Category Archives: Press Releases

Washington County Fair

New Building for Washington County Legacy Park & Extension Office

HURRICANE, Utah – Washington County began construction on a new building, March 29, 2017, at the Legacy Park complex located at 5500 West 700 South (Google Maps). The Building shall consist of 5,956 square feet of office area, and 22,165 square feet of exhibit hall and associated areas.

Once complete, the office portion of the building will be occupied by the USU Extension Office. The Exhibit Hall space will be a great community area where many activities will take place including formal and recreational events. The air conditioned Exhibit Hall will especially be utilized each year during the Washington County Fair providing additional bathrooms and relief from the sun.

MRW Design was the architect and Watts Construction Inc., was awarded the contract after coming in as the lowest bidder. The metal building package was purchased from CO Building Systems, Inc., located in Ephriam, UT. CO Buildings will provide fabrication of the metal building.

The projected completion date of the new Legacy Park building is August 4, 2017.

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Snow Canyon

Old Highway 91 Press Release

Road Work from the Arizona State Line to the Intersection with the Gunlock Road

Mile Post 0.0 to 16.7

Road work has now begun on an improvement project to improve the safety of Old Highway 91 in Washington County between the Arizona state line near Littlefield Arizona and the intersection with Gunlock Road on the Shivwits Reservation near Ivins, Utah. Work is expected to cause traffic delays until completion in July to 2017.

Work will consist of extending culverts, installing new culverts, widening shoulders, removing clear-zone obstructions, cutting back cliffs, new signage, new striping and other various improvements. Some overnight and other short-term road closures are anticipated and will be noticed before each closure. Delays of 30 minutes or more will be common due to lane restrictions and potential safety concerns in the work zones. The work area is 16.7 miles long and work crews will be working at many different locations throughout the project. Reduced speeds will be enforced through the work areas.

Please make your travel plans anticipating these delays and closures. The public is encouraged to use Interstate 15 through the Virgin River Gorge as their main travel way during this period of time to allow the construction crews to work and increase safety in the work zones.

Notice of Vacancy – Washington County Planning Commission

NOTICE is hereby given that there are two (2) vacancies on the Washington County Planning Commission.

To qualify for appointment to that Board, an individual must meet the following qualifications:

  • Be a U.S. Citizen;
  • Reside in Washington County;
  • Be registered to vote in Washington County

Those wishing to serve on the Washington County Planning Commission should submit a Candidate for Appointment form (click here to download) to the Washington County Commission Office (Google Maps) no later than Thursday, December 29, 2016.

The County Commission will consider the nominees for appointment to this board at its January 17, 2017, County Commission meeting.

Published in The Spectrum December 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, 2016.

Give Your Land a Hand

Washington County Commission set to launch campaign aimed at keeping public lands clean

St. George, Utah (Nov. 3, 2016)Washington County Commissioners are unveiling a new campaign that encourages Washington County residents and visitors to help keep public lands clean. The campaign inspires and invites individuals and groups to “Give Your Land a Hand” and help keep Washington County Clean.

The initiative, will utilize Video Animation, Social Media, Radio and TV spots, along with Signage and Community Clean-up Activities to inspire action and educate people on how they can help.

The website www.giveyourlandahand.com provides campaign details including a 30-second jingle by locally renowned vocal artist Lyndy Butler. Visit the site for information on how to get involved as well as “how to” tips for disposing different types of waste in partnership with the Washington County Solid Waste district.

“Outdoor recreation is important to our local economy and it is one of the things that makes living in Washington County so great. It is vital that we all take proper care of our lands,” said Commissioner Victor Iverson. “Our aim is for this campaign to be an ongoing effort reminding multiple generations of Washington County residents of the importance of maintaining clean and attractive public lands and to help stop illegal dumping. We believe this is going to be a wonderful tool in engaging folks in this very important subject matter.”

Public lands have always been a part Washington County’s heritage and lifestyle in particular. Washington County offers a wide variety of outdoor recreational possibilities on public lands, including hunting, fishing and camping.

“Our county has so much to offer, from unlimited recreational opportunities to the quietness of a peaceful desert,” said Commissioner Alan Gardner. “We need your help to keep our public lands free from trash and debris. You can help today – and it is easy. Simply pick up the trash you see — don’t depend on others to clean up.”

Special clean-up days will soon be announced, giving local groups an opportunity to put together a cleaning crew and help in the effort.

The Give Your Land a Hand campaign is a combined effort of the County Commission along with several partners including Washington County Solid Waste.

For More Information:

www.washco.utah.gov
www.giveyourlandahand.com

vote.utah.gov

A Message from Clerk/Auditor

I want to apologize to anyone who had a longer wait this morning to vote, to anyone who had a poor voting experience or had unexpected heartburn because a number of our voting machines were not working when the polls opened this morning. We had an error in programming the “memory cards”. That error originated in our office. Once the error was discovered, we went about re-programming the memory cards in question and those corrected cards started to be delivered at about 8:30 am — the final corrected cards were delivered shortly after noon. We had number of people from various county departments help in getting those corrected cards delivered. I appreciate their help. Again, I apologize for what happened.

Thanks,
Kim M Hafen
Washington County Clerk

Notice of Vacancies — Angel Springs, Water Conservancy, and RAP Tax

NOTICE is hereby given that there are the following vacancies:

  • One (1) vacancy on the Angel Springs Special Service District Administrative Control Board (download application)
  • Three (3) vacancies on the Board of Trustees of the Water Conservancy District (download application)
  • Four (4) vacancies on the Washington County Recreation, Arts, and Parks (RAP) Advisory Board (download application)

To qualify for appointment to a board, an individual must meet the following qualifications:

  1. Be a U.S. Citizen;
  2. Reside in Washington County;
  3. Be registered to vote in Washington County;
  4. Be a qualified elector (registered voter) within the district to which you are applying (if applicable)

Those wishing to serve on any of the above boards should below no later than Thursday, November 17, 2016.

Washington County Commission Office
111 East Tabernacle
St. George, Utah 84770
(Google Maps) 

The County Commission will consider the nominees for appointment to this board at its December 20, 2016, County Commission meeting.

Published in The Spectrum October 17, 2016 through October 21, 2016, inclusive.

Rigged Elections? Not On Our Watch.

You may have recently seen harrowing headlines like “Russians Hack Elections System,” “Rigged Elections?” and “Is Our Democracy at Risk?” Your Utah elections officials would like to offer our own headline: “Rigged Elections? Not On Our Watch.”

Utah’s election officials are like momma bears, fiercely protective of the security and integrity of our elections systems. Here’s how these systems work, and why they’re safe.

Almost 75 percent of Utah’s votes are cast by mail. The Legislature and county clerks have implemented strict controls to ensure each ballot is safe, secure, and secret. Every single voter’s signature is verifiedby a trained elections worker. Every envelope is scanned before being counted, preventing a voter from submitting more than one ballot. Ballots are stored under lock and key, and at least two elections workers are present whenever ballots are handled or processed. Reconciliations are used throughout the process to ensure no ballot is lost, and no new ballots are introduced. Citizens are always welcome to watch and scrutinize this process. Observers always leave confident that the process is well
controlled.

You might think, these sound like good controls, but what about the system that totals the votes, and the transmission of election results? Are they safe?

Absolutely! Each county’s central counting server is located in a physically secure environment, and is not connected to the Internet or any other network. Ever. It compiles votes from the scanned paper ballots and from the touchscreen voting machines, tabulates the totals, and prints the results. This printed document is the official election record, and is kept by the county clerk.

Clerks transmit results to the Lieutenant Governor’s office via secure electronic methods. After validation by the state, clerks immediately compare the results to the county’s official record to ensure the transmission was accurate.

What about the voting machines at polling places? Can they be hacked remotely?

Nope. The voting machines at polling places are not networked, nor are they ever connected to the Internet. They don’t have modems, network cards, or Wi-Fi. Hacking would require separate physical access to each machine. Clerks store these machines in secure locations, with multiple pre-numbered
security seals to detect tampering. Poll workers check the seals and reconcile vote totals throughout the day to ensure the number of votes cast equals the number of voters who have checked in.

Each machine has a paper printout that shows the voter how their vote is being recorded. That paper trail allows us to compare the digital vote record with the physical record without compromising the voter’s secret ballot. Every county audits a sample of machines. In 11 years, there has never been a
discrepancy between what was recorded electronically and what was recorded on paper.

Your local election official is fiercely protective of your vote. Still not convinced? Come take a look! We’d love to walk you through the entire process. You’ll walk away, as hundreds already have, confident that your vote is indeed safe, secret, and secure, even from Russian hackers!

Submitted by: Utah’s 29 County Clerks and the Lieutenant Governor’s Elections Team

For more information, visit “Open Letter from the Nation’s Secretaries of State to Congress: Let’s Work Together to Share the Facts About Cybersecurity and Our Elections”.

Zion National Park

RFP for Pre-Engineered Metal Building at Legacy Park

Washington County is requesting proposals from Pre-Engineered Metal Building manufacturers to provide a new metal building to be built at the Washington County Legacy Park, Hurricane City, Utah. This proposal is for the metal building package only, future construction including metal building erection will be provided by a general contractor to be selected after the plans are prepared and the general contractor bidding process has been completed. The requested building shall consist of approximately 19,300 sq.ft. and be constructed adjacent to a conventionally framed office area. Further information including preliminary plans are available to the Pre-Engineered Metal Building manufacturing companies by contacting Nicholle Felshaw: call at 435-301-7000; or send an email.

Proposals are due to the Washington County Commission Office by 5:00 pm on September 29, 2016.

Published in The Spectrum: Friday, September 23, 2016 and Saturday, September 24, 2016

Billing:

Washington County Commission
111 East Tabernacle
St. George, UT  84770
Account #: 1359
(Google Maps)

Notice of Public Hearing for Proposition 1 – Sales Tax for Transportation

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on August 16, 2016, the County Commission of Washington County, Utah, adopted a resolution in which it authorized a ballot proposition seeking the registered voter’s opinion on the imposition of a sales and use tax of 0.25% for highways and transportation pursuant to Title 59, Chapter 12, Part 22 of the Utah Code Annotated 1953, as amended and called a public hearing to receive input from the public with respect to the proposed tax. If approved, the tax revenue would provide funding for transportation improvement such as roads, trails, sidewalks, maintenance, bus services, traffic and pedestrian safety features. The revenue would be divided among the county, cities, and towns in accordance with Utah law.

Time, Place, and Location of Public Hearing

The Commission shall hold a public hearing on Tuesday, October 18, 2016, at the hour of 6:00 pm in the County Administration Building, located at:

111 East Tabernacle Street
St. George, UT 84770
(Google Maps)

The purpose of the hearing is to receive input from the public with respect to the proposed tax. All members of the public are invited to attend and participate.

If special accommodations are required, please contact Nicholle Felshaw (435-301-7000 or email) with reasonable advance notice.

Individuals with speech and/or hearing impairments may call the Relay Utah by dialing 711. For Spanish, dial Spanish Relay Utah 888-346-3162.

Published in The Spectrum newspaper on October 1, 2016 and October 8, 2016. Posted in conjunction with publishing:

Kim M. Hafen
Auditor
Washington County of Utah

Notice of Vacancy – Diamond Valley Fire Special Service District Administrative Control Board

NOTICE is hereby given that there are five (5) vacancies on the Diamond Valley Fire Special Service District Administrative Control Board.

To qualify for appointment to that Board, an individual must meet the following qualifications:

  1. Be a U.S. Citizen;
  2. Be a registered voter residing in the boundary of the Diamond Valley Fire Special Service District

Those wishing to serve on the Diamond Valley Fire District Administrative Control Board should submit a Notice of Candidacy form (click here to download) to the Washington County Commission no later than Friday, September 30, 2016. You may also pick up an application at the County Commission Office:

County Commission 
c/o Cheyenne Bentley
111 East Tabernacle Street
St. George, Utah 84770
(Google Maps)

Forms may be submitted by the following options:

Questions may be addressed to Cheyenne Bentley at (435) 301-7000.

The County Commission will consider the nominees for appointment to this board at its October 18, 2016, County Commission meeting.

Published in The Spectrum August 31, 2016 through Septmeber 4, 2016, inclusive.

Washington County is a governmental entity that is subject to the Government Records Access Management Act. Any information that you provide to us through a website form or application may be made available to the public if required by law. You may view Washington County’sprivacy policy here.
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