The Commission met on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at the Kane County Courthouse. Commissioners Chamberlain, Gant and Heaton were in attendance. County Attorney Rob Van Dyke provided the invocation and led the room in the Pledge of Allegiance. After approving consent items, the commission addressed the regular agenda.
This was a long meeting with a full agenda, though afterward Rob Van Dyke noted, “You should have been here when we used to meet at 10 a.m. Those meetings sometimes lasted all day!” Despite the length and the amount of work at hand, it’s gratifying to see the people who serve our county engaging with the public. This is how good governance gets done, and sometimes it takes a while.
Five of the fifteen items on this week’s agenda were about zoning, and Shannon McBride, Kane County Land Use Administrator, did her usual yeoman’s work in providing the details via the Planning & Zoning Committee. The commission voted to support the committee’s recommendations on all five items.
Stuart Clayson, of the Utah Association of Counties Economic Department, provided an update regarding his visit with a variety of Kane County public servants about researching the diversification of economic development in the county. Clayson was hired using funds from an economic development grant and will be working with the county on this issue going forward.
Sheriff Tracy Glover provided two updates this session, one a description of safety measures and ongoing efforts to secure local schools and the other on final plans for the County Building and Kanab Center. Regarding the former, Sheriff Glover noted, “Law enforcement has a great relationship with the Kane County School District,” going on to add, “If you look at the Uvalde incident, one of the issues was that a metal core door that they didn’t have a key to and couldn’t easily get through.” Sheriff Glover stated, “Every law enforcement officer in Kane County has a master key for every school,” adding, “that kind of trust among administrations is pretty key, I think.”
Commissioner Heaton said, “I know the people showing up to our schools,” and “I have absolutely no doubt the officers showing up are going to do what needs to be done.” He added, “We’re fortunate to live where we do.”
Ryan Maddux, Kane County Assessor, finished the meeting with a detailed outline of the 2022 Certified Tax Rates and the Assessment Roll, noting, “I have to say that this commission, and past commissions as well, the relationship you have with me is unheard of in our state. I’ve listened to other assessors and the struggles they go through, and I’m very thankful to live in Kane County.”
Kane County Commission meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 3 p.m., at the Kane County Courthouse. Anyone can join the meeting by phone by calling (435) 676-9000 and using participant code 168030#, a local call within the South Central service area. A recording of this meeting can be found at the Kane County Commission website: https:// kane.utah.gov/gov/dept/commission/.
