The contract to construct the extended roadway was awarded to Asphalt Construction & Excavating Co., which has done work for the county previously. Ashley Thoman of the Weber County Engineering Office said during the meeting that the county received nine bids for the project.

The project, which will provide greater access to the Powder Mountain area, is being partially funded through a local transportation grant from the Weber Area Council of Government, or WACOG. Sales tax funds totaling $1,451,000 will be used for the project, in addition to county impact fees of approximately $260,000. Thoman noted that area developers will also contribute to the funding of the project.

The commission also formally authorized the imposition and collection of 0.1% sales and use tax to fund the Weber County Recreation, Arts, Museums & Parks program, or RAMP. The RAMP program provides funding for cultural facilities and organizations, recreational facilities, zoological facilities and organizations and botanical organizations, as well as events associated with those entities.

Weber County residents voted overwhelmingly to extend the RAMP tax through Dec. 31, 2034 in November 2024.

Also approved during Tuesday’s meeting was the final reading of an ordinance amending the general waste and construction/demolition tipping fees at the Weber County Transfer Station. The county is reducing the station’s tipping fees from $52.24 to $50 per ton. The reduction represents a course reversal after the county increased its tipping fees previously.

The county also approved a contract increasing the hourly compensation for attorney Randall Marshall for indigent defense in the county. Jim Retallick, director of the Weber Public Defender Group, noted during the meeting that, as a specialty attorney, Marshall handles the “most serious” offenses in the county, including first-degree homicides and first-degree sex offenses.

Marshall’s rate had remained static since 2018.

Approved consent items from Tuesday’s meeting include a contract between the county and the State of Utah’s Department of Cultural & Community Engagement permitting local governments to access the AMERICA250 Utah logo and name in individual brand identity, as well as the ratification of a contract between the county and Harris Mountain West for boiler replacement at the Weber County Library system’s Pleasant Valley branch.

The Weber County Commission meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. Meetings are viewable online via the county’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@webercountyutah/. Meeting agendas, minutes and other information are available on the county’s website at https://www.webercountyutah.gov/County_Commission/.