Amphitheaters and Devil’s Hole

Dec 22

By Brian McNary

Cliffrose on top of the Hurricane Hill by Brad Langston

I always try to attend city council meetings in person. I cannot imagine how wonderful it might have been, back in my day, to sit in the police station and watch a council meeting unfold with my legs propped up on the desk watching You Tube. Unfortunately, our city required that department heads attend meetings in person. We were asked to give various reports and once in awhile, we were asked to remove an unruly speaker.

Then the following morning, Tuesday, we would re-hash everything that occurred in the council meeting at the city staff meeting run by the Mayor. This was where staff was assigned various projects brought up in the council meeting. Oh how I miss those days. So I was kind of hoping that watching YT might be better.

I can now assure you that listening on You Tube is just as excruciating as attending a council meeting in person. I think the TS is a much more convenient way of keeping track of what is going on.

Staff Reports

The meeting opened with a couple of staff reports. Darrin LeFevre, assistant city manager, went over a few housekeeping items as they finish the parkway and try to get some uniform speed limits in place.

Bypass

My ears perked up when they actually mentioned a passing lane. Try to imagine five thousand new residents in Firelight and another thousand or so residents at Devil’s Hole trying to access the two lane Toquerville Parkway, mixed in with existing residents, interstate traffic, tourists, and commercial shoppers. The parkway, as a two lane road, was a project dead on arrival.

Leaf Pickup

Ben Billingsley, city manager, spoke a little about leaf pickup. The city will continue to pick up leaves in Cholla and points south on Tuesdays. On Wednesdays, the city will pick up leaves at points north of Cholla. They think the project will end when all the leaves have fallen, sometime in January.

Business Items

These did not go in the order listed on the agenda probably because someone wanted to evacuate the meeting early. This I understand well.

Contract with Interstate rock

F-3 Construction Contract for Interstate Rock for work at Westfield Park

Interstate Rock has been awarded a contract not to exceed 450,000 for work to complete the Westfield Park pending approval of design plans.

It is interesting to note that I never hear any remarks regarding any sort of sealed bid process for the awarding of large projects. Perhaps it was put out to bid and Interstate Rock was the only bidder. It would be nice to see city staff address these contract awards and the process they employed to select the provider. I’d like to know whether there were any competing bids and just what we are getting for our 450k.

Devil’s Hole & an Amphitheater

F-1 MPDO for Devil’s Hole Development and Amphitheater

This was an hour long discussion with Paul Morris for the developer interests and the council. It centered mostly on the construction of an amphitheater.

There apparently is no “carve out” for amphitheaters in planning or zoning ordinances. So I think that was a concern.

But as I sat and listened to the discussion, I waited patiently for someone on the council to ask the simple question, “Why do you want an amphitheater?” Or perhaps, “How many people will it seat?”

It never happened.

Now to be honest, I have never heard a developer pitch an amphitheater. Developers generally try to get in as cheaply as possible- parking housing on postage stamp sized lots- and get out. Cost containment. Details like sidewalks, drains, curbs, gutters, hydrants, lighting, paving, and traffic control are expensive for sure. But an amphitheater? That had my wheels turning. Why would a cost conscious developer add project costs?

I think the answer came later on. The developer has plans for estate sized lots, townhomes, and commercial development. But most importantly, they have plans for a 21, 000 SQF luxury hotel and 100 dispersed, high end cabins.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that if you had a venue like an amphitheater, you could book all sorts of entertainment and fill that hotel and cabins with out of town ticketholders.

Ok, I am just guessing. Maybe the council already knows the score. I’m not opining on whether any of this is good or bad. I’d just like some full disclosure. My hat’s off to Paul Morris for limiting the scope and details of his presentation to get this project through with a minimum of interference from crazy question asking folks like me. That and council rules forbid asking about any item on the agenda in public comment.

The MPDO was approved in sort of an ambiguous fashion that dodged the term “conditional” pending the whole fleshing out of the amphitheater issue. Moving on.

Firelight Fees

F-2 Waiving late fees for water leaks, Firelight.

This was a 1300 overage/late fee for a leaky and undetected landscape meter. Council refused the request in unanimous fashion.

Readiness Fees

F-4 Waiving the fee for renting townhall for readiness meetings. (4 total annually)

This passed with Councilman Joey Campbell dissenting.

Utility billing process

F-5 Ordinance amending title 8, chap. 1, updating utility billing process.

Tabled.

Annual Meeting schedule

F-6 Amending the annual meeting schedule.