Council Report — Toquerville Sentinel

by Kathy Bence

Here are highlights from the City Council meeting on January 3— the first meeting of 2024.

Planning Commission members & duties

Two new planning commissioners were installed, Dean Haymore and Angela Harris. Andrea Allred is no longer an alternate. The Planning Commission for 2024 will consist of Stacey Eaton (Chair), Gary Tomsik, Valerie Preslar, Jenny Olsen, and Dean Haymore. Angela Harris and Tyler Perkins will be alternate planning commissioners.

It was clarified in the city code that the planning commissioners shall be residents of the city and they will resign if they miss two consecutive meetings without prior notice. A resolution was passed that they won’t be compensated. How they ended up without pay was covered in this previous post.

City Council Members & appointments

Gary Chaves agreed to continue as Mayor pro Temp. Wayne Olsen moved up to the city council to replace Ty Bringhurst. So the city council now consists of Justin Sip (Mayor), Gary Chaves (Mayor Pro Temp), Chuck Williams, Joey Campbell, Todd Sands, and Wayne Olsen.

There were several appointments of council members to serve as representatives to various local area committees. A resolution was approved stating their monthly pay as mayor and council members. The mayor’s monthly compensation is $1,000 and council members’ monthly compensation is $300.

Public Forum is Back at every meeting

As reported in the previous post, it was good to see the 3-minute opportunity for the public to speak allowed back at every meeting. Lynda Williams took advantage of the forum and thanked the council for reinstating this part of their meetings.

As Toquerville grows, will local residents lose control?

Attorney Heath Snow said that he attended a webinar with the Utah Municipal Attorneys (I couldn’t find a website). He reported that when allowing subdivisions to be built, there will be more administrative decisions and fewer local decisions as mandated by the state. Anytime we lose local control, I find it worrisome.

As part of the discussion about the planning commission activities, the commissioners are working on ordinances for everything from landscaping to building and beyond. Behind a lot of these draft ordinances seems to be what the city staff learns from the Utah League of Cities and Towns intended to bring Toquerville into compliance with the state.

Grants were mentioned as a source of funding for infrastructure improvements which are needed for projected growth. The $4.5 million grant for a water tower is approved and in the works. The council thanked the city manager, Afton Moore, for all the grants she is bringing in. I’m grateful for the relief this brings from taxes, but always concerned about the strings that might show up later.

Code Enforcement

Jason Levitte is the temporary code enforcement officer. He is working through previously submitted complaints for vicious dogs, etc. A formal complaint can be submitted here to the city. Completed forms go to the code enforcement officer.

Flag Etiquette

While this policy was tabled, I’m still reporting on the discussion concerning the Flag Etiquette Policy. Sometimes the LDS Church is responsible for flags and sometimes it is the city’s responsibility. Occasionally the flags stay out overnight. Out of respect, council members discussed how flags should be removed in the evening or should be illuminated at night. My understanding is that the city intends to be responsible for the flags on Toquer Boulevard and the cemetery area, but private citizens are responsible for flags that are displayed on their property. The council will do more research on how to illuminate the flags.

Pioneer Day

The council considered whether the city would assume responsibility for the July 24th celebration of Pioneer Day which is a state holiday. This discussion came about because the three LDS ward bishops in Toquerville felt the city could do a better job coordinating these efforts. Resident D.C. Young was in attendance and was allowed to explain that the church often waits until the last minute to plan activities so, to the bishops, the city seemed like a better option. The city council discussed that the wards have many people to get involved and do the work. The city has a small pool of people (and I’ll add that we pay them). In the end, it was decided that the city would continue to help in a limited way but not to take over the July 24 celebration.

Turkey trott

Layne Garner presented the city with the proceeds from the Toquerville Trails Turkey Trott. Since I watched the meeting on YouTube and the recording started late, I was unable to determine how much money was collected.

Jan. 11 Addendum: Lynda Williams, who was at the city council meeting, said the Turkey Trott brought in $800.