Providence (Utah) City Council minutes, 1865-

The minutes of the Providence City town board summarize the meetings held by the town's governing body. The board consists of a president (mayor) and four trustees or board members, and is responsible for exercising the community's legislative and executive powers (see Utah Code Unannotated, 1991, 10-3-101). The board is responsible for appointing town officers, levying, and passing city ordinances. The Providence town board met monthly to carry out these responsibilities and to discuss community affairs. Matters relating to the control of dogs inside the corporate limits of the city dominated the discussion for many decades. The minutes document appointments for town offices and the board's discussion of problems, which came up, such as cattle running at large, citizens of other towns using the Providence city dump, a family living in the station house under squalid conditions, and the wearing of face masks during a period of influenza outbreak. The board planned new developments suchas digging trenches for a waterworks system, installing more street lights, and appropriating water from Spring Creek for electrical power purposes. They discussed the maintenance of town property such as the roads, the telephone service, and delinquent fees. Through the years the board approved things like community events, such as a Western pageant, and granted requests for fire hydrants being installed on private property. In 1903, they approved the ordinance to amend the charge for driving in cattle from the streets to twenty-five dollars regardless of the number of animals. In 1956, the members of the Town Board decided to meet as a group periodically and travel around the city to become better acquainted with the problems faced by each member assigned duties.