Wales plans security cameras, volunteer library, a third town well

WALES—Plans to install security cameras at the town park, open a volunteer-operated library and explore a third municipal well were among the key topics discussed during the July 7 Wales Town Council meeting.

Deputy Town Clerk Doug McMullin said the projects are intended to protect town property, expand library access for residents and prepare the community’s water system for future needs.

The council recently approved the purchase of three outdoor security cameras following several incidents of vandalism at the town park.

“We’ve had a couple of minor issues,” McMullin said, citing damage to a basketball backboard and one of the town’s trucks.

The motion-activated cameras will be mounted on the town hall and the former fire hall, providing coverage of the park, pavilion and surrounding municipal property. Video will be recorded to a secure hard drive for review if an incident occurs, but the system will not be monitored live or accessible to the public.

Equipment has been ordered, and installation will take place after it arrives. The project is expected to cost about $3,000.

The council is also moving forward with plans to open a public library in a renovated portion of the former fire hall.

McMullin said resident Mikyn Galpin and her family have led the effort to prepare the space, which will operate entirely through volunteers at no cost to the town.

“The library is totally volunteer,” McMullin said.

Galpin said the new library will help restore local access to books following the loss of the county’s bookmobile service.

“Since we don’t have the bookmobile anymore in our county, we’d be able to get books to the town at convenience,” she said. “We can walk there and get books there and just kind of replace the bookmobile.”

She said the library also represents a milestone for the community.

“I just think it’s exciting to be able to have a library close in our town,” Galpin said. “It’s never happened before, so this is the first time that we would be able to have a library here in Wales.”

Books will be donated by other libraries throughout Sanpete County, and the facility will become part of the county’s interconnected library system through the Fairview Library. Patrons will need a Fairview library card to check out materials. The Fairview Library is located at 75 S. State St.

Town officials are seeking public input before establishing permanent hours. The library is expected to be open in mid-to-late August from 4 to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

“If folks want to donate or volunteer or get involved, they can reach out to me on the library’s Facebook page,” she said. “They can also stop by the library and donate books if they like. That would probably be the easiest.”

The council also discussed the possibility of developing a third municipal well to meet future water demands.

McMullin said the proposal is part of the town’s long-term water planning and is intended to provide capacity for homes built on existing vacant lots within town limits rather than support expansion beyond the current boundaries.

“We’re just planning for the future,” he said.

The town also has experienced declining production from one of its springs, increasing the need to strengthen its water system.

McMullin said a recently completed booster project, funded through a state grant of more than $600,000, has increased the efficiency of the town’s two existing wells by reducing the workload on the pumps and moving water more effectively to the storage tanks.

If the project moves forward, the third well would likely be located west of town.

Wales currently has about 140 water connections, according to McMullin.

                As drought conditions continue across the region, the town also has encouraged residents to conserve water. McMullin said he has personally reduced lawn watering from three days a week to two, although the town has not collected information on how widely conservation efforts have been adopted by residents.