WASHINGTON CITY — Washington City welcomed old and new faces to the City Council as they were sworn in Monday. While one of the new councilmen will be serving on the council for the first time, the others have returned to serve once more.
“I’m super exited about the next four years,” new council member Craig Coats said as he stood before family, friends and fellow city officials gathered at the city office for the swearing in ceremony. Coats is the newest member of the City Council. He previously served on the city’s planning commission prior to his election.
“I look forward to serving Washington City and making it the city I know it is and can continue to be,” Coats said.
Coats was joined by Kurt Ivie and Kress Staheli. Both men previously served on the City Council, with Staheli serving from 2012-2016, and Ivie being appointed to finish the term of former council member Thad Seegmiller in 2017.
Ivie said he felt honored to be on the City Council once more and that Washington City has a special feeling to it other communities do not.
“The feeling we have in Washington is something we need to share with others because it’s special and something a lot of other communities don’t have,” Ivie said. “We have great leadership here in our city.”
Washington City has gone from being a bedroom community to a growing city, Ivie said, and the council recognizes that bring challenges. He added that they will work to preserve the traditional feeling of the city as it grows.
Staheli said he has returned to the council with a fresh perspective after being a private citizen for the past four years. It helped him realize what a special opportunity it is to serve.
He also said it is the citizens, and not the mayor or the council, who run the city.
“We serve the people,” Staheli said. “It’s not the mayor and the council and then the staff on down. … The citizens are at the top, and we serve them first.”
The new council holds its first work meeting of the year on Tuesday at 6 p.m., where issues related to RAP tax funding and the Lake Powell Pipeline Project will be discussed. The meeting will be held at the Washington City Office at 111 N. 100 East, Washington City.
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