During the liaison report portion of the November 12 meeting of the Kanab City Council, Mayor Johnson acknowledged the service of the late Jeff Turner. Said Johnson, “He was a great friend to the city. He did everything, he helped us, he saved us a lot of times. He was a great man, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.” City Manager Kyler Ludwig recalled some moments that demonstrated Turner’s dedication, including a series of sleepless nights this year preparing to open the pool. “It was an easy conversation for me,” Ludwig said, “you know, ‘let’s make sure that pool opens on time.’ Jeff took that and translated it into multiple nights, working here till 2 a.m. to make sure that pool was open for those kids … I just want the people to know what kind of man Jeff was.” The council also thanked Officer Darrin Coleman for his service, as this would be the last City Council Meeting Officer Coleman would attend in his capacity as law-enforcement on-site.
Following the regular opening ceremonies, the meeting settled into the planned agenda. The first four items were straightforward plat updates, the second of which included a development agreement and preliminary site plan for the Hidden Canyon subdivision. Most of the proposals moved forward with minimal need for discussion and were approved unanimously, with the preliminary plat for the Willow Meadows subdivision having the added caveat that the developers come into compliance with city recommendations on cul-de-sacs and water drainage.
The following item on the agenda was a consideration of traffic controls at the intersection of Highway 89A and Kanab Creek Drive/1100 South. Ludwig reported on the three different traffic studies done at the intersection to determine which method of intersection control would be best. Per Ludwig, “Within that study they found that for this intersection from a safety standpoint, from a cost standpoint, a roundabout was the option that brought the most safety to our community and had the potential to reduce accidents by up to 76 percent … reducing not only the amount of accidents but the severity of accidents.” The resolution on the agenda would present Kanab City’s official support for the findings of the study to the Utah Department of Transportation - with hopes to have some temporary traffic control installed by the beginning of 2025. Mayor Johnson expressed some concerns with the viability of a roundabout, stating, “I don’t especially like the idea of kids crossing the street over a roundabout, seems like a stoplight is a better place to cross. For the public that’s questioning the roundabout, I question it too. I don’t really love the idea of kids crossing the road on a roundabout. We don’t really get to decide this in the end, if we don’t write this letter we just slow the process way down and I’m not willing to do that, we need something there.” The council discussed the pros and cons of signing the letter of support, with the general tone of the discussion being that while the roundabout may not be ideal, the intersection is not safe and calls for immediate action. The council approved the resolution to present the letter of support to UDOT unanimously.
The council then considered a resolution that would add additional roads to the chipseal project maintaining roads within the city. Per Ludwig, “With these additions, all of our roads will have been chipsealed within a seven-year period … we’re looking to make that more consistent.” The council considered the cost of chipseal as road maintenance, and with a consultation with City Roads officials, the council approved the resolution unanimously - a map of the chipseal project can be found in the city council packet. The following few items involved approval of funding for some city projects, including flood management, equipment for sports field maintenance and the apron and fuel farm extension at the city airport. According to Ludwig, the federal grant funding going into the airport projects has increased, estimating that where the grants were covering 90 percent of the cost previously, that had increased to 95 percent in the next two years. These proposals were approved unanimously.
The city council then heard a proposal from the city arts board considering a new arts facility in town. The proposal is in the initial stages, so the city council agreed to look into details and potential sites for the facility.
Following a discussion on some ordinance changes to come into compliance with state code and some quarterly financials, the meeting adjourned.
