EPHRAIM—The Ephraim City Council voted unanimously to impose a curfew in city parks at its meeting last Wednesday, Aug. 3.
Effective immediately, a curfew will be in effect from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. for all parks. The action follows numerous complaints from neighboring residents of unruly activities running late into the early morning hours.
Joe Schoppe, an Ephraim resident who lives next door to the Canyon View Park at 625 S. 100 East, expressed concerns about neighborhood safety at the meeting.
“I’ve called the police 40 times in the last two years, complaining of noise after midnight at the park,” Schoppe said. “I have feared for my safety.”
Ephraim Police Chief Aaron Broomhead confirmed there was a problem.
The curfew applies to both minors and adults. Police will patrol all parks, and violators will be charged with trespassing. Signage will be put up notifying citizens of the new ordinance.
In other discussion, Shay and Tiffany Krebs, owners of The Happy Camper vintage thrift and consignment store, together with mural artist Julie Hutchins Ash, asked the council for a donation to paint a “Welcome to Ephraim” mural on the north side of their building at 35 S. Main, next door to city hall.
Ash recently completed what is being called the “Kindness Mural” at the Ephraim Family Park.
“We just want to welcome people to Ephraim with a cheerful mural,” Shay Krebs said.
The mural will cost about $2,000, and after examining the budget, the council voted to donate $1,000. “This is a great idea,” Mayor John Scott said. Scott asked Krebs for the city to be allowed have input on the mural, and Krebs agreed. The Krebs will continue to seek other donations to help finish the project.
Turning to zoning and development issues, the city approved two conditional use permits, one for Jordan Rittmeyer, and the other for Steve and Peggy McCosh, to make changes to their homes.
Rittmeyer asked to upgrade his home to a duplex at 410 S. 300 East. The home is in the correct zoning, R2, and there are duplexes right next door. He has been renting the basement and wants to be able to rent the upstairs also. The council granted the application with two conditions—that Rittmeyer to fence the property and that he trim some trees that limit visibility at an adjacent inter- section.
Steve and Peggy McCosh asked to add an accessory building to their home at 370 E. 750 South as a home for Peggy’s sister to live in. The council approved the a conditional use permit for the accessory dwell- ing.
Following up on the last council meeting, the council also finalized approval for boundary line adjustments in the eastern part of the city where city land is sandwiched between two property owners. The adjustments are the result of discussions and surveys over several months to resolve long-standing discrepancies in surveys.
All parties gave a little and lost a little. The final result was that property owners ended up with the same amount of property as before the adjustments.
“These surveys go back to when the pioneers surveyed the town,” said Bryan Kimball, community development director. “A property of description of ‘following the stream’ doesn’t work when the stream has been gone for decades.”
The city and property owners can now move on assurance that fence boundary lines are correct and equitable for everyone.
Mayor John Scott reported the city is continuing to work with the state on getting updated testing done at the city’s sewer lagoons. Two contradictory tests reported a couple of weeks ago are halting the expansion of a meat processing business in the city.
Scott also reported that the city had just hired Sean Lewis, formerly from Ogden, to replace Devon Fowles, former city planner, who left the in April. Lewis will arrive next Monday.
“This will take some of the double load off that Bryan Kimball has been handling since April,” Scott said.
