[0:00] order today is July 14th, 2026. I've got

[0:05] 5:02 p.m.

[0:06] Um

[0:08] we are ending this meeting for the

[0:14] Utah OHV Advisory Committee

[0:17] or Council, excuse me.

[0:19] Um

[0:20] Just [snorts] a couple items on the

[0:22] agenda. Um real quick, let's go through

[0:25] and do introductions. We have a couple

[0:27] of new members we'd like to welcome

[0:29] um Dean and Lacy to our Council

[0:33] as our newest members.

[0:35] Um we'll have

[0:38] uh introductions here real quick. We'll

[0:40] go around the room.

[0:42] Um we'll start in the

[0:45] uh office in Salt Lake. If you guys

[0:47] don't mind going around the room

[0:49] and tell us your name and what your role

[0:52] is in relation to the Council

[0:54] and then we'll go through everybody

[0:58] that's online.

[1:01] » Okay. Uh my name is Rachel Toker. I

[1:03] oversee and manage the OHV Recreation

[1:06] Grant for the state.

[1:08] >> I'm Maureen Casper. I manage contracts

[1:10] and compliance for the division.

[1:12] >> I'm Evan Bych. I administer the

[1:13] recreational trails program for the

[1:15] division.

[1:18] » I'm Wendy Harley, Land Trails and

[1:19] Planning Program Director.

[1:22] >> Tara McKee, uh Deputy Director over grants and youth

[1:27] and um

[1:28] Come on.

[1:32] Youth engagement, sorry.

[1:33] >> I'm Thomas Shoemaker, Program

[1:35] Superintendent. I oversee all things

[1:37] Shoemaker in the

[1:38] state of the division.

[1:41] >> Mike Ennis, I'm the Operations

[1:43] Coordinator for the Trail Crew Program.

[1:46] >> Jason Curry, Division Director.

[1:48] >> Okay, thank you. Um we'll go around to

[1:51] the Council members now. I'm Jason

[1:53] Blank, an at large and chairman of the

[1:55] Council. Uh I am

[1:58] calling in from Vernal.

[2:00] Let's go to Scott.

[2:06] Can't hear you, Scott.

[2:09] Got to unmute.

[2:12] >> I'm sorry about that. I'm getting slow.

[2:15] I'm the off-road road

[2:17] off-road motorcycle rep and I live in

[2:20] Price, Utah.

[2:22] >> Okay, Mike.

[2:24] >> Uh Mike Cook. I'm the safety rep

[2:29] and I'm in

[2:31] >> Okay, Brody.

[2:33] >> Brody Johnson. I am the ATV

[2:35] representative from Enoch, Utah.

[2:39] >> Okay, Nicole.

[2:41] >> I'm Nicole Nelson. I'm with the Public

[2:43] Lands Policy Coordinating Office and I

[2:45] am also in Price, Utah.

[2:49] >> Okay, Brett.

[2:51] >> I am the full-size four-wheel drive rep

[2:55] and usually I'm in Draper, but today I'm

[2:57] in the bustling Midvale metroplex.

[3:03] » Okay, Russum.

[3:05] >> Russum.

[3:07] » Going down. Sorry. Russ.

[3:13] » Yeah, Russ Kazaer with Russ Lands

[3:15] Administration.

[3:17] I'm in Davis County. Layton is the city

[3:19] I live in.

[3:21] >> Thank you, Sheriff Curtis.

[3:25] » Sheriff Nathan Curtis, Sevier County

[3:26] Sheriff. I'm in Richfield and I am the

[3:29] search and rescue representative.

[3:33] » Okay, thank you. Um

[3:36] and then I think that's

[3:39] all of our

[3:40] standing board members that are here.

[3:42] Let's go ahead. Dean, why don't you

[3:44] introduce yourself?

[3:47] >> I'm I'm Dean Harris. I live in Mendon.

[3:50] Uh,

[3:50] I'm obviously the newest one of the

[3:52] newest members here and excited to join

[3:55] and

[3:56] learn some of the

[3:58] ins and outs of this division.

[4:01] >> Thank you, Dean. Lacey.

[4:04] >> Hi, I'm Lacey and I own D&P Performance

[4:08] in Cedar City.

[4:10] I'll be the dealer shop representative.

[4:14] >> Excellent. Welcome aboard.

[4:16] Um, and now Wade, why don't we have you

[4:19] introduce yourself?

[4:21] >> Yeah, Wade Alston, the OHV program

[4:23] manager.

[4:26] » Okay, thanks, Wade. I think that's

[4:28] everybody.

[4:30] Go ahead and move on to

[4:33] the first action item on our agenda,

[4:35] which is approval of the June 17 meeting

[4:37] minutes.

[4:39] Does anybody Everybody have chance to

[4:41] review those? Any comments or concerns

[4:43] or things that need to be adjusted?

[4:46] >> I do.

[4:51] You want to hear my my complaint?

[4:54] >> Yep.

[4:55] >> Okay, at 136.07,

[5:00] it talks about a fuel issue in Logan

[5:02] Canyon. I don't recall talking about

[5:05] anything in Logan Canyon dealing with

[5:07] single track and fuel shortages. So, I'm

[5:12] not sure where that came from, but I

[5:14] didn't say anything about it, I don't

[5:15] believe.

[5:20] » Where was that at again?

[5:22] >> I think it was This is Chair Curtis. I

[5:25] think there was a discussion about

[5:27] a project that had taken place up there

[5:29] at one time, getting fuel up to or a a

[5:33] coordinated project.

[5:36] That's what I remember that was talked

[5:37] about.

[5:39] >> I I know that our snowmobile club

[5:41] actually put a fuel tank up by the

[5:45] U dot shed for the groomers. That's

[5:48] probably what's what you're talking

[5:49] about.

[5:51] >> It is probably just a misprint of the

[5:54] name. Can you repeat the time period for

[5:57] it?

[5:58] >> 136.07

[6:02] » Okay.

[6:07] Uh,

[6:11] This would probably just be weighed.

[6:13] >> Yeah, you're giving me credit for

[6:14] something I didn't do.

[6:16] >> No, this was in our discussion about

[6:18] Dean.

[6:20] >> Yeah. [clears throat]

[6:22] » Snowmobiling single track fuel issues in

[6:25] Logan Canyon.

[6:29] It was probably snowmobile fuel issues.

[6:30] Is that Is that right?

[6:32] >> It was for the groomer.

[6:36] Groomers, I should say.

[6:39] >> Yes, that that's correct. Um, it

[6:42] probably ties back to that to the top of

[6:44] Utah helping us get us a temporary tank

[6:47] up there and we got a new one that's on

[6:50] the process of being up there.

[6:55] » We will

[6:57] make that change and change the name so

[6:59] that it no longer says Scott Wheeler.

[7:03] >> Okay. Thank you. Any other changes that

[7:05] need to be made?

[7:13] Okay.

[7:14] Um,

[7:16] All right, I'll accept the motion to

[7:18] approve the minutes as amended.

[7:21] >> This is Brody. I would I make a motion

[7:23] to approve the minutes as amended.

[7:28] >> This is Scott Wheeler. I will second

[7:29] that.

[7:31] >> Okay. Motion by Brody, second by Scott.

[7:34] All those in favor?

[7:36] >> I.

[7:40] » Any opposed?

[7:44] And

[7:45] Dean and Lacy, you can abstain from this

[7:47] one since you weren't part of that

[7:48] meeting.

[7:52] Okay.

[7:54] Um

[7:55] many meeting minutes have been approved.

[7:58] Um now we'll move on to our heavy

[8:00] equipment trail crew update. Um

[8:03] just to keep us all on schedule, we we

[8:07] need to uh keep this

[8:10] conversation brief.

[8:11] Um so

[8:13] we can all get on to the other things in

[8:15] our lives that are going on. So, some

[8:17] people have to be out of here at a hard

[8:19] 5:30, so let's make sure that we're efficient with our conversation

[8:24] and discussion today and

[8:26] um that being the case, uh Mike, if

[8:29] you've got a minute to go over the heavy

[8:32] equipment trail crew

[8:33] and where we're at. Um we recently

[8:37] funded

[8:38] or approved to fund um some heavy

[8:41] equipment

[8:43] uh for the trail crew and

[8:46] yeah, Mike, go ahead and take it away

[8:49] and then we'll have a discussion about

[8:51] it.

[8:53] >> Yeah, this is Mike Thomas. You get two

[8:54] Mikes on stage today, so um we'll work

[8:56] that out. But just just a really quick

[8:57] statement in the name of time, like you

[8:59] said, I respect that. We just appreciate

[9:01] um being here and

[9:02] >> [clears throat]

[9:02] >> as you've already set it up and teed it

[9:03] up great for us, we're looking at the

[9:05] heavy equipment section of the program

[9:07] and

[9:07] um it'll hopefully, you know, uh

[9:10] contribute to a more statewide effort

[9:11] and bigger scope of work and more things

[9:13] done. So,

[9:14] I won't stay online. I'll pass it to

[9:16] Mike Innis, operations coordinator, to

[9:19] go over details.

[9:21] >> Okay, yeah, thank you, everyone. This is

[9:23] what we're talking about here is a big

[9:24] step for this program that we're really

[9:26] excited about. Um so, we just wanted to

[9:28] run through this with you so you're all

[9:31] informed on our intended path forward.

[9:34] Um I'll try to get through this pretty

[9:36] quick and leave plenty of time for

[9:37] questions at the end, but um, just some

[9:39] background here as you all know,

[9:42] um, we're in year three of

[9:43] uh, having four

[9:45] uh, regional crews around the state um,

[9:48] conducting trail work. Over the years

[9:49] we've had an increasing demand for heavy

[9:52] equipment work and this year we did

[9:54] receive that funding.

[9:56] Um, so

[9:57] in original talks about this uh, heavy

[10:01] equipment operation, um, the original

[10:03] idea was that we would like we have uh,

[10:05] two newly hired employees that would

[10:09] function as the heavy equipment crew.

[10:11] Um, they would be based out of Richfield

[10:14] and be traveling around the entire state

[10:17] conducting that work. Uh, when we

[10:19] started looking into how this would

[10:21] work, we started

[10:22] um,

[10:23] realizing we we had a lot of variables,

[10:25] a lot of um,

[10:28] potential concerns and and a lot of

[10:30] costs associated with that operation.

[10:33] Um, so on this slide here we have just

[10:36] some of those things that um, we had

[10:38] uh, kind of realized throughout the

[10:40] planning process. Uh, those travel costs

[10:43] being a huge one. Um, just what it would

[10:45] take to actually move those people and

[10:47] equipment on a regular basis around the

[10:49] entire state of Utah.

[10:51] Um, with with some more concerns

[10:54] um, and and potentially roadblocks um,

[10:57] also listed on here, but this kind of

[10:59] made us uh, shift our focus

[11:02] um, sort of back to our trail crew

[11:05] program as a whole and the operation

[11:07] that we have been functioning off of um,

[11:10] with a regional approach. Um, we've been

[11:13] very successful with this operation. Um,

[11:16] just this past year we completed 156

[11:19] projects around the state

[11:21] um, with over 1500 hours of of crew time

[11:23] on that.

[11:25] Um, and so

[11:26] we are now looking to build upon that

[11:29] and just enhance what we're already

[11:31] operating out of

[11:33] when it comes to heavy equipment

[11:34] operation. And so our plan as of now,

[11:38] um

[11:39] this [snorts] is just the the house bill

[11:41] information coming from this

[11:42] legislation. Um and I do believe

[11:45] everything that we are planning to move

[11:47] forward does satisfy the language in

[11:49] this.

[11:50] And so our our plan now is to take again

[11:55] the the current model we're running with

[11:56] and have [clears throat] our crew

[11:58] supervisors be trained um to become

[12:01] equipment operators. Um so they would

[12:03] still stay within their regions. We

[12:05] would just get machines to them.

[12:07] Um and a big part of that also would be

[12:11] us creating four new positions for the

[12:13] program. So currently our crew leads are

[12:17] just seasonal roles. Um so a big part of

[12:20] this plan would be uh creating those

[12:22] four positions into full-time

[12:23] year-round.

[12:24] >> So can I just clarify that real quick?

[12:25] We're not creating four new positions.

[12:27] We're still creating two.

[12:29] But transit We're doing that by

[12:31] increasing four of them by half.

[12:33] >> Yes.

[12:33] >> That's probably a little There's a lot

[12:35] of nuance to that, but just want to make

[12:36] sure I'm clarifying. We're not adding

[12:38] four.

[12:39] We're just increasing four so that we

[12:41] have the equivalent of two FTEs added.

[12:43] >> Yes.

[12:43] >> Money-wise and position-wise.

[12:45] >> That is the intent to make them more

[12:46] capable, more robust. Yes.

[12:48] >> Yeah.

[12:48] >> Thanks, Jason.

[12:49] >> Thank you.

[12:50] Yeah, so what our plan for this and and

[12:52] the reason behind it would be this will

[12:54] allow us to now once once our

[12:56] supervisors are up and running with

[12:58] equipment operation, that'll allow them

[13:01] to then take a crew member um

[13:03] go and and conduct a a heavy equipment

[13:06] project while at the same time that crew

[13:08] lead is running the hand crew on a

[13:11] different project elsewhere. So really

[13:13] maximizing the amount of projects that

[13:15] we're able to to

[13:16] continue doing through the year.

[13:18] Um what adding that full-time year-round

[13:20] position also does is allows us to then

[13:24] uh continue to to do heavy equipment

[13:26] works throughout that off season,

[13:29] especially in our southern regions. And

[13:32] so, um we have already started planning

[13:35] for training opportunities. Um and here

[13:38] it says

[13:39] that we would be prioritizing this this

[13:42] off season, which is true, but

[13:44] we've already planned to to have to or

[13:47] to initiate

[13:48] our folks into training starting next

[13:51] month. Um so, we're already lining that

[13:53] up and and getting that stuff ready

[13:56] um when it comes to preparation.

[13:59] Um like I had mentioned before, the the

[14:01] travel aspect of that one crew working

[14:03] all around the state was

[14:05] a huge barrier and and I think would

[14:07] really reduce the amount of work done.

[14:10] With this model that I'm talking about

[14:12] right now,

[14:14] we will at minimum be doubling the

[14:16] amount of projects around the state that

[14:18] we would be able to do with that one

[14:20] crew. And I think we'll be able to do it

[14:22] much more effectively and be able to

[14:24] spread that work around the state much

[14:26] more effectively.

[14:29] Um so, here

[14:31] just some more general benefits of of

[14:34] what we're talking about here.

[14:36] More operators that are capable to do

[14:38] this work around the state.

[14:40] Drastically reducing ongoing costs when

[14:43] it comes to travel

[14:45] and and those types of expenses.

[14:48] And

[14:49] more career progression. We're really

[14:51] hoping that this is something that

[14:53] will help us with both recruitment and

[14:55] retention when it comes to our employees

[14:57] cuz we're really giving them the skills

[14:59] and certifications to really to build a

[15:02] career within DNR.

[15:04] Um

[15:07] So,

[15:08] the funding that we're receiving was

[15:10] noted on one of the earlier slides, but

[15:13] it was broken down to ongoing and then

[15:15] we are receiving some one-time funding.

[15:17] So, we do we are cutting um of the the

[15:22] one-time funding needs um through this

[15:25] model when it comes to additional

[15:28] uh vehicles and trailers and things like

[15:30] that. Um but we hope to be able to use

[15:32] some of that money to purchase more

[15:34] equipment um that we can distribute

[15:36] throughout the state so we're not having

[15:37] to do as much sharing and transporting

[15:40] machines um when needed.

[15:43] Um but that is our plan there.

[15:47] And

[15:49] yeah, that's the

[15:51] very high-level overview of what we're

[15:53] looking to do. So I just wanted to open

[15:54] up um open it up to you all for any

[15:57] questions you have.

[16:00] >> Uh this this is Brody. I got um a

[16:02] couple, but I'll just start out with the

[16:04] first one.

[16:05] Is

[16:06] your the the when you say full-time or or year-round, on here it said during

[16:14] the off-season you'd be doing training.

[16:15] So during the off-season there would be

[16:17] no heavy equipment work?

[16:20] >> Um no, so that when I mentioned that um

[16:23] that would be prioritizing heavy

[16:26] equipment training during this

[16:28] off-season of of 2026.

[16:31] Um and that that's just because that

[16:33] would be the the most amount of time we

[16:36] would have to just be able to just focus

[16:38] on that and not have those supervisors

[16:40] working heavy crew projects at the same

[16:42] time. Um but yeah, ongoing into the

[16:45] future we would with with these two

[16:47] employees that would be working through

[16:49] the winter in each region, um we would

[16:52] plan to continue heavy equipment

[16:53] projects throughout the winter.

[16:56] >> Now, when you say region, uh besides

[16:59] the Richfield, what other two regions

[17:01] are you talking about?

[17:06] » Are are you referring to where work

[17:09] would be

[17:09] >> You said three regions. What what are

[17:12] the three regions?

[17:14] >> Um so four regions we have right now. We

[17:16] have our northern region, um which is

[17:19] Salt Lake City all the way over to

[17:21] Vernal.

[17:22] And then we have southeast, which is

[17:25] based out of Moab, central in Richfield,

[17:28] and southwest out of Cedar City.

[17:30] >> All right. And then

[17:32] do you anticipate using the heavy

[17:34] equipment crew

[17:36] in northern Utah during the winter?

[17:41] » Sorry,

[17:43] >> All right. Do you anticipate a need or

[17:46] are you using the heavy equipment crew

[17:49] in northern Utah during the winter

[17:51] months?

[17:53] >> I think the the work need would be the

[17:56] lowest with our northern crew throughout

[17:59] the winter.

[18:00] But again, that that region is our

[18:02] biggest. It spans all the way over to

[18:04] the Vernal area. And so I think there still is potential there.

[18:08] And I think that off-season will also

[18:10] give us the opportunity to have regions

[18:13] combine on projects, too. And so I I

[18:16] think it it could definitely be

[18:19] an ongoing thing where our north region

[18:22] employees could go down to Moab or

[18:26] the Cedar City area and assist with

[18:29] heavy equipment projects having multiple

[18:31] machines on those projects as well.

[18:33] >> And then my last one for a little bit

[18:35] cuz I'm hogging up the time.

[18:38] Will the heavy equipment crew be used on

[18:41] anything non-motorized?

[18:46] » Yeah, we're we're still talking about

[18:49] all of that.

[18:51] I think the intention here would be

[18:53] initially they would be focused on on

[18:55] motorized work. But I think just over

[18:58] time we would weigh kind of

[19:01] what time we have and how to distribute

[19:03] that work.

[19:04] >> And and I And to be clear, too, this is

[19:06] a this is a legislative appropriation.

[19:08] Legislature appropriated funds to pay

[19:10] for these two employees.

[19:12] Some of those funds came from the OHV

[19:14] account, some of them came from the

[19:15] outdoor adventure fund. So, there's

[19:18] justification for some non-motorized,

[19:20] but like Mike said, pretty much

[19:22] exclusively motorized.

[19:24] >> Yes.

[19:25] So, how much of the total amount was

[19:28] from the OHV fund and how much from the

[19:30] legislature? Was that the

[19:34] that

[19:35] 15 or 80,000 or whatever that was? Um

[19:38] 80,000?

[19:40] >> Yeah, it was 80,000 from outdoor fund

[19:43] and and 380 from OHV.

[19:46] >> And what was from And and which was from

[19:48] Sorry, again. What was from the

[19:49] legislature out of those that that fund?

[19:52] >> Okay, it was all from the legislature,

[19:55] but the legislature appropriates funding

[19:57] from different sources. One source, uh

[20:00] the OHV restricted account, 380.

[20:02] >> Yes.

[20:03] >> And then another source, the outdoor

[20:05] adventure fund, they appropriated

[20:07] >> 80.

[20:07] >> Yeah, another 80. So, yeah. So, a total of 460. So, yeah,

[20:12] the vast majority of it from the OHV

[20:15] restricted account.

[20:16] >> Okay. Thank you.

[20:19] >> I have a just a comment, no questions.

[20:22] Uh 20 minutes isn't enough time to

[20:24] discuss what's going on here.

[20:26] Uh

[20:27] so, I'm just throwing that out. There's

[20:29] no way we can discuss the needs of this

[20:31] and come up with a consensus

[20:33] in 20 minutes. And so, that's my two

[20:36] cents.

[20:38] >> I would agree with Scott on this. Um I

[20:41] have

[20:42] I don't know. I have some concerns.

[20:44] Seems like uh we're

[20:47] getting awful close to mixing motorized

[20:49] with non-motorized. I realize that

[20:51] there's a portion of the money that came

[20:52] from the outdoor adventure fund, but um

[20:56] I just

[20:58] I visited with Mike Johnson

[21:00] just real quick before the meeting. I

[21:02] want to visit with him more, but I kind of expressed I'm not sure how

[21:07] you'll save and travel.

[21:09] You know, cuz if you have to load those

[21:11] up,

[21:12] you know, unless you're working in your

[21:13] backyard, you have to load that

[21:15] equipment up and

[21:17] you know,

[21:18] pay people to go out to burn oil per se,

[21:20] you know, so you you're still going to

[21:22] have to pay the per diem

[21:24] and everything.

[21:26] Um

[21:27] seems like it might be easier to

[21:29] designate them as a motorized crew

[21:32] and have people that are super good at

[21:34] running the equipment.

[21:36] Uh not like that they wouldn't be, but

[21:39] it takes a long time to learn how to run

[21:41] equipment efficiently.

[21:43] Um

[21:46] seems like you'd be

[21:47] might be better off to designate them as

[21:50] a motorized crew and then

[21:53] use some of the if there is a

[21:54] non-motorized project to use some of

[21:57] that 80

[21:58] >> [cough and clears throat]

[21:59] >> to pay them to move in and clean up a

[22:02] trail head or something like that. Um

[22:05] then to kind of mix the pot.

[22:08] Uh

[22:09] I don't know. It just seems like it's

[22:10] complicating something that may not be

[22:14] uh

[22:15] might be easier to separate them and

[22:17] then just pull that money,

[22:19] you know, if we're needing motorized for

[22:21] not or heavy equipment for non-motorized

[22:23] projects, I have no problem with that.

[22:26] Uh but it might be easier to almost run

[22:29] them from the OHV program.

[22:31] Um and that that would keep everything

[22:34] clear and it'd be easy to see where the

[22:36] money's going.

[22:38] And I think I think one crew that has a

[22:41] little bit more flexible schedule

[22:44] actually, in my eyes, might be more

[22:46] efficient than four crews that are tied down cuz

[22:51] what if a job takes

[22:53] a three-day job turns into a five-day

[22:55] job or something like that. Um

[22:58] you know, you just can't necessarily go,

[23:00] "Oh,

[23:02] done our three days and we're gone." You

[23:04] know, especially with heavy equipment.

[23:07] Um but but I do

[23:09] agree with Scott. 30 minutes isn't or 20

[23:12] minutes isn't

[23:14] time enough to discuss all this, I don't

[23:16] think.

[23:17] So.

[23:18] >> What type of training have you looked at

[23:21] for this and what what's going to be

[23:22] required to do to operate this equipment

[23:25] on forest and

[23:27] um BLM ground?

[23:30] » Uh yeah, so BLM doesn't currently have

[23:33] any policy on this. Um the forest does

[23:35] have a certification program and I've

[23:38] spoken with Grant Julander from the

[23:40] Fishlake National Forest and he's he's

[23:42] certified to certify individuals on any

[23:46] type of heavy equipment. Um so he has

[23:48] agreed to to work with and and certify

[23:50] our crews on on all the machines that we

[23:53] will be working on.

[23:55] Um and then the the training that we're

[23:57] planning on sending folks to next month.

[24:00] >> Mike can leave you a little more info on

[24:02] that.

[24:02] >> Yeah, that's just something we've

[24:04] actually had invoice to every year no

[24:06] matter what staff we have. It's been out

[24:08] of Weber Basin for heavy equipment.

[24:11] Weber Basin Job Corps puts on one that

[24:13] actually it's the Forest Service that's

[24:15] partnership with them and they usually

[24:16] invite us every year to participate in.

[24:18] So we're going to make use of that even

[24:20] if that means

[24:21] we're going to go a little deeper to

[24:23] enhance the training for our specific

[24:24] purposes as well.

[24:28] » And uh

[24:30] this is Carly here. I'm just curious

[24:32] what other questions or information we

[24:34] could provide um if this is a

[24:37] conversation that needs more long-form

[24:39] discussion. We do a really great job of

[24:42] uh

[24:43] capturing all of the work that our trail

[24:45] crews do um on on the ground and so we

[24:49] are really confident in our ability to

[24:51] say, you know, our goals for the other

[24:53] crews are 50% non-motorized, 50%

[24:56] motorized. Um and so we can be really

[24:58] strategic in the way we plan out the

[25:00] season ahead to honor that percentage

[25:03] split between the

[25:04] um, outdoor adventure fund money and

[25:06] then the OHV account. So,

[25:09] I thought is a the big that's the

[25:11] concern that I'm kind of hearing

[25:13] here. Uh, and you know, Mike I think

[25:14] Mike Cook brought up a couple um, other

[25:17] concerns as well. But, um, just wanting

[25:19] to to have you all know that we're

[25:21] really confident in our ability to help

[25:23] track that. Um, and it's very it's

[25:27] plays into our integrity for where these

[25:28] funds come from, right? Um, I think we

[25:31] all look at ourselves as taxpayer

[25:33] stewards and if we can do something with

[25:36] the um,

[25:37] the allotment that we've been

[25:40] um,

[25:41] awarded, uh, entrusted with, if we can

[25:45] look at that money and and do more with

[25:47] it that we we that's why we wanted to

[25:49] have this conversation

[25:50] today with you all because we think we

[25:52] can really deliver more impact with

[25:55] these dollars

[25:57] by leveraging the efficiencies that

[25:59] already exist in our current operations.

[26:13] » Wade, do you have any input on this? I

[26:15] know you've got to take off here pretty

[26:16] quick, but

[26:19] if you don't mind.

[26:22] » You know, I I think this model could work.

[26:26] Um, I think the accountability piece

[26:29] needs to be in place.

[26:31] I do have some of the concerns

[26:34] uh, of, you know, making sure that uh,

[26:38] that it's focused primarily on

[26:42] um, motorized work rather than

[26:45] non-motorized. I think that was the

[26:47] spirit behind it. Regardless of where

[26:49] the funding comes from, I think that was

[26:51] how it was presented. That it was going

[26:54] to be working on motorized trails. So, I

[26:57] think we need to be

[26:59] pretty strong in that area. Um

[27:02] cuz that was the intent of it.

[27:06] >> Thank you.

[27:08] >> Yeah, maybe [clears throat] I'll just

[27:09] add a little bit more color to this cuz

[27:11] you hopefully you recall we um we sought

[27:15] the council's advice on the heavy

[27:17] equipment crew last year or earlier this

[27:20] year because that was our intent was to

[27:22] um

[27:23] to petition the legislature for an

[27:25] additional appropriation. So, um as it

[27:28] was uh

[27:29] as it was laid out at that time, it was

[27:31] a single crew.

[27:33] Um and so,

[27:35] when the legislature heard from me, uh

[27:37] the way I laid it out was a a crew based

[27:40] in Richfield, um heavy equipment for

[27:42] motorized use. And as um

[27:45] Mike Innis and Mike Thomas they have

[27:49] looked at it, they they have um

[27:51] a different approach. So, that's why we

[27:53] want to seek your advice is basically on

[27:57] that change of course. Is is this really

[28:00] um something that you you know, we're

[28:02] seeking your advice on? What do you What

[28:04] is your advice? Should we stick to the

[28:05] original plan, or should we modify it um

[28:09] to reflect this um

[28:11] and I do believe it it could really work

[28:14] better from an efficiency standpoint.

[28:16] You know, you talk about travel and per

[28:17] diem.

[28:18] A lot of these folks are probably going

[28:20] to be doing work within their home unit.

[28:22] So, they won't even have to do travel at

[28:23] all. If it's a Richfield-based crew,

[28:25] they would almost always have to travel

[28:26] unless they're doing it at in Richfield.

[28:28] So, there is that. I 100% agree, and

[28:31] it's my main focus is to make sure we

[28:32] get really solid, good operators out of

[28:35] this effort. I want to make sure that we

[28:38] have

[28:39] solid, solid training so that we are the

[28:41] experts so we can become through, you

[28:44] know, the the

[28:46] sort of distribution of this program

[28:48] throughout the four regions that that we

[28:50] get

[28:51] four really good strong experts in heavy

[28:53] equipment operation and and off-highway

[28:55] vehicle trail maintenance. I do agree

[28:58] with what Carly said, we're we've gotten

[28:59] a system down pat to where

[29:02] you know, mixing of motorized

[29:04] non-motorized and the hours that are

[29:05] spent I just don't see that happening.

[29:07] We've got a really really good system.

[29:09] The crews are meticulous in how they

[29:11] report that time. So,

[29:13] um

[29:15] just a little bit more flavor to it.

[29:16] Again, it's something that it's it

[29:18] represents a change in how we originally

[29:22] proposed this. And that's why we want

[29:23] your advice is to say, should we stick with the

[29:27] original plan or should we

[29:29] be agile and

[29:31] take a different approach?

[29:35] » I have a comment here right now.

[29:38] Is there a chart that's been put

[29:40] together where the the centralized where

[29:42] the most trails that need heavy

[29:45] equipment on in the state? I would

[29:47] assume more in the central part of the

[29:49] state would be where most of the

[29:52] maintenance is being done by heavy

[29:54] equipment. I don't know how much usage

[29:57] there is on non-motorized in the

[29:59] northern part, but

[30:01] I think the central part of the state

[30:03] has the the majority of

[30:06] the usage right now. I'm not sure, but

[30:08] does that has anybody kept track of

[30:10] that?

[30:11] >> That's a a great question. I'll chime in

[30:13] on that, too. So, one side of our team

[30:15] is on the trails, you know, they're

[30:16] moving dirt on the ground and the other

[30:18] side of our team is pretty sophisticated

[30:21] GIS mapping and data analytics experts.

[30:25] And we've been measuring outdoor

[30:27] recreation trends

[30:29] throughout the state of Utah and in doing some regional planning

[30:34] efforts where we're trying to unearth

[30:36] what are the community values,

[30:39] where do we need to put our resources?

[30:41] And overwhelmingly in the central part

[30:43] of the state. We're hearing

[30:45] that the motorized recreation is a huge

[30:48] part of the culture and and what makes

[30:50] that place so wonderful

[30:52] and that maintenance is a big huge

[30:54] priority. So, we are looking at at that.

[30:57] We still have more work to do and

[30:59] relying on locals to help lead the way

[31:02] and and and guide us.

[31:04] Um, since they know their backyards

[31:07] more than anyone else.

[31:10] >> How much

[31:11] coordinating goes on with the There's

[31:13] other

[31:15] pieces of heavy equipment that, you

[31:17] know, the the some of the the groups

[31:18] have, some of the the counties have. How

[31:21] much coordinating is going on with those

[31:23] groups in doing the heavy work?

[31:28] » [snorts]

[31:28] >> Yeah, I mean, currently that's that's

[31:29] something that that we're looking at

[31:31] just as a whole. I mean, again, you

[31:33] know, just this is an addition to a

[31:34] section of the program basically is a

[31:36] saying that we're we're ready to take on

[31:38] the heavy equipment world and to be able

[31:39] to coordinate that. So,

[31:41] we're looking looking forward to more

[31:42] collaboration on that.

[31:44] There's also future opportunities which

[31:46] I wouldn't, you know, necessarily

[31:47] promise here without looking at it, but

[31:49] where you got like a if a county has a

[31:51] machine, maybe they got grant funded,

[31:54] you know, a few years back or some at

[31:55] some point, but it may not be getting

[31:57] used. There may be some cross

[31:58] collaboration there where

[32:00] county is a branch of the state

[32:02] risk-wise or stuff that could be

[32:04] possibly worked out for the future for

[32:05] collaboration

[32:07] with those that already have the heavy

[32:08] equipment capability. So, yeah, we would also look forward to that and

[32:11] then I think the supervisors, if they

[32:14] were

[32:14] united in this opportunity,

[32:16] would play a larger role in in

[32:19] establishing those type of partnerships.

[32:23] » [snorts]

[32:25] » So, it sounds like there are are

[32:27] definitely some some lingering questions

[32:29] here.

[32:30] Um, I guess

[32:32] it appears like right now

[32:35] The the council wouldn't be comfortable

[32:37] offering advice either direction.

[32:39] Is that

[32:40] pretty much sum it up?

[32:43] >> Well, it sounds like we need some more

[32:45] discussion.

[32:45] >> more questions about like I said, 20 25

[32:48] minutes isn't enough time to discuss

[32:50] these things. Uh and and actually, I'm

[32:53] not privy to everything that's been

[32:54] going on and it would take a while to

[32:56] bring me up to speed so that I could

[32:59] make a good comment about what to do and not

[33:03] to do, but I would think you would want

[33:05] to centralize the equipment where the work is being done. If there's not

[33:09] any work being done in the northern part

[33:11] of the state, well, you wouldn't have

[33:13] the equipment there. You'd want to have

[33:14] it where the trails are at that's being

[33:16] used. Uh and I it looks like the major

[33:20] percentage of funding is coming from the

[33:23] motorized end of this, but uh and I have no problem in in working

[33:29] with the non-motorized side. I do

[33:31] non-motorized stuff myself.

[33:33] But, I we need to be accountable for

[33:35] where the money and the funding's coming

[33:37] from.

[33:39] >> Yeah, the accountability is not a

[33:40] question in my mind. That's that's very

[33:41] simple and straightforward. This is

[33:43] almost always going to be motorized.

[33:46] If there was non-motorized, it would be

[33:48] an exceptional case, but I don't think

[33:50] we're

[33:50] >> Cleaning up forest fire damage.

[33:54] >> What?

[33:54] >> Maybe cleaning up the damage from all

[33:56] the wildfires that we've had. Just

[33:59] getting the trail cleared off.

[34:02] >> Yeah. Yeah, so anyway, um I'll I'll I'll

[34:05] put it this way. If if, you know,

[34:07] if if there isn't advice either way,

[34:08] we'll probably just proceed with plan A

[34:11] at this point. You know, right now.

[34:13] Based on what we know now, based on what

[34:15] we're committed to,

[34:16] we will probably proceed

[34:18] with the original intent unless the

[34:21] council sees value in what's being

[34:22] proposed here today. But but, you know,

[34:25] open to open to it.

[34:27] >> I I guess ultimately,

[34:29] um

[34:29] maybe some direction on what what is

[34:31] needed from the council. Is it just a a

[34:34] vote to go one way or the other with

[34:36] this? Is it

[34:37] >> We're just seeking your advice. Um you

[34:40] know, plan A as we presented it

[34:42] originally to you all was um we would

[34:44] have one group and it would be based in

[34:46] Richfield. And um and so

[34:49] you know, I wish Mike would have been

[34:51] around at the time to to help with this

[34:52] thought process, but you know, but since

[34:55] we made that you know, that original

[34:58] plan

[34:59] um we're looking to potentially deviate

[35:02] from it and and take this re- more

[35:03] regional type approach. And so the

[35:06] decision's kind of already been made.

[35:07] You guys already bought off on it.

[35:09] Legislature's funded it to do a regional

[35:12] uh not regional, but a Richfield-based

[35:15] heavy equipment crew that will do

[35:17] um off-highway vehicle um trail

[35:20] maintenance from a heavy equipment

[35:22] perspective. Um

[35:24] So, we can't can't you know, what what is your advice when we we have

[35:28] this decision in front of us?

[35:30] That's kind of

[35:31] >> Can I just ask a question with this? And

[35:35] Mike and Mike

[35:36] uh

[35:38] help us understand. I mean

[35:40] dollar for dollar, what do you see

[35:44] um

[35:45] giving us more

[35:47] maintained trail

[35:50] with these two options?

[35:52] >> Yeah, I I I absolutely believe that the

[35:55] regional approach would be the best to

[35:57] use the taxpayer dollars here. I think

[35:59] we would um we would get way many

[36:01] projects out of this. Um from comments

[36:05] made about Central, like yes, we are

[36:07] doing um the our Central crew is doing uh the

[36:11] highest percentage of motorized work out

[36:13] of our other crews. Um and that is

[36:16] associated with the use there. Um but

[36:20] this this model wouldn't be saying that

[36:22] we wouldn't be focusing work there. We

[36:25] would just already have someone there

[36:27] that would be able to work there

[36:28] full-time rather than if we had this one

[36:31] crew

[36:32] for one we we couldn't just allow them

[36:35] to focus time there because this this

[36:37] funding is for a statewide effort.

[36:40] Um, and so

[36:41] having that been said that that if we

[36:44] had one crew there based out of there,

[36:46] they wouldn't be able to be doing

[36:48] projects when they're elsewhere

[36:49] throughout the state. And then on that

[36:51] travel aspect of things as Jason

[36:53] mentioned right now,

[36:55] um, our our projects and work locations

[36:57] if you look at our heat map

[36:59] um, of our regional crews,

[37:01] um, they're on average traveling an hour

[37:03] or less to their project sites. Whereas

[37:06] if this was one crew, they're traveling

[37:09] three plus hours to every project

[37:11] outside of central region. Um, which

[37:13] means that they do have they or they

[37:16] would have to be paid per diem and and

[37:19] we're talking probably a full day of

[37:21] travel out of each project. Um,

[37:25] and another aspect of this when it comes

[37:27] to just

[37:28] um, best use of funds, uh, I've I've

[37:31] talked to other organizations that have

[37:32] done something similar

[37:34] um, and heard a a lot of struggles. For

[37:36] instance, it we were when we were at the

[37:38] Mountain West Trails conference, I I

[37:39] spoke with um, state of Wyoming's trail

[37:43] crew. Um, they have a heavy equipment

[37:46] crew that's based out of one location

[37:47] that travels throughout the state. Um,

[37:49] and they they cannot hold on to

[37:52] employees to save their lives because

[37:54] it's asking a lot of someone um, to take

[37:57] a position where they are on the road

[37:59] almost constantly. Um, and and they even

[38:03] have some resources um, when it comes to

[38:06] lodging and things like that that we

[38:07] don't have access to right now. Um, so

[38:10] that that retention thing is a big part

[38:12] of this as well, but um, yeah, whereas

[38:16] back to the cost and travel and use of

[38:18] funds, I think investing in this um,

[38:22] would get the the most amount of

[38:24] projects throughout the state. I do

[38:26] believe that.

[38:28] >> Uh Jason, this is Scott. Uh

[38:31] what how much say does uh Wade have in

[38:33] what's going on here?

[38:35] Uh

[38:36] you know, he's supposed to be the OHP

[38:38] coordinator for the state. I I had I don't have enough information to

[38:44] give you an answer with what you're

[38:46] asking me. I have to rely on other

[38:48] people that are in the mix on this and

[38:51] know what's going on. And so, I don't

[38:53] almost have to say you'll have to let

[38:55] somebody else make the decision for me.

[38:58] >> Yeah, thanks [clears throat] Scott.

[38:59] Yeah, we're

[39:01] that's what that's what we're trying to

[39:02] provide here with Mike and Mike and uh

[39:04] you know, as far as Wade's support, I'll

[39:06] let him chime in, but you know,

[39:08] Mike's comment was that it he believes

[39:10] that it could be could be made made to

[39:13] work. Um Wade, anything else to add to

[39:15] that?

[39:16] >> No, I I I I believe this could work. Um

[39:21] and and I appreciate Mike's eyes

[39:24] thought and his forward thinking in

[39:25] this.

[39:26] Um

[39:27] I think just some of the concerns of the

[39:29] council need to be addressed and I I I I

[39:32] think it could work.

[39:34] very well.

[39:36] >> And I I need to I'll come at from a

[39:38] different angle as well. You know, part

[39:39] of my leadership,

[39:41] at least what I've tried to do is to

[39:43] stay ahead of kind of these these trends

[39:45] and these demands that we may have and

[39:47] anticipate some of those. And one

[39:49] important part of history a little bit

[39:50] is is

[39:51] you know, when we started this the trail

[39:53] tree program officially 2021 with two

[39:56] just seasonal employees going around the

[39:57] state that had very little training,

[39:59] very little background. I was able to

[40:01] give very little oversight due to many

[40:03] duties.

[40:04] Um you know, that was already a stretch

[40:05] and then we moved into four and six and

[40:07] grew bigger based on the demand. And one main concern that we did have along

[40:14] the way was

[40:15] how little time that these uh these

[40:17] crews based out of Salt Lake were

[40:20] uh you know, how much time they had to

[40:22] spend traveling, basically, as opposed

[40:24] to boots-on-the-ground work. Um and so,

[40:27] it's the exact same model, the way I see

[40:28] it. And then, from that from that demand

[40:29] grew the the idea of the four of the

[40:31] four regions to be able to multiply our

[40:33] efforts times four, which is where we

[40:35] sit now. So, I I see this as

[40:36] anticipating those issues and

[40:38] not that I want to express anything in

[40:39] the form of worry, but I also um our

[40:42] division worked really hard to secure

[40:43] this funding the way it sits for one

[40:45] region. And of course, we're talking

[40:46] about modifying and trying to enhance

[40:48] it, but

[40:49] I believe that demand will grow if we in

[40:51] any anyways, if we start out with

[40:53] central region, um I believe we will do

[40:55] our jobs and we'll we'll um perform, you

[40:58] know, at the highest level, and then I

[41:00] believe this will be a demand we'll have

[41:01] anyways, and I'm not sure if we'll be in

[41:03] a position to ask for further funding

[41:05] and enhancement later on. It's kind of

[41:07] hard to

[41:08] that's a hard thing to predict. So, um I

[41:10] believe we're getting ahead of trends

[41:11] and demand here as well.

[41:13] >> When we uh talked about this, you talked

[41:16] about the possibility that that the

[41:19] Richfield office or the Richfield heavy

[41:22] equipment equipment crew

[41:24] would set the model throughout the

[41:26] state, and we did forecast that we felt

[41:29] that it was going to

[41:30] work throughout the state, and that the

[41:33] model would start in Richfield to get

[41:35] the bugs worked out, but I think the

[41:37] model that Mike is presenting right now

[41:39] just pushes that along a little bit

[41:41] sooner than than what what we had talked

[41:46] about, but we did we did recognize that this is needed throughout the

[41:50] state, and maybe this model gives that

[41:52] opportunity to push it out a little

[41:54] faster.

[41:56] >> Could [clears throat] I propose to, you

[41:58] know, perhaps I mean, you all are

[41:59] motorized recreation experts. Um maybe

[42:03] you all can be involved in helping kind

[42:05] of set that brainstorming what a

[42:08] potential work schedule could look like,

[42:10] you know, statewide and and hoping

[42:13] helping jot out some of the priorities

[42:15] that you're seeing and hearing

[42:17] from the communities

[42:20] and on the ground.

[42:23] » And Nicole, I think one of your the

[42:26] whoever mentioned the fires earlier

[42:29] spot on. I think that right now is the

[42:32] biggest concern that everybody has is

[42:34] the damage to all the trails from all

[42:37] the fires

[42:38] and the forest service BLM probably

[42:41] won't be able to manage all of that on

[42:43] their own. I'd imagine that the these

[42:46] this heavy equipment crew would be

[42:48] highly focused on repairing all that

[42:51] damage as quickly as possible.

[42:54] And and so unless somebody else sees

[42:57] something different, that's what I'm

[42:59] envisioning right now anyway.

[43:01] >> Yeah, and I can positively speak to our

[43:02] relationship with the region four at

[43:04] forest service. They've group, you know,

[43:06] they've supported our efforts over the

[43:08] years no matter what they what they be what they are. Um

[43:12] and some of those discussions have come

[43:14] up where hey, you know, not that we want

[43:16] to be red carded and going to fight fire

[43:18] directly, but we do want to get trails

[43:20] reopened as quick as possible and

[43:21] protect that access in all areas of the

[43:23] state and efficiently as possible and

[43:25] that did come up where some

[43:27] authorizations could possibly be given

[43:28] for us to get in there as soon as

[43:31] possible to do our our our part in some

[43:33] of that work. So that's some good

[43:35] discussions I've had.

[43:37] >> Nicole, you've got your hand up.

[43:40] >> Yeah, I just kind of I guess now I have

[43:42] two items that I want to

[43:44] mention.

[43:45] Um kind of on the fire rehab one.

[43:47] Uh I've done a quite a bit of fire rehab

[43:50] work in my previous life and uh I would

[43:53] caution to get getting in there too

[43:54] quickly to do any rehab cuz it will take

[43:57] a few years for it to stabilize. So if

[44:00] you get in there immediately

[44:02] you know, one or two years after is a

[44:04] much better choice. So just throwing

[44:06] that out there because of the

[44:07] experiences I've had, but I just want to

[44:09] go back to I think it was Mike that was

[44:11] saying it's hard to see who's in the

[44:12] room, but I do think that what he's

[44:15] talking about with, you know, a

[44:17] work-life balance and having crews

[44:19] spread out across the state is really

[44:21] important because,

[44:23] you know,

[44:24] I mean, we all know people that have

[44:25] worked on construction crews that

[44:27] they're on the road all the time and

[44:28] they burn out pretty pretty heavily, and

[44:31] you know, as I think about, you know, as

[44:33] state employees,

[44:35] we we're here because we're passionate

[44:37] about it, not because of the the

[44:39] paychecks that we get. And so, I can't

[44:41] imagine that the heavy equipment crew is

[44:43] going to, you know, be making big bucks

[44:45] like, you know, some of these

[44:47] construction crews that make the David

[44:48] Bacon wages. So, I do think Mike makes a

[44:52] really good point about a work-life

[44:54] balance and keeping people happy and

[44:56] keeping them there once you've got them

[44:58] trained. So, I just wanted to

[44:59] acknowledge what Mike said.

[45:02] Thank you.

[45:03] >> I think to go along with that, too, um,

[45:05] in my experience,

[45:07] hiring traveling surveyors kind of the

[45:10] same way, it's really difficult to find

[45:12] somebody that's willing to travel.

[45:14] So, I understand that plight as well.

[45:21] Any other [snorts]

[45:22] council members,

[45:24] um,

[45:26] have ideas, questions, need to chime in

[45:28] here?

[45:30] >> I'm curious how you're going to allocate

[45:31] the equipment.

[45:34] I mean, there's two two sets of

[45:36] equipment, four regions. How does How

[45:39] does the equipment get dispersed, and

[45:41] how does that decision get made?

[45:45] >> Yeah, that's a great question. Um, so,

[45:47] right now, uh, our supervisors are

[45:50] setting their

[45:51] or putting their work schedules for the year,

[45:54] um, together during the winter, usually

[45:56] January-February time frame. Um, so,

[45:59] typically by March or April, they know

[46:02] where they're going to be and what

[46:03] projects they have on the schedule for

[46:05] that entire year. Um so, our plan

[46:08] as of right now would be to just monitor

[46:10] that and kind of make up a plan

[46:13] accordingly. Um we definitely want with

[46:15] the amount of work um and with uh

[46:18] the type of work our crews are doing in

[46:20] Moab right now, um we would definitely

[46:22] want to get equipment there

[46:24] um

[46:25] to live there just because of of how

[46:28] difficult it would be to to transport

[46:30] back and forth to that region. Um

[46:33] but then we would work uh our

[46:35] southwestern central region work very

[46:37] closely together

[46:39] um and so, if we had equipment um staged

[46:42] there as well, it would be really easy

[46:44] for those two

[46:46] um supervisors to to coordinate on on

[46:48] what equipment they needed and when um

[46:51] when it comes to that. But like I had

[46:52] mentioned in the beginning too, we are

[46:54] we're looking at some other funding

[46:56] sources as well to look at purchasing

[46:58] more equipment. Um again, just to to

[47:01] make this operation more efficient if we

[47:03] are to go this route. Um so, so that is

[47:07] uh in in our future plans as well.

[47:12] » Uh isn't there any way to go ahead and

[47:14] coordinate using I brought this question

[47:16] up to begin with what the equipment that

[47:18] the BLM has in Moab and have a trail

[47:21] crew of a dedicated trail go crew go use

[47:24] that equipment. Uh

[47:27] I I know over the years we've bought a

[47:29] um a number of trail cats and

[47:31] I don't know how available those are,

[47:34] but maybe we should pursue that avenue.

[47:39] » Yeah, and and we're totally open to

[47:41] those options. Right now, um

[47:44] the BLM doesn't have any equipment in

[47:45] Moab um but rather with respect to us to my understanding

[47:50] um but we we have a great example of

[47:52] that in Iron County. Um that county

[47:55] there bought a trail cat and in the

[47:59] county is assisting on on both BLM and

[48:01] forest projects there too. And so

[48:04] yeah, definitely looking to do more of that type of

[48:07] coordination into the future.

[48:10] >> Yeah, just to expand on that too. Again,

[48:11] just talking about future opportunities.

[48:13] Sort of like Jason was saying of

[48:15] becoming the experts more and more is

[48:16] you know,

[48:17] there's nothing again I always caveat of

[48:19] like nothing promised today necessarily

[48:21] but I I can see why

[48:24] as these supervisors grow their skills

[48:25] to be able to possibly teach courses at

[48:27] our program as well to be able to

[48:29] empower those that do run heavy

[48:30] equipment as well. So there's

[48:32] potential opportunity when we have a

[48:33] statewide program statewide effort on

[48:35] some of these things. So I I view those

[48:38] as great suggestion and with great

[48:41] opportunities that we could have to

[48:42] partner with the program borrowing of

[48:44] equipment.

[48:45] >> Well Scott, maybe that's a stipulation

[48:46] you want to look into including in

[48:48] future equipment grants for like RTP or

[48:51] over when we're purchasing this

[48:52] equipment for counties or federal

[48:54] partners. Maybe we can include that in

[48:56] the contract language that they provide

[48:58] assistance to our trail group.

[48:59] Just thought.

[49:03] » Maybe by a assistant to the trail crew

[49:06] in the contract it says we since we

[49:09] put a very large amount of money towards

[49:11] this

[49:12] we we can use it when it's not being

[49:15] used by your program.

[49:18] >> There is a

[49:19] an asset

[49:21] rules.

[49:22] >> There's an asset rule but it's not

[49:24] specific that links to the trail crew.

[49:26] >> But [laughter] that's a great great

[49:27] idea.

[49:28] >> But it does say that it's state

[49:29] property.

[49:30] >> Yeah.

[49:31] >> No, it's for asset for 10 years or

[49:33] longer. Yeah, but that's the stipulation

[49:35] that we have in there for equipment

[49:37] currently.

[49:39] >> Could be a good thing to add though for

[49:40] sure.

[49:44] » Okay. Thank you everybody. Any any other

[49:47] questions or comments from the council?

[49:49] [clears throat]

[49:59] » So,

[50:00] what I'm what I'm hearing is there's

[50:02] concerns there's a few things concerns

[50:05] that we make sure that this is going for

[50:07] motorized projects.

[50:09] Um we want to make sure that we're

[50:10] collaborating with

[50:12] uh the local communities and those that

[50:14] already have trail equipment

[50:16] um with these uh operators.

[50:20] And then it sounds like dollar for

[50:22] dollar the trail crew is recommending

[50:25] this change

[50:27] um

[50:28] to get the most out of the money.

[50:30] Um

[50:31] any other consensus thoughts or any

[50:34] other

[50:35] um

[50:37] anything that I'm missing here?

[50:47] Any advice that council members want to

[50:50] provide outside of what we've discussed?

[50:56] » This is Brody. The only thing I would

[50:58] say is

[50:59] be willing to you know if you if you go

[51:02] the route of the the the regional crews

[51:05] like you know

[51:06] then if after a year or two and you're

[51:09] finding that it's just really not

[51:11] working be open to the idea of a

[51:13] centralized crew.

[51:14] Uh don't lock yourself into to one or

[51:17] the other

[51:18] um

[51:19] until you see how Give it a year or two

[51:20] to see how it works.

[51:23] >> Thank you.

[51:24] >> Yeah, it's a good idea.

[51:25] >> Pilot program.

[51:31] » Yeah, I guess I guess if I had to say I

[51:33] mean I can see both sides. I do like the

[51:36] idea of

[51:38] making full-time positions

[51:40] uh

[51:41] year-round

[51:43] as well as keeping them in the regions.

[51:45] It's really hard to find somebody that

[51:47] will travel

[51:49] um especially on a state wage.

[51:51] So,

[51:52] um

[51:53] I I'm I'm leaning to going the direction

[51:56] that has been proposed today.

[52:02] Any Anybody else?

[52:08] » So, are each one of these crews going to

[52:11] be the same size? I would think that

[52:13] where you have the biggest demand, you

[52:14] might need a bigger crew. I don't know.

[52:17] Uh

[52:18] and I don't know the size of these crews

[52:20] for sure, but

[52:22] uh if somebody's in running a bulldozer

[52:24] or a a trail cat and a mini ex, uh do

[52:27] you need How many people do you need to

[52:28] run a mini ex? One person and maybe one

[52:31] watching? I don't know. Uh What about a

[52:33] trail cat? You need maybe somebody to

[52:35] watch and somebody to run it. So, if we

[52:37] have a trail crew that's has four people

[52:39] with one piece of equipment,

[52:42] do we need all four people there?

[52:45] » Yeah, so our our crews would remain the

[52:47] same size. So, our crews currently are six

[52:51] uh made up of six people.

[52:53] Um and so, yeah, that the idea would be

[52:56] when that supervisor would step away for

[52:58] heavy equipment projects, they would be

[52:59] taking one crew member

[53:01] um to do either the brush work or the

[53:03] finish work um behind the machine. Um

[53:06] and then the rest of the four would be

[53:08] continuing to do hand crew work on other

[53:11] projects.

[53:12] >> Yeah, essentially doubling their

[53:14] capacity in capacity from just a project

[53:16] standpoint. So, instead of doing one

[53:17] project with five or six people, now we

[53:19] can do two projects with two here and

[53:23] three here. So, instead of having two

[53:25] full-time employees running all over the

[53:27] state,

[53:28] we're going to keep what we currently

[53:30] have, elevate four of them to full-time

[53:33] where they would be basically that that

[53:36] uh

[53:36] break off. It could either be two people

[53:39] or maybe even could be four, like you

[53:41] say, Scott, depending on the complexity

[53:42] and the needs of the of the project.

[53:44] Maybe it is two machines and four people

[53:45] and they all team up on it. That would

[53:47] be something they would have to sort of

[53:48] coordinate and decide on a case-by-case

[53:50] basis, but this I think would That

[53:53] That's probably the strongest point for

[53:55] this is just that capacity. Instead of

[53:57] having two people traveling everywhere,

[53:59] we got four able to cover the whole

[54:01] state and less travel.

[54:04] >> Well, my thinking is I'm going to have

[54:05] to leave this with Mike and Wade. And

[54:08] Jason, you guys to make that decision

[54:10] cuz I right now I can't tell you what I

[54:13] want done. I want it to be the most

[54:15] efficient way. You people are in that

[54:18] position. You've worked there. You see

[54:20] what's going on.

[54:21] I'm going to leave it to you to make

[54:23] that decision. And if it's a bad

[54:25] decision, maybe in a year or so we'll

[54:27] see, "Hey, we That was a bad decision.

[54:29] Let's change it."

[54:31] >> We thank you very much for that for what

[54:33] I'm what I'm gathering is is that trust,

[54:35] Scott, and also just, you know, in

[54:37] general to the council. Um I think this is a

[54:40] great launching point for our

[54:42] communication from now on to to help

[54:44] understand the trail crew program

[54:45] operations. I mean, this isn't just a

[54:46] one-off meeting and disappear. And I

[54:48] like that this is a

[54:50] you know, a new branch for us to be able

[54:51] to communicate with you all and update

[54:52] you in the spirit of kind of always

[54:54] improving like Jason's saying and our

[54:56] division kind of has that value. So,

[54:59] uh but yeah, thanks thanks for that that

[55:00] trust. And then I look forward to no

[55:02] matter what happens uh

[55:04] further communication and and better

[55:05] understanding.

[55:07] >> And And thank you for your questions. I really appreciate the questions. Um

[55:10] that's why

[55:11] you know,

[55:12] 4 years ago

[55:13] this would have probably just been

[55:14] something we would just gone ahead and

[55:15] done assuming that the advisory council

[55:18] wasn't interested in providing or didn't

[55:19] have questions. So, so in in another

[55:23] stride effort toward, you know,

[55:25] higher level of of fiscal transparency

[55:28] with this council and and

[55:30] leveraging the interest that you do

[55:31] have, really just want to say thank you.

[55:33] Especially uh Dean and and Lacey,

[55:35] appreciate you being uh the new members

[55:37] being willing to to jump into this and

[55:39] uh appreciate your your time.

[55:42] » And to that point, too, I I think we

[55:44] will expect some updates in our future

[55:48] meetings.

[55:49] Um and hopefully we can have a little

[55:52] bit of time set aside for Mike, um

[55:56] you or Mike to come and give us just a quick update and and

[56:01] keep us in the know.

[56:03] >> And we just definitely a part of the

[56:05] week that we look forward to and you you

[56:06] know, no matter what choices you're we

[56:08] make is you're on the journey with us.

[56:10] That's the way we look at it.

[56:11] So, thank you.

[56:15] » Okay, any anything else from any of the

[56:17] council members?

[56:22] » I like some of the changes I'm seeing in

[56:25] the spreadsheets and some of the other

[56:27] issues that we've had, but I'm assuming

[56:30] that's going to be another discussion.

[56:33] >> What was that?

[56:34] >> Sorry, can you repeat that?

[56:38] » Are you asking me what I said?

[56:40] >> Yeah.

[56:42] >> We didn't hear you.

[56:43] >> Yeah, we didn't hear you.

[56:43] >> He heard spreadsheets and then not much

[56:46] else there. Yeah, I didn't quite pick up

[56:47] on it. If you could repeat it.

[56:48] >> Updated grant spreadsheets. He

[56:50] appreciates what he's seeing and he

[56:53] assumes that that's going to be a point

[56:54] of discussion at our next meeting.

[56:56] >> Yeah, absolutely. And along with some

[56:58] other things. I know we've talked about

[56:59] wildfire and you know, Nicole, to your

[57:01] point, which is which is really

[57:03] forefront of my mind, yes, there are

[57:05] probably some things we can figure out

[57:06] to do in the next fiscal year, but

[57:09] likely we will not know the full extent

[57:11] of what's needed out there on the trails

[57:13] until the year after. So, there may be a

[57:15] discussion, too, of do we want to commit

[57:17] all of our funds this year or do we want

[57:18] to hold some of them back until we know

[57:21] a little bit better picture on on what

[57:23] impacts have been out there from

[57:24] wildfire.

[57:26] >> And Wade and myself have been

[57:27] discussing, um just kind of based off

[57:29] what's been prompted, um I believe by

[57:32] was it legislative Albright?

[57:34] >> Well, yeah, Representative Albright and Commissioner Pearson in Beaver

[57:37] County. They're they're very concerned,

[57:39] rightly so, about their economy in

[57:41] Beaver County. Their outdoor recreation

[57:43] scene is decimated. You know, all of

[57:46] those trails up there, the ski resort,

[57:48] um,

[57:49] you know, they still have the west side,

[57:50] which is open and and ready for

[57:52] business, but the problem is that most

[57:54] people are thinking, "Well, Beaver

[57:55] County isn't you know, isn't open for

[57:57] business when it comes to recreation."

[57:58] So, there's some messaging. There's also

[58:00] some grant opportunities from a tourism

[58:02] the the tourism segment of the the over

[58:04] grant, um, that we think will help those

[58:06] communities.

[58:07] >> And we're going to actually prioritize,

[58:10] that's what Wade and myself were talking

[58:11] about is actually making sure that if

[58:14] the advisory council agrees that we want

[58:15] to prioritize projects that are taking

[58:17] place in counties that have been

[58:18] affected by fires. So, it's actually

[58:20] something that we've been adding into

[58:21] the application.

[58:23] So,

[58:24] just an FYI.

[58:24] >> Thank you for doing that cuz we we

[58:26] really during that like the Silver King

[58:29] fire, we really

[58:31] I've tried [snorts] to focus on recovery

[58:33] for the trails, but also for that

[58:36] county. So, thank you for doing that.

[58:39] >> Yeah.

[58:42] » Okay, do we have Do you need anything

[58:44] else from us from the council moving

[58:46] forward, Jason?

[58:48] >> Um,

[58:49] >> Rachel has an announcement.

[58:50] >> Um,

[58:51] the answer to that question, no, not at

[58:53] this time, but, uh,

[58:55] >> Yeah, um, just an announcement. So, as

[58:58] most of you know, you guys have seen

[58:59] emails from me kind of throughout the

[59:00] couple past couple days. The OHR

[59:03] recreation grant opens tomorrow as well

[59:05] as the outdoor recreation mitigation grant and the outdoor

[59:10] recreation infrastructure grant.

[59:13] >> And infrastructure?

[59:14] >> The outdoor recreation mitigation grant

[59:16] is for search and rescue plus some

[59:20] other,

[59:21] um, infrastructure that has been damaged

[59:24] in a given rural community because of

[59:27] heavy visitation. So,

[59:29] just so you know and pass that around,

[59:31] please.

[59:33] >> Okay.

[59:34] Thank you.

[59:36] All right. Thanks everybody for taking

[59:38] the time tonight. I know we went a

[59:39] little bit longer.

[59:41] Um we appreciate your input and uh at

[59:44] this time we'll accept a motion for

[59:47] adjournment.

[59:50] » This is Brody. I would like to make a

[59:51] motion that we conclude the meeting.

[59:55] » I'll second it. This is Mike.

[59:58] >> Okay.

[1:00:00] Thanks everybody. Meeting is adjourned.

[1:00:02] >> Appreciate y'all.

[1:00:03] >> Thank you.

[1:00:04] all. Thank you.

Off-Highway Vehicle Advisory Council 7/14/2026

Transcript