The Utah State Committee for
Geographic Names was created by an Executive Order issued January 25,
1976. It fulfills the necessary
requirements set by the United States Board on Geographic Names to have local
liaisons at the state level of government.
The functions of this Committee are to provide a local liaison and local
review of geographic names identified by the U.S. Board and put before the
Committee in the form of docket lists established by the U.S. Board and
published monthly in accordance with guidelines in Principles, Policies, and
Procedures: Domestic Geographic Names,
1989. These guidelines are
supported by the Utah State Committee for Geographic Names and augmented in the
“Utah Committee on Geographic Names Rules”.
A committee of thirteen members is
appointed by the governor to serve for terms of three years or until
replaced. The committee makeup shall
include one member from: the Board of
State History; the State Cartographer; U.S. Geological Survey; a representative
from the Department of Transportation; a representative from the Division of
Utah Geological Survey; and a representative from the Division of State History
staff, who will serve as Executive Secretary, whose duties include preparing
information for meetings, taking and publishing minutes; and eight members
at-large, preferably with expertise on geographic names. During the first three months of each year
the committee will annually elect a person to chair meetings and work with the
Executive Secretary to set meeting agendas and conduct business in all orderly
way.
A permanent written record of the Committee’s
minutes will be kept by the Executive Secretary and will be available for
public use. Copies will be sent to each
committee member, the Director of the Department of Community Development and
anyone submitting a written request to the Executive Secretary.
Content of the minutes:
1. The name of the Committee; 8. Announcements, reports
2. Meeting date, time and place; 9. Proceedings
3. Names of members present; 10. Other business
4. Names of members excused; 11. Date of next meeting
5. Names of Visitors; 12. Time of adjournment
6. Name of Chairperson; 13. Signature of secretary
7. Name of Executive Secretary 14. Signing date
The Committee will meet the first
Thursday of each month as business requires, determined by decision of the
chair and executive secretary jointly.
The meeting will be held at the Division of State History in the Board
Room at 1:00 pm, unless otherwise arranged.
A copy of the previous meeting and
agenda for the next meeting will be forwarded to Committee members two weeks in
advance of each meeting. The
chairperson may allow other agenda items to be considered under other business
as time permits and as parliamentary procedure allows.
The following procedures are adopted
to insure the orderly conduct of business:
1. All members of the Committee have equal
rights and obligations. Any member may
offer motions and take part in Committee debate.
2. Meetings will be conducted in an orderly
fashion. The agenda will show what
business will be discussed and in what order.
Each item will be disposed of before another can be considered. Discussion will be allowed as long as it
relates to properly presented motions and resolutions.
The order of business of all
Committee meetings will be as follows.
1. Call to Order: The chairperson will call the Committee to
order and may, when appropriate, add opening remarks.
2. Approval of the Minutes: The chairperson will call for approval,
correction or amendment of the minutes.
Approval will not require a motion.
The chairperson will announce that the minutes stand approved after any
corrections if the minutes have been distributed before the meeting. If the minutes have not been distributed
they must be read before approval.
3. U.S. Board Minutes: The chairperson will review the U.S. Board
minutes for the Committee and mention items that concern the Utah
Committee. The Secretary will maintain
the U.S. Board minutes on file for future reference.
4. Names deferred from previous dockets: The chairperson will call for the Committee
to consider names previously deferred which have been more completely
researched and are ready for discussion.
5. New Docket Lists: The chairperson will call for the Committee
to consider names submitted to the U.S. Board relating to Utah and submitted to
the Committee for approval or disapproval.
6. Domestic Name Reports Submitted: Any reports submitted to the committee or
its members will be considered as the next item of business.
7. Other Business or Announcements: The chairperson will inquire if there is any
other business or any announcement and may add other business.
8. Next Meeting: The chairperson will call attention to the
next meeting date, place and time.
The chairperson will say, if there
is no further business, the meeting will stand adjourned. However, when the business of the meeting is
not finished, the chair must ask for a motion to adjourn; and the motion must
be seconded, voted on, and passed before the meeting can be adjourned.
Inasmuch as the work of the
Committee will be conducted in formal fashion, its business will be transacted
by means of motions and resolutions and will be governed by Robert’s Rules
of Order, Revised, and in accord with the provisions of Executive Order of
January 25, 1976, general policy guidelines of the Board of State History and
policies of the U. S. Board on Geographic Names.
The steps by which business will come before
the Committee are as follows:
1. Domestic Names Reports submitted
directly to the Committee will be reviewed and suggestions made for
improvements so they can be submitted to the U. S. Board in good fashion. No vote is required.
2. Names on Dockets must be sent to the
following agencies and institutions for review and/or comment at least 30 days
before being considered by the Committee for action:
County Commissions Local
historical societies
Bureau of Reclamation, Salt Lake Bureau of Reclamation, Provo
US Forest Service Region 4 USFS GSTC
USGS Earth Science Inform Cent USGS, Water Resources
Bureau of Land Management, Utah Utah Division of Indian Affairs
National Parks Service, Utah Utah Geological Survey
Utah State Parks and Recreation State Lands and Forestry
State Water Resources State Wildlife
Resources
U of U Department of History U of U Department of
Geography
U of U Department of Geology Museum of National History
USU Department of Hist and Geog BYU Department of History
BYU Department of Geography Southern Utah U Dept of
History
Dixie College Dept of Geology Weber State U Dept of History
Weber State U Dept of Geography Others as may be recommended
3. Names on dockets will be submitted to
Committee members at least two weeks before being considered by the Committee
for action.