December 2024 Ivins City Council Updates

Mike Scott, Council Member

You May Want To Pay Attention To This

The City Council is working on how to fund about $40 million in capital improvement needs over the next five years. That’s in addition to our $12 million annual budget to pay for day-to-day operations. To put these costs in perspective, the City collected $2.3 million in property taxes last year.

Some of the 25 capital projects we’re looking at are the result of growth. So, about $12 million of the total will come from impact fees—money collected from new residential and commercial developments. These fees are used to pay for growth-related needs, like expanded roads or new water lines.

But most of the projects aren’t just about growth. They’re about replacing old infrastructure, upgrading outdated systems, and improving our city. These are necessary improvements, not optional upgrades.

We have money set aside in a capital projects account specifically for these types of needs. We also set aside money every month from everyone’s utility bill payments for replacing old water, sewer, and storm drain lines. And city staff has been successful at getting grants, so hopefully that continues.

We have narrowed down the list to things we need, it’s not a wish list. It includes replacing an ambulance, spending $1 million for a new ladder truck paid for from impact fees from new residential and commercial development, and $750,000 to fix problems and make improvements to our animal shelter that was spearheaded by city council members Sharon Barton and Sharon Gillespie.

It also includes more expensive projects, including up to $16 million for two new parks including the planned Arrowhead Trail Park south of Hwy 91, $9 million for water, sewer, and storm drain projects, almost $6 million for road improvements, and $7 million for a new public works yard (impact fees from new development should pay for close to 40%). Will we have enough to fund all these projects? It depends. Stay tuned and email me if you want more details.

We’ll Get There… In A Roundabout Way

Have you noticed the speed table at the Mustangs roundabout? Of course you have. And judging by the 100+ emails we received after experiment #1, a speed cushion (basically a bump), was installed back in August, you probably don’t like them.

Some people blamed our Public Works Department for the speed bump. That’s not fair. They aren’t fans of it either. The decision to install it as an experiment was made by the City Council in response to a serious problem: 23 accidents in the roundabout since 2020. Clearly, something needed to change.

Residents raised a lot of valid concerns. Rear-end collisions caused by cars slowing unexpectedly. Cars swerving into the narrow bike lane by the curb to avoid the bump, endangering cyclists. Cars launching airborne if drivers didn’t slow down enough.

To better understand the situation, I spent time at the roundabout with members of SUBA (Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance) to observe what was really happening. We saw many of the issues people described in their emails—though thankfully, no airborne cars! (I’ll admit, I needed ChatGPT to help me imagine that one.)

We’ve already made adjustments based on the issues with the initial speed cushion. To reduce the jolt as vehicles pass over it, we replaced it with a wider speed table. We’re also exploring additional measures to improve safety, such as installing better signage, restriping the bike sharrows farther from the roundabout, and lowering the speed limit. We’re open to other good ideas as well, so if you have suggestions, let us know.

This experiment is part of an effort to address safety in the roundabout, and while the current solution may not be perfect, we’re committed to finding something that works. Stay tuned as we continue to evaluate and refine the approach.

Growing a Healthier Community

In July, I mentioned that Utah State University’s Wellbeing Survey ranked Ivins as the second healthiest city among the 49 cities surveyed.

Since then, the City has created the Healthy Ivins Coalition, chaired by Ivins resident Craig Shanklin. In September, Ivins was also awarded the Healthy Utah Community designation.

The purpose of the Healthy Ivins Coalition is to explore ways the City can promote active living, healthy eating, and improve mental health in our community. The Coalition’s next meeting is on December 11^th.

One idea being considered is reopening a community garden on Red Mountain Blvd. near Hwy 91. The Coalition is also hoping to find a volunteer to serve as the “garden manager.” If you’re interested in gardening or being the garden manager (with support from our Parks & Recreation Department), please email me at mike@MikeScott4Ivins.com.

Be the Spark. Make a Difference

“Ivins Inspired” is a volunteer program created by Ivins residents Tiffany Wynn and Shauna Fisher, designed specifically for our community. Inspired by the successful “Carmel Cares” group of volunteers (www.carmelcares.org), this program aims to empower Ivins residents to lend a helping hand and leave a lasting impact on our beautiful city.

This is your chance to make a difference and connect with your neighbors. Whether your passion lies in beautifying our parks, supporting local causes, mentoring youth, or finding your own unique way to contribute, there’s a place for you in Ivins Inspired.

For more details, visit https://ivinsutah.gov/volunteer-program/ on the city’s website, or reach out to Tiffany at IvinsInspired@gmail.com. Let’s come together to create meaningful change.

Swinging Into Action

Sometimes, it takes a fresh perspective to notice what’s missing. That’s exactly what happened when Ollie Robertson, a member of the Ivins Youth Council (https://ivinsyouthcouncil.com), realized that our community doesn’t have an ADA-accessible swing set. This inspired the Youth Council to take action and advocate for every child in Ivins to have the opportunity to enjoy Unity Park.

With the support of Marc Christensen, the City’s Director of Parks & Recreation, we’ve identified a grant opportunity to make this vision a reality. City playground equipment costs a lot more than what you’d spend at home. The ADA-accessible swing set will cost approximately $15,000, and additional funds will be needed for rubber surfacing and shade structures to complete the project.

If the grant application is approved, it will cover 80% of the cost, leaving $3,000 to $6,000 for the Youth Council to raise. It’s a “heavy lift” for our Youth Council, but they are full of ideas and energy. Let’s see what creative solution they come up with. The Youth Council, working with the Parks & Recreation Department, will put their plan together in December, finalize costs, and start the grant application process in January.

Kudos to our Youth Council for championing a project that will have a lasting impact on our community by creating a space where children of all abilities can play, connect, and thrive. Their vision of fostering inclusivity and ensuring every child feels welcome and valued is both inspiring and ambitious. It’s a challenge they’ve embraced with determination and creativity, setting an example for us all.

More City Information

I try to keep these articles relatively concise. Not doing too well at that. It’s frustrating because there’s so much to discuss. So, please email me at Mike@MikeScott4Ivins.com for more information about these and other Ivins issues. Also, please tell me what issues in Ivins matter to you. Visit my website at www.MikeScott4Ivins.com  for regular updates and now you can also add your comments to my articles.

December 2024 Update

A learning organization increases its value over time

Education is fundamental to the success of virtually all non-profits. Members and volunteers routinely ask, “Why do we do what we do? Why is it important? How does it make a difference?” And for a learning organization, a key question is how can we improve what we do?

Such questions were the driving force behind this year’s annual safety workshop recently organized by the Desert Preservation Initiative. Invited workshop leaders, Benjamin Scow, a professor in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension at Utah State University, and Amy Davidson, a Pesticide Compliance Specialist in the state Division of Agriculture & Food, offered instruction on the safe removal of invasive species in the Santa Clara watershed.

Attendees learned about proper safety gear, such as wearing steel-toed shoes and protective eyewear, as well as how to cut limbs and apply herbicide for the greatest effect. DPI member Ken White provided attendees with a safety guidelines handout developed based on field experiences and consultation with area professionals. As DPI volunteer Wayne Pennington, an engineer and geophysicist, notes, “bringing in professionals not associated with our group provides both instruction and independent evaluation of DPI’s methods.” DPI board member Sara Dupre adds, “DPI’s knowledge and competence were evident and acknowledged by the trainers.”

“The DPI core group has an amazing understanding of their work, especially Pathfinder II,” says Amy Davidson. She was particularly impressed by Ken White’s safety data sheet. In fact, Davidson’s response was that organizations like DPI and government agencies can learn from each other. “Since my session with DPI, I have started asking questions within my organization about why we don’t cover Safety Data Sheets or require them on service vehicles and at chemical storage locations,” Davidson writes. “There’s so much information we inspectors are missing.”

Such workshops provide learning organizations the opportunity to continually improve their practices, making them streamlined, efficient and safer. “They offer an opportunity to interact with professionals in the field, to ask questions, to assess the DPI process and to refine what we do so  as to be better in line with safety protocols,” says Warren. “Volunteer work with DPI is the door to a critically important service to the Santa Clara watershed which has long been neglected, that is, restoring washes which have been overtaken by Tamarisk and Russian olive, allowing native plants to return and greatly reducing the risk of wildfire, while building community.”

”Removal of invasive species is important,” says Pennington, “particularly when the species is detrimental to the environment. Rather than clutching our pearls and lamenting that the government doesn’t step in and remove them, citizen groups can take the initiative. Having demonstrated that success is possible and that citizens are indeed engaged, government support can become available,” he says, “expanding our reach. Besides, the hard work and camaraderie are rewarding in their own right.”

“At the workshop, I witnessed the positive energy of our community,” says Warren, “an energy which is making a difference one project at a time, now counting some 3000 hours of field labor.”