LAYTON -- Things are good as far as Layton City's financial situation is concerned. That's what the city council was told in its most recent meeting. "The finances are doing so well that some public issued bonds in 2003 had their ratings increased from AA- to AA recently," said Layton Finance Director Steve Ashby.

He also pointed out that the city's assets were estimated at around $174 million, an approximate gain of $10 million from 2005.

"That jump in asset value has also helped us build up our unreserved fund balance to $4.5 million," Ashby continued. "Unreserved funds are what we call 'rainy day funds.' In other words, those are funds that aren't allocated to any specific thing and can be used for any type of future emergency."

One of the accountants who conducted the audit, Ed Erickson, also spoke to the city council on the audit and had glowing reports. "We found no issues or irregularities with the accounting practices of the city," Erickson said. "It's a clean operation."

One of the biggest pluses for the city was their debt ratio. "I've audited quite a few cities and Layton has one of the lowest debt ratios in the entire state for a city of its size," Erickson continued.

"The assets grew this past year and the liabilities reduced, an approximate growth of $1 million."

In other council news, Layton has adopted a new water conservation plan.

"I think this plan is going to be an excellent thing," Council member Stephen Handy said. "Our citizens will be very pleased with the new system."

Other council members Renny Knowlton and Michael Bouwhuis applauded the Layton water conservation building and its technology that will make the new plan such a success.

"It looks like something from a "Star Wars" movie when you walk into that plant," Bouwhuis said. "There're machinery and pumps working and moving all over the place."

Aside from the audit and water conservation plan, the council approved 10 new housing developments and an amendment to the 2006-2007 budget, which was originally approved in late June 2006.

The amendment was for an increase in the budget, specifically because of Ellison Sports Park. "The recent Ellison Park purchase called for an increase in the budget, not for the purchase of the additional 43 acres, but for the development, water, etc.," Ashby said.

A concerned citizen asked the council exactly how much per acre the city paid for the land and city manager Alex Jensen said the city paid $116,000 per acre, which was considerably less than what Davis School District paid for its portion of that land.



Fitness center unveiled at Hill

HILL AFB -- Many Davis County residents have heard about Hill Air Force Base's new Fitness and Wellness Center because of the gala held last September. The theme for the gala was "Salute to Our Hometown Military Heroes."

That's because the $100,000-plus raised was donated for purchase of equipment there. In addition, a plaque was also planned to record the generosity of so many.

Now, the new facility has been formally unveiled.

The two-story structure includes more than 72,000 square feet and was built for $13 million. The building's budget included no funds to purchase fitness equipment.

It includes locker rooms with steam rooms and saunas, racquetball courts, a juice bar, 40-foot climbing wall, indoor running track, two NCAA-regulation size basketball courts, and more.

"It's really an incredible facility and something all of our people and families will use to stay in great shape. We are very proud of our new facility," said Col. Scott Chambers, 75th Air Base Wing commander.

Such a facility will likely receive heavy use by many on base and affiliated with it. That's because of the strict physical fitness requirements imposed on military personnel as part of their readiness for combat.

In the spring of 2004, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, secured funding as part of the federal Defense Authorization Act. It included money for five major projects on the base, including the fitness center.

"The project has been in the works for more than two years," said Allan Villafana, 75th Mission Support Group Services Division project officer.

"It will add more than 4,000 square feet of new cardio space and more than 6,000 square feet of new free and residence weight training space."



Kaysville to shut off power 6 hours

KAYSVILLE -- Most people won't even notice the city's planned power outage Friday night.

From midnight to 6 a.m., power will be turned off by Kaysville Power to accommodate installation of several drains -- part of the 200 North overpass construction project.

These drains are 100 feet tall and equipment used to pound the drains into the ground will be stationed next to the 46,000-volt lines that provide power for most of the city.

"Regardless of the weather conditions, this outage will take place as scheduled," City Manager John Thacker said.

"Because of the possibility of extremely cold temperatures, extra precautions may need to be taken to help the elderly and very young and to prevent water lines from freezing," he said.

The outage will affect the same residents as previous outages. For more information, call 546-1235.