Dear Editor:
As a lifetime southeast Utah (and 52-year Grand County resident living by Highway 191), It is my belief that we need a truck stop. Trucks bring everything we buy in southeast Utah to southeast Utah. Drivers need a place to fuel up, rest, shower and get a meal.
When trucks park downtown by the side of the highway for the drivers to rest or eat, they are hard for other drivers to see around and can be dangerous getting out on the highway. Sometimes they are asked to move most likely because people complain about the noise and air pollution. The land they are considering building the truck stop on is zoned for that type of use and the people from Love’s have said they will work towards minimizing the negative impacts to that area, such as lighting, fencing, et cetera.
The truck stop will provide jobs, most likely with benefits. In researching the company, Love’s pays its employees an average of $11.81 an hour with an average range of $8.84 to $16.43 an hour. They have a 401(k) plan, health insurance, paid vacation and sick time as well as an employee assistance program and tuition assistance. SITLA manages the lands and funds from the sale of the land would go to benefit public schools as well as other beneficiary institutions. People that live near that area don’t want to destroy their “way of life”. I think that is labeled “the NIMBY syndrome,” as they knowingly purchased their land near the highway which was already there (maybe they should have checked the zoning before purchasing). It’s not the right thing to do to let the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many. Quite possibly not the legal thing, either?
Clara Davenport
Moab
