Castle Valley Road Manager Greg Halliday stated during the monthly meeting of the Castle Valley Town Council that all of the roads that were damaged during the flood last month have been repaired. He said a larger culvert and a water bar were installed on one of the roads and six loads of material were brought in to fix another. Keogh Lane will be the next road on the list to receive attention. All of the repairs held up well after the valley received a substantial rainstorm two weeks ago, he reported.

Councilman Jim Lindheim reported on the transfer of funds during the treasurer’s report but said the town is in good shape financially. He said the biggest issue for the town, as a result of the economy, is that sales tax receipts are down but the town is still doing fine. On a related subject, the council added a category for the work done by the road manager because some of what he does is not related to the roads. The road committee thought the road budget should not be billed for work that Halliday did on repairing the fence and other jobs not related to the roads. The council came up with a public works budget coding system for other maintenance projects.

On the subject of the proposed Harley Dome injection well, Castle Valley Mayor Damian Bollermann said the Grand County Council did a study on injection wells and how they affect Moab and Spanish Valley’s aquifer. He said that he approached the county to notify them that Castle Valley is closer to Harley Dome and the valley has many wells and springs that could be affected by the injection well. He also stated that the study didn’t consider the Colorado River either.

Councilman Lindheim said it is important that town residents have an interest in these things but thinks the town should stick to the town’s business. He said the mayor should be concerned but his comments should be his and not as a representative of the town. The mayor countered that he thinks it is appropriate to go on record with the town’s concerns and points to other operations where the operators abused the public trust and were not concerned about following the county’s rules regarding environmental policies.

On another subject, Lindheim reported on his meeting with the highest echelons of the State Water Engineer’s office to get their feedback on the town’s proposed water ordinance. “They were totally good with what we are trying to do,” Lindheim said, adding that the state officials liked the fact that the town is organized in handling the water rights. They said they would like to close the basin to further water rights but without a water study, they probably can’t do it. They also questioned the idea of revoking water rights because they don’t want to have to enforce it. Lindheim told them that they wouldn’t make it the state’s problem but would just work through the county.

Councilman Aaron Davies reported on the progress of the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) project currently underway in the valley. Because of the recent flood, the NRCS engineers are reassessing the drainage study and taking a broader look up higher, toward the mountain. The grant for the work still applies because of a 220-day extension on the project but he stressed that there are still time and money restraints on what they can do. Bids for the work still need to be obtained but he said the project could go quickly once it gets going.

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The annual general meeting of the Castle Valley River Ranchos Property Owners Association is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7 beginning at 9 a.m. at the Castle Valley Town Hall. There will be a discussion about the POA’s future and whether or not to dissolve the association.