Copy of the City of Ivins record for City Council Meeting, preserved by
OwnUtah.com Ivins Meetings. Official source: City of Ivins Granicus archive.
IVINS
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES
September 4, 2025
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NOTICE: This meeting will be held in person. You may listen to the live audio feed by going to www.ivinsutah.gov under "Upcoming Events". When the meeting is live, it will reflect "In Progress" - click on the "In Progress" link to listen to the meeting live. |
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The link for Public Hearing electronic participation is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81298507048 |
MAYOR AND COUNCIL: The meeting was called to order at
5:30 p.m. and announced there was a quorum present.
All present included
Council Member Mike Scott,
Council Member Sharon Barton,
Council Member Sharon Gillespie,
and
Council Member Lance Anderson.
STAFF:
City Manager Chuck Gillette,
Director of Finance Cade Visser,
City Attorney Bryan Pack,
and
City Recorder Kari D. Jimenez.
EXCUSED:
Council Member Kevin Smith
Audience: Shad Johnsen, Chris Haddad, James Barden, Jerry Nostadt, Gail Fulde, Becky & Chuck Warren and others who did not sign in.
Mayor Chris Hart acknowledged there was a quorum present. Council Member Kevin Smith was excused.
Council Member Sharon Barton led the Flag Salute.
Council Member Sharon Barton gave the Invocation.
There were no disclosures or conflicts of interest with items on this meeting's agenda.
Mayor Chris Hart requested that the rules be suspended and bring agenda item 5)A up to this point in the agenda.
MOTION: Council Member Sharon Gillespie moved to suspend the rules and move forward agenda item 5)A to this point in the agenda
SECOND: Council Member Lance Anderson
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mike Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Barton |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Gillespie |
AYE |
| Council Member Lance Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Kevin Smith |
ABSENT |
The Motion may be accessed at time stamp 00:03:44.
| 5) |
DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS |
Resolution
BACKGROUND and RECOMMENDATION: The Mayor and City Council have selected Chuck Gillette as the City Manager to replace Dale Coulam, who retired in July of this year.
MOTION: Council Member Lance Anderson moved to approve Resolution No. 2025-14R, a Resolution of Ivins City, Utah, appointing Chuck Gillette as City Manager
SECOND: Council Member Sharon Barton
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mike Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Barton |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Gillespie |
AYE |
| Council Member Lance Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Kevin Smith |
ABSENT |
The Motion may be accessed at time stamp 00:04:48.
Roll call vote. All Council Members who were present voted in favor.
Chuck Gillette commented that the process was brutal but he comes into this position with excitement and as was expressed in the Invocation, he intends to lead with wisdom, integrity and humility. Dale Coulam left the City in great shape and before Dale, Judy Gubler was the City Manager and managed the City well. Chuck met with both of them last week, looking to them for mentorship.
Parks and Recreation Report
SCIPD Public Safety Report
SCI Fire EMS Report
Electronic reports are available as attachments to this agenda and verbal reports given by Parks and Recreation Director Marc Christensen, Police Chief Jaron Studley and SCIFire Division Chief-Support/Fire Marshal Con Fulde, may be accessed at the following time stamps:
Parks and Recreation Director Marc Christensen: 00:07:40
Police Chief Jaron Studley: 00:15:22
SCIFire Division Chief-Support/Fire MarshalCon Fulde: 00:24:12
A report was provided to the Mayor and City Council. The report provided by Commissioner Pam Gardiol may be accessed at time stamp 00:26:58.
Form
MOTION: Council Member Sharon Gillespie moved to suspend the rules to move agenda item 5)C forward in the agenda
SECOND: Council Member Lance Anderson
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mike Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Barton |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Gillespie |
AYE |
| Council Member Lance Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Kevin Smith |
ABSENT |
The Motion may be accessed at time stamp 00:28:38.
| 5) |
DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS |
Proclamation examples
Updated Proclamation approved previously by City Council
BACKGROUND and RECOMMENDATION: There were representatives present for this agenda item and provided a history to the Mayor and City Council. Mayor Chris Hart read the Proclamation. The explanation of this agenda item may be accessed at time stamp 00:29:18.
Public Hearing Notice
BACKGROUND and RECOMMENDATION: This Public Hearing is a requirement and is something Ivins City addresses every year. The salary data is provided by third party vendor TechNet and the data if for a population of 30,000 or less. There is a proposed COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) and a proposed increase based on merit. Mayor Hart opened the Public Hearing. There being no comments in person or through the Zoom application, Mayor Hart closed the Public Hearing. The explanation of this agenda item may be accessed at time stamp 00:39:00.
Ordinance
BACKGROUND and RECOMMENDATION: Council Member Sharon Gillespie shared some data points for residents for some of the things that transpired in City Hall. A resident sent her an email recommending that the City employees wear multiple hats to save money as part of Ivins ongoing service. She let the residents know that Ivins City is already doing that and provided the following examples: Director of Finance Cade Visser also runs Administrative Services, IT, AV, Building Security and currently writing a data privacy program. Prior to becoming City Manager, Chuck Gillette served in dual roles for an extended period of time as the City Engineer and Public Works Director and is continuing to serve as the Public Works Director and City Manager until the Public Works Director position can be filled. Rob Dalley is the Building Official, Zoning Administrator, as well as handling Code Enforcement. If the City were to split those roles out, the costs involved would be significant. The City of St. George spends $1.8 million on their IT Department, which includes a staff of 13. Obviously Ivins City would not need that but Ivins would be looking at a cost of $30,000 to $45,000 per year for one IT person to do what Cade Visser currently does with IT for the City and it would likely be difficult to find a qualified person that would want to do that job part-time. The City has incurred savings with the former City Manager Dale Coulam retiring and going through the transition. Wearing two hats can be a great way to save money but it can also provide for one area to be fed, while another area is starved. She referred to the value of a merit increase on a regular basis. The biggest value for Ivins with that, is retention and expertise. The loss of expertise is huge when that turn-over happens. There is a significant cost to replace a tenured employee with time and labor intensity. According to salary.com, the cost to replace an employee conservatively ranges from one-half to two times an employees regular salary. The City also needs to consider the labor market. The average cost to hire these days is $15,000, 94 days, 14 calls and interviews and then there' the cost of a wrong hire. There is a huge reason for providing a merit increase on a regular basis and not only due to the cost of hiring and training new employees but providing a merit increase on a regular basis provides sustainability for the City in the long-term. It keeps the City fair and competitive in the market and recognizes excellence and protects the City' morale, community spirit and level of service. Mayor Chris Hart commented that Ivins staff is the most valuable resource in the City. The discussion may be accessed at time stamp 00:40:12.
MOTION: Council Member Sharon Gillespie moved to approve Ordinance No. 2025-20, an Ordinance of Ivins City, Utah, approving FY26 Salaries and/or Salary Ranges for Elected Officials, Statutory Officers and Department Heads
SECOND: Council Member Sharon Barton
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mike Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Barton |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Gillespie |
AYE |
| Council Member Lance Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Kevin Smith |
ABSENT |
Roll call vote. All Council Members who were present voted in favor.
Contract
There was no discussion. The Motion may be accessed at time stamp 00:48:22.
MOTION: Council Member Sharon Barton moved to approve the City Manager's Contract
SECOND: Council Member Sharon Gillespie
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mike Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Barton |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Gillespie |
AYE |
| Council Member Lance Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Kevin Smith |
ABSENT |
Development Agreement
BACKGROUND and RECOMMENDATION: There are three things this agreement locks in on their behalf and also preserves the status quo on the City's behalf. Those three things are the overall density of 500 units; the ability to cluster that density throughout the project; and locking in the Table of Uses. This is in the RC zone and the Table of Uses is already defined by code. Many uses in the Table of Uses are Class 4 and Class 5 uses so those will come before the Planning Commission and/or City Council depending on the Class. One City Council Member was not in favor of anymore short-term rentals but understood that the developers had the right to do that based on the zoning. That City Council Member had concerns about blasting and the ability to let the residents know the exact dates and times of when blasting would occur. She was also concerned about construction traffic in that area. Another City Council Member did not have adequate time to review this or provide a response to the other Council Members, of which included a list of 36 items to be addressed. The Mayor and City Council agreed that this agenda item would be continued to a future City Council agenda. The discussion may be accessed at time stamp 00:49:26.
MOTION: Council Member Sharon Gillespie moved to continue agenda item 5)D
SECOND: Council Member Mike Scott
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mike Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Barton |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Gillespie |
AYE |
| Council Member Lance Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Kevin Smith |
ABSENT |
The Motion may be accessed at time stamp 01:08:38.
Resolution
BACKGROUND and RECOMMENDATION: Tom Jorgensen has been promoted to the City Engineer position, which was vacated by Chuck Gillette becoming the City Manager.
MOTION: Council Member Sharon Barton moved to approve Resolution No. 2025-15R, a Resolution of Ivins City, Utah, appointing Tom Jorgensen as City Engineer
SECOND: Council Member Lance Anderson
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mike Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Barton |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Gillespie |
AYE |
| Council Member Lance Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Kevin Smith |
ABSENT |
The Motion may be accessed at time stamp 01:14:56.
Roll call vote. All Council Members who were present voted in favor.
Staff Report
Master Plan Scope of Work
BACKGROUND and RECOMMENDATION: Since Ivins City last updated these plans in 2019, the Washington County Water Conservancy District has come up with a new 20-year plan and has identified a capital facilities plan that involves scaling back the secondary water system and boosting the importance of the culinary water system especially on the west side by building a water treatment plant somewhere on the west side of Ivins City. Bowen Collins & Associates prepared Ivins last culinary and secondary water master plans and have offered a scope of work and fee estimate that is in line with Ivins budget. Staff is recommending to contract with Bowen Collins & Associates as a sole source provider under Ivins purchasing policy based on justifications identified in the staff report that is available as an attachment to this agenda. This expense is impact fee eligible and impact fees will be used to pay for this study and is budgeted.
MOTION: Council Member Lance Anderson moved to approve the expenditure to prepare the Master Plan, Impact Fee Facilities Plan and Impact Fee Analysis for Water
SECOND: Council Member Sharon Gillespie
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mike Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Barton |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Gillespie |
AYE |
| Council Member Lance Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Kevin Smith |
ABSENT |
The Motion may be accessed at time stamp 01:18:30.
| A. |
Approval of City Council Work Meeting Minutes for August 7, 2025 |
Minutes - DRAFT
| B. |
Approval of City Council Meeting Minutes for August 7, 2025 |
Minutes - DRAFT
| C. |
Approval of City Council Truth in Taxation Meeting Minutes for August 14, 2025 |
Minutes - DRAFT
MOTION: Council Member Sharon Gillespie moved to approve the Consent Agenda
SECOND: Council Member Sharon Barton
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mike Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Barton |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Gillespie |
AYE |
| Council Member Lance Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Kevin Smith |
ABSENT |
The Motion may be accessed at time stamp 01:19:06.
| 7) |
CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION |
The City Council reports may be accessed at time stamp 01:19:22.
The report by the Mayor may be accessed at time stamp 01:25:48.
The report by City Manager Chuck Gillette may be accessed at time stamp 01:26:48.
| D. |
City Attorney Bryan Pack - None |
| E. |
Items to be placed on future agendas |
Items to be placed on future agendas are identified throughout the meeting and will be included on upcoming City Council agendas.
MOTION: Council Member Lance Anderson moved to adjourn
SECOND: Council Member Sharon Barton
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Council Member Mike Scott |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Barton |
AYE |
| Council Member Sharon Gillespie |
AYE |
| Council Member Lance Anderson |
AYE |
| Council Member Kevin Smith |
ABSENT |
The Motion may be accessed at time stamp 01:39:26.
The meeting adjourned at 7:09 p.m.
Respectfully,
Kari D. Jimenez, MPA, MMC
Ivins City Recorder