Movement is underway on the formation of a Special Service District in Uintah County that consolidates three of the Special Service Districts into one. On September 14th, 2020, the Uintah County Commission met to consider making changes to the Special Service Districts to address the significant decline in mineral lease funds. The Commission passed a motion to create one new Special Service District to be over Recreation, Transportation, and Impact Mitigation. The decision took place during a meeting held at the Uintah Conference Center where a variety of possible changes to the districts were discussed and in some cases, were hotly debated. Now, nearly a year later, the final Certification of Creation for the new Special Service District is expected anytime from the state and the Commission has begun to make appointments to the new District’s board. Officially named Special Service District #1, the District will have a 9 person board made up of 1 representative each from Naples City, Vernal City, Ballard City, and the Uintah County Commission and 5 board members appointed by the Commission. While the cities and county have yet to announce who will serve on the Special Service District #1 Board, the Uintah County Commission interviewed 12 out of a large pool of applicants and officially appointed Danny Mortensen, Jamie Smuin, and Dan Dilsaver as permanent board members and Wayne Simper and Jo Gardner as alternates. Uintah County Commissioner Bart Haslem says these individuals were selected because they form a diverse and well rounded group. Haslem also explains that once the board is fully formed and the paperwork from the state has been received, the board will adopt bylaws, create a budget, and then start the process of hiring a Director. Haslem explains that consolidating to one district will save money due to lower operating costs including having 1 Director versus 3.
