Moroni City and UDOT agree to safety measures on Ducksprings Road curve
MORONI—Moroni City and the Utah Department of Transportation have agreed on safety measures for the sharp curve from Ducksprings Road onto Main Street near the city-owned Moroni Opera House.
“We’ve been three or four years trying to work with the state on something that would keep the Opera House safe,” Councilman Craig Draper, the council liaison for roads, said in an interview following the Sept. 17 council meeting. “It’s amazing how many close calls we’ve had.”
About a year ago, a vehicle rounding the curve tipped onto its side on the Opera House grounds but didn’t hit the building. As a temporary measure, the city put large boulders between the road and the building.
Because S.R. 132 is a state highway, the safety improvements are UDOT’s responsibility. Kevin Kitchen, a public information officer for UDOT, said the agency will soon begin installing 25 decorative, crash-tested bollards.
The 6-inch-diameter bollards (posts) will be secured in concrete and stand approximately 3.5 feet above ground. There will be a bollard every 5 feet for 125 feet around the corner.
At the same time, the city will crack seal and chip seal the parking lot east of the Opera House, which has suffered some water damage. The city will also install curb and gutter to help keep water off the parking lot, Draper said.
The council approved the parking-lot improvements unanimously.
Water tank
In other discussion, the council talked about whether to sell or lease a 60-year-old, 180,000-gallon abandoned water tank on a hill north of the city.
The tank stopped being used at least three years ago after a new, 600,000-gallon tank was installed as part of a $6 million water-system expansion. A third tank, installed in the 1980s with a capacity of 500,000 gallons, remains available as a backup to the new tank.
Councilman Thayne Atkinson said the buyer or lessee would probably be a business or farm that would use it for water storage. The buyer or lessee would have to install a pipeline from the tank to the property.
The council considered what would happen to the land under and around the tank. Mayor Troy Prestwich said it might be better to lease rather than sell so the land would remain in city ownership.
“We need an arrangement where we keep the property,” Councilman Kevin Taylor said.
Historic building
Meanwhile, the council discussed putting another item of city property up for sale. The focus was a historic building at 40 S. 200 West between city hall and the fire station. It has been boarded up for many years.
Prestwich said the building should remain intact “even if the city doesn’t own it anymore.” He said if the city couldn’t sell it at a price the council believed was justified, “maybe we should donate it.”
“It needs a lot of attention, needs a lot of money put into it,” Draper said.
The council voted to table the sale of both items pending development of sale parameters and terms.
On another matter, Draper said he had met with UDOT the previous week about upgrading crossings leading to Moroni Elementary and North Sanpete Middle schools.
Draper said he had discussed the state eventually installing overhead school crossing signs like those recently installed in Ephraim, Manti and Gunnison.