The Kanab City Council Meeting on April 27, 2021, was just under 90 minutes. Mayor Robert Houston started things off with a schematic of the Health and Wellness Center which is in the planning stages. The proposed center will have three basketball courts, a cardio/weight room, and a lap pool with six lanes. One basketball court is to be used as a breakout room for community programs, etc. Mayor Houston encourages members of the public to reach out to him or other council members with questions and comments.
Congratulations to April’s Employee of the Month: Danielle Ramsay, the Recreation Director! Ramsay was honored for her dedication to this community, her ability to discover new programs, and giving the job her all.
Michael East was excused, and the agenda, previous meeting minutes and accounts payable vouchers were all approved.
The meeting got heated over the topic of a traffic control device at Buckskin and Kanab Creek Drive when a member of the community pointed a finger at the present police officers and city manager with a boisterous warning to be “proactive instead of reactive.” Jeff Yates encouraged the council to postpone until the data was fully collected so the council could make an informed decision. The motion carried to continue the discussion after two weeks of data was recorded for the intersection in question.
There was much discussion on Ordinance 4-1-21 O, “An Ordinance amending Kanab City Land Use Ordinance concerning Chapters 1-6, 4-2 and 4-21 Public Streets, Private Streets and Private Lanes.” The main concern was over “private lanes” that do not comply with state fire code and engineering concerns for very heavy fire engines to utilize. Arlon Chamberlain and Celeste Meyeres were the council members with more dissenting questions and points of view. Yates pointed out other communities in rural California and Arizona that he compared to Kanab, as having an “urban, wildland interface” in which fire services have had to discontinue due to improper roads and dangerous access for large and heavy emergency vehicles. Byard Kershaw pointed out that more latitude leads to more debate instead of resolving issues with clear and firm ordinances that spell out the what and why.
Finally the Fiscal Year of 2021/22 tentative budget was discussed. One big summary: there’s enough in the impact fee budget to pay for the highly requested sewer pond aeration to aid with the smell.
Kanab City Council meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 6:30 p.m., at the City Council Chambers.
