Residents from Mona voted overwhelmingly in favor of participating in the natural gas project with Nephi, which means gas will be delivered to Mona homes by Aug. 31, 1991.
Nephi had asked the community to join with them in bringing natural gas to the area. "It would be a crying shame to bring natural gas to Nephi and not include the other communities in east Juab," said Robert Steele, Nephi mayor.Town board members decided to take the issue to the people via a public meeting held at the Mona Elementary School Dec. 6.
When the 68 people in attendance were asked to indicate their preference by a standing vote, 57 gave natural gas a go-ahead with a vote of approval.
There were no negative votes.
In addition to those who stood to indicate approval, Mona Mayor Greg Newton said 22 others had contacted officials prior to the meeting to give their approval to the plan.
The vote in favor of the proposal, said Newton, will allow Mona to participate with Nephi, Levan and Juab County in the project to bring natural gas to the area.
After Mona Mayor Greg Newton, who conducted the meeting, explained the details of the proposal, he called for questions from the floor. Most of the residents were concerned about whether Mona would need to bond with Nephi, Levan and Juab County or whether they could bond separately.
"We need to be cautious before we sign any agreement," said Tom Fowkes, former county commissioner.
While Fowkes and others urged the town board to carefully review agreements before signing with the newly formed Rural Development Agency - a development board formed to oversee countywide natural gas distribution with two board members from each participating entity - satisfaction was also expressed that revenue bonds were projected to finance the project.
Mona's share of the gas transmission system should cost $200,000 and the distribution system should cost $400,000, meaning the community would need to bond for approximately $600,000. Revenue bonds would assure those who use the gas would pay for the financing.
"The outcome of this meeting will have a strong bearing on the town's future," said Newton.
The results of the meeting will assure Mona's participation in the gas project.
An earlier survey made by the town indicated there were 120 votes for the project, or approximately 88 percent of the population. At the time, only 16 no votes were received. However, the survey did include some homes located north of Mona. Those people are actually residents of the county and will be served by the county.