Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

Lessons learned from the so Cal Wildfires

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.”

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

council, Annexation, subdivisions & budget

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.

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

Council & Roll Calls

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.

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

Council & grading, waste, Bypass

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.

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

Council & gates, Fires, firelight, & More

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.

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

Grand Canyon pkwy gates

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.

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

the Tale of 7 notebooks

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? ”

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

43 Minutes of Council Meeting Bliss

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.”

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

Council,The Big Dig, Traffic, and Dogs

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.”

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

the low-down on the bypass

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.

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

Council, bypass, Water, subdivisions

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.

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

Council & Water, Fire, Bypass, changes, etc.

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.

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

Fire district funding exists if we have the political will

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?

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

A short council Meeting

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. 

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

Council, Fire & sheriff

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.

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

Holding out HELP fundraisers

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.

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

council & concerns

Lynda Williams reported on the September 18 city council meeting. There was a presentation about Constitution Day, Toquerville’s royalty, and how to fund the Hurricane Valley Fire District. The public forum was interesting and lively. There was more action related to the 1/2 acre agricultural zone change that now allows two homes on what was once a one-acre lot.

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Kathy Bence Kathy Bence

council, bypass & other updates

Lynda Williams reports on the September 4 council meeting. There were updates on the bypass, Confluence Park, code enforcement, water, and items involving the Firelight development. One of the signs we all see on Toquer Blvd was brought up during the public forum.

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