By Miki Mullor 

Mayor Phil Rubin has confirmed a water right deficit liability exists, as we reported.  

Rubin shared with the Town’ council that he has set up an independent working group made of experts to look for ways to procure water rights, for the already approved 1,800 or so units, which he contends were approved prior to his first  administration without actually having the water rights to support it.

Unnamed independent working group 

Rubin told the council that for a year now he had legal experts been trying to determine how much water Hideout is entitled to under the 2014 wholesale agreement with Jordanelle Special Service District (JSSD): “could be from 300 acre feet to roughly 450, depending on your interpretation [to] what we’re entitled to.” 

The Town set up an independent working group made of experts in the space which includes an engineer, a hydrologist, a legal expert, a finance expert and water state records expert to track down document and history assignments of water rights.

In Utah, water rights are tracked in a similar way to real estate rights. 

Rubin did not name the members of the group. 

Rights from JSSD and a potential purchase

To close the additional gaps, Rubin alluded to future negotiations and perhaps litigation with JSSD over the terms of the wholesale agreement with Hideout: “the goal is that over the next couple of months that we’ll get to the bottom of our research, and be in a good position to sit down with JSSD and either agree with them on a or push back if they, if they don’t agree and, and with the documentation, we have to be able to say, well, then we’ll see you in court. “

Rubin pointed out that the water rights gap exists under the Master Development Agreement with Mustang Development LLC., the master developer of Hideout: “So there is a shortfall, in my opinion, it’s probably 200 acre feet, give or take, and that’s an estimate. You cannot quote me on that because I don’t have the final numbers. “ 

Rubin said the working group is investigating ways to procure water rights.  “I probably have 50 acre feet that’s available for purchase. We’re working on some right now, “ – Rubin told the council, “the goal is to have the study work that’s going on with this water with the timing for the need to do these, so that we can come back to you and seek your approval, to buy these shares.”  

An acre foot could cost between $25,000 and $50,000, making such purchase to to cost the town between $1.25 million and $2.5 million – depending on market rate. 

Rubin didn’t address how the Town will fund this purchase. 

In response to questions from council members on transparency, Rubin agreed to report on the progress of the working group to the council on a monthly basis .