{"id":133,"date":"2011-12-24T18:07:52","date_gmt":"2011-12-25T01:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gashler.com\/nlc\/?p=133"},"modified":"2014-08-14T12:09:48","modified_gmt":"2014-08-14T19:09:48","slug":"vital-voie-onwafer-prcieacf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gashler.com\/nlc\/?p=133","title":{"rendered":"Your Ballot Needed – Vital Vote On Water Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Click<\/a>(EDITORIAL)<\/p>\n

Taxpaying voters of Utah County – and in six other counties – have an opportunity and obligation to go to\u00a0the polls Tuesday, Dec. 14 in what could be the most significant special election\u00a0in the\u00a0history\u00a0of\u00a0this state.<\/p>\n

They will be called upon at that time to authorize the\u00a0seven-county Central Utah Water Conservancy District to sign a contract with the federal government\u00a0for repaying of its share of construction costs for the $324,000,000\u00a0Bonneville Unit of\u00a0the Central Utah Project.<\/p>\n

Other\u00a0counties involved are Salt Lake, Wasatch, Duchesne, Uintah and parts of Juab and Summit. For owners of real\u00a0and personal property, the project will mean a small added tax obligation, estimated at a half-mill\u00a0levy.<\/p>\n

‘Yes’ Vote Urged<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the Herald sees it, the only farsighted\u00a0course in this election\u00a0is to vote “yes.” The very future of Utah\u00a0Valley and other areas affected is wrapped up in the Central Utah Project. Its fruitation can mean agricultural and industrial expansion, recreational development, flood control and fish and, wildlife advantages, population growth,\u00a0needed jobs and payrolls,\u00a0and a higher degree of economic security.<\/p>\n

From the\u00a0standpoint of\u00a0agriculture alone, it is estimated that increased production in the areas served by CUP irrigation water will equal the present farm output in Utah County, the\u00a0state’s No. 1 farm county. By comparison,\u00a0this project will dwarf the Provo River (Deer Creek) Project which has meant so much to this valley.<\/p>\n

The repayment contract has been approved by both the Conservancy District and the Federal Government. But approval of the taxpaying voters in the seven counties is required. Without the contract,\u00a0construction cannot proceed.<\/p>\n

Authorized\u00a0By Congress<\/strong><\/p>\n

Farsighted\u00a0men have dreamed and planned and worked\u00a0for over 20 years to make the\u00a0Central Utah Project a reality; so that our region can put its allocation of\u00a0Colorado River water in use. Congress authorized the\u00a0project in 1956 following\u00a0appeals by this state through its congressional\u00a0representatives. Fund allocations for planning and engineering have followed,\u00a0and in 1965 the first $3.5 million for actual construction\u00a0was authorized.<\/p>\n

Now, for the people\u00a0themselves, to somehow fail in catch the vision of the program\u00a0and say ”no” at the polls would\u00a0be the equivalent of\u00a0telling\u00a0the government, “No,\u00a0we don’t\u00a0want the Central Utah Project after\u00a0all. Let California or\u00a0Arizona have our share of the Colorado River water. We are not interested in growth and jobs and prosperity.”<\/p>\n

This attitude\u00a0would be a calamity. It is unthinkable that the people, offered so much at such a reasonable obligation, would reject the proposition. Early indications are just the reverse, with several groups and organizations already having appealed for a resounding affirmative vote. These have included the Utah Water and Power Board, Utah County Commission, Utah AFL-CIO Labor Organization, Salt Lake City Commission, and others.<\/p>\n

Vital to Utah Valley<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bonneville Unit is the largest of four authorized units of the CUP – the one which directly affects Utah Valley. It includes a series of dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, canals and other structures to facilitate trans-basin diversion of water from the headwaters of the Duchesne River to the Bonneville Basin (this includes our area) for irrigation, power production, and municipal and industrial users.<\/p>\n

The Vernal Unit, already completed following a landslide “yes” vote of the people in the Uintah Basin, and the Jensen and Upalco Units also are important. But the Bonneville Unit is the big one, especially for our area.<\/p>\n

Cost-wise, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District is responsible for repayment of $130,673,000 of the total estimated construction cost of $324,000,000 for the Bonneville Unit. Of this, about $85,000,000 must be paid through ad valorem tax over a period ranging from 46 to 67 years from the time water and power from the project become available. By law, property tax levels cannot exceed one mill. Conservancy district officials believe the actual need will be about one-half mill.<\/p>\n

Construction Next Spring<\/strong><\/p>\n

Engineering has been advanced to the point that, with voter authorization, construction of first features could be under way in early spring of 1966. The first irrigation water would be delivered in the Duchesne segment in about four years and in the Bonneville Basin in about eight years. Municipal and industrial water delivery in the Bonneville Basin also would be in about eight years, with full delivery expected in 16 years and the project in full operation in the early 1980s. All this is simply for the CUP’s “initial phase.” Some day plans will be approved for the far-reaching “ultimate phase.” But that is another story.<\/p>\n

So that you can become fully informed concerning the Bonneville Unit, its various phases, repayment contract, costs, the Herald will begin Monday a series of articles. There will also be statements by key Utah leaders for your further enlightenment and understanding. We invite you to read these.<\/p>\n

Polling Stations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, if you did not clip the legal notice by the Central Utah Water Conservancy District on Page 10 of Friday’s Herald, please do so. This will give you details of the election proposition as well as voting information and polling stations in your community.<\/p>\n

To be informed on the Central Utah Project and its Bonneville Unit is to be convinced. Read and study in the next 15 days. Then on Dec. 14, go to the polls and vote for a better future for yourself and your children by placing a cross in the square marked “Yes.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(EDITORIAL) Taxpaying voters of Utah County – and in six other counties – have an opportunity and obligation to go to\u00a0the polls Tuesday, Dec. 14 in what could be the most significant special election\u00a0in the\u00a0history\u00a0of\u00a0this state. They will be called upon at that time to authorize the\u00a0seven-county Central Utah Water Conservancy District to sign a… Continue reading Your Ballot Needed – Vital Vote On Water Project<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32,24,46,9,52],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gashler.com\/nlc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gashler.com\/nlc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gashler.com\/nlc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gashler.com\/nlc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gashler.com\/nlc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gashler.com\/nlc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gashler.com\/nlc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gashler.com\/nlc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gashler.com\/nlc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}