RIVERTON — Michael B. Giolas, 35, has been a farmer his whole life and had never sued anyone, until his hometown appeared to be forcing him out of business.
Giolas learned to farm from his father. He believes he is the last person in Riverton to make a living from farming.
He leases four parcels, one in Bluffdale where Giolas says he has no problems, and the other three in Riverton for a total of more than 200 acres. In Riverton, rapid growth and development have surrounded the fields where Giolas farms alfalfa and hay — and that has spawned his two lawsuits in 3rd District Court againstthe city.
In the first suit, Giolas alleges Riverton, Riverton Judge Darla B. Serassio and a now-deceased fire chief "engaged in a conspiracy and pattern of misconduct to unlawfully force Farmer Giolas from continuing his farming occupation."
Giolas' attorney and former Riverton Mayor Dale Gardiner put his client's situation in what he called the simplest terms. "Riverton has made it impossible for him to farm."
In Giolas' fields, homebuilders are alleged to have allowed garbage and debris to interfere with his ability to farm. He also says drivers have cleaned their cement trucks near his fields. The runoff has apparently ruined some crops, which he harvests three times a year. The harvest is sold to livestock owners around the state.
Serassio and the fire chief are named in the first suit stemming from a July 1998 incident when Giolas was conducting a controlled burn on farm ground. The burn was over when firefighters responded, but an argument ensued and citations against Giolas followed, alleging he had violated the city's fire code by not informing fire officials before starting the burn. An assault charge was later dropped. Meantime, Giolas alleged fire officials drove onto an alfalfa field and intentionally ruined some of his crop.
Serassio remembered Giolas' arraignment and characterized him as "disorderly" in her courtroom and that three Salt Lake County sheriff's officers were required to calm him down. She had no other comment on the suit.
"That didn't even happen," said Giolas, who indicated he was respectful while in Serassio's court.
"He's a nice guy," said David Church, Riverton's city attorney. "He's always been pleasant to me. He just feels strongly about his position and we feel strongly about ours.
"It's unfortunate how times change and guys like him feel like they're being run over. But we can't force landowners to farm forever." Church said the city is denying all allegations in both suits. "If we thought they were valid allegations, we would take care of them. Frankly, we don't think there's much substance to them."
In the second suit, Giolas alleges that Riverton did not follow its own ordinance by not requiring developers to erect a fence to prevent construction waste from contaminating adjacent lands and preventing access to his fields.
Giolas is claiming nearly $80,000 in damage to crops and equipment in the first suit. In one instance, a chunk of cement was sucked into a bailer, which he sold at a $9,000 loss. He is looking for total damages to be determined by a jury.
The first suit is expected to go to trial later this year.
E-MAIL: sspeckman@desnews.com