The city of Burns will have a number of new faces serving the city and on the city council in the near future.

At the council meeting on Wednesday, June 10, Mayor Jerry Woodfin announced that the city made an informal job offer to Scott Finlayson of Herriman City, Utah, to fill the city manager position.

Finlayson has served Herriman City since 2015. His position is currently police officer, primarily performing management functions and interagency affairs. He has also served the city as assistant to the city manager for almost three years, assisting with the start-up when the city formed its own police department, as well as other projects, including developing an economic development strategy. He also served the Unified Police Department/Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office as a police officer/detective for 16 years. Finlayson has a master of public administration degree from Brigham Young University and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Utah Valley University.

Woodfin said the city would be entering into the final stage of negotiations with Finlayson for the position.

Woodfin added that Dauna Wensenk, who announced her retirement last year and has been filling in as interim city manager, will be officially retired from the city on July 1.

Councilor Charity Robey submitted her resignation to the council, saying she was moving out of the city limits and was no longer eligible to serve on the council. Because Robey was also council president, the council elected Councilor Judy Erwin to serve in that position.

Councilor Lynda Fine announced at a previous meeting that she would not be running for reelection

Public Works Director Pedro Zabala informed the council that he will retire Aug. 1.

•••

The council held a public hearing at 6:45 p.m. to discuss the condition of the Burns Town Apartments.

Burns Fire Chief Scott Williamson reported that he and the deputy state fire marshal conducted an inspection of the premises, and the building was deemed an unsafe building. A letter was sent to responsible parties on May 8 with details of the inspection and a list of corrections that needed to be made within 30 days. Williamson noted that June 7 was the deadline to have all corrections made.

Williamson contacted the landlord of the building, Ken Zitek, who said the roof was sealed, they are replacing sheet rock, and working on soft spots in the flooring. An electrician was expected to begin work the week of June 15.

Zitek told the council a lot of the required repairs were completed, and the electrician was to install a new electrical panel and fix the wiring throughout the building. He said the upstairs was cleaned up, plywood was laid down on the floor soft spots, sheetrock was replaced and/or patched, and smoke detectors were installed in every room. He added that they also cleaned up outside the building, and would “have the other stuff done in a timely manner.”

Woodfin stated that the Burns Town Apartments have been a topic of discussion for the council for a number of years, and the city has received multiple complaints from emergency services as to the dangers of taking people in and out of the building.

“The outside is always a concern of the public,” Woodfin said. “There’s camp trailers and firewood, and things being stacked up on the building. There’s garbage being strewn down the side of the building. It is literally a topic almost every single meeting we have.”

Woodfin stated a timeline was put in place to have the necessary repairs completed, and it’s a shame the repairs weren’t done prior to an inspection. He noted that people are paying to live there, and they are living in a dangerous situation. He thanked Zitek for tending to the issues, but the timeline had not been met, and he recommended the city move forward with the abatement process.

Zitek asked for another inspection to be done in a few weeks, as the work should be done by then.

“It’s a lot different now than where it was 30 days ago,” Zitek said.

Following a discussion about the living conditions of the building, the council voted unanimously to move forward with the abatement process.

•••

The council discussed the number of camp trailers and/or recreational vehicles (RVs) being used as a residence.

Williamson told the council that RVs are not designed as a long-term residential solution. He said he had concerns about allowing people to stay in RVs and campers for an extended amount of time, such as 180 days, and recommended the ordinance be looked at again to protect both the city and the public.

After doing research on other cities’ ordinances, Williamson presented the council with an ordinance from Crestview, Fla., to review. The council agreed the ordinance could be used as a template for Burns, and will work toward that end.

•••

In other business:

• Williamson reported that his department has received 51 calls so far this year, with 30 of them being inside city limits. Last year at this time, the department received 38 calls.

He also reported that the fire department received three grants to be used for communication equipment, including a new repeater and Hazmat equipment;

• Burns Police Chief Newt SkunkCap told the council that both traffic and calls are increasing with the warmer weather.

SkunkCap said that, about a year ago, a police car became inoperable when the engine seized up. On June 10, law-enforcement agencies from around the county used the vehicle to conduct an eight-hour training;

• the council voted to deny a request to extend a hardship permit for 426 Riverside Drive;

• Mark Ruggles was present to request a street vacation, and the council advised him to proceed with the paperwork involved.

The next council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, at city hall.