MEETING MINUTES
UGS Conference Room
January 6, 2006
8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Attendance

Board Members:

• Geoffrey Bedell
• Charles Semborski
• Kathleen Ochsenbein
• David Simon
• Stephen Church
• Tom Faddies - Excused
• Robert Robison
• Jack Hamilton

Staff:

• Richard Allis
• Kimm Harty
• John Kingsley
• Jo Lynn Campbell
• Mike Lowe

Visitors:

• Deputy Director Darin Bird
• Tammy Kikuchi, DNR Director of Communication and Marketing

Chair Charles Semborski called the meeting to order. New UGS staff were introduced. They were Phil Powlick in the State Energy Program and Valerie Davis the new receptionist. He also thanked Director Rick Allis and the UGS staff for the successful field trip that was held in September 2005.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Jack Hamilton motioned to approve the minutes as written. Geoffrey Bedell made a second. The motion carried unanimously.

DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Financial Report

The UGS financial position remains relatively strong. Expenses at 42% of the way through FY06 are close to budget, taking into account the usual end-of-year personnel cost reconciliations and the effects of pass-through expenses being behind budget. Mineral Lease payments remain strong, and represent close to 30% of our total budget.

Grants and Contracts

Contracts and grants make up close to 40% of our budget. Phase II of the Southwest Partnership was recently awarded, and UGS will receive a $100,000 for the next 4 years to do a compilation of geologic information about the reservoir, seal, and overlying rocks of the Aneth oil field in southeast Utah. The Formula Grant that allocates SEP funding to states may be cut by 18% for Federal FY07. There is also a possibility that the Special Grants of the SEP may not be funded. Proposal activity on ground water topics remains strong. The funds for these projects originate from federal, state, and local government sources.

Personnel

Three of four Schedule B geologist-level positions have been filled by existing Schedule AL (temporary) staff. The open geologist position has been subsequently re-advertised as an Energy Geologist position that would be partly funded in the Energy and Minerals Program, and partly funded through the State Energy Program. Total staff numbers are about the same as last year with 80 FTEs.

SLC Office Space

The new DNR Exective Director reviewed the space situation in the SLC office building, and recommended some major changes. As a result, the UGS will pick up additional space at the east end of the third floor, adjacent to the Energy and Minerals and SEP staff. Renovation work will start in January and will be completed by spring.

Geologic Licensure

UGS policy requires that all geology staff at project geologist levels and above be licensed geologists in Utah. The UGS’ first new staff member who did not have Utah licensure at the time of appointment was Ken Krahulec. He successfully passed the ASBOG exam essential for licensure in late 2005.

UGS Strategic Plan

The revision of the UGS Strategic Plan has been temporarily delayed for two reasons. First, a new SEP manager has just been hired, and this will give him a chance to emphasize new goals and objectives for the SEP. Second, the DNR Executive Director has stated he wants all Divisions to more strongly present a unified DNR image. It is likely that the UGS will have to revisit its mission and strategic plan to make it more consistent with a re-stated strategic direction for DNR. A new UGS logo is also likely.

Legislative Update

The UGS restricted its new General Fund request for FY07 to conversion of the one-time funding for the Ground-Water section to ongoing funding.

GROUND WATER AND PALEONTOLOGY PROGAM UPDATE

Program Manager Mike Lowe updated board members on ground water projects.

FALL FIELD TRIP

The suggestion for this year’s field trip is central Utah, the Sanpete-Sevier-Emery County region, partly because of the new Covenant oil field, the renewed interest in the central Utah thrust belt, and the implications for Utah’s future oil production. Additional stops could include the gypsum mine and wallboard factory in Sigurd, the halite-bentonite mine in Aurora, kaolinite mine in Greenwich, and a coal mine visit on Saturday (Deer Creek Mine). A visit to a geothermal site, Redmond Salt, Cove Fort, and CBM were also considered. The date for this year’s field will be September 22-23, 2006.

The Board confirmed the dates of April 7, June 16, and January 12, 2007 for this year’s Board meetings. Robert Robison motioned to approve the dates. Jack Hamilton made a second. The motion carried unanimously.

Chair Charles Semborski asked for nominations for board chair and vice chair. Bob nominated Steve Church as chair and Geoffrey Bedell as vice chair. David Simon made a second. The motion carried unanimously.

ADJOURNNMENT

Chair Charles Semborski asked for a motion to adjourn the UGS Board Meeting of January 6, 2006. A motion to adjourn was made by Robert Robison. Kathleen Ochsenbein made a second. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 11:15 a.m.