Council & Roll Calls
by kathy bence
“Our Neighbor, Hurricane” by Lori Cole
Since I wasn’t able to attend the March 5 city council meeting in person, I tuned in a few days later on YouTube. Unfortunately, they must have hit the record button late because it starts at the end of the city department reports. City manager Ben Billingsley was saying that UDOT approved another 6.5 million for the parkway.
Public Forum
Judy Johnston spoke. She said that not long after they moved to Toquerville, they received a letter saying three lights in the front of their house violated the dark skies ordinance. So they changed their lights. Now there are three city street lights that are very bright, high wattage lights that are affecting several neighbors in Cholla and lighting up the inside of their homes at night. There was a brief discussion about possible resolutions to this problem. Hopefully that happens soon.
Toquerville Parkway Project
The brief discussion on random issues with the bypass begins here. “Bob” fills us in on the project, I was unable to see Bob’s placard for identification. Perhaps Bob is from the state. At any rate, power and lights for the bypass should be working by March 17. Most of the infrastructure is done and Rocky Mountain is working fast. There will likely be some more planned power outages.
The sand pocket is still a concern. UDOT has inspected the bypass. Among their concerns is an overhang in the hogsback area. They are still looking at all the details. Progress has been made on the 4 lane build out design. The designs will be shown to property owners and may involve a retaining wall.
Change Orders and Resolutions
Each of the following approved change orders and resolutions involved money which required a roll call vote.
Change Order for the Toquerville Parkway Temporary North Tie-in. This was approved. It gives access to Firelight from the bypass. You can view the change order along with maps. Below are screenshots of the changes in price and added work. Unfortunately, Toquer Blvd. will have an additional 35 days to remain a construction zone. The city will be going to the transportation commission to request more funding.
Change Order for Relocation of Power Vaults Out of the Clear Zone. This change order was approved. The location of these Rocky Mountain power vaults are out of compliance. They clarified that the cost of relocating these power vaults is not coming out of the general fund. It comes out of the highway fund.
Resolution Adopting the Water Concervation Plan. This one was tabled and will be discussed again in two weeks. Councilman Gary Chaves had questions about how much this plan has to be followed. The discussion begins here. He wanted to know if it is a guideline or a contract because there were points he would question. He noted that there were projections out to 2050 when there are too many unknowns. It would be hard to commit. This will be discussed again in two weeks.
Resolution Adopting the Fiscal Year 2025 - 2026 Strategic Plan. This was approved. All the council seemed very pleased with this plan that can be viewed here. It is the product of two days of work meetings. This provides a general overview of five goals, with objectives to accomplish in the upcoming budget year. The budget year runs from July 2025 to July 2026. There are 20 objectives. The document is a general guide but is not prescriptive, according to the city manager. He says that these are goals that might not all be accomplished, but there will be reporting and discussion on the objectives in this document. It provides direction for the city and lets the residents view the direction.
Interlocal Revenue Pledge Agreement with the Washington County Sheriffs for The Washington County Drug Task Force. Since we don’t have a police force with officers to contribute, Toquerville instead donates money. Here’s the agreement. This was approved.
Calendar
Signals must have crossed because it was announced that there will be a Readiness meeting. However, there will NOT be a Readiness meeting until May.
There will be an Easter Egg Hunt at the Toquerville City Park on Saturday, April 12 at 10 am.