November 2022 Ivins City Council Update

Mike Scott, Ivins Council Member

General Plan Survey Presentation

Patty Dupre will present the results of the General Plan survey at the City Council’s December 15^th meeting. Please join us for her presentation. The meeting starts at 5:30pm. We’ve received and input about 2,000 surveys so far, thanks to the tremendous efforts of 13 amazing volunteers and City staff.

Plus, I’ve read and recorded the comments from all the surveys. Here’s a preliminary Word Cloud from more than 150 pages of comments. The Word Cloud shows what’s most on peoples’ minds.

Be A Participator Not A Procrastinator

If your survey is still stuck in your to-do stack, please find it, complete it, and send it in by December 6^th. We would prefer you drop it off at City Hall (85 N Main Street) instead of mailing it. That way we will be sure to get it in time and not have a bottleneck of surveys at the last minute.

If you did not receive the survey and would still like to participate, please go to City Hall and pick one up. No, we won’t email you one to fill out. Yes, this makes it cumbersome, but there’s a good reason. We are making sure the survey results are reliable by preventing ballot stuffing. That also means we have to limit the survey to one per household.

Yes, There’s A Time For Questions

Come to the presentation on December 15^th to learn about the results. After that, download a copy of the survey report and take a couple of weeks to digest the information. Then, bring your questions to one of the Neighborhood Meetings the Mayor will have in January. (Ideally, email me questions ahead of time so Patty and I can do any needed research.)

The Neighborhood Meetings will be on January 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th beginning at 7pm. Here are the geographical “neighborhoods” for those meetings: 

• Tuesday January 10^th if you live between 200 East to our east boundary
• Wednesday January 11^th if you live between 200 East to 400 West 
• Thursday January 12^th if you live between 400 West to our west boundary of the city.

We anticipate above average attendance so please come to the meeting for your specific neighborhood if you can. Also, the data is being analyzed according to 14 general areas of the City and there may be information that will be of specific interest to your neighborhood.  

If your designated evening doesn’t work, then come on whatever night does work. Please just attend one of the meetings to allow as many residents to participate as possible.  

Can’t Attend In Person?

The December 15^th presentation will be broadcast online:

• Go to the City website at www.ivins.com, click on the “Upcoming Meetings” tab and scroll down to the December 15th 2022 City Council Meeting.  If the meeting has begun, it will show as being “In Process”.  Simply click on that note to connect.
• Use the Granicus live feed at https://ivins.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=1077 
• Use the Zoom link  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82796293285 (There’s no public comment at the December 15^th meeting though. It’s just a presentation.)
• Another option might be, if it works properly that evening, is the YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D05Tgf-q5M 

All three Neighborhood meetings in January will be broadcast online and those links will be provided in the City’s January newsletter. 

November 2022 Update

Volunteers on board, work is underway

Success has many parents. In the case of the ongoing effort to remove invasive species from our native desert environment, those parents are a wide range of homeowners and local residents who believe in the mission of the Desert Preservation Initiative (DPI). Not only do they agree that tamarisks and other invasives pose a threat to the natural environment, but they are also willing to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work of cutting, hauling, and removing those plants.

Current projects undertaken include work on a number of properties. The first was Dave Tall’s home, to be followed by work for homeowners Richard and Leslie Bradley, Kay and Michael Hodson, and David and Inge Tay. Four other projects have also been approved by the Architectural Control Committee (ACC).

“The group from the DPI that worked on my property did an excellent job,” says Dave Tall. “The clearing of the tamarisk tangled brush in the wash on Chavano looks amazing.” 

Inge Tay reports, “We fell in love with Kayenta when we first visited in December 2020, so Dave and I were happy to do what it takes to maintain this beautiful landscape.  As our property is still bare, David and I also felt that would be the best time as it would only help us when we have to do our landscaping.  

“We found the whole process of working with DPI and Carrie Wilson very easy,” she continues, “and we so appreciate that everything had been thought of.”

“We have some amazing volunteers who have really been willing to put in the time and effort to move these projects forward,” says Dan Beck, DPI vice-president and volunteer coordinator. “And while it’s hard work, everyone is having fun working together and meeting new people.”

If you’re not the type to roll up your sleeves and grab some pruning shears, DPI could still use your help. DPI needs volunteers willing to take on a variety of non-physical tasks that include such things as site monitoring for tamarisk regrowth, tracking and recording project steps and progress, and maintaining homeowner and volunteer records. 

With these and other projects on the horizon, a key element to building on the current success would also include direct financial support—donations to fund supplies and safety gear for those already hard at work in the washes and ravines around Kayenta. Tax-deductible donations may be sent to DPI secretary Terrence Walters at 1121 Two Moons Way, Ivins UT 84738.