City status is sought for Fairfield

FAIRFIELD — Folks in Fairfield want more power to control the future of their tiny Utah County town.

That's chief among the reason residents filed a petition with the Utah County auditor Thursday to incorporate into a city. The petition included the signatures of enough residents and property owners to qualify for the move toward becoming a city.

Now supporters of the move must wait for Utah County government to do a study to determine if Fairfield could successfully incorporate.

Also, residents of Fairfield, which is west of Lehi, also voted at a town meeting Thursday to send a letter of intent to the owners of a nearby landfill. The letter will signal a willingness by the town to "consider the concept" of allowing baled municipal garbage — the wet, stinky kind that's usually collected by dump trucks at the curb — at the Cedar Valley Landfill.

By legislative decree, the Cedar Valley dump is only supposed to accept construction and demolition debris.

Mike Burch, who has spearheaded the incorporation effort, said the community cannot oversee what happens at the landfill — now or in the future — if it doesn't incorporate.

Burch said once the community is incorporated, residents can deal directly with landfill owners. Residents complain that trucks headed to the landfill drop construction waste along the roads. They also don't want the landfill to expand without the town's consent.

Landfill owners Mike Dunn and David Johnston have approached the residents about the possibility of bidding for the baled garbage for the Lindon transfer station, suggesting it could represent $70,000 a year or more in tax base to Fairfield.

Residents said they are not convinced at this point that the baled garbage is safe.

They also aren't sure acceptance of the municipal waste would benefit the area economically — but they're willing to learn more.

Resident Lynn Gillies, however, visited a Lindon transfer station where the bales of garbage are now compacted. Gillies said the wet garbage is shredded, rolled and compressed so that the liquid and air is completely pushed out.

"I stood this close to it and it does not smell badly," Gillies said. "As far as I could see it was a fairly clean operation."

Several in the audience had questions about whether the landfill owners would do a better job of keeping garbage off the roads than they've been doing.

Attorney Gordon Duval said that as an incorporated entity, a constable could issue tickets for violating a waste ordinance. The city could then fine the companies that consistently dump garbage and even shut down the landfill if necessary.

"Realize that without incorporation we have no power," Burch said.

Others worried about lawsuits that could potentially bankrupt such a small town..

"We're proceeding at risk," Burch said. "This allows us to incorporate without raising taxes."

Diana Manseau, also a resident, pointed out that the 266-acre landfill will not be going away and it would behoove the residents to give themselves some say over its operation.

---

E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com