OREM — Although the first round in the fight over which group will provide services for the elderly in Utah County is over, the debate over which government organization is best suited to do so in the future is far from over.

Despite the fact that state Aging Services Director Alan Ormsby has denied the Utah County Commission's petition to take over services from the Mountainland Association of Governments, Commissioner Jerry Grover said that doesn't mean the county could not be approved to take over in the near future.

"The denial wasn't anything that went to the core of the proposal," Grover said. "On all the critical things, they basically stated we had a superior proposal."

In the letter Ormsby wrote denying the county's petition, he evaluated 16 criteria required for approval. He stated that the county met 10 of the criteria, met two of the criteria with reservation, and failed to meet four criteria, including securing senior center contracts and receiving documented feedback from local government agencies and senior service providers.

The county government can now appeal this decision in two ways: either by providing additional evidence to the state Aging Services Division that the county can meet the unmet criteria or by requesting a review of the initial petition by the federal aging administration.

In a meeting last week, those in the MAG court noted the denial, and the possibility of appeal, but did not assess the county's chances of succeeding on appeal.

"They've been given the charge to clarify their intent in those certain areas," Springville Mayor Fritz Boyer told leaders of MAG, a coalition of governments in Utah, Summit and Wasatch counties.

Grover said he was expecting the denial and maintains that the county can provide better programs for seniors.

"The denial was exactly what I anticipated," he said. "I've done enough petitions to know that you never get anything the first time. That's why we started the process when we did."

The county will move forward but has yet to determine whether it will provide information requested by the division or petition again at a later date.

MAG is set to provide senior services for the 2005-06 fiscal year, which ends next June. But how much Utah County will contribute to fund MAG programs this year is still up in the air. MAG executive council chair Boyer has said that the county agreed before it withdrew from MAG to a $30,000 assessment to fund this year's MAG programs. Utah County has not given MAG any funds thus far.

MAG attorney Bob Schumacher presented the council with several legal arguments supporting the association's position. First, commissioners Grover and Steve White voted to approve the MAG budget that included the assessment in May 2004. Also, Utah County benefited from MAG services from July 2004 until the county withdrew in February and therefore should pay for those services.

Schumacher told the council that although there are arguments supporting legal action, he advises a political solution instead.

Boyer said the most recent conversation between the two parties yielded progress.

"They now feel they owe something, but they're not sure what that something is," he said.

MAG plans to continue discussions with the county and to hold off on any legal action.

"I think it will be worked out politically," Boyer said. "I think we're in a much better position to work it out."

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E-mail: mdecker@desnews.com