Brian McNary reports on the April 16 City Council meeting. On the agenda was a Nightly Rental, Master Plan Development Overlay clarifications, a letter of support for a state bill involving taxes for emergency services, and discussions on the tentative budget.

Brian McNary reports on the April 2 City Council meeting: “With only 5 items on the April 2 City Council business agenda, I thought this meeting would go quickly. Not only was I wrong- but I was once again reminded that I am no latter-day Nostradamus.”

Michelle Peot shares information related to our local fire risks and how to protect our community. “The fire conditions that occurred in Los Angeles are not all that different from here: dry underbrush, drought, urban/wildland interfaces, and high winds.”

Kathy Bence reports on the March 19 City Council meeting. An Annexation Policy Plan and Subdivision Submittal Policy were both passed. The majority of the time was spent on the 2025-2026 budget which will be a topic of discussion at future meetings.

Kathy Bence covers the March 5 city council meeting. Votes were cast on change orders and resolutions. The change orders involve the Toquerville Parkway Project. The resolutions that passed are for the Strategic Plan and a revenue pledge agreement with the Washington County Sheriff.

A Toquerville resident is the suspect responsible for multiple burglaries and thefts in the area. Police searches have led to the recovery of more than $50,000 in stolen goods, including Toquerville’s radio station equipment (97.3 FM).

Lori Cole reports on the February 19 city council meeting. “Right out of the chute, the council debated a new 300k invoice/change order received for traffic control on the bypass project.”

Lori Cole reports on the February 5 council meeting. Among the topics discussed were grading for the Boulder Ridge Development, more money for the bypass, and a parking ordinance.

Lynda Williams reports on the January 15 City Council meeting. The bulk of the meeting covered locked gates and Firelight’s request for changes. The LA fires came up in several of these discussions.

Lynn Williams expresses his concern over locked gates that he says are illegal on many levels. He has watched while 3 Mayors, 2 City Lawyers and numerous City Councilmen have kicked this subject down the road many times and so far absolutely nothing has been done.

Kathy Bence shares a story about some notebooks. She writes that, “For more than a year we asked about our notebooks. We asked why the city council couldn’t see them? Which law prohibits a city council from seeing public documents assembled by their constituents? ”

Brian McNary is pleased to report on a very short council meeting on Dec 18:

“Any time you can get out of a city council meeting in under 45 minutes- it is a good day. My wife offered up a tin of cookies to the council before the meeting started. It was a subtle bribe but I think it may have helped.

Pretty straight forward stuff, very little discussion, and no filibusters.”

Brian McNary reports on the Dec 4 meeting. He noted that “on this agenda, City Department Reports came first. I love the utility of that. Since the Public Forum comes next, that means we can get up and say something useful about what was said during the report section. I often have a lot to say but I usually chicken out and remain seated.”

Lynn Williams (not to be confused with Lynda) sat down with Mayor Justin Sip recently to ask questions concerning our new bypass road.  Rumors have circulated on this subject. With this short post he hopes to clear up some of the questions. Lynn concludes with, “Hope to see you on the new road in April.  Drive safe and watch for falling rocks.”

Kathy Bence reports on the Nov 20 city council meeting. There were three important issues covered at this meeting. Two of them were triggered by state requirements. She observes that while Toquerville is still small, whatever the state mandates will have less negative impact than it would on a larger city.

Kathy Bence reports on the Nov 6 City Council meeting. The council discussion included water, reuse water, the fire district, bypass considerations, bypass change orders, and lots of grading.

Michelle Peot breaks down the Truth in Taxation Hearing for the Washington County Fire District. At the hearing, County Commissioner and 2024 candidate, Gil Almquist, stated that the commissioners are entitled to spend 47% of Transient Room Tax (TRT) revenue on tourism marketing. In fact, we have so much money earmarked for marketing, that event organizers can apply for marketing grants. Is marketing the best use of tax revenue especially when the fire district needs money for salaries?

Lori Cole reports on the October 16 City Council meeting. As part of the discussion, it was brought up that Toquerville ordinances are only enforced “by complaint”, meaning that if you observe a violation of an ordinance, you must make a complaint before the city will address it. There is no parking enforcement officer on staff, and the code enforcement officer is not driving around looking for citizens breaking ordinances.  This is literally called Enforcement by Complaint. 

Lori Cole reports on the October 2 City Council meeting. Among other things, it was reported that the south side of the Toquerville Bypass is within 2 to 3 weeks of being completed. For those of us who still see a massive pile of rocks and what appears to be a still-unstable hillside, we are both relieved and skeptical.

Alex Murphy says that Holding Out HELP (HOH) will hold two Southern Utah fundraisers in November.  HOH’s vision is to “Empower Polygamy Survivors to Thrive” — specializing in those transitioning out of polygamous communities.