Category Archives: Things To Do

Gil Almquist speaks at the Town Hall

Town Hall Discussion Proves to be Valuable and Collaborative

We had an incredible turn out at Wednesday nights Town Hall event at the Washington City Library. We want to sincerely thank those residents who were part of the discussion. For those who were unable to attend, several key topics related to the county were expanded upon. One of which was water solutions and reuse systems.

Water is a precious resource in our county and the commissioners keep this issue a constant topic of solution-oriented conversation. Washington County’s story over the last 170 years is the story of adaptation to water scarcity. Early pioneers in our community worked together to create dams and water systems that would feed our desert landscape. Today, we are modernizing, improving, and becoming an innovative leader in water conservation, water reuse systems, and paving the way for new water sources for our community. Water reuse systems are active today and proving effective in making up for any current deficit while we continue to develop plans for the Lake Powell Pipeline.

Elections were another topic discussed in depth. The Washington County Clerk/Auditors Office is absolutely committed to the county-wide integrity and transparency in their elections process. Our ballot collections take place only at scheduled times and are always accompanied by an additional elections staff member. Each paper ballot is heavily scrutinized for the purpose of ensuring there are no duplicates and every single vote is a Washington County citizen with a verified signature on file.

An additional topic discussed was that of our library system. Library’s in our county are expanding their resources with events, programs, digital/online reading sources and much more. We want the future of our library’s to optimally serve the resident’s of our county for generations to come. We informed our attendees of a county-wide survey we will be sending out to get the public’s feedback. This will be an opportunity for citizens to have a voice in what may be to come for Washington County’s library system.

Again, we thank all participants that attended our Town Hall meeting. It is events like this that pave the way for clarification, transparency, and collaborative community progress. You can count on your county commissioners to hear your voice. We encourage all of our residents to join us for the return of our next Town Hall event, date and time will be announced soon!

vote.utah.gov

Election Results – June, 2022

Click here to view current results

Primary Election Results are scheduled to begin posting online on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, at 8:45pm Mountain Time.

  • Republican for U.S. Senate
  • Republican for U.S. House District 2
  • Republican for State Senate District 28
  • Republican for State House District 72
  • Republican for State House District 73
  • Republican for State House District 74
  • Republican for County Commission Seat A
  • Local School Board District 5
  • Local School Board District 6

Click here to view current results

Great Utah Shakeout logo

Washington County Emergency Operations Center Practices Earthquake Response for The Great Utah ShakeOut

90% of Utah’s population lives in Active Earthquake Zones. The Great Utah ShakeOut is our chance to practice together how to protect ourselves, and for everyone to become prepared. The goal is to save lives and prevent disasters from becoming catastrophes. In order to act quickly, you must practice what to do – ShakeOut is that opportunity.

As part of the Great Utah Shakeout, Washington County activated the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The EOC is the hub for information management, decision making, and resource support and allocation during an emergency response. Partnering with different agencies within the community, the EOC serves as a one-stop-shop to help Incident Commanders coordinate disaster relief efforts.

At 10:00 am, 21 April 2022, the Washington County EOC activated with participants from the county EOC office, the Washington County GIS department, the finance department, the Sheriff’s Office, the Washington County Public Works Department, the Washington County Assessor’s Office, the Civil Air Patrol, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), the Southwest Utah Public Health Department, and other community volunteers.  As part of the activation, the EOC practiced logging onto the WebEOC portal, walked through communicating with each other, practiced making requests, evaluated the finance approval process, created maps, and the ARES group reached out on the Ham radios and other communication tools.

In an actual earthquake, you may only have seconds to protect yourself before strong shaking knocks you down, or something falls on you. It is critical to practice “quake-safe” beforehand? When the adrenaline kicks in, you may not act safely if you haven’t practiced the Drop, Cover, Hold On drill before that moment. Don’t wait until the shaking. Check out the Great Utah Shakeout website for additional information https://www.shakeout.org/utah/resources/.

The goal of the EOC is to support incident commanders in the field and promote community preparedness.  Whether it be: earthquakes, floods, fires, or whatever else might happen, regular practice and training will make all the difference in responding efficiently.  Washington County is actively working to make this a great place to live, even when things go bad.  In a real emergency, connect with us on Facebook at Washcosafety for all the latest information and guidance.

Public Scoping Comment Period for I-15 Widening from Exit 6 to Exit 8 & Exit 7

I-15; Widening from Exit 6 to Exit 8 & Exit 7
We want your input! The 30-day public scoping comment period for UDOT‘s Environmental Assessment to evaluate a potential new interchange at I-15 and 700 South is open now through May 17!

Public input is one of the considerations UDOT takes into account during the decision-making process. Let our study team know what transportation, environmental, and community issues we should consider as part of the study.

  • Submit a comment at our In-Person Public Scoping Meeting on May 4 from 4-6 p.m. at Atwood Innovation Plaza at DSU (453 South 600 East in St. George)
  • Submit a comment on the study website: udot.utah.gov/go/I15StGeorge
  • Send an email to I15StGeorge@utah.gov
  • Mail a comment to:
I-15 Study Team
6605 S. Redwood Road, #200,
Salt Lake City, UT 84123

Visit udot.utah.gov/go/I15StGeorge for more information about the study and details about the public scoping meetings on May 3 (online) and May 4 (in-person).