City Council - Regular Meeting

All right. Welcome, everyone. We're ready to get started. Maybe a couple minutes late, but for some of us, it's just right on time. So we're going to go ahead and get started with our... What's that?

Yeah.

We're going to go ahead and get started correctly. We're going to have an invocation, and we have Laura Fairchild with the Bayi Faith. Bayi. Okay, all right, and she's gonna give us our invocation. Thank you.

Hold on, make sure your microphone's on.

Try the other one. Okay, give us a minute.

Green light, there we go. Oh Lord, my God, I beg of thee to unite us, to bring us together as one family. I give thee thanks, oh my God, for this great city and for all the souls who have made this possible. I beg thee to make of us hollow reeds that we may be in thy service at all times, to open our hearts and heal any artificial divides that appear to be between us, that we may come to one another with open hearts and love. In thy name, great praise, great thanks. Amen.

Thank you for that. I agree we live in a great city. I've asked Councilwoman Michelle Tanner to lead us in the pledge.

Please stand and repeat after me.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

Okay, we have a couple of things. We do have a proclamation today, and Councilman Anderson has agreed to read that proclamation.

Okay, proclamation. Whereas parks and recreation programs are an integral part of communities throughout this country, including the city of St. George, and whereas park and recreation promotes health and wellness, improving the physical and mental health of people who live near parks, as well as time spent in nature, which positively impacts mental health by increasing cognitive performance and well-being. and alleviate illness such as depression, attention deficit disorders, and Alzheimer's. And whereas parks and recreation encourage physical activities by providing space for popular sports, hiking trails, swimming pools, and many other activities designed to promote active lifestyles and is a leading provider of the healthy meals, nutrition, and lifestyles. And whereas parks and recreation programming and educational activities such as out of school time programming, youth sports, environmental education are critical to childhood development. And whereas parks and recreation increase a community's economic prosperity, through increased values, expansion of the local tax base, increased tourism, the attraction of the businesses, and crime and reduction, and is fundamental to the environmental well-being of our community. And whereas parks and recreation are essential and adaptable infrastructure that makes our community resilient in the face of natural disasters and climate change, and whereas our parks, and natural recreation areas ensure the ecological beauty of our community and provide a place for children and adults to connect with nature and recreate outdoors. And whereas the U.S. House of Representatives has designated July as Parks and Recreation Month, now therefore on behalf of Mayor Jimmy Hughes, the Mayor of the City of St. George, Utah, along with the City Council, we do hereby proclaim the month of July 2026 as Parks and Recreation Month in the City of St. George and recognize the benefits derived from parks and recreation resources.

Thank you. Shane, come on up.

Thanks, Mayor, Council. We've got a fun month planned ahead, and we have Faith Murray from our Recreation Department, and she has put together the calendar that you have, and she's got just a few things to introduce. And then we're hoping we can get our whole group back there to come up and get a picture. Nice.

First off, my name is Faith Murray. I just really want to extend our gratitude and we are extremely honored to get this recognition for Parks and Recreation. We deeply understand that this is a deep and really integral part to the city of St. George. rooted in the heart of the communities here and we just as a team have worked really hard to just highlight a lot of the local groups that are already here and that you guys have already set up and our job this next month is really just to highlight the programs that are already happening and already occurring and we just want to make sure that they're getting the recognition that they deserve and for the benefits and all of the positive changes that they're making within the city of St. George. So we do have this calendar. If you guys would like to come join us in any of these, they are open to the public, and we really look forward to seeing everyone there.

Thank you. Do you have anything else? You've got to give a speech.

I just wanted to recognize Faith. She did a lot of the heavy lifting to put this calendar together and create a lot of these activities for Parks and Rec Month. She is a wonderful part of our department, and we are excited to celebrate Parks and Rec Month next month. So thank you so much.

You guys do a phenomenal job. Appreciate it. So you guys all want to come up and get a picture? You have a whole crew here, don't you, Shane? We've got a big crew. Nice. Come on up, guys and gals.

Nice.

Get up here on the front, and the council and I will stand up here in the back so we're not ruining the picture.

Jordan, why don't you come over?

Yeah. Okay, here we go.

Sorry, hold on.

We were doing some employee interviews today, people not even related to parks. And one of the reasons why this person wanted to come and work for the city of St. George is because we're such a fantastic city, including He likes this person like to take their family to the parks because we have some phenomenal Parks and Recreation opportunities and it's part of the quality of life here And I know I've had these conversations with Chief Whitehead before about the value of parks and outdoors recreation and keeping people's mental health well and actually keeping crime in check because of the opportunities people have to get out and recreate so I There's a lot of other benefits to the Parks and Recreation. We're super grateful for that. So our Parks Department does a phenomenal job all the way through. So thank you. Anything else you guys want to add to that? All right. John, take us away with the rest of our agenda. Do we have any changes?

No changes, but we do have the presentation from Greater Zion.

Let's get them up here. Nice. We got Commissioner here. Thank you.

So, Mayor, Council, you know, we have fantastic partners with the county and Greater Zion, and they just support us in so many ways, so.

Thanks, Shane.

Mayor, council member, my name is Chad McWilliams with Greater Zion. My responsibility is large-scale events, adventure events, and golf marketing. So we market all 14 of the golf courses that we have in a county, and especially St. George, we can't... Any riders, influencers we come in, we make sure they at least play Dixie Red Hills. That's one of our musts. But just a quick, since you're on the parks, I just want to give a good shout out to the Parks and Recs Department. It makes my job so much easier when we have great facilities like the canyons, the Little Valley Complex. Every time these events want to come here, they say, well, how is it working with... St. George or whatever municipality that they want to go into. And I said, you won't find one better. So I appreciate, especially the softball event they had last week. I know we had 185 teams in the area, over 2000 players. We helped offset them with rental of the facilities at the canyons. Because that particular event, the World Senior Softball event, they're being courted by other communities and other states to go there. So we incentivize them to be here. And I'm grateful for those relationships we have with your employees and how great care they take care of your facilities. But what we're here for with Commissioner Almquist is that partnership that Shane talked about with events, and especially the St. George Marathon, the St. George Art Festival, and the Snow Canyon Half Marathon. We've reached a three-year agreement to sponsor those events at a high level this year, 44,000 to the St. George Marathon. plus an additional 25 000 that we are having a history video created for the marathon so that the participants over those over 10 000 registered runners will get a chance to watch the art festival we sponsor the music part of that to enhance that festival to kind of keep people here another night instead of just coming saturday morning let's come friday night check out the music stay the night and so and then with the the new for us coming on board this year is as a sponsor of the snow canyon half marathon in november so we're grateful to to work with the st george races and the park staff to find ways that individuals can be here and these funds come from the transient room tax So we collect that, the state collects that, remits it back to the county, and then we try to find ways that we can put that back into our communities. As you know, the Sun Bowl, we help with the paths, the bike paths and walking paths that everybody gets to enjoy in all the communities. We try to find ways to reinvest that because I got to live here too, you know, and I love downtown and I love what you guys have done with it and are doing with it. I just wanted to throw that in there.

Well, my only part here is that the three commissioners all felt like we wanted to present to you a thanks for the partnerships, because we realize even though funding comes from TRT and it's paid by the tourists that visit here, we also recognize that you have an added burden, whether it's police or cleanup or those events that are sponsored. But even though we are part of the marketing side by legal ramifications as dictated by state law, we know that offsets some of those other costs that you incur. And we just are grateful for the partnership. And we know that as the major city in all of Washington County, that you have the history of being able to have the facilities, the know-how, and you put on a lot of events. And therefore, even though this portion goes to you, it benefits the entire county. And so we're really just very grateful. Thank you.

And this is for the next three years also. So I didn't know if I said that. Thank you, Mayor and Council. Perfect.

Thank you, guys. We do value the partnership and we've worked on some really good projects. And thank you so much. So this says the city of St. George, not Mayor Hughes. That's all right. Kidding. Thank you, guys. And by the way, if you've been following the agenda, this just shows you how much power I have as the mayor. I've totally taken us way off the agenda, so see how important I am? But we're getting back on track, so I'll follow the agenda the rest of the way. Speaking of that, we have Zach here from the Water Conservancy District.

Mayor, council, it's great to be here. So we have a great partnership with our cities. And of course, St. George is one of our largest partners in that thing. But one of the things that St. George has done really well lately is really help with making sure that we treat water respectfully We're good stewards of that. And so one of the things that the city of St. George took on is changing out your meters. And so they went to a more sophisticated meter where people now can have apps on their phone and actually see what their water is doing. We can pick up leaks really quick. And we are actually seeing data now that those new meters are actually saving millions of gallons of water almost every single day. So when St. George City went to undertake this project, it was quite expensive, and so Scott Taylor, he's not here today, but he started going out and looking for grants and a few other things, and he was able to receive some of that. Whenever you apply for grants, of course, if you have a team going for a grant, it works a little bit better, and so he came to the Water District, and it's such a great program. We, of course, wanted to team up with that, and so the Water District contributed, said we would come up with a million dollars to help that project. So I have a check here for a million dollars. It does not say Mayor Hughes on it, but it says City of St. George. So I just want to thank St. George City for the great partnership of working with us and the great things you're doing here. And just tell me who to give this to now, Mayor. Who do I give the check to?

You can bring it right up here. I don't know if you heard that. That's a million bucks.

I've never seen one of those before.

Do we have a cheers? I'm going to show it. Thank you. I wish Scott was here because we are so close to having all those meters in. And I have got two or three calls just this week about people and having their meter in and questioning how much water they're using and if it's accurate. Even one of our council members may have brought it up earlier tonight. But if people have not already gone online with their utility bill, got the Ion Water app on their phone, It is so helpful to see how much water your sprinklers are using. You can see what time of day people are showering in your home. It's really informative. But then also, if you have a leak, it will alert you. And sometimes those are costly leaks as a homeowner if you don't get them repaired. Because if you have an ongoing leak in your pool or your sprinkler system, it really could cause some damage to your home.

Yeah, I've told my story several times on that. But I've had that happen twice now where I found leaks because I happened to check and get that notification. But I don't know if you guys saw that, how fast our finance director took that check from me. So we're in good hands.

Anything else, council?

Okay, now, John, you can get us back on track.

Okay, item number two is the consent calendar. There's six items on the consent calendar this evening. These are administrative items. Staff has reviewed these and recommend approval of each of these. However, if the council would like to remove any of these for specific consideration, we can accommodate that. Otherwise, staff recommends approval.

Oh, I think that was on purpose.

Lean over to Austin's right there.

I don't want to approve. I want to take a couple items off for quick questions. I'm sorry, I just barely got back into town.

You want his microphone?

I'd like to make a motion that we approve the consent calendar with the exception of items... See, now I can't look at my own stuff. C... And E, just a couple quick questions for Cameron and Parks. Stay over here. Meanwhile.

Anybody want to second that?

I'll second that motion.

So we have a motion, motion by Steve, second by Michelle to approve the consent calendar except for item C and E. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed?

Motion carries unanimously.

Now, let's go ahead and discuss then item C when you get your microphone on. Still nothing?

Thinking about it. I saw a green light. My only question is how do you agree with item C, which is related to the?

It's picking yet.

which is related to the fire truck. I don't know if Chief's here. Just going through the packet, there was some typos and things on the packet mentioning that it would be only guaranteed through... June 13th of 2025. I'm assuming that's a typo and that we still are getting a price that we said we were going to get. And then also I needed a little bit of clarification. We talked in one of the budget meetings about when we need to get that discount. When do we need to make that payment?

Yeah, that was a typo on mine when I noticed it after the fact. But we need to get that in before we get it delivered. But the timeline we're under is pulling it out of this current fiscal year budget. And so that's why we'll get a requisition turned in Monday and get it submitted for payment on Friday.

Thank you, Chief. I appreciate that. And then the other item was item E. And maybe this is a Cameron question. Real fast. And as you know, I try and ask these questions ahead of time, but I was out of town until a couple hours ago. This is a reimbursement for it looks like STG storage is putting in this road. that goes along the south side of their property so that they can access their storage unit project. There's an access on the other side into the Sunrock project. Why isn't Sunrock participating if they're going to benefit from the access into their property? Sure.

So SITL is the underlying property owner because Suncor already has their access. This will be a future roadway connection. So with the storage unit developing on the north side, the south side, Suncor already being developed. It needs to be a public road. So we're participating in that portion that wouldn't be Suncor's.

I looked at the MPO maps and everything else I could find. Where is this public road going to go?

So it will connect to the north, head east, connect to the north, and then the developable area on that hillside, it would connect just as a connection.

And that property is currently SITLA property, State Trust, and then there's a little bit of private, it looks like, over on the west side.

Yeah, the majority of the area that would be developable is actually private land.

Okay. That's the PCI property?

No, to the north. To the north. Okay. I know which piece it is. Yeah.

Okay. Thank you. Those are the only questions I had.

Any other questions on items C or E? If not, I'll entertain a motion for items C and E of the consent calendar.

I'll make a motion that we approve item C and E. Second.

We have a motion by Austin, second by Steve. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously.

Item three is a public hearing to review and take public comment regarding the proposed transfer from enterprise funds to other funds included in the recommended fiscal year 2026-27 budget. Good afternoon, Mayor.

Good afternoon, council members. The City of St. George General Fund provides administrative and overhead support to the enterprise funds. These services include human resources, legal technology, fleet maintenance and other administrative services. The city calculates the estimated cost to provide these services to the enterprise funds and each enterprise funds transfers their proportionate shares of the cost to the general fund to reimburse for these costs. If these funds were not provided by the general fund, the enterprise funds would need to hire additional employees and pay the direct personnel, materials and supplies, and equipment cost and or hire consultants and pay their fees. City management believes the amount transferred to the general fund as reimbursement is less than the cost of the enterprise funds would pay to directly hire for these services and or contract with a third party. The enterprise funds also participate in capital projects and equipment purchases with other funds. The total project costs are expensed in the other funds, and each enterprise fund transfers their proportionate share of the costs. Combining with other funds, the City is saving costs by combining like projects with the different funds.

Good job, Jared.

Thanks, Mayor.

Questions for Jared? Okay, this item is a public hearing, so I'm going to go ahead and open the public hearing. For those who have come to speak on item three, the microphone is yours. If you do come up, please state your name for the record. Seeing none, I'll close the public hearing and come back to you, council.

Can I make a motion or any discussion?

Either one.

This item actually requires no action. That's right. Just a public hearing. Thank you.

Thank you. I just got off vacation too, Steve. Can you tell? Yeah. Okay. Okay.

So the next item is item number four. It's the public hearing to review and take public comment regarding non-reciprocal transfers for unbilled utility services from the electrical, water, and sewer funds to other city funds.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Each year, as part of the budget process, state law requires the city to hold a public hearing and inform utility customers about unbilled utility services provided by city-owned utilities, such as power, water, and wastewater. Some facilities are billed and pay standard utility rates. However, certain utility services are provided to city operations without direct billing. This practice has been in place since the city's inception, and management believes that this approach is an efficient way to account for utility costs associated with services and facilities that directly support and benefit our citizens. The cost of these services is already built into the base rate, so this does not result in any rate increase. For the coming year, the total estimated value of unbilled utility services is $2.9 million. And the estimated impact on the average monthly utility bill is $2.35 per month. Again, this item is being presented as part of a public hearing, but I'm happy to answer any questions.

Questions for Tiffany? Okay, this item is also a public hearing, so I'll go ahead and open the public hearing for those who've come to comment on item number four. Seeing none, I'll go ahead and close the public hearing. There's no action required on this either.

Item number five is consider approval of resolution number 2026-009R, amending and adopting fees for various services and recreational activities.

All right. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Each year the city reviews its fees. services and fees to ensure sufficient coverage for those services and this year the departments have identified some areas that we need to increase the fees to cover our cost i'll just briefly go over a couple of those on page 136 of your packet you'll notice the drainage fee charge going from seven dollars to eight dollars A $1 increase, this will give us additional funds between $700,000 to $800,000 to help us with our long-term stormwater and drainage needs. On page 141, we have the water that has multiple changes as well. For example, the three-quarter meter, the base fee is an 80 cent increase. And then each tier is going up by 12 cents per 1,000 gallons. And this is a pass-through rate increase from the Washington County Water Conservancy District. I do have one correction to the master fee schedule. So if you can note that when you do approval. And that is for the airport on page 86, for the terminal building vehicle parking fee, instead of the first 30 minutes or half hour being free, we want to change that, make the correction to the first one hour. So the first 60 minutes being free. So if you can include that in your approval. Are there any questions on the Master Fee Schedule?

um on page 81 it's uh there's something about campaign financial statements there's going to be it says a late fee for campaign financial statements um that affect will that affect the person's ability to like stay in the election and is it going to be made public it's just an interesting thing for us to add and we probably should be clear about what that means So if someone doesn't turn in their financial statement on time, they're going to receive, they're going to be fined, basically, is what this is saying. So I guess my questions are just, will that be publicly available information, and will it affect their ability to continue on in the election?

I think our current code is 24 or 48 hours, right? The fee is something new that the legislation passed last year, or this past session. That is separate from the time frame that you have to the grace period, the 24-hour grace period. So that's different than that. So if they get it within that 24 hours... grace period, we can charge them. And then if they don't get it in with that 24 hours, they can be removed.

Disqualified. Yeah. And so, yeah. And then do you know, Christina, will it be a public record that they have that they have that they're late?

It will be very public because we will have to send notices or take them off the agenda or off the ballot. Okay.

I just think people would want to know that. So thank you. And then just noting that the golf loyalty card, one change is the Washington County residents only. So that is definitely new. There was one question that I had on page 106. It says community building. I have no idea what that is.

On 106, let me get there.

Oh.

Yeah, Sharon, can you talk about the community building behind the senior center?

Yeah, that's the building that actually the group that does the veterans, what do they call it?

The Veterans Coalition, but we don't meet there anymore.

Yeah, not the Veterans Coalition, the post for the, anyway.

Yeah.

It's just a little building that we rent out. It's right behind the senior center. It's really small. A lot of different community groups use it.

Got it. I did not even know it existed. Thank you.

I'll take you over there. Okay.

Those are all of my questions. Thank you.

Okay.

Thank you.

Any other questions? If not, come back to you, council.

I will make a motion to approve resolution number 2026-009R amending and adopting fees for various services and recreational activities. Second.

So we have a motion by Michelle, a second by Danielle. This is a resolution requiring a roll call vote starting with Michelle.

Michelle Tanner, aye.

Mayor, was that also including the airport fees?

Oh, that is correct. Remember page 86, we had the airport fees. The main change was the parking.

for one hour free.

For one hour instead of 30 minutes. Thank you, Dustin, and that's my fault if you have complaints. I asked for that, so.

And I'll amend my motion to include the airport fees, second.

So the amended motion by Michelle and second by Danielle, did I get that in the right order? Okay, this is a resolution requiring a roll call vote, starting with Michelle.

Michelle Tanner, aye. Danielle Larkin, aye. Natalie Larson, aye.

Steve Kemp, aye.

Austin Anderson, aye.

Motion carries unanimously.

Item number six is a public hearing to receive input on the fiscal year 2026-27 budget and consideration of resolution number 2026-010R for final adoption of the FY2026 and 2027 budget.

Well, good evening, Mayor and Council. We've made it to our final step in this year's 27 budget process. Like John mentioned, tonight's item is to hold a public hearing to consider final adoption of the fiscal year 26-27 budget. Tonight's public hearing actually will be our second public hearing this year. We held our first public hearing on June the 4th and we also had a budget open house that same night on the fiscal year 27 budget. Before I begin my presentation tonight I did want to play a brief video that was produced by our communications team that provides a really good overview of the 27 budget and then afterwards I'll give some brief comments on the overall budget.

One of the most important tasks each year for the City Council is adopting the City's budget, which is used to pay for the wide array of services provided to our community, including 24-7 police and fire services and 911 dispatch, which keeps our homes, businesses, and community safe. Street and traffic signal maintenance to ensure efficient and safe travel throughout the community. Utility services that provide clean drinking water and bring power to our homes and businesses. The maintenance of the parks, trail system, and parks facilities which provides clean and safe areas to gather, play, and recreate. Parks programming from youth to adult sports to community events like the St. George Art Festival and St. George Marathon. You help make these services possible through the taxes and fees you pay to the City of St. George. It's an important investment in your home and community as these services help make St. George such a great place to live, work, and play. The City's budget is all about planning smart, spending wisely, and making sure your tax dollars are used effectively. To further these efforts, we have delivered the business plan as a guiding document within this year's budget. The business plan lays out a clear roadmap for the year ahead, supports strategic investments in the community's future, and ensures that every dollar is used to deliver meaningful results for St. George residents. The fiscal year 2027 budget and business plan includes a number of key investments focused on achieving the City Council's priorities identified in the business plan. Some of these investments include critical utility and transportation improvements such as building a bridge and a roadway connecting George Washington Boulevard to Crosby Way, continuation of the SR7 trail project, and Gap Canyon Parkway. finishing the construction of the St. George Air Traffic Control Tower, continuing design of the expansion of the airport terminal, funding to continue our pavement management and sidewalk programs, investments in public safety including new equipment such as a new fire apparatus and 13 replacement vehicles, A major remodel of the old city hall and police headquarters to create a unified campus to support the growth of the police department. Designed for a new fire station in the Toniquent neighborhood. Investment in new equipment and technology. Continued development of the city's parks and trail system with the implementation of the 2023 voter-approved general obligation bond, including finishing the renovations of the Dixie Sun Bowl in time for the Dixie Roundup Rodeo, construction of Curly Hollow Park Phase One, Lizard Wash Park, and the expansion of Thunder Junction, Santa Clara River Trail. Thanks to the city's AA plus bond rating, taxpayers are seeing substantial savings in interest costs, helping each dollar go further. To find out more about the city's budget, please visit our website, sgcityutah.gov slash budget.

Again, a huge thank you to David and his team for producing that video. I think it provides a really nice overview of some of the investments that are planned in the 27 budget. So for my comments tonight, I just wanted to talk a little bit about an overview of this year's process, and then I'll reiterate some of the same investments that the video covers. And then we'll talk about some of the unique facts that I think are interesting for our residents to know about the city's 27 budget. So development of the 27 budget was centered around the creation of the fiscal year 27 business plan. The business plan lays out clear objectives and strategies that tie directly to the city council's priorities and serves as a roadmap for the city work in the year ahead. The business plan forms the foundation of the investments that are proposed in this year's budget. Development of the budget's an intensive process that involves significant time and effort across the organization as we work to fund the projects and services that meet the needs of a growing community. This budget's not just a financial document, it's our action plan for the year ahead. And it's all about delivering the high quality services that residents, businesses, and visitors expect from the city of St. George. Some key areas of investment included in the 27 budget include enhancements in public safety through technology equipment and facility improvements, critical utility and transportation infrastructure improvements, continued expansion of the parks and trails, parks that were approved as part of the 2023 GO bond approved by voters. Targeted initiatives focused on financial stability, operational excellence, workforce development, and customer service. On the revenue side of the budget, I'm pleased to note the fiscal year 27 budget does not propose a property tax increase. However, as the council just saw on the previous agenda item, there are a number of fee adjustments proposed across our services to help pay for the growing cost of providing service to our community. The fiscal year 27 combined budget across all 40-plus city funds totals $540.2 million. The budget's balanced and continues to support the city's long-term financial health. When looking at the city's budget, I think it's helpful to think about the budget in two pieces. The first piece is the general fund. This is the city's primary budget. It provides the majority of services that our residents think about when they think about city services, such as police, fire, 911 dispatch, street and traffic signal maintenance, parks and trails maintenance, parks programming, development, review and code enforcement, golf, and then all of the other departments that support those frontline services to our community. This budget's funded through the majority of property taxes and sales taxes that our residents pay to the city. Franchise fees, overhead reimbursements, charges for service, fines, permits, and then other revenue sources. From the above pie charts, you can see that the largest portion of our general fund that's proposed for fiscal year 27 is proposed to be spent on public safety services. The second piece of the pie is all of the other funds of the city's budget. These funds pay for the utility services that we provide to residents, like St. George Power, Water and Sewer Service, and the Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, the St. George Regional Airport, major infrastructure projects like new streets, new utility lines, major facility additions and new parks, the Suntran Bus Service, and then other restricted purposes. This part of the budget is paid for by fees charged to customers, impact fees, grants, debt issuance, and then other restricted revenue sources. The city's budget has a few unique factors that I feel are worth noting and highlighting. St. George continues to stand out as one of the fastest growing communities in the nation and currently ranks as the fifth largest city in Utah by population. With a geographic footprint of 78 and a half square miles spanning rivers, mesas, and canyons, St. George faces unique infrastructure and staffing challenges that go beyond those of a typical community. These physical characteristics combined with a rapid growth increase the need for additional roads, utilities, parks, fire stations, and other necessary public infrastructure along with the staff to provide services throughout all ends of the community. Capital investments, which is one indicator of this impact, make up a substantial portion of this year's budget, totaling $178 million of proposed investments. Another unique factor in the city's budget is that it funds a number of regional-based services in addition to the more community-based services that our residents might think about, like police and fire service. These services are provided throughout all of Washington County from a regional perspective, as St. George serves as the regional hub for the area. These services include 911 dispatch, the St. George Airport, regional wastewater treatment plant, and Suntran bus service. Along these same lines, the city also provides power service to a large portion of the community, which is also something that's unique for many other communities within Utah. These operations are vital not only to St. George residents, but the surrounding communities as well. And while they do increase the scope and scale of the city's budget, they provide long-term value and savings for the broader community. In the fiscal year 27 budget, these regional services account for about $160 million of the overall proposed budget. And then in conclusion, I wanted to touch on the property taxes that our residents pay to the city for service. As part of this year's budget process, staff reviewed the property tax cost of services across the top 20 largest cities in Utah by population. We're proud to report that even with our expanded responsibilities and service area, St. George continues to offer exceptional value. While St. George is the fifth largest city in Utah by population, we have the third lowest property tax rate of the top 20 cities. The full fiscal year 27 budget has been available for public review on the city's website since May the 7th. This will be the second public hearing that we've held on the budget, and we also had a budget open house this year on June the 4th. And in addition to tonight's proposed budget, the council will find at the dais a copy of a couple of proposed amendments that I wanted to cover really quickly that are also for the council's consideration. So these amendments have to do with some additional information that we gathered as we got deeper in the budget process. The first amendment that's proposed is to adjust the property tax revenue that's from new growth, which is new development in the community from new homes and new businesses that have been built in the last year and then added to the tax roll. The initial estimate was a little bit lower, and so we've got the final property values from the Washington County. And so we proposed to adjust the budget up in the general fund by $55,793. and that we would propose to add that to the year-end transfer to our general capital project fund, taking that total transfer to about $811,000 in the 27 proposed budget. In our other funds, specifically in our drainage utility fund, there's a project that the developer, there's a city portion of a developer project in the Paseo de Viviano area related to drainage infrastructure, so the city, The developer put that infrastructure in. The city owes a component of that infrastructure, and so the city has agreed to make payments on that over four years. And so staff would propose to amend the budget in the amount of $3.5 million to add our first payment towards the city's responsibility of the drainage infrastructure for that project. These total changes combined increase the overall budget by $3.55 million. which takes the budget to $543.7 million for fiscal year 27, which would be a 3.7% increase from the fiscal year 26 adopted budget. And with that, that completes my presentation. I'm happy to answer any questions the council may have.

Questions for Robert? It's not like we haven't spent a few hours together, do we?

Yeah, I was going to say, we've asked you so many questions, Robert. You've answered all of them, so we have none left.

Yeah, I just want to say thank you to Robert because, I mean, even just the other day, I'm asking him details about RAPTACS and each project, and it's like within a couple of hours, he has a detailed, full response back, and so... Thank you for all your hard work. And I think it was last year was the first budget that I voted in favor for. And I feel like just each year our process becomes better and better. And that's, you know, thanks to your hard work and Chad and all of the team. I feel like we're really moving in a positive direction.

Thank you.

Any other questions or comments?

I would reiterate that mayor being the newly appointed city councilman. You know, I came in right when we were doing the budget. I didn't know what to expect and. And I got to say, as a business owner who handles budgets, I was very impressed with Robert and his team, and especially with the department heads, how they presented the budget and just the openness and the transparency and where they really are rubbing pennies together. I mean, it's impressive to see what the city's done. I can attest that Council's asked a lot of tough questions. I mean, they really went through every line, line by line, and it was a great process, and I think you did a wonderful job. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Austin. I was actually thinking that same thing. Not only is the budget team, Robert and his team, so good. I was thinking about the department heads myself and how they understand the process and participate in it. And there's no, you know, there isn't this great animosity that, oh, man, that's getting cut from my budget. They understand the process. They look at their budgets. They try very hard to ask only for what they need. And Robert's very nice to be able to remind them when they ask for something they want versus something they need that they may not get that. So it's really good. And the city manager also, obviously, he's involved in all of that. So we appreciate that. But yeah, that was a good point, Austin. Thank you. I was thinking the same thing.

Any other questions, comments?

Sometimes we let John in on the conversation. Okay, if there's no other questions for John, this is a public hearing for those who have come to give input on our fiscal year budget 2026-2027. So I will go ahead and open that public hearing. For any who have come to speak to that, you're welcome to come up. Seeing none, I will close the public hearing. And we now have the opportunity, because we've had all of our public hearings, have the opportunity for you, Council, if you see fit, to adopt the final 2026-2027 budget.

Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve the fiscal year 2026-27 budget and consideration of resolution 2026-00R for the final adoption of the FYI 2026-27 budget with the amendment.

Is that okay?

Second.

Okay. So we have a motion by Natalie, second by Danielle. Is there any other discussion or clarification needed? All right. So this is a resolution requiring a roll call vote starting with Austin. Austin Anderson, aye. Steve Kemp, aye.

Natalie Larson, aye. Danielle Larkin, aye. Michelle Tanner, aye.

motion carries unanimously by the way that's my first budget as the mayor too can i make one comment after all of this i just we at the initial part of me being on council we had a lot of discussion from the public and and the open houses we've had very few people show up because i think they realize the work and the questions and and it really does fall back to john's leadership and robert and the way they conduct themselves from the top down, and I think there's so much respect in our department heads for what they do.

Thank you, Natalie.

Okay, number seven. Senate bill resolution number 2026-011 are adopting the tax rate for the 2026 tax year and levying taxes upon all real and personal property within the city of St. George.

Good evening again, Mayor and Council. As John mentioned, tonight's item is to consider adoption of this year's certified tax rate. The certified tax rate is calculated by the Washington County Clerk Auditor and the State Tax Commission and is provided to the city typically in early June. The certified tax rate is a tax rate that, if adopted, would raise the same amount of property tax revenue for the city as the prior budget from existing residents. The only growth that we will see in property tax revenue when you adopt the certified tax rate is from new construction or new growth, meaning new homes and new businesses that have been built in the community over the past year and then added to the tax roll by the county tax assessor. This year's certified tax rate is .000665. And with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions the council may have.

Questions or comments on this item?

I have questions.

So this mill levy, if you'll call it that, that's just the St. George City mill levy that's been set by the Washington County Clerk Auditor's Office, correct?

Yes. To raise the same amount of property tax revenue as last year's budget from existing residents.

As it's over the entire city? Yes. Effectively. What I know they always like to say on the average home, it's this much money. It seems like our average home price is going up, going up, going up every day. But just for easy math, on a million-dollar property, you're talking about $655, $65 that would be raised by this tax on a $1 million property of assessed value without any kind of residential exemption or anything like that.

It's probably a little bit lower than that when you include the primary homestead exemption, which is a 45% exemption off of the taxable value. So it's probably more in the range of like $400, but that's the basic formula, yeah.

Do we do a study this year or last year on the cost of the value that the city provides to the average home in the city of St. George?

So we did look at what the average cost is for the average home. It's around $213, $14 for the average prime, sorry, council member.

The question was value that we're providing, meaning police, fire, streets, water, sewer, gas, 911, all the things we mentioned in the budget. Is there, as a relationship of property tax to the total value that the residents are receiving, Have we done that study recently?

No, we didn't look at that study this year. But from a funding standpoint, property tax funds about 11.5% of our general fund budget. The majority of the property tax revenue we raise goes to pay for public safety, probably around 60%, with a balance of that that pays for street maintenance and parks and trails maintenance. Parks and street maintenance also have other funding sources that help support the cost of those services.

Fair to say that these property taxes are providing less than 15% of the cost that each home in the city would need. The city provides value for.

Yes, if you look at the overall property tax burden for residents, the city of St. George is somewhere around 11.2%.

Last time I looked, the majority of property taxes are going somewhere else to other entities, correct? That's correct. Cool. That's all I want to do. If you've done that, in the past, we've said, oh, well, it's $2,000 or $1,500. And I wondered if that calculation had been done this year. But if it hasn't, I'm sure it's something similar.

The last calculation I heard, because I think that's from the Kempsey Gardener Institute, that that's somewhere around $2,000 is what our residents save annually from the sales tax that our visitors provide to our community that helps offset the property tax impact for our residents. Thank you, Robert. Thanks.

Any other questions for Robert? Okay, if there's no other questions, well, I'll come back to you, Council, for your adoption.

Okay, I'll make a motion that we approve resolution number 2026-011R, adopting the certified tax rate for 2026 and the levying taxes upon all real and personal property within the City of St. George.

Second. A motion by Danielle, a second by Steve. This is a resolution requiring a roll call vote, starting with Steve. Steve Kemp, aye.

Natalie Larson, aye. Danielle Larkin, aye. Michelle Tanner, aye.

Austin Anderson, aye.

Motion carries unanimously.

I have number eight, public hearing consideration of resolution number 2026-012R to review and approve amendments to the fiscal year 2025-26 budget.

Thank you, John. Good evening, mayor and council again. So I appreciate you approving the budget and adopting the 2027 budget. Ryan mentioned me earlier that had the budget not been approved, that I would be terminated immediately. So I'm glad I get to stick around a little bit longer. All joking aside, and thanks for that, Ryan. I appreciate it, keeping me honest.

I think they passed it because of the mustache. Great mustache. Yeah, great job.

I knew it would pay off eventually. Thank you, Mayor. All joking aside, we have 20 budget adjustments to cover, so it's going to take me a minute to get through all of these. So if you don't mind, I'll just read all of them, and then we can open up for questions if that's okay with the Mayor and Council, just to save us time. Without further ado, I will begin. Item number one, the fire department request a budget amendment to recognize the receipt of two fire apparatus that were ordered and prepared in a prior fiscal year, but delivered during the current fiscal year. In FY 2023, the city ordered one aerial ladder truck and one pumper truck at a total cost of $2,502,074.00. Due to a significant cost savings, both apparatus were prepaid at the time of order using funding from the General Capital Project Fund. In accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board, or GASB, requirements and the City's accounting practices at the time, those expenditures were reported as a liability pending delivery of the apparatus. With both vehicles now received and placed into service, the City is required to recognize the expenditure. Staff request to amend the budget to recognize the receipt of both apparatus to comply with GASB standards. Number two. The fire department requested purchase a new fire engine for the future fire station number two. Station number two will be under design during fiscal year 2027 with anticipated construction during FY28 and 29. This new station will be located in the Toniquin area adjacent to the new Curley Hollow Park. The current lead time on this apparatus orders is up to 26 months, excuse me, 36 months. Placing the order at this time will help ensure the apparatus arrives near the opening of the new fire station. Funding for this request is available from additional interest income earned this year from the city's investments and the anticipated performance of sales tax, staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $1,195,908 to purchase a new fire apparatus for station two. Item three, the police department is requesting to amend the budget for a donation received for the city's SPEAR program, Student Police Education Achievement and Resilience. The St. George Police Department's School Resource Officers, or SROs, developed the SPEAR program, which is a prevention program for students entering our intermediate and middle schools grades sixth seventh and eighth the program runs all summer and provides a unique opportunity for the students and officers to interact in a fun educational environment the students participate in activities including show and tell with police vehicles and equipment a fingerprinting lab physical activities and a canine presentation They will also learn communication skills, resiliency, proper behavior at school and around the community, and internet and social media safety. The program has grown by 25% since its inception four years ago. Total participation is estimated at 400 this year. The city received donations totaling $14,500 available for expenses for this year's program. Only 11,000 will be used in fiscal year 26 and will allow for the purchase of a Spear Academy t-shirt, CLASSROOM PROJECT NEEDS AND OTHER AUXILIARY PROGRAM NEEDS. STAFF REQUESTS TO AMEND THE BUDGET IN THE AMOUNT OF $11,000 FOR THE PURCHASE OF SUPPLIES FOR THE SPEAR PROGRAM. ITEM 4. STAFF IS REQUESTING A BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR THE SEPTEMBER 2025 DIXIE DAYS EVENT. THIS YEAR'S EVENT WAS A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS AS THE COMMUNITY CELEBRATED THE SECOND ANNUAL DIXIE DAYS. ACTIVITIES INCLUDED THE RODEO PARADE, DRONE SHOW, LIVE ENTERTAINMENT, DINNER ON MAINE, vendor booths, carnival rides, a golf tournament, and numerous other community events. Due to the scope and success of this year's attractions and activities, total event cost exceeded the original budget by $37,068. However, the event generated more than $110,000 in revenue, fully covering the event-related expenses. Staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $37,068 for the September 2025 Dixie Days event. Five, the Operations Department is requesting a budget amendment to fund first-year operational costs associated with new City Hall. The facility officially opened and began occupancy in November 2025 following the completion of construction. Due to the timing of the opening, Due to the timing of the opening and based on actual operating experience during the first year, energy and insurance costs exceeded the amounts originally budgeted for FY2026. Funding for this request is available from the anticipated performance of sales tax above budget. Staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $88,000 for first year operating costs of the new city hall. Six, the Parks and Community Service Department requests to add funding for the softball program. This year's program has seen strong participation growth with 107 additional registered teams, which has resulted in a large increase in revenues as well as large increase to expenditures for umpire fees, equipment, and participation prizes. Based on this year's participation levels, staff anticipate overall expenses exceed budget by $24,350. Funding for this request is available from additional revenues generated by the program. Staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $24,350 for the softball program. 7. The Parks and Community Service Department requests to amend the budget for expenses associated with this year's St. George Arts Festival. The 2026 Festival featured enhanced programming and entertainment offerings, including the Aquabats, which contributed to increased attendance, participation, and event revenues. Total revenue for the event was $121,405, exceeding the budget estimate by $9,405. The increase in revenue was accompanied by additional costs for security, entertainment, supplies, and other event-related expenses. Staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $9,405 to align the budget with actual revenues and expenditures associated with this year's arts festival. The Parks and Community Services Department request a budget amendment for grant funds received during the fiscal year. The Art Museum was awarded a $5,000 grant through the Utah Collections Preservation Program to fund a preservation site assessment and related improvements. The site assessment evaluated the city's collection, facility policies and practices to identify risk. The assessment identified several opportunities to strengthen collection preservation efforts, including updates to the city's collections management policy, development of an emergency and disaster response plan, and improvements to address physical storage vulnerabilities. staff request to amend the budget in the amount of five thousand dollars for the use of grant funds for the preservation site assessment and associated improvements of the art museum nine the golf division requests to increase funding for additional merchandise merchandise purchases for resale based on the increased demand seen this fiscal year the golf courses offer a number of merchandise for sale to patrons including golf balls golf clubs polos and other golf related merchandise This year's staff. has continued to see higher levels of demand at the courses in addition to increases in the cost of many of the goods sold as merchandise. Due to the increase in attendance at the city's golf courses, higher sales this year, and cost increases in merchandise sold, staff anticipates needing an additional $127,000 in funding across the city's golf courses for merchandise purchases for resale through the remainder of the fiscal year. Funding for this request will be offset by merchandise sales at each of the courses. Staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $127,000 to cover the increase in merchandise for resale. 10. The golf division requests to amend the budget for increases in operation, maintenance, and capital costs due to the significant increase in play seen this year across the city's courses. The city's golf courses have had a fantastic year in FY2026 with play at all four city courses up significantly from last year. Golf revenues are anticipated to break $10 million this year in total revenue, beating the original budget estimate by $1.3 million. With the significant increase in attendance and play at the city's golf courses, this year we have seen increases in costs across the operation from materials to maintenance to needed facility repairs to credit card fees. Additionally, due to the performance of the courses, staff would also like to move forward with some needed capital purchases. The overall increase in expenditures is anticipated to total $647,547, which would be fully covered by the additional revenue generated by the courses. Staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $647,547 to cover the increase in operation, maintenance, and capital cost in the golf division. 11.

Jared, do you want to put that microphone up just a little closer? Oh, yeah, sorry. Thanks.

The airport requests to amend the budget for security operations for the terminal. During the FY2026, the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, temporarily discontinued coverage of security operations at the terminal exit lane for the secured area. As a result, the airport was required to quickly arrange for contracted services to maintain these required operations with little notice. This created an unplanned operational and budget impact of $23,000. Funding for this request is available from revenue generated by the airport during the fiscal year. Staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $23,000 for temporary security operations at the airport. Twelve. Staff request a budget amendment to transfer restricted airport funds from the general fund to the airport fund. Historically, any airport operating revenues in excess of expenses were required by FAA regulations to be restricted within the general fund fund balance for airport purposes. By the end of fiscal year 2026, the balance of these restricted funds is estimated to be approximately $14 million. Beginning in fiscal year 2027, airport operations will be accounted for within the airport fund rather than the general fund. The fiscal year 2026 budget included a transfer of $3.5 million from these restricted funds to support terminal expansion design activities. This amendment will transfer the remaining restricted airport funds in the general fund to the airport fund, where they can be utilized for future airport capital and operational needs. Staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $10.5 million to transfer all airport restricted funds into the airport fund. 13. Staff request to transfer funding to the General Capital Project Fund for future one-time projects based on the anticipated year and performance of the General Fund. Revenue for the General Fund overall is anticipated to exceed the original budget primarily due to growth in sales tax and developmental related fees. In expenses, staff anticipate coming in overall below budget largely due to vacant positions. Staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $2,790,000 for the year-end transfer to the General Capital Project Fund. 14. Staff request to amend the budget for a non-cash accounting entry that is required by GASB 87. With the implementation of GASB 87, the city is required to show a full multi-year value of a lease in the originating year of the lease agreement in addition to the accrual the actual annual payment to this vendor. The entry includes an offsetting revenue entry that matches the full multi-year value of the lease. This entry is required for all leases, including vehicles, equipment, property, and software. During fiscal year 2026, staff anticipate an accounting entry totaling $3 million based on new lease agreements entered during the fiscal year, with one example being the new golf equipment lease. Staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $3 million for the required GASB 87 entry. This request has no funding impact and is not an actual payment to a vendor.

Sorry, Jared, can I ask a question? Maybe this is a Robert question. So due to these accounting regulations, we need to, one, show the entire value of the lease payments that we will be making in total over the life of the lease in the year that we make that commitment.

That's correct.

That's the $3 million. We have to show it.

We have to show the five-year value of the lease in the first year of the lease, and we also have to show the actual first payment to the vendor in the first year of the lease. And when we show the five-year value, because that's not an actual payment to the vendor, it's just an accounting entry, we enter an offsetting revenue so that there's zero impact, because there's no impact on cash. It's not an actual payment to the vendor. Sure.

It's just showing the other books the value. But when we hear, why is your budget so big, it's because we have to account for all of these issues, even though they have zero impact on the actual dollars spent.

Yes, that's very true.

The five-year impact of $115,000 a year is not $3 million. Is $3 million the total value of the entire lease?

Yes.

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Kemp. Thank you, Robert. 15, staff requested transfer funds from the Economic Development Capital Project Fund to reimburse the Public Works Capital Project Fund and Water Utility Fund for the construction of a traffic signal and irrigation line by the new Costco development. In support of this development, $440,511 was expended in the Transportation Improvement Fund for a new traffic signal and $610,800 69 was expended towards an irrigation line. Funding is available for this reimbursement in the Economic Development Capital Project Fund balance. Staff requested transfer $1,051,380 to reimburse other city funds for a traffic signal and irrigation line related to the new Costco development. 16 staff request to amend the budget for insurance claims costs that are projected to exceed the amount included in the original fy 2026 budget the city budgets annually for property and liability claims within the self-insurance fund based on anticipated claims activity as the fiscal year has progressed claim Actual claim costs have trended above original projections, resulting in an estimated year-end budget overage of approximately $450,000. Funding is available within the self-insurance fund through existing fund balance and reimbursements received from the insurance trust. Staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $450,000 to align with the budget To align the budget with projected year end expenditures in the self insurance fund 17 staff request to amend the budget for expenses related to the completion of the new city hall Plaza and parking structure, the brand new city hall. officially opened for business at the end of 2025 and the plaza quickly followed with the grand opening in spring of 2026. This facility, the plaza, and associated parking structure will serve the community as a gathering space and place for business for decades ahead. Staff, along with the contractor, are finishing final project reconciliation. At this time, the total overall project is estimated at $52 million. This amount is slightly over the original project budget of $51,500,000 by $500,000 or 1%. A component of the project was the A component of the project was the plaza, originally estimated at $1.5 million, which came in closer to $2 million, driving the overall increase. Funds are available for this overage from the WRAP tax fund. The total amendment for the city hall, plaza, and parking structure is requested at $6,884,467. The majority of it the majority of this is to roll over funds from the prior year based on the timing of the project staff request to amend the budget in the amount of six million eight hundred eighty four thousand four hundred sixty seven dollars for the completion of the city hall project eighteen staff request to amend the budget for final expenses related to the completion of fire station number one project The new fire station one officially opened for business at the end of 2025. This project was originally anticipated to be completed during fiscal year 2025, but due to the timing of the project, the final portions rolled over into fiscal year 2026. Staff request to roll forward unused funds from the FY 2025 budget in the amount of $1,930,971 for the fire station number one project. 19, staff request to amend the budget for higher pharmacy claims activity and a true up of estimates included in the original budget. The city transitioned to a self-funded health insurance plan in fiscal year 2024. Pharmacy claim costs are now projected to exceed the original budget by approximately $1.1 million. Approximately half of the increase is attributed to higher-than-anticipated claims activity, while the remaining increase reflects a charge in the accounting treatment of pharmacy rebates, which are now reported as separate revenue source rather than as an offset to pharmacy expenses. The impact of these adjustments is offset by corresponding revisions to medical plan contributions, employee contributions, and anticipated stop-loss reimbursements. staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $1.1 million for increased pharmacy claims cost. Last one, I know we're finally there. Item 20, SNAP request to amend the budget to make an additional payment toward outstanding debt in the Central Business District CDA fund. In fiscal year 2019, the Central Business District CDA received an inter-fund loan from the Economic Development Capital Project Fund for the acquisition of properties located near 100 West and St. George Boulevard. Following the sale of the property in 2025, the majority of the outstanding debt was retired using the sale proceeds. The remaining balance is approximately $327,858. Funding is available from prior year rollover funds. and revenues anticipated to be received during the current fiscal year, staff request to amend the budget in the amount of $229,950 to make an additional payment towards the remaining debt balance. And that ends the list of budget adjustments.

Thank you, Jared.

Yeah, you should clap.

Does anybody have any questions for Jared on the 2025-2026 budget amendments? Not to be confused with 26-27. All right. This is a public hearing, so we will go ahead and open the public hearing for those who have come to speak on this item, item number eight. Seeing none, I'll close the public hearing and come back to you, council.

Mayor, I'd like to make a motion that we approve item number eight, the review and amendments to the fiscal year 2025-26 budget as presented by staff.

Second.

We have a motion by Steve and a second by Natalie. This is a resolution requiring a roll call vote starting with Natalie.

Natalie Larson, aye.

Danielle Larkin, aye.

Michelle Tanner, aye.

Austin Anderson, aye.

Steve Kemp, motion carries unanimously.

I have number nine, consider approval of resolution number 2026-013R, authorizing city pickup of public safety and firefighter tier two employed retirement contributions.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. This one will be really brief. The city uses the Utah retirement system for our retirement system for our employees. They change the rates every year as they go through their annual actuarial studies. This year for the tier two for public safety and fire, they've determined that the employees out of pocket participation level should be 5.98% of their salary. The city in the past has decided to pick up that portion of the rate in addition to the city's portion of the rate. And so this resolution would pick up the employee's portion of the rate by the city. and the new rate would be 5.98% for the upcoming fiscal year. With that, I'm happy to answer any questions the council may have.

Questions for Robert? If not, we'll entertain a motion.

Mayor, I'll make a motion that we approve resolution number, 2026-013R, Authorizing City Pickup of Public Safety and Firefighter Tier 2 Employee Retirement Contributions.

Second. Motion by Austin, second by Steve. This is a resolution requiring a roll call vote starting with Danielle.

Danielle Larkin, aye.

Michelle Tanner, aye.

Austin Anderson, aye.

Steve Kemp, aye.

Natalie Larson, aye.

Motion carries unanimously.

I have number 10 consider approval of resolution number 2026-01 for our appointed designated appointed officials and Ryan will present this.

So this resolution reappoints the executive staff with the exception of our city engineer Jay Sandberg who retired. So Wes Jenkins is put forward in the battlefield commission to become officially our city engineer we have to have one. Happy to answer any questions.

Any questions on that list there?

I just want to know where Wes is.

What?

I wanted to see him blush. Let's pull this down next time and make him stand up there.

Just need a motion.

I'll make a motion to approve resolution 2026-014R, appointing designated appointed officials.

I'll second.

We have a motion by Natalie, a second by Austin. Again, a resolution requiring a roll call vote, starting with Michelle.

Michelle Tanner, aye. Danielle Arkin, aye. Natalie Larson, aye.

Steve Kemp, aye. Austin Anderson, aye.

Motion carries unanimously. We're skipping 11, right?

Yes, 11 is removed. Item number 12 is a public hearing consideration of ordinance number 2026-048, vacating a portion of a utility easement and drainage easement located along the rear lot line of lot 76 of the Bloomington Country Club number 6 subdivision.

I think you'll get other opportunities for Wes to blush once he's up here again. This item, as John had mentioned, it's out in Bloomington. It's just in the west part of Bloomington Drive at Nelson Circle. There's an exhibit here that's part of your packet. It's the rear lot of this subdivision. They purchased from the Bloomington Country Club some property in the back. They're requesting to vacate the utility and drainage easement so that they can combine those lots together. It has been through JUC, and they recommended approval.

Questions for Cameron?

If there are no questions, this is a public hearing.

So I'll go ahead and open the public hearing for those who may have come to speak on item number 12. Seeing no comments, I'll close the public hearing and come back to you, council.

Mayor, motion to approve ordinance number 2026-048, vacating a portion of the utility easement and drainage easement located along the rear lot line of lot 76 of the Bloomington Country Club number 6 subdivision. Second.

Motion by Danielle, second by Natalie. This is an ordinance requiring a roll call vote, starting with Austin.

Austin Anderson, aye.

Steve Kemp, aye.

Natalie Larson, aye.

Danielle Larkin, aye.

Michelle Tanner, aye.

Motion carries unanimously.

Item 13 is a public hearing in consideration of Ordinance Number 2026-049, vacating all easements on Lot 3, 4, and former Sac Street, City of St. George Industrial Park, except for the pole line easement crossing Lot 3.

Okay, this one, this shows the previous plat where it identified the sack, I guess, sack roadway or sack cul-de-sac, sack street I think is what it was. It's a little bit messy, had a lot of easements in there. Previously, the City of St. George vacated Sac Street, but the easements were still there. And so I should have mentioned the previous one also, but they will be coming in with an amended plat to establish the lots and the easements. This is to vacate the easements to help clean it up. And so staff will get to take a look at it again and make sure that all the easements are put into place where they need to be, including existing power poles, existing power lines.

Questions?

Okay, if there's no questions, this is a public hearing. I'll go ahead and open the public hearing for those who have come to speak to item number 13. Seeing none, I'll close the public hearing and come back to you, council.

I will make a motion that we approve ordinance number 2026-049, vacating all easements on lots 3, 4, and former Sac Street, City of St. George Industrial Park, except for the pole line easement crossing lot 2. Second.

We have a motion by Michelle, a second by Natalie. This is an ordinance requiring a roll call vote, starting with Steve. Steve Kemp, aye.

Nathalie Larson, aye. Danielle Larkin, aye. Michelle Tanner, aye.

Austin Anderson, aye.

Motion carries unanimously.

Item 14, consider approval of ordinance number 2026-050, amending the city zoning map by changing the zone from R110 to PDR on approximately 42.86 acres located generally southwest of Gap Canyon Parkway and 1790 West Intersection.

Okay, thank you, John. This is a property that that we're looking at tonight. Probably looks familiar to you. This was approved for 450 units in 2023. The property owner didn't take any action on it. The market didn't seem right to them. It didn't work for them. And so they've made some amendments. They let it lapse. They've made some amendments and that's why they're here before you again tonight. So Gap Canyon Parkway is here on the north and to the west or to the east, sorry. And the land use map or the general plan calls for PD. And then the zoning map indicates the R110. Again, this would have been a PDR as it was approved in 2023, but it reverted back with the lapse of approval. This is the Devario land use map. We look at this every time a development comes to the Devario area. This is the area we're looking at down here on the south. This indicates to us what the densities may be and therefore how many units could be on a certain pod or planting area, as they call them. PA2 is designated as a high density under the development agreement with DeVario that is, that allows up to 15 units per acre. This is a site plan that they're proposing. You see the town homes, they're proposing 144 town homes and 266 apartments. So generally speaking, the town homes are along this north and east boundary, kind of follow Gap Canyon Parkway along here. These are also town homes. And then the rest down in here are apartment buildings. From their initial submittal to us, they've actually whittled it down from 450 units down to 410. So they've subtracted 40 units from that initial approval. They've also removed some of their larger apartment buildings. And I think the largest building here, one of the apartment buildings would be 25 units. And then they go down from there, 24 units. I mean, there's 18-plex buildings as well. You also see this area in pink. And you probably remember from other developments in DeVario that they are required to have open space. And you can go back really quick. You can see those areas in green. like this large one down here, that can be improved open space, parks, trails, that kind of thing. The areas in white that you see that kind of surround this one are to remain undisturbed, so undisturbed open space. And again, that's just per the development agreement that was reached back in 2014. And so you see those areas left undisturbed along the south and the west property lines. They are providing the required amount of parking. That would be two spaces per unit plus one for every three that's outlined in the code. They are right on the money. In fact, I believe they're required $596 and they have $597. Scratch that. 956, and they have 957. I was reading it backwards. Just to kind of give you an idea of the topography out there, there is quite a bit of slope. That is why you kind of see these units lined up the way they are. They're trying to use the design in such a way so that they're actually using the topography as opposed to, like, just... know creating a flat pad and then and then digging into the hillside they're trying to work with the uh that topography a little bit more um so that's why they're kind of lined up that way uh to be able to to use that topography and that's why they designed the buildings the way they did we'll take a look at those here in just a second Just another site plan that they provided for us and without the trees there. This shows kind of just the areas, again, Block 1, Block 2, Block 3A, those are the townhome areas. This area in white is kind of where the majority of their civic space will be. They'll have a clubhouse, a pool, some gathering area. They've scattered pickleball courts throughout the site as well. So they're meeting their minimum requirements for for amenities. Landscape plan again. We'll get a more detailed plan, but this kind of just gives you an idea of what they're looking at. There are some other amenities spaces, by the way, in between some of these units here, here, through here. So they're trying to kind of spread those spaces out throughout the site in addition to having that larger civic space there. And then just look at the units. These are the townhomes, townhome elevations. Townhomes will range from about 30 to 35 feet in height. And depending on whether they're a downward slope, the garage will come in. Well, this doesn't show it very well, but you'll either have the garage on the second floor or it'll be on that ground floor, depending on if you're coming in from the top, from the bottom, depending on the slope. I hope that makes sense. And then, this is a look at the apartment buildings. They'll be 36 to 38 feet, which, again, is below that 40-foot threshold that is allowed in the code. So they're not asking for any exceptions to height or anything. materials board and that is it the planning commission they held a public hearing they recommended six to zero for approval of the of the project or the reason and There was one email that I got from a neighbor who had some concerns, and that should have been included with your items. If you have any questions, I can help answer those. I've got a representative, Jared Bates is here for the outcome.

My mandatory question for the last six years since I was on the Planning Commission. You know what it is, Dan.

If Wes was here, I would ask him. I'm asking you.

When will Gap Canyon be done?

I'm going to pass the buck a little bit. Do you want to come on? Either of those guys can probably answer better than I can.

I should have Jared answer this. So we are still dewatering that area just right next to this development. It is working, so it is drying out. Rosenberg is doing the design for us now. I will confess that we have been pushing them really hard to get the roadway for 1450 South George Washington Boulevard done. But they are tasked with designing both the south portion and the north portion. While it's dewatering, they're still working on the north portion to get that bit out. We are hoping that within the next few months, we'll get the north portion bit out. And as that dewaters and completes on the south end, we'll finish up that one.

Every complaint, not everyone, but a large majority of the complaints that I've heard about DeVario have to do with one way in, one way out. All the traffic's running back through Sun River or now going over. Do they have access to Rocket Road yet? Not quite. Everything goes all the way back up and around through Sun River.

or excuse me sunbrook and it's just beginning a bigger and bigger problem so they are finishing up by the developers finishing up uh devario trail and connecting to uh canyon view canyon view okay yeah

Well, and I know that it's been a long process. I know when we started this that the property wasn't even in the city. It had to be annexed, and there was multiple owners, and there were a lot of different things going on. But I promised Wes that every time a project from DeVario came up, I would ask that question.

So there it is.

Isn't that just the north, not the south end of Gap Canyon, though, that's getting finished, correct? Correct.

So the developer is working in between and connecting Devario Canyon. It's basically halfway in between to Canyon View. The north portion goes from... Do we need a map? Oh, that'll work. Yeah, go to that one. So let me put my glasses on really quick.

Oh, these are not my glasses.

Ooh, they're not going to work. So the developer is working on this portion right here, Devario Trail, and Devario Canyon back behind. So this area right here will be connected, but the north portion is everything north of here. The south portion is everything south of there.

Still doesn't solve the problem, though. When will it be done? Come on, hard date.

Okay, I'll give you an estimate. So within three months, I think we'll finish up the plans. Within four or five months, we'll bid it out. Fiscal year, it will be done. The north portion will probably take... Five months, six months to build the south portion we will. I am hoping that that will all be done before the end of the fiscal year, but I'm going to say maybe around late or early spring. March, April, 2027, May, we should be getting those things cleaned up.

Why are we not able to work on the upper part of it now where you don't have a dewatering problem, either wash where it's full of groundwater?

So we got Rosenberg to be about 80% done on the plans, and then we made them switch gears and finish up the 1450 South.

Got it. Thank you. Appreciate you taking my question.

Hey, Dan. On that why area of the plan that's do not disturb? Yes. People do not love it when I say this, but will they put up some kind of fencing so they do not, if it's really not a do not disturb, they won't?

When they're during construction. Yeah, we can have them do that.

Other questions for Dan? Concerns? Comments? Motions?

I'll make a motion to approve ordinance 2026-050 amending the city zoning map by changing the zone from R110 to PDR on approximately 42.86 acres, generally southwest of Gap Canyon Parkway, 1790 west intersection, including putting up snow fencing around the white designated area so it does not get disturbed.

Do you want to also include the Planning Commission comments about roadways and a couple other things that are on page 675?

Absolutely. I'm looking for them, though. On page what?

List the Planning Commission public roads on the interior of the site must meet all standards for public streets, including cross-section, and a site plan must be submitted prior to any construction on the site. And access to the trails is required.

to quote Austin Anderson, what he said. Yeah, I'll include that in my motion.

I'll second.

So we have a motion by Natalie, a second by Steve. Are there any questions on the motion? Okay, this is an ordinance requiring a roll call vote, starting with Austin. Austin Anderson, aye.

Steve Kemp, aye.

Natalie Larson, aye. Danielle Larkin, aye. Michelle Tanner, aye.

Motion carries unanimously. That's the end of our agenda items. Nice work.

We do have an RDA agenda. Oh, that's right.

We do, we do, we do. Okay, so do we need a motion to... Do you want to finish up this agenda? Go through the reports and... Oh yeah, we can do that. So let's do reports. Austin? Steve?

Nothing to report other than St. George Housing Authority continues to meet every month looking for ways to expand that program. It seems like we've got all the pieces there and they have a lot more capacity. They could handle more, but it's just acquiring either the Mayor Mrakas, facilities are finding a way to build additional facilities that they can manage so if anybody's aware of anything inside the city or any properties that we could get our hands on to could help us with low income housing we're ready to jump on.

Mayor Mrakas, Now.

Dixie Days is coming up in September, so everybody should be planning that week. I think rodeo tickets will go on sale July 15th, which has nothing to do with the City of St. George. It's a Lions Club event, but be looking for that. And the symbol will be completed by that time.

For sure.

Mayor, I guess I do have some report.

Yeah, let's go back this way.

Sorry. Yesterday we had the meeting with some of the recreation people concerning Moe's Valley here. We had a panel and a question and answer. And we had all the landholders, the county was here. A lot of the recreation groups were here. It was a pretty good discussion on Moe's Valley. Very good. And Zone 6.

Good. Thanks for being there. Yeah.

Mayor, I was going to bring that up too since Councilman Anderson didn't because he sat up here in the hot seat and did a great job representing us. And I'm sure those conversations will continue. I felt like Kyle Paisley especially did a really fantastic job explaining the complexities of the situation of Zone 6. So we'll just continue having those conversations. And if there's anyone who has $300 million who can help us buy Zone 6 tomorrow, we're looking for a donor.

Reports good just a reminder of our again. We talked about this in our work meeting, but the service award. An employee breakfast next Tuesday, so make sure all of your employees are invited. We're looking forward to that and the Council helping service and breakfast. One other thing I did want, I thought it was a really cool event that Dustin mentioned in our staff meeting today. Do you want to come up here, Dustin, and tell them about our airport yesterday and the fun event that happened there? And it goes to our need for an expansion of the airport. I just thought this was cool.

I didn't think it was very cool. I was in the middle of the mayhem. We had 38 missionaries come home yesterday. And we packed the terminal with right around 600 people. And it took a staff of six to try to keep that under control. There was confetti, air horns, stereos. signs, glitter. The custodians come in and the one part timer that works at night, he says, I'm going home. But yeah, it was definitely on display yesterday on how bad we need some more space.

Good thing Chief Stoker wasn't there. He may have shut it down.

You know what, though? He was there. Brad Esplin was there.

Cool.

Yeah, his nephew was there.

One of those unique things that happens here in St. George. Thank you. Thank you for all your work there. Just another little reminder of why we're working feverishly to get our funding so we can get the airport expansion on a roll.

Anything you have, John?

Okay, we already had our closed meetings. We don't have any need for a closed meeting afterwards.

So I guess we can now adjourn from... Or do we adjourn?

Yeah, we adjourn from city council and re-adjourn in our RDA meeting.

Mayor, motion to adjourn from our regular city council meeting and re-adjourn in the RDA meeting.

I'll second. So we have a motion from Danielle, second by Steve. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. So we'll now go forward with our RDA meeting.

Okay, the first item is a public hearing to receive input and consideration and consideration resolution number RDA-2026-001R to adopt the fiscal year 2026-27 budget for the St. George Neighborhood Redevelopment Agency.

Good evening, board. As John mentioned, the ninth item is to consider final adoption of the fiscal year 27 RDA budget. This year's budget includes our six districts, with four of those being active. The total proposed budget for fiscal year 27 is $1.08 million. With that, I'd be happy to answer any questions the board may have.

Questions for Robert? There's no questions. This is a public hearing, so I'll go ahead and open the public hearing for those of you who have come to speak to this item. You're coming up to speak to this item, Chief, or? No. You're leaving us? Okay. Since the Chief isn't coming up, seeing no other comments, I'll go ahead and close the public hearing and come back to you, Council.

I move to approve resolution number RDA-2026-001R to adopt the fiscal year 2026-27 budget for the St. George neighborhood redevelopment agency. Second.

So we have a motion by Michelle, second by Danielle. This is a resolution requiring a roll call vote starting with Michelle.

Michelle Tanner, aye. Danielle Larkin, aye. Natalie Larson, aye.

Steve Kemp, aye.

Austin Anderson, aye. Motion carries unanimously.

Item two is a public hearing to receive input and consideration resolution number RDA-2026-002R to amend the fiscal year 25-26 budget for the St. George Neighborhood Redevelopment Agency.

Good evening again, board. Tonight's item has just one amendment on it that's proposed. For this amendment, staff requests to amend the budget to make an additional payment towards the outstanding debt service related to the purchase of the St. George Inn and bicycle collective properties that were made in fiscal year 2019. At that time, the CDA fund took an inter-fund loan from the city's economic development project fund. There's currently a balance outstanding of about $327,000, and so staff have proposed to make another debt service payment towards that in addition to what was already budgeted, and then with the intent of hopefully being able to retire it fully in fiscal year 27. And so that amendment would be in the amount of $229,950 to make a second payment this year. With that, I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Any questions for Robert? Okay, this is a public hearing, so I will go ahead and open the public hearing for those who have come to speak to this item, number two. Seeing no comments, I'll close the public hearing and come back to you, council.

Mayor, I'll make a motion that we

approved resolution number RDA-2026002R to amend the fiscal year 2025 to 2026 budget for the St. George Neighborhood Redevelopment Agency.

I'll second. Motion by Austin and second by Steve. This is a resolution requiring roll call votes starting with Austin. Austin Anderson, aye. Steve Kemp, aye.

Natalie Larson, aye. Danielle Larkin, aye. Michelle Tanner, aye.

Motion carries unanimously.

Member Arthuria has considered approval of the minutes from the meeting held on June 19th, 2025.

I'll make a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting held on June 19th, 2025. Second.

We have a motion by Natalie, a second by Michelle. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. I just need one final motion, unless there's anything else, to adjourn from our neighborhood redevelopment agency of the city of St. George.

So moved. Second.

Motion by Natalie, second by Steve. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. We stand adjourned.