Appeal to the Utah State Records Committee (Water Lease Payments and Water Letters)

 

From: The ECHO-Association <m.tracy@echo-association.com>
Subject: Appeal to the Utah State Records Committee – Ref: Water Lease Payments & Water Letters for New Construction in Emigration Canyon
Date: February 23, 2021 at 12:10:04 AM PST
To: SRCsecretary@utah.gov
Cc: Jennifer Hawkes <hawkes@ecmetro.org>, eric@ecid.org, mike@ecid.org, brent@ecid.org, dave@ecid.org

Rebekkah Shaw
SRC Executive Secretary
346 S. Rio Grande
Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1106
Phone: 801-531-3851
Fax: 801-531-3867
Email: SRCsecretary@utah.gov

Dear Ms. Shaw,

We hereby appeal the “affirmed denial” of the Chief Administrative Officer of Emigration Improvement District (“EID” aka Emigration Canyon Improvement District aka ECID) under Utah Code Ann. 63G-2-403 regarding the refusal to disclosure Water Lease Payments and Water Letters issued for new construction affirmed to be maintained at the private residence of Emigration Canyon Deputy Mayor Jennifer Hawkes and EID General Manager Eric Hawkes of the Simplifi Company.

Please note the following for the purpose of this appeal:

Name: Mark Christopher Tracy dba Emigration Canyon Home Owners Association (“The ECHO-Association”)

Mailing Address: 1160 E. Buchnel Dr., Sandy, Utah 84094

Daytime Phone Number: 929-208-6010

Date of GRAMA Request: Email correspondence to EID certified public records officer Eric Hawkes of the Simplifi Company on January 19, 2021 (see https://echo-association.com/?page_id=7969).

Date of GRAMA Denial: February 9, 2021 (see email correspondence of Utah Attorney Jeremy R. Cook of the Salt Lake City law firm Cohne Kinghorn P.C. available at https://echo-association.com/?page_id=8087).

Date of GRAMA Appeal: Email correspondence to EID Trustee Chairman and EID Chief Administrative Officer Michaels Scott Hughes on February 9, 2021 (see https://echo-association.com/?page_id=8087; see also https://echo-association.com/?page_id=1661).

Date of GRAMA Decision of the Chief Administrative Officer: No response.

Relief Sought / Grounds for Appeal:

Under Utah Code Ann. sec. 63G-2-201(1)(a) “a person has the right to inspect a public record free of charge, and the right to take a copy of a public record during normal working hours” if the record is not privileged or confidential while the intentional refusal to disclose public records may be a criminal offense under Utah Code Ann. sec. 63G-2-801(3)(a).

Financial records previously obtained by The ECHO-Association reveal that EID promised future water service to at least 97 vacant parcels including private land-developers and “EID Advisory Committee Members” R. Steve Creamer and Walter J. Plumb III, Steve Hook to include EID contractor Bill Cutting despite the fact that EID itself had established a buildout limit of 700 homes in June 1996 and EID’s proposal to allowi for the construction of over 500 new homes is currently pending with the Utah Court of Appeals (see https://echo-association.com/?page_id=6589 and https://echo-association.com/?page_id=6994).

Moreover, it appears that EID issued water letters for the construction of the private residences of current EID trustee David Bradford and EID trustee Brent Tippets. To date, EID General Manger Eric Hawkes of the Simplifi Company has failed to provide documentation of proper payment for water rights reported to the Utah State Engineer as leased to EID trustee Bradford from EID (seehttps://echo-association.com/?page_id=5945).

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions.

Kind Regards,

Mark Christopher Tracy
Emigration Canyon Home Owners Association
Tel. 929-208-6010