there are studies on their website say there could be water coming from a lot of different directions. They used to say they don’t cross fault lines, now their studies say, Well, maybe they’re coming from over there. Maybe the bottom line is that nobody knows, right? So their own study, the end says the only way you really know is to monitor it. So when we go to the hearings, they often say we have studies and we know that we’re not affecting Leeds, but we know that they haven’t monitored them because we have the keys to the gates. The same thing and Hidden Valley, they’re saying the same thing. They say, Hidden Valley says we’re concerned that the pumping out here is lowering our springs and our wells, The district says no, because you’re not connected. Or studies show that you’re not connected. That the studies themselves say it’s all speculative. We’re saying this may be happening. And the only way you can tell is if you monitor. So, monitoring means you have to watch what you’re pumping this compared with what what’s happening with other people’s springs and wells. We see ours going down. So, we question that. We question what they’re saying. The Forest Service Hydrologist attended a meeting where he presented. He just scoffed at the idea that you can look at geology from the top of the ground and really get a good indication of where the water’s going underground. Because he cited several instances where they had put tracer coloring in the water and waited way retiming to see how long it took to come out the other end. And it never did come out there. It came out in a totally different place. He said one time that they waited maybe for several years. And finally someone from a town off somewhere called and so why is our water green? So, we just don’t know. Our area here is a particularly jumbled area geologically. The Division of Water Rights website is really powerful. You can get a lot of information from there. You can see that there are fault lines up here that is just like cat stretches. They’re all over. The water engineer has said to me, they’ve been really patient because I’ve asked him a lot of questions that said your areas really difficult to figure out.
Okay, I have just mentioned one more thing and that is Mr. Loo, this is just an example, from the people who want to annex, we’ve talked about annexing up your map. I emailed him with a bunch of questions, he was very nice to answer my questions. And part of what comes up there is that, that they’re thinking that they might do a land trade with the Paiute Indians and bring water rights from over there into this area. I talked to the water engineer and Cedar, and said, What’s the likelihood of someone being able to move water rights from the Ivins area into Leeds? They said anyone can file an application. We used to let people transfer them from the Ivins area into South St. George. And we’ve stopped doing that because we found out there was a barrier there. It wasn’t equalized, couldn’t transfer. They said, we’re losing water in Sand Hollow. We’ve transferred too many rights into that area. So, we’re not transferring anymore into that area. So, they’re these different things going around. I happened into a meeting with someone who had been the mayor of Ivins, he said, what’s going on with the sports complex out here, and I just kind of said to him, Oh, this is what the talk is, you know, that maybe they’ll be able to move water rights? And he said, No, he said, The pirates, I proposed putting those big soccer fields over there. And he said, there, they’re putting in the pipelines right now. That’s what they’re using that water for. I know you know this that you people come to a meeting and they propose ideas and they may say things, but that we are trying to decide, to you who are on these boards who are listening and making decisions, we are trying to keep up with things and with what’s going on with the news on water and these different kinds of things. As I was asking the question about this line, the water was going two ways in the new line. I know they don’t have to pump downhill, of course, but there are things to learn. Some of you would know this about back pressure, something that can happen in lines, so the lines vibrate, and those and contaminants can come in to those lines. Where Silver pointe development wants to go in that’s those big tailings area. You know, we’re for over 100 years, the Silver mines have dumped tailings. What we don’t know what they’re trying to find out, is the state came in and did something. But it looks like what they did was stabilize it but not clean it up. So, stabilizing would be covering it. But then, then you start thinking, okay, when you start trenching and bringing water lines to that area, and maybe something happens with some vibration that pulls contaminants that could enter the lines or something in someone’s house. So, there’s just a lot to think about. There’s lots of stuff in there to be disturbed once people start digging and putting in lines. Mike from Ash Creek said, you know, once you have a sewer line going through town, then people can say, well, you don’t really have a reason not to let us do high density now because you have a sewer line. Let’s say that we have high density, all this building goes in that we have to remember that water has to come from somewhere. And as more water is pumped from the Cottam Wells, what we’re seeing is what we feel like we’re seeing and having a pretty good indication of is that it does affect us and if the town and the water company can work together as agricultural lands develop, and if we could do something with negotiations working together to not send all of that agricultural water down to Quail, like because when it goes to Quail, like, where’s it going? It’s going up to the big tank, and then it’s going on. Right? It’s going over there to these communities. So, it’s a double impact on us if that makes sense.
Chairman Swenson voiced appreciation for her life experience working with the water in Leeds.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:43pm.
APPROVED ON THIS FIFTH DAY OF APRIL 2023
____________________________
Danny Swenson, Chairman
ATTEST:
___________________________
Aseneth Steed, Town Clerk/Recorder
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