Attendance

Board Members:

• Geoffrey Bedell
• Charles Semborski
• Kathleen Ochsenbein
• Craig Nelson
• Stephen Church
• Tom Faddies

Staff:

• Richard Allis
• Kimm Harty
• John Kingsley
• Jo Lynn Campbell
• Bill Lund
• Dave Tabet
• Doug Sprinkel
• Gary Christenson

Chair Chuck Semborski called the meeting to order. Brian Bollin, was introduced to the UGS Board as the newest staff member hired.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Steve Church made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Geoff Bedell made a second. The motion carried unanimously.

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Financial Position
Director Allis reviewed the financial position of the UGS for FY04. The total year-end expenditure of $4.624 million was within $15k of budget (set in September last year), a surprisingly close figure in view of the variables affecting expenditure during the year. Revenue exceeded expenditure by $240k, and debt on the Core Research Center was able to be paid down by $200k.

Trends in revenue and expenditure over the last five years were presented. Appropriated General Funds revenue has dropped during the last five years, whereas Mineral Lease revenue has tended to increase, but with some volatility due to unstable energy prices over the last five years. In FY04, revenue from grants and contracts (Federal plus Dedicated Credits) is up slightly compared to earlier years ($1.5 million compared to about $1.3 million).

General Funds made up 39% of total revenue in FY04, whereas it was 51% in FY00.

Monthly Mineral Lease payments continue to track natural gas prices. It is expected that this year’s revenue will be less than last year, but above the five-year average.

Contracts and Proposals
A table was circulated listing recent proposals submitted to outside agencies for grants and contract work. Director Allis pointed out that the success rate for proposals continues to be high, at about 70%. This source of revenue is an important part of UGS’ budget.

Legislative Issues
The only known issue at this time concerns a building block for strategic ground-water studies. This has been funded with one-time general funds for FY05, and is shared equally with the Division of Water Rights. In the upcoming legislative session it is hoped that the one-time funding can be converted to ongoing funding for FY06, because of the need to maintain permanent staff for this work.

Personnel
Steve Church asked about salary decompression. Director Allis responded by stating that salary decompression continues to be one of the leading priorities for the UGS. A large proportion of mid-career staff are at or near the bottom of their salary scales due to the 8-step shift in the scales that occurred earlier in the year. A mechanism for decompressing the geology salary scales is needed.

Director Allis discussed the four persons who had been hired since the April Board Meeting. He commented about the passing of Bob Gloyn on September 6. Bob will be sorely missed. He had an outstanding knowledge of the origin and occurrence of metal minerals, not only in Utah, but also globally. Bob was the lead author of UGS Bulletin 132 on energy, mineral and ground-water resources in Carbon and Emery Counties, which the Board chose earlier this year as the winner of the Crawford Award for the most outstanding UGS publication in the last two years.

Advertising for a replacement minerals geologist will take place in the following month.

New Initiatives
The Energy and Minerals Program has begun three new projects that are largely supported by mineral lease funds. These are the assessment of Utah’s natural gas potential; a review of information about Utah’s tar sands potential (mainly bibliographic); and a review of Utah’s oil shale potential. In addition, the scanning of well logs is in progress. It is estimated that about 30% (1,500 logs) of all logs are scanned and hopefully will be completed by the end of the fiscal year. The goal is to have all information accessible through the UGS website. The Board discussed the types of logs that will be displayed. Steve Church queried whether the UGS would also be able to electronically interpret the logs. Director Allis answered that the UGS had the software to convert the image logs to “smart” logs, and then carryout geophysical interpretations.

DISCUSSION ITEMS
Utah Geological Survey Status and Directions (2005 – 2010)
Director Allis lead a discussion about the draft report that had been prepared for the incoming Governor’s Executive Team. Some minor improvements were suggested, and Board members praised the scope and content of the report.

Geoff Bedell made a motion to endorse the Status and Directions report in draft form with stated edits incorporated. Kathleen Oschsenbein made a second. It was unanimously accepted. A copy of the final report was to be sent to all Board members.

Conflict of Interest Policy
The Board discussed the UGS Conflict of Interest policy, particularly where it relates to petroleum and minerals exploration, and potential staff connections to that activity. Director Allis pointed out the State Code is specific on this, and it requires that staff have no interest or receive financial gain by reason of confidential information through work as an employee. The code requires the Board to resolve any potential conflict of interest situations.

A potential issue with UGS Oil and Gas section of the Energy and Minerals Program and the recent oil discovery near Sigurd by Wolverine Oil was discussed because of the ongoing confidentiality of this development, and UGS access to the oil for analysis and further studies. The Board requested that UGS contact Wolverine to ensure that they understand UGS’ statutory responsibilities, including the potential for conflicts of interest.

This issue will be reviewed at the January 2005 Board Meeting.

Cedar City Office
Bill Lund from the Cedar City office reviewed the status of the office, which is in a basement at Southern Utah University. The growth in this part of the state is causing growing geological issues. The UGS does not have the room to place extra staff in this office, and there is no additional space on campus to allow for office expansion. Bill Lund stated that the current office has no public access and functions only as a project office. Because of the program’s focus on certain studies, there has been little interfacing with the municipalities regarding geologic hazards.

Geoff Bedell motioned to support looking to improve the office location and flexibility to increase staff and to continue public outreach in southern Utah. Craig Nelson made a second. The motion carried unanimously.

ADJOURNMENT
Craig Nelson motioned to adjourn. Geoff Bedell made a second. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 a.m.