Council Report

by lori cole

We (which is the Royal We) sped through the agenda items so fast I could barely keep up, but here are the highlights from the City Council meeting on 12/6/23.  

City Ordinances

If you're looking at the agenda, I'm skipping forward to D. 3, 4, & 5, where the council heard from staff regarding the continuing work on the city ordinances, to include the criminal code and fines for violations.  No one discussed the Chicken Ordinance this time, so I'm not sure if the uproar from the chicken and egg-lovers in the community have convinced those drafting the ordinances to change that proposed $400 per year licensing fee that we learned of in the November meeting. 

The representative from the Planning Commission listed some of the ordinances they are still drafting, to include the Landscape Ordinance., Updated General Plan, Nightly Rentals, Parks, Parking, etc. I believe they said the drafts are available online for those who want to read them and of course, you can always access the current city ordinances online.

Public Forum

We had four citizen speakers this week. Dean Haymore asked the council to address the street lighting issue at the corner of Shangri-La and Highway 17, which is just down the street from the end point of the new Toquerville Bypass.  The roadway at the intersection has been torn up for months, with multiple lanes of travel marked by cones and no street lights to illuminate the area. The unlit intersection is a traffic hazard in it’s current state. Mr. Haymore requested that the city and UDOT review the safety of that intersection.  

Kathy Bence spoke again about the importance of the Open Public Forum at each council meeting, rather than every other meeting. Cami Bohne also spoke on the same subject, urging the council to have the public forums at every meeting to encourage community involvement and reassure citizens that they have a voice in their local government.

Lastly, Ray Bence spoke to remind everyone of the Readiness Meeting coming up on Thursday, December 14th.  The last meeting was informative and he encouraged everyone to attend.  

Business Agenda

Items 1, 2, and 3 dealt with appointing two Planning Commissioners (4-yr terms), one Interim Planning Commission member to fill in for one member leaving in 2024, and to appoint one alternate for 2024.  After some recommendations and negotiation with the Mayor, the choices were made and approved.  

Jenny Chamberlain, who had been an alternate member, was approved as a commissioner for a 4-year term. Shaun Huntsman is resigning. Stacy Eaton has re-enlisted for a 4-year term, becoming the new Chair. Dean Haymore will be filling Wayne Olsen’s vacant seat. Wayne is moving to the City Council. Andrea Allred and Angela Harrison became alternate members. However, Andrea Allred has since submitted a letter of resignation as an alternate. One alternate spot is still vacant.

Item 4 resulted in a few of the meeting dates for 2024 being changed to accommodate federal holidays, etc.  

Item 5 was about "Settler's Junction RV Park." As with the last meeting, this item took a lot of time to resolve but in the end, approval was granted and Settler's Junction held its "soft opening" the next day, Thursday, Dec. 7th.  It will be a while until all of the amenities are completed but they are open for business.  
 
Item 6 resulted in the council’s approval of spending $105,000 to purchase a new "vac trailer" for the Public Works Department.  

Item 7 was some discussion of the technical wording that needed to be in the Closed Session Policy to conform with the law.  

Item 8 covered the revision of the Nightly Rental Ordinance with a discussion addressing the application time, waitlist time, and citizen concerns about fairness. The result was some clarification of the language in the ordinance and the related forms.   

Item 9 was some additional discussion on the Flag Etiquette Policy, with one of the council members, Chuck Williams providing information that he had researched since the previous meeting of the council.  After additional discussion, the issue was tabled.  

Events and Reminders

Dec 14th Readiness Meeting.

Dec 16th Wreaths Across America.

Reminder: City offices will be closed on Monday, December 25th in observance of Christmas Day.