Category Archives: Press Releases

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.

Horse Racing @ Legacy Park

RFP for Public Art Installation at Legacy Park

Project Description

This is an opportunity for a qualified artist to design and create a sculpture to be located at the Washington County Legacy Park, south of the flag pole heading towards the Indoor Arena.

  1. Description of Physical Layout — The proposed sculpture will be located near the flag pole heading towards the Indoor Arena located at the Washington County Legacy Park.
  2. Architectural Considerations — The artwork should complement the nature of the space and the historic fairgrounds.

Policy

The artist retains ownership of design ideas submitted with the proposal until a selection has been made and a contract signed. Once a proposal has been selected and a contract awarded, the selected artwork will be owned by Washington County, and images of the art may be used in publicity for Washington County. This Request for Proposals does not constitute a contract. The County reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal and may elect not to proceed with any proposal.

Selection Process

Proposals will be evaluated by a committee appointed by the Washington County Commission, which may include commission members, county officials and staff members, artists, and community representatives with knowledge and interest related to this project. Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

  • Artistic merit of the proposal
  • Thematic appropriateness
  • Appropriateness to the site
  • Artist’s skill and experience
  • Timing
  • Budget

Proposal Submittal Procedure

Please submit proposals by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 22, 2016. Download the RFP Checklist and Certificate and follow the instructions. The following materials should be submitted for a complete proposal:

  1. RFP Checklist and Certificate — Complete a proposal checklist and sign the certificate. The certificate acknowledges that the artist is 18 years of age or older, that all art submitted is the product of the artist’s hand as represented, and that if the artist’s proposal is selected, the artwork produced will be owned by Washington County and may be used in publicity for Washington County.
  2. Project Description — Provide a visual depiction of the proposed sculpture and describe how it aesthetically and thematically complements the Washington County Legacy Park.
  3. Project Budget — Detail the total costs associated with your proposal, including costs of design, labor, materials, and fabrication.
  4. Time Frame/Work Plan — Provide a brief outline of the steps involved in completing the proposed sculpture with the time requirements included.
  5. Bio or Resume — Provide any information on previously related experience not to exceed three pages.

Proposals will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on August 22, 2016 at:

Washington County Administration Building
111 East Tabernacle
St. George, UT 84770
(Google Maps)

Questions regarding the proposal may be directed to:

Nicholle Felshaw
Commission Administrator
Washington County of Utah
435-301-7000
Send a Message

Notice of Intention to Renew Agriculture Protection Area

NOTICE is given to all interested persons that on the 6th day of September, 2016, the Washington County Commission will be considering a renewal of the existing agriculture protection area for Parcels: 3188-A-2, 3174-A, 3185-A, 3185-B and 3185-C.

The existing agriculture protection area was approved on November 18, 1996. U.C.A. 17-41-303 requires that agriculture protection areas be renewed in the 20th calendar year after creation.

Pursuant to U.C.A. 17-41-303, the Agricultural Advisory Board heard this matter at 1:00 pm on July 26, 2016 at the Pavilion in Unity Park, 400 South 200 West in Ivins during their regular meeting. The board unanimously recommended renewal.

The Washington County Planning Commission will hear this matter at 1:30 pm on August 9, 2016 in the regularly scheduled Planning Commission Meeting located in the Commission Chambers in The Washington County Administration Building, 111 East Tabernacle Street, St. George Utah 84770.

The recommendations of the Agricultural Advisory Board and Planning Commission will be presented to the Washington County Commission as part of a public hearing on September 6, 2016 at 4:00 pm in the Commission Chambers at The Washington County Administration Building, located at 111 East Tabernacle Street, St. George Utah 84770. The Washington County Commission will hear all interested persons and entity representatives desiring to be heard, and will give full consideration to all persons. If special accommodations are required, please contact Nicholle Felshaw (435-301-7000) with reasonable advance notice.

Individuals with speech and/or hearing impairments may call the Relay Utah by dialing 711. Spanish Relay Utah: 1-888-346-3162.

Published in The Spectrum newspaper on August 6, 13, 20, and 27, 2016. Posted in conjunction with publishing: (1) State of Utah Website for Public Meeting Notices; (2) Washington County Administration Building; (3) Washington County Library Buildings.

Local ‘State of Emergency’ Declaration

Whereas, the Saddle Fire started burning in rough and inaccessible terrain on Pine Valley Mountain on or about June 13, 2016;

Whereas, high winds, high temperatures, steep slopes, and rocky terrain prevented firefighters from safely attacking the fire in its early stages;

Whereas, multiple drone intrusions have resulted in the compromised safety and well-being of aircraft and flight crews and have further hampered firefighting efforts;

Whereas, the Saddle Fire continues to grow and poses an immediate threat to the Town of Pine Valley, and its infrastructure.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, on behalf of the citizens of Washington County, the Washington County Commission hereby declares this to be a Local ‘State of Emergency’ and hereby authorizes the Sheriff and other lawful Officials to take necessary measures including, but not limited to: road closures and evacuations — as are consistent with the preservation of life and property, and with effectively supporing fire suppression efforts.

DATED, this 21st day of June, 2016

SIGNED: Victor Iverson, Acting Commission Chair

ATTEST: Kim Hafen, County clerk

Click here to view signed official document

If you have questions or comments, please contact us:

Alan Gardner, Commission Chair (Send an Email)
Victor Iverson, Acting Commission Chair (Send an Email)
Zachary Renstrom, Commissioner (Send an Email)

111 East Tabernacle
St. George, UT 84770
P: 435.301.7000
F: 435.634.5753
Send an Email

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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