A History of Millard County

The intermountain power project and economic diversification

CHAPTER 11 THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION l V l i l l a r d County during the last two decades of the twentieth century underwent economic diversification far surpassing any previ­ous developments. The Intermountain Power Project (IPP), one of the largest coal-generated electric power plants in the Intermountain West, has been a prime factor. Several mining-related operations along with processing and manufacturing enterprises added to the economic base of the county. Agriculture continued to be important, sometimes even bringing the county into the national limelight. Tourism remained an important segment of the county's economy. A shift in population from the east side to the west side of the county plus new communi­cations technology resulted in some rethinking of county government services and location. New environmental laws brought on a new rela­tionship of local citizens with the national government that sometimes led to conflict and at other times to accommodation. In late 1977, after weeks of rumors, a public information meet­ing sponsored by the Intermountain Power Project was held at the Delta LDS Second Ward cultural hall. There, to a large gathering, an IPP official announced that a consortium of twenty-seven member 377 378 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY municipal electrical systems in California and Utah along with six Rural Electrification Administration cooperatives in Utah was con­sidering building a massive coal-fired electric generation plant between Lynndyl and Delta, one of six sites being considered. An important consideration in selecting the site for the IPP was its environmental impact. At the other possible sites in southern Utah, environmentalists were very much concerned with the power plant's serious environmental impact. This was particularly the situ­ation at IPP's favored location at Salt Wash near Cainesville in Wayne County, near scenic Capital Reef National Park. A state intergovern­mental task force was organized to provide input into the site-selec­tion process. It soon was apparent that all of the other southern Utah sites were less suitable, and the task force recommended the location in Millard County southwest of Lynndyl and ten miles directly west of the Brush-Wellman Beryllium plant.1 In early April 1978, IPP and the BLM approved a further study of the Millard County site. In mid- December 1979 the Millard County location received approval from former governor of Idaho and then Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus. Andrus concluded that the Millard County site would cause no major problems for the proposed wilderness areas then under consideration in the region and was an acceptable location for the power plant.2 There remained several other significant hurdles to be cleared before work could begin. The first was a controversial 2 percent tax the state legislature levied on the gross income earned by power plants. IPP officials called the tax a "death knell to the project," although the company acknowledged that since state law prohibited counties from levying property taxes on such enterprises some means was necessary to provide funds to help alleviate costs incurred by municipalities dealing with the influx of construction workers and their families during the construction period. In lieu of the tax, IPP officials proposed that the legislature enact provisions to permit the company to make payments to the county and the communities impacted. The proposal allowed the company to contract directly with agencies like the Millard County School District to provide funds for school construction in a timely fashion. The legislation was passed by early February 1980. THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 379 A second hurdle was a companion measure of the legislature to tax the company's income, which IPP labeled as "excessive and dis­criminatory." Some expressed fear that such a tax might jeopardize the sale of construction bonds at an attractive rate because the Internal Revenue Service might revoke the company's tax-exempt status.3 Municipalities hoping to benefit from the project criticized the legislature for jeopardizing the future of the power project. Nineteen mayors from the twenty-four Utah cities involved called for a halt in project planning until the tax issue could be resolved. The mayors charged state lawmakers with indifference to the needs of Utah towns and called on Governor Scott Matheson to veto the bill. The governor reactivated his tax-revision committee to determine if it was good public policy to tax a power project created by non-tax­able municipalities. Matheson reminded the committee that since the power consortium was utilizing the state's coal and water resources, it must be held accountable. After studying the matter for more than six months, the committee reported that the tax structure "may be excessive" for IPP compared to other similar power projects and rec­ommended that the legislature "take appropriate action" to assure equitable treatment of the company.4 The primary local concern was the power plant's need for at least 45,000 acre-feet of water annually. The state engineer approved the company's plan to drill wells for part of its water supply; the remain­der would have to come from existing irrigation sources. In March 1978, stockholders of the Delta, Melville, Abraham, and Deseret irri­gation companies agreed to sell to IPP about 20 percent of their total shares of water, or 45,000 acre-feet of permanent water rights, for $1,750 per acre-foot. The neighboring Central Utah Water Company stockholders farming in Lynndyl, McCornick, and adjacent areas eventually sold approximately 85 percent of their water shares to IPP as well. These water users of the Highline Canal had faced serious water losses in the past, as much as 90 percent, through the canal's porous course and thus sold water that was of limited agricultural value as conditions then existed.5 There remained some opposition to the power plant from many Millard residents. In a public opinion survey of 2,700 county resi­dents conducted by Congressman Dan Marriott, a full one-third of 380 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY • • - : The Intermountain Power Plant north of Delta, built in the 1980s. (Courtesy Intermountain Power Association) west Millard residents and one-quarter of those from east Millard had serious reservations about the power project. About 40 percent of county residents believed that selling available irrigation water to IPP would severely impair agriculture in the county. The final envi­ronmental impact report published late in 1979 estimated that only 9 percent of the Sevier River water reaching west Millard would be required by the power plant. This loss meant the abandonment of between 7,200 and 7,800 acres of formerly irrigated farmland. A small but vocal group of about ninety opponents launched legal attempts to block the sale of water shares, essentially questioning the claimed limited impact of diverting for industrial purposes irrigation water, including some from newly approved wells. In the end, how­ever, they only delayed final transfer of the water shares.6 With the issues of water and taxes settled, the Intermountain Power Agency, the corporate directors of IPP, approved the sale of bonds to finance completion of the power plant. The initial bond sales generated funds to purchase the water rights. The sale agree­ment stipulated the 500 water sellers would receive $78,750,000, which until dispersed would generate interest. Earning the interest was delayed by lawsuits before the final settlement was reached.7 Just as IPP was about to become a reality, the United States Air THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 381 Force announced possible plans to build a massive missile network called MX on the Utah west desert and eastern Nevada. The massive multicounty project featured numerous launching sites connected by a rail system capable of moving intercontinental ballistic missiles from launch site to launch site with sufficient frequency to shield the missiles from being targeted. If both projects were to be built, they would place considerable strain on west Millard. It was estimated that the population of Delta would mushroom to 20,000 people by 1989, and Delta Mayor Leland J. Roper stated, "I don't know how we can stand them both."8 Throughout the state most Utahns opposed MX. Millard County's newspaper publishers were particularly effective in mold­ing opposing opinion. The Progress stated, "our throats are big, but MX doesn't fit." Chronicle publisher Susan Beckwith Dutson spoke out against the project on the nationally televised "Today Show." Mormon church leaders issued public statements expressing the church's opposition to the project. The state's congressional delega­tion also spoke out against the defense plan. With mounting public opposition from many quarters, the Air Force and the administration of newly elected president Ronald Reagan promptly shifted their attention for the project to a more favorable public-opinion climate in Wyoming. Few, if any, in the county were sorry to see the project disappear from their concern.9 With relief, the community returned to the reality of the Inter­mountain Power Project. Among the many issues Delta and the county faced when IPP announced its plans were the needs for vast improvements in roads, schools, and other infrastructure. Additionally, the announcement of IPP set off a wave of speculation. Various real estate speculators began purchasing acreage with good potential for development. Land prices skyrocketed. For example, a building lot that sold for $2,000 soon brought as much as $17,000. However, with interest rates at the highest in the nation's history, many local investors deferred to larger outside developers with bet­ter sources of financing. One of the outside land speculators was Keith Taylor of San Diego, California, a longtime investor in Utah properties. However, when he opened an office in Delta, a local news- 382 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY paper article labeled him a "bejeweled fingered carpetbagger." Some, like James and Robert Pendray, formerly of Lynndyl, returned to the area and were welcomed. In the summer of 1980 the Pendrays built a forty-eight-unit motel, a restaurant, and several retail stores in a plaza located on the main highway in the northeastern corner of Delta. They later built a movie theater and bowling alley at the location.10 Besides the many Utah municipalities involved in IPP, cities from southern California had also joined the power consortium to build the power plant. The Los Angeles City Council, for example, agreed to purchase over one-third of the total electric power to be produced over a fifty-year contract period. Neighboring cities of Burbank, Glendale, Anaheim, Pasadena, and Riverside contracted to purchase 24 percent of the power produced. Since the completion of IPP the percentage of power to these cities has increased. The IPP agreed to provide impact funds to the city of Delta and other entities to improve schools and other public services in prepa­ration for the expected large influx of workers and their families. Technically, impact alleviation funds were loaned to Millard County and their school district. Repayments were made by adding this debt to taxes charged to all taxpayers, then crediting IPP the portion they would otherwise have had to pay. However, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power appeared to question the manner in which Delta proposed to spend the impact funds. Delta city officials and other government entities bridled at this. The Intermountain Power Agency quickly explained in June 1980 in a public statement it was not the members intent to "dictate to Delta what their budget should or should not be," but, since the agency was being asked "to pay 28.9 percent of Delta city's 1981-82 budget, it [wanted] to be sure the money's not being wasted." The details of the communica­tion disturbed Delta Mayor Leland J. Roper and the city council. Spokesman for the Intermountain Power Agency correctly pointed out that this was a new experience and they needed to assure their backers the expenditures were justified. Still, it appeared to be out­side interference in local affairs and was so labeled by the Salt Lake Tribune.11 For a time, Millard County officials suspended their dealings with IPA over similar impact-alleviation difficulties. From the THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 383 county's viewpoint, each budget they submitted had been returned for corrections but with little input offered toward resolving prob­lems. Finally, Governor Scott Matheson called on the power agency to "cut the red tape and get on with the job of cushioning the impact" of the IPP on the county.12 By September 1980 power project representatives were report­edly "working better" with state and local officials in the aftermath of the outpouring of dissatisfaction. Perhaps partly because of the crit­icisms, the IPA board voted in mid-September to pay $260,000 into Delta's $800,000 budget for 1982, along with $130,000 placed in escrow accounts for unforeseen contingencies. They also adopted standards for determining the direct impact on communities near the project, promising to utilize an agency of the state of Utah as arbiter in future disputes. In 1980, IPP officials faced a major financial crisis when cost pro­jections indicated a $1 billion over-run on the estimated $11.5 billion project. To meet this, the company considered a wide array of options-from abandoning the undertaking altogether to going ahead as planned. A plan soon emerged to cut the third and fourth power generating units, at least for the near future, thereby saving almost one-half of the estimated construction cost. Since these latter two phases were not part of the current construction anyway, sales of the initial bonds continued and interest rates on the bonds dropped, reducing the overall debt obligations and thereby enhancing the bond sales.13 Related to bond sales was the continuing struggle of the power company with the state legislature over taxes and related issues. In early 1983, legislation was again introduced to compel enterprises such as IPP to pay higher in-lieu fees in place of school property taxes. The bill that passed was more acceptable to power project interests, sharply reducing taxes on gross receipts. Similarly, there was three-way cooperation between the Utah Department of Transportation, the county, and IPP for improving and constructing better access highways to the power plant. The state mandated that $600,000 be spent to improve the "Berylium Road" to the plant site, and the power company consortium loaned Millard County the funds for the improvement. IPP also loaned the county $2.2 million 384 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY to acquire access and build the "Jones Road." Millard County also secured a commitment from the state transportation department to construct the "Airport Bypass Road," with the county assisting in obtaining rights-of-way. Road improvements between the Holden and Oak City highway intersection to Highway 6/50 just south of the Sevier River Bridge cut nine miles off the distance for coal carriers from Emery County mines to the power plant. However, by the time the road was completed in 1995, the power company was obtaining its coal from other sources and transporting it by other means, mak­ing the road less essential. The loaned road funds were repaid with interest by reducing IPP taxes after the entity came under taxation obligation.14 There continued to be disputes between the Intermountain Power Agency and state and local taxation entities during the first half-dozen years of operation. Because IPP comprised such a large proportion of the county's tax base, county officials had great diffi­culty anticipating revenues essential for accurate budgeting. The Intermountain Power Agency contended that since it was partially owned by Utah municipalities, that portion of electricity generated should be exempt from taxes. Taxes affected the power company's industrial bond ratings. Company managers also did not wish to be taxed on full power plant capacity if it operated at less than full capacity. In 1991 and 1992 both sides made concessions, although several disputed issues continued to plague IPP and the county. Despite these issues and frustrations, the public facilities and services provided largely through IPP impact funds have been numerous.15 One of the major concerns was housing. No provisions were ini­tially made for the first 400 construction workers and their families. IPA executive officer Joseph Fackrell stated that the company hoped to avoid getting into the housing business and that private developers would fill the need. He stated that many construction workers expected inconvenience and often commuted long distances to the work site during the first months of a new project. Some investors did attempt to fill the housing void. Local busi­nessmen Rex Day and Marlow Cropper broke ground for a mobile home housing project east of town, having some guarantees that some of the units would be rented by IPP workers. Robert and James THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 385 Pendray also developed and leased fifty mobile home lots to the com­pany for worker housing. Eventually, IPA participated in such pro­jects as apartments, single-family residences, and the construction of the so-called "man camp," a home away from home for many work­ers. 16 The influx of construction workers brought about social changes. Chronicle publisher and chief reporter Sue Dutson noted the town's first purse-snatching and juvenile auto theft. Instead of the usual one bar fight a year, during the first three months after construction began three bar fights were reported. Many in Delta feared this kind of behavior would bode ill for the future. A year later, real estate agent and state representative Mitch Myers observed that high interest rates and other project uncertainties had prevented much speculative development by local entrepreneurs. Delta officials adopted stringent zoning codes and planned to assess impact fees. IPP and outside associates, including Meyers, began to plan single and multiple family housing southeast of town that within the year would markedly increase the size of the city and the number of its living accommodations.17 Established governmental agencies such as Central Mental Health Services and others took steps to meet the social needs of the boomtown residents. Studies were made of other communities with previous similar experiences, particularly the Wyoming cities of Gillette and Rock Springs. The Evanston, Wyoming, police captain was brought to Delta by officials to discuss crime problems accom­panying rapid population expansion. The police captain asserted that 90 percent of Evanston's problems were alcohol related, with drug problems closely associated.18 Delta City police announced their intent to strictly enforce ordi­nances against driving under the influence and to institute a policy of not permitting plea bargaining where alcohol was involved. With stiff penalties and stringent standards for prosecution, law enforce­ment experienced a 100 percent conviction rate in thirty-two cases in 1983, with forty convictions in 1984. These stiff standards helped control when and where alcohol was consumed, but liquor sales still escalated from $127,323 in 1981 to $286,951 in 1983.19 Despite reducing drunken driving offenses, the Delta crime rate 386 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY increased, as expected. Chief Greg Cooper reported that there was a 376 percent increase in criminal incidents, a 93 percent increase in juvenile arrests, a n d a 422 percent increase in misdemeanors for the p e r i o d from 1980 to 1982. By 1984 t h e number of criminal com­plaints had risen to 1,400, of which 803 became actual cases. Assaults went up 220 percent, drug arrests u p 75 percent, b a d checks u p 62 percent, and auto thefts 21 percent.20 The Delta City police force grew from three to nine officers by 1985. The turnover rate of qualified officers was high, however, as better-paying jobs were available else­where. Cooper himself took such a j ob in 1985 and was replaced by Roger Young. A public controversy was initiated when the Salt Lake Tribune and a television report claimed that the dramatic increase in social problems in Delta and west Millard was caused by IPP workers. This triggered outrage among many IPP workers, who resented the impli­cation that they were mainly responsible for Millard County's social problems. Local businessmen, not wishing these customers to with­draw patronage, were also outspoken in denying this was the case.21 As the controversy subsided, public officials became more cau­tious in making allegations against the power plant workers. Many local citizens also recognized that the increased population was only partly responsible for the increased crime problem. While a drug bust in 1983 implicated eight IPP employees, a series of drug arrests the next year was entirely unrelated to the power plant employees and actually included an alarming number of county high school stu­dents. The county sheriff's department involvement in drug arrests also increased markedly; however, it demonstrated greater sensitivity toward the problem. The Chronicle noted in an editorial that the crime rate and population had increased together and that such rates were going u p throughout the region. The fact was that some county residents demonstrated a growing propensity for illicit drug activity and a general involvement in criminal behavior. At the IPP groundbreaking ceremonies on 9 October 1981 the population of Delta City was at about 1,930. During the next several years, the population of Delta exploded. At IPP's construction and development peak, an estimated 2,600 workers and their families- a total of about 6,000 additional residents-moved into west Millard THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 387 and Delta City, most living in temporary housing. The Salt Lake Tribune characterized the decade of the 1980s as like a "python that has swallowed an antelope-a big bulge in the middle of the decade and a sharp tracing off at either end."22 Roughly one-third of the construction workers and their fami­lies resided in apartments, trailer courts, and rented homes. Another third lived at the man camp at the construction site during the week and drove home on the weekends. The remaining workers commuted daily from Utah, Salt Lake, and other counties of northern and cen­tral Utah. In 1986, near the peak of construction, Delta's population reached 3,530 people, about the same as the number of workers then at the plant. The IPP construction impact actually was far more dif­fused than had been anticipated. The increase of population provided a case study for social sci­ence researchers. The Logan-based Institute for Social Science Research on Natural Resources noted that for the years 1982 and 1984 a high percentage of construction workers were single, not unusual for the heavy construction industry. Further, there was a high number of young married childless couples. As a result, the overall average household size in west Millard declined from four to three people for the period under study. In 1984 nearly 30 percent of the residents lived in mobile homes, compared to 17 percent two years earlier. Reflecting the transiency of the population, the study revealed that fully one-third of those surveyed expected to move on soon. Overall, the average household income increased by about $5,000, and the survey concluded that Delta was about average in comparison with other communities where respondents had lived.23 Socially, many of the IPP workers, seasoned by many moves, gravitated toward social interaction within their own group rather than becoming involved with the permanent residents. Project super­visor Rod Clark later recalled that many IPP construction worker families had reservations about coming to an agricultural town in the desert. However, when most got settled and became more involved in the community, they discovered that it was a good place to live. Clark added that when the project was nearing completion many construction workers attempted to find other jobs and remain in the area. Few were successful, however.24 388 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY Some seasoned construction workers felt that Delta did not fit the pattern of a typical boomtown. Undoubtedly, prior preparation by all involved mitigated the typical boomtown syndrome of crowded trailer camps, rampant crime, endless traffic, strapped city services, and hordes of strangers. Psychologists also noted that they worked with fewer people than anticipated who suffered from stress, depression, or other similar problems. Another key factor was the plant's location. Many construction workers lived along the Wasatch Front, which allowed them to be with their families on their days off, and in many instances they were able to commute daily.25 The LDS stake and wards in west Millard had made improve­ments in their buildings before the IPP plans were revealed. New chapels were built in Oak City, Garrison, Hinckley, Leamington, Deseret-Oasis, and Delta. In 1979 local stake president Merlin Christensen and others saw fit to drastically alter the boundaries of the Delta wards, making three new wards, for a total of six in the community. A year later, the Delta LDS Stake was divided, making Delta Utah and Delta Utah West Stakes. Holden LDS church members moved into a new ward chapel in 1969. The old cultural hall built in 1902 was destroyed by fire in 1984. In 1978 the Fillmore Fourth Ward was created to serve the growing needs of LDS members. By 1983 the hundred-year-old Meadow chapel was crumbling and in need of major repairs. There was some discussion of building a new chapel to serve both Meadow and Kanosh but it was decided that each community should have its own facility. The last event at the old Meadow wardhouse was a dance in early 1984. The sturdy Presbyterian-oriented Delta Community Church had always provided Protestant religious services for the many non- Mormon families of the area. During the 1970s a shared ministry arrangement was utilized in the Delta-Milford area with Rev. Jean Steiner of the Milford Community United Methodist Church. She served both towns each week. In 1980 Rev. Fred Hauman of Delta was appointed pastor of the Beaver-Millard parish. The First Southern Baptist Church was revived in 1976 and its congregation was ministered to by evangelist Clyde Billingsly of North Carolina. THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 389 This and the larger Grace Baptist Church led by Pastor Dennis Casun provided for the Baptist IPP construction workers.26 Since the 1920s there had been a dedicated corps of Jehovah's Witnesses in the county, who had been organized in 1946 under the leadership of Amnion Kozina, who was followed by his nephew Donald Kozina. Meeting first in Sutherland, then in Delta, the con­gregation constructed a Kingdom Hall in Delta in 1961 and main­tained a proselytizing program throughout the community. Catholics in the county have never been far from the services of a priest. Priests from St. Patrick's Parish in Eureka held mass when requested. In 1938 Bishop Duane G. Hunt arranged for the purchase of the disbanded Friendship Thimble Club's clubhouse. The Joe Nutsch family remodeled the building to accommodate an alter, sanctuary, and meeting room, and on 5 November 1939 Bishop Hunt celebrated mass and honored the church with the name of St. John Bosco. In 1947 St. John Bosco church was moved to Delta. For a six-year period, from 1958 to 1964, Father Rudolph Daz served the Delta parish, often visiting Fillmore church members as well. In 1969 several parish families renovated the church and Father Louis Fischer resumed visiting the church regularly. During the IPP construction, church attendance reached an unprecedented level. A larger church was needed. Parish members went to work and on 30 June 1985 a new St. John Bosco church was dedicated by Bishop William K. Weigand of Salt Lake City.27 The Catholic community in east Millard was bolstered in the 1970s with the growth of dairy farming and the need for more farm workers. Dairy farmers and others hired a number of Hispanic farm workers to fill the employment void, and, by 1975, the Holy Family Mission in Fillmore, a part of St. Patrick's Parish in Eureka, was hold­ing regular Sunday services under Father Walter A. Riendeau. Other priests served on a part-time basis. In August 1986 the Holy Family Mission purchased its own church on Main Street. The Holy Family Mission remained active into the 1990s.28 The steady growth of the school population in west Millard, par­ticularly in Delta in the late 1960s and 1970s, created crowded school rooms. Further crowding was caused when the decision was made to consolidate outlying small elementary schools such as the Sutherland 390 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY school. County residents approved a school bond initiative in October 1975 to build new elementary schools in Fillmore and Delta and an intermediate school in Delta. The new schools in Delta were built in part with IPP mitigation funds. Groundbreaking for the elementary school in Fillmore signaled the beginning of a series of new public buildings situated generally at the south end of town. The new Fillmore Elementary School was dedicated in 1978. Two years later, plans were developed to replace the "Old Main" academic building on the Millard High School cam­pus with a new building. A new auditorium and gymnasium were eventually built as well. Not long after, a second Delta elementary school was built to handle the influx of IPP workers' children. Delta High School also experienced an increase in enrollment, and by 1985 Delta High had 650 students on a campus that was designed for 600 students. IPP mitigation funds of $8-9 million greatly aided in build­ing the new schools in Delta.29 IPP reoriented the commercial district of Delta. For a long time the popular A&W Root Beer Drive-in, owned by Grant Bennett, was the only commercial establishment at the east end of Delta. Competition came from a new McDonalds later. Quality Market was the first to move to a new store complex near the east end of town in 1978, placing it in a perfect location for the IPP boom. Other busi­nesses soon followed: Pendray Plaza, with its motel, restaurant, shops, movie theater and bowling alley; Zion's First National Bank; and sev­eral real estate offices, among others. The new elementary schools, the hospital, regional park, and the largest number of new residences were located on the east side of Delta. Thus, commercial develop­ment also shifted from the west to the east end of town. IPP brought other changes to Delta. In 1983 Delta's longstand­ing ban on Sunday beer sales was repealed. For more than a genera­tion drinkers had to travel to Oasis, Deseret, or elsewhere to buy beer on Sundays. A new convenience store received a beer-sales license. Some citizens attempted to block its implementation because of the store's close proximity to the elementary school; however, the deci­sion of the city council prevailed. In 1986 proprietors of the Pendray Plaza bowling lanes gained the right to place video games and pool THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 391 tables in the presence of minors and to allow alcohol consumption on the premises. A new city office building was built in 1982 on the old elemen­tary school site. Voters approved a financing package of $180,000 from the sale of bonds, $700,000 from IPP mitigation funds, and a $10,000 grant from the Utah Library Board. The facility also included the library and police station. City councilwoman and later mayor Ruth Hansen fought hard for the library, which is largely a monu­ment to her. The city's water and sewer systems were upgraded and enlarged beyond foreseeable needs, principally funded using IPP mit­igation funds.30 After years of a cordial and cooperative relationship, the two county newspapers combined in 1985. IPP funds also helped build the new White Sage regional park, at a cost of $1.2 million. With three new ball fields, the park ushered in a new era in recreation. A number of new men's and women's soft-ball teams and leagues were organized. The regional park also included tennis courts and a childrens playground. Organized activ­ities were directed by recreational departments of Delta and Millard County. With so many new developments occurring, some fought to save west Millard's history. In 1985 area residents Howard Clayton and Fred Tolbert spearheaded a drive to retrieve and preserve a 1893 Case tractor which had been used early in the county. "We feel a need to establish a historical center to house items of interest," Tolbert stated. At about the same time, a state-sponsored survey of historical build­ings in Delta encouraged more historical activity, and the Great Basin Museum and the Great Basin Historical Society were founded. The Continental Telephone Company donated a building. With the sup­port and encouragement of Lenore McCall, Louise H. Lyman, Jane Beckwith, Dorothy and Ward Killpack, Charlotte Morrison, and oth­ers, artifacts were gathered and histories collected. A particularly sig­nificant joint venture developed with interested Japanese-Americans who wanted to preserve and interpret the history of Topaz. During the 1960s there was growing interest in providing addi­tional educational opportunities in the county. Geographical isola­tion was a major stumbling block for county students who wanted post-high school education, with only a few extension courses offered 392 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY by several of the colleges and universities elsewhere in the state. Early in 1970, Jess Jarvis, executive director of a six-county economic devel­opment district, proposed a vocational school for Delta. Little further progress was made until IPP was announced; then, largely through the efforts of Millard County schools administrator Jack Fowles and supported by impact funds, the West Central Utah Vocational Center, with a capacity of 1,500, was dedicated in 1984. The vocational center offered evening classes for working adults, provided training for IPP apprentice welders, carpenters, and iron workers, and provided edu­cational opportunities for high school students wishing to add voca­tional training to their high school course load. The first year 450 high school students enrolled and sixty adults took evening classes. Throughout rural Utah and America there were increasingly fewer physicians working, many in outdated and inadequate hospi­tals that were poorly staffed and facing financial difficulties. In Millard County during the period before IPP construction there were five physicians. Dr. Dean C. Evans was near retirement and some other doctors reportedly were looking to move elsewhere. Overall medical care was a growing concern in the community. Some help arrived when nurse practitioner Rory York moved to Fillmore in 1974. That same year the LDS church decided to divest itself of its Hospital Services Corporation and the fifteen hospitals it managed and operated, including the hospital at Fillmore. A new non-profit secular health organization, Intermountain Health Care, was created to manage the various hospitals. The change in management of the Fillmore hospital did not alter the increasingly bleak condition there. To shore up the hospital financially, a county hospital district was organized and a tax levied for the institution. A few improvements were made, but the hospital continued to lose money, estimated to be as high as $10,000 for some months. By July 1982 the facility had run a deficit for twenty-one months in succession and faced closure if changes were not made. The Delta hospital faced a different kind of problem, an explod­ing population and associated medical needs. On the twentieth anniversary of its completion, Delta hospital administrator Dell Ashby noted the inadequacies of the hospital: too few beds and lack THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 393_ of office space and other important amenities. The existing hospital had little room to expand. A new hospital was needed, particularly with IPP becoming a reality. A proposition for a new hospital was put forth to voters of west Millard; however, they defeated it. Other plans were then developed by the hospital board. After several public hear­ings, the West Millard Hospital Board proposed that the IHC be asked to build a new hospital, backed, if necessary, by county indus­trial revenue bonds. Some residents of the east side of the county had been waiting for just such a contingency to approach IHC for similar assistance.31 In Fillmore in 1983 a series of community meetings was held to consider the hospital issue. A bond proposal was made, but it too failed. Progress editor Marge Barton observed with frustration, "it is difficult to believe the apathy citizens [were] showing" during a time of real crisis.32 In September 450 people signed a petition asking the county to take decisive action in behalf of east Millard. Initially IHC agreed to construct a new hospital only in Delta. However, county commissioner Mike Styler and a delegation from the east Millard Hospital Board persuaded IHC to build a new hos­pital in Fillmore as well. The Fillmore hospital planned to utilize ten of its twenty beds for long-term elder care. The old Delta hospital was converted into additional extended care units to supplement the twenty-unit facility built in 1966.33 Groundbreaking for the Delta hospital took place in March 1984 on land donated by the IPP. IHC financed the entire $3.4 million community health center. The design and use of a modular system of construction provided both new hospitals the flexibility to expand in the future. The Fillmore building was located just south of town, near the elementary and middle schools and the new county complex. There continued to be a problem of recruiting and keeping physicians in the county. Intermountain Health Care offered a $5,000 incentive for physicians to establish practices in the county, and sev­eral doctors were lured to the county by the offer.34 Despite many physicians wanting to practice in more lucrative medical markets in large urban areas, the county in 1998 had six physicians and sur­geons, with an equal number of dentists and optometrists practicing part of each week in the county. 394 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY Emergency services had sometimes been lacking. In 1972 the county assumed ambulance service, which local mortuaries had pro­vided for many years. The county sheriff essentially provided ambu­lance and emergency service throughout the county, with the east-side sheriff's posse and other volunteers supplying the necessary manpower. In 1975 state regulations stipulated ambulance operations be handled by trained Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). A number of Fillmore area posse members became EMTs and contin­ued to perform this valuable service. In 1978 a new ambulance was purchased for Delta, and the training of EMTs was coordinated under longtime hospital administrator Dell Ashby, with Dr. David Henrie as supervisor. The well-organized volunteer posses on both sides of the county continued to be active in the medical field and in search-and-rescue operations. A growing number of community vol­unteer fire departments also assisted. The greying of the county's population along with that of the state generated public programs and facilities for people sixty-five and older.35 Within a year after adding the extended care wing to the West Millard Hospital, area senior citizens began holding events at the old seminary building, abandoned when the new high school was built. It flourished under the direction of former high school princi­pal Glen W. Seegmiller. The center became a focal point for the activ­ities of a growing number of senior citizens. The county eventually organized a council for the aging, and construction commenced on a new senior citizen's building near the old municipal swimming pool and old hospital. The facility, built at a cost of $95,000, offered special amenities and programs to the older users of the building. With Governor Scott Matheson in attendance, the center was dedi­cated in May 1978. The senior citizens facility was named the M.E. Bird Recreation Center for Dr. Bird, who with his wife, Romainia, also donated a musical organ to the center. This included federal pro­grams to serve meals at the center as well as home delivery for those home-bound. Much of the work was volunteer, seniors helping seniors. IPP funds and personnel also assisted the center.36 In 1985 the community, using contributions and a loan from the Farmers Home Administration, built a low-income senior housing project of thirty units, the Delta Sands Apartments, on donated land THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 395 adjacent the extended-care facility. This housing project has been very successful in offering an independent living environment.37 On the east side of the county, county officials provided a remod­eled building, once owned by the state, for a senior center. A minibus was purchased to transport seniors to various activities and to bring them to the Fillmore center from Holden and other nearby commu­nities. By the early 1980s, a large number of senior citizens partici­pated in the various programs provided by the center including pot-luck dinners and Friday evening dances. As many as 150 took advantage of the meals program.38 In 1982, Mt. Catherine Manor was constructed in Fillmore by Millard County to operate as a home for senior citizens. Fillmore City officials purchased the old Fillmore hospital in 1986 and remodeled it for city offices and a library memorial to President Millard Fillmore, all without going into debt. The early 1980s with the IPP presented enormous challenges for the Delta City Council and mayor, moving from a rather sleepy farm­ing community to a bustling boomtown. Mayor Grant Nielson stated "there have been more good days than bad, and in most areas I.P.P. has met their obligations."39 One of the biggest concerns, however, was city streets. City councilmen Max Bennett, Don Bird, and Willis Morrison agreed that a big disappointment was that IPP did not accepted more responsibility for upgrading city streets. IPP officials argued that Delta city streets were "not [an improvement item] they [had] agreed to."40 Unable to secure funding from the IPP for street improvements, city officials took an alternative approach, securing low-interest loans from the Utah Community Impact Board. A sum of $1.3 million was obtained to pave twenty-five city block streets along with a one-half million dollars for closing open drainage ditches.41 Traffic improve­ments were also made in Delta. Working through a maze of federal and state highway policies, city officials were finally able to install a much needed traffic light on Highway 6/50 which greatly improved safety.42 Increased population and construction activities created greater need for trash and garbage disposal. With $200,000 from IPP, numer­ous open garbage and refuse dumps were closed in the county and 396 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY several county-operated sanitary landfill sites were developed. This eliminated the unsightly and dangerous old trash dumps. Growth and economic diversity brought a myriad of new local, state, and federal rules and policies as well as new programs and means to implement them. The county commission hired Robyn Pearson, the county's first professionally trained administrative offi­cer, to handle the complex day-to-day administration of the county. Working with the county commission and other county government officials, the county administrative officer made significant contri­butions to developing a countywide sanitary landfill system, improv­ing the west Millard golf course, better maintenance of roads and bridges, and a cooperative working relationship with IPP. However, after considerable controversy, recently the county commissioners have once again assumed much of the day-to-day management and administration of the county. The first unit of the IPP went commercially on line on 10 June 1986. A formal dedication of the project was held on 13 June 1987, and an estimated 8,000 people attended. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang and Thomas S. Monson of the First Presidency of the LDS church offered a dedicatory prayer. The Delta airport handled fifty-two private airplanes, which required the services of an air traffic controller complete with a temporary tower for the occasion. The Intermountain Power Project reversed the steady decline of the county's population that had begun in the 1930s. As a result of the Berylium mill, microwave, and other new employment opportu­nities, the county's population had increased during the decade by 28 percent in 1980, and the upward trend continued, with another 26 percent increase by 1990. Hinckley's quiet shaded streets and numer­ous vacant houses were enticing to many during IPP construction. The community's growth of nearly 42 percent during the decade of the 1980s surpassed even the county's dramatic growth percentage. During the IPP boom, Hinckley's population may have approached one thousand, more than double the number of residents of recent past years, although it had dropped back to 658 by 1990. The growth of Hinckley forced a division of the Hinckley LDS Ward in 1983 and the construction of a larger Delta West Stake Center in Hinckley in THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 397 1991. A new post office was also built there to accommodate the increase of population. Elsewhere, the combined Sutherland-Sugarville rural community had exactly the same population as Hinckley in 1990, a marked increase there as well. The Deseret-Oasis LDS Ward grew to over 650 members. Oak City's population more than doubled; the 1990 cen­sus listed a population of 587. In 1989 the recently incorporated town was compelled to dig a new well to supplement its culinary water from Dry Creek. Similarly, Leamington, which had almost become a ghost town in 1980 with a population of 113, increased by 124 percent during the decade to 253 residents. The local LDS ward, which combined with Lynndyl and Fool Creek Flat, has a relatively new chapel. Holden, Lynndyl, and Scipio also experienced increases of popula­tion. 43 Following the expansion forced by IPP construction, Delta City officials were equally hard-pressed to reduce public services after con­struction was completed. For instance, the city's police department was cut in half to five officers, with similar economizing measures in other areas. The Millard County School District continued to pay a large bonded indebtedness. The county also was compelled to adjust its budget downward. No longer in need of rental units, IPP closed its White Sage apartments in June 1987, selling them as quickly as buyers were found. Within months, the modular units were moved. Ten years after the dedication of IPP the county and other gov­ernment entities and the Intermountain Power Agency faced a lengthy and costly court case over more than $20 million in taxes. IPA claimed Millard County and other local governments had collected more taxes than had been agreed to earlier. During the course of negotiations, County Commissioner Tony Deardon offered to refund IPA $5 million from a county contingency fund, and in the end the IPA board accepted the refund. One of the most appreciated improvements IPP added to the county involved fire protection. In 1979 Fillmore City had built a larger fire station and had expanded its fire-fighting and emergency equipment with five usable trucks and an ambulance. In 1981 the Fillmore volunteer fire department had earned a state award as 398 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY department of the year. Elsewhere in the county the communities of Holden, Kanosh, Meadow, and Scipio established their own volun­teer fire departments. On the other side of the county, the Delta vol­unteer fire department provided service for most of the extended west Millard area, and Hinckley and Oak City organized their own departments. With a growing number of fire-fighting programs and the con­struction of IPP, interested citizens believed it best to create a coun­tywide fire district to provide a uniform fire-fighting fund and taxation. Power plant officials also supported the idea. Several east-side communities, including Kanosh and Fillmore, initially hesitated out of concern they would lose autonomous control of their fire departments. Objections were resolved and protections incorporated into the district bylaws. Lynndyl, Leamington, and Garrison formed their own fire departments in 1983 and joined the district. Overall, the new fire district provided improved fire protection for the county and IPP. Culinary water systems also were improved in Hinckley, Leamington, and Oasis. Despite problems, the Intermountain Power Project contributed more to physical improvements in west Millard and the county as a whole than any other single development in the county's history. The IPP contributed more than $8 million to the county school system, it provided much needed improvements to Delta's sewer and water systems, it built a new city hall for Delta, provided funds for voca­tional education opportunities, enhanced police protection, assisted with the construction of a regional park, and provided funds for other services and community needs. ENDNOTES 1. Salt Lake Tribune, 26 September 1979, 7 November 1980. 2. Salt Lake Tribune, 25 May 1978, 24 May, 2 November, 20 December 1979, 27 February 1980. 3. Salt Lake Tribune, 7 November 1979, 2 February 1980. 4. Salt Lake Tribune, 2, 12, 13 February, 16 April, 21 May, 8 November 1980. 5. Ronald L. Little and Thomas R. Greider, Water Transfers from Agriculture to Industry: Two Utah Examples. Utah State University Institute THE INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 399 for Social Science Research on Natural Resources Monograph No. 10 (June 1983), 29, 105-8, 114. 6. Millard County Chronicle, 16 March, 22 June 1978; Salt Lake Tribune, 13 October 1978, 2 November, 26 May 1979. 7. Salt Lake Tribune, 20 November, 10 July 1980, 16 June 1983; Millard County Chronicle, 1 February 1989, 11 August 1983, 23 February 1984. 8. Salt Lake Tribune, 12 November 1979; Millard County Chronicle, 18 October, 15 November 1979. 9. Salt Lake Tribune, 14 July 1981, 3 January, 23 November 1982; Millard County Chronicle, 24, 31 January 1980. 10. Salt Lake Tribune, 19 August, 2 November 1980. 11. Salt Lake Tribune, 17 May 1980, 4 September 1981. 12. Salt Lake Tribune, 2, 17 September 1981. 13. Salt Lake Tribune, 12 June, 29 September, 6 November, 29 December 1982, 14. Salt Lake Tribune, 4 March, 7 September 1983; Millard County Chronicle-Progress, 3 March 1989, 14 February 1991. 15. Millard County Chronicle-Progress, 9 January, 20 March 1986, 3, 24 March 1988, 3 May, 28 June 1990, 12 March 1992. 16. Millard County Chronicle, 20 August, 3, 10, 17 September, 4 April 1983. 17. Salt Lake Tribune, 5 January 1981, 7 March 1982; Millard County Chronicle, 8 July 1982. 18. Millard County Chronicle, 12, 26 August 1982; Millard County Chronicle-Progress, 14 May 1987. 19. Millard County Chronicle, 27 January 1983, 9 February, 19 July 1984. 20. Millard County Chronicle, 14 July 1983, 6 March 1984. 21. Millard County Chronicle, 14 July 1983, 6 March 1984, 7 February 1985; Salt Lake Tribune, 6 March 1984. 22. Salt Lake Tribune, 2 November 1980. 23. Institute for Social Science Research on Natural Resources Study, n.d., 6, 18, study, copy in Great Basin Museum, Delta, Utah. 24. Rod Clark, oral interview, undated, file in Great Basin Museum. 25. Salt Lake Tribune, 12, 13 November 1984. 26. Charlotte Morrison, "The History of Presbyterian Church Work in the West Millard Area," typescript, copy in Great Basin Museum. 400 HISTORY OF MILLARD COUNTY 27. Bernice Maher Mooney, Salt of the Earth: The History of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, 1776-1987, 410. 28. Millard County Chronicle, 26 September 1946; Mooney, Salt of the Earth, 83. 29. Millard County Chronicle, 23 August 1984, 11 September 1986. 30. Millard County Chronicle, 17 November 1983. 31. Millard County Progress, 2 September 1983. 32. Millard County Progress, 16 July, 17 December 1982, 1, 28 January, 8 April, 22 July, 9 September 1973. 33. Millard County Chronicle, 9 March 1978, 27 November, 25 December 1980, 6 January, 21 July, 6 August, 10 November 1983, 7 June 1984; Millard County Chronicle-Progress, 18 April 1985. 34. Millard County Chronicle-Progress, 18 April 1985, 29 June 1989. 35. For the period 1960 to 1990, the percentage of people sixty- five and older in Millard County exceeded the state percentage for the same age group. For example, in 1960 Millard County's greying population exceeded 9 percent compared to about 6 percent for the state. In 1990, Millard County's sixty-five and older population was 12 percent and the state's number stood at 8.7 percent. See Statistical Abstract of Utah (Salt Lake City: Bureau of Economic and Business Research, various years). 36. Millard County Chronicle, 3 November 1977, 5 May 1978, 25 March 1982. 37. Millard County Chronicle, 28 January, 18 July 1985, 3 July 1986. 38. Millard County Progress, 30 September 1977, 1 December 1978, 20 January 1981. 39. Millard County Chronicle, 20 October 1983. 40. Millard County Chronicle, 8 August 1985. 41. Millard County Chronicle, 5 July, 20 September 1984. 42. Millard County Chronicle, 8, 29 August 1985. 43. Millard County Chronicle-Progress, 10 March 1988; Allan Kent Powell, ed., Utah History Encyclopedia, 435-38.