WASHINGTON CITY – Though the numbers have yet to be made official, it appears Washington City residents will be welcoming newcomers Troy Belliston and Kolene Granger to the City Council, while also potentially re-electing incumbent Jeff Turek to a third term.
Belliston garnered 1,376 votes (20,75 percent), followed by Granger with 1,289 votes (19,44 percent), and Turek with 1,164 votes (17.55 percent).
“I’m excited for the opportunity to serve the community,” Belliston said. “I’m thrilled with the outcome of the vote.”
He also expressed thanks to the voters for having confidence in him as a future council member.
Belliston has said he will do what he can to protect the “hometown feel of Washington City” while also seeking to broaden its economic base.
“One specific way that we can broaden our base in short order is to aggressively pursue the events/tourism industry,” Belliston previously told St. George News. “It is estimated that $450 million of outside revenue is brought into Washington County each and every year, and yet in Washington City we only have two hotels and limited service-related businesses within our boundaries that can capture that revenue.”
Among Granger’s goals as a new council member is revamping the city’s ordinances in order “to better create communities that enable individuals, families and businesses to thrive,” she previously wrote in an email to St. George News.
Such changes would include reworking the city’s notification ordinance to let property owners beyond 300 feet of the affected area know that there is a proposed general plan or zone change taking place near them.
When a pending zone change requires a public hearing, state law dictates that property owners within 300 feet (100 yards) of the site to be potentially rezoned be notified of the public hearing. Property owners living beyond that 300-foot zone are not sent those notifications, and this has been an issue brought up in past City Council meetings.
“Zoning regulations should require more than just a minimum lot size,” Granger said, “and should reflect a standard for developing neighborhoods with trails, view corridors, usable open space, buried power lines and local parks.
Having likely won a third term, Turek has also previously said his primary goal will be to continue finding ways to attract quality business to Washington City that will add the city’s tax base and quality of life.
While Turek currently holds third position in the unofficial tally, he is trailed by Bradford Allen by 90 votes, having garnered 1,074 votes to Turek’s 1,164.
There could be a potential upset if provisional and mail-in ballots added to the official tally put Allen ahead of the incumbent.
According to the unofficial election returns, Washington City’s overall voter turnout was 22.6 percent.
Official numbers will be presented to an upcoming Washington City Council meeting once provisional and mail-in ballots have been canvassed and added to the overall tally.
Both Turek and Granger were unavailable for comment on the election results at publication time.
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