Santa Clara votes on whether to keep justice court, gives boys basketball team key to the city

SANTA CLARA — Faced with a decision on whether to continue the city’s in-house justice court or disband it and send local traffic violations and other cases to the Washington County courts, the Santa Clara City Council decided Wednesday that it was a “no-brainer” to continue the Santa Clara Justice Court.

Attendees at the Santa Clara City Council meeting at Santa Clara Town Hall, Santa Clara, Utah, May 11, 2022 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

In a unanimous voice vote, the council agreed to indefinitely continue the court that also serves the city of Ivins during its meeting late Thursday afternoon.

City manager Brock Jacobsen said while the court usually runs at an annual deficit of $40,000 to the city, it is nearly breaking even so far this year. At the same time, city officials say the city is saving both money and time by keeping some cases within the city, rather than having them go to the Washington County Justice Court in downtown St. George.

“We need to look at the cost versus benefit,” council member Ben Shakespeare said during the meeting. “This benefits both cities and is at little cost. This is a no-brainer.”

Also during its meeting Thursday at the town hall, the council made Juneteenth a city holiday and honored the state champion boys basketball team from Snow Canyon High School with the key to the city. 

Keeping the court

The decision on whether to keep the Santa Clara Justice Court came about after the court’s sole judge, Judge Ken Armstrong, recently announced he would be retiring by the end of the year. 

At an April work meeting, James Peters, the court’s administrator, said the council would need to make one of three decisions: Start the search immediately for a replacement judge, temporarily halt the court until the court could be continued with a new judge, or dissolve the court entirely and have all of Santa Clara and Ivins’ cases moved to the Washington County Justice Court.

Santa Clara City Council member Ben Shakespeare, Santa Clara, Utah, May 11, 2022 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

Jacobsen warned that dissolving the court, which handles speeding, DUIs, small claims and other misdemeanors, would be an irreversible decision.

“We probably wouldn’t be able to get a justice court back,” Jacobsen said. “If all the cases moved to Washington County, it could be six months out just to get a traffic citation heard. That would be an increased burden on our police and citizens.”

Council member Jarett Waite said there was another good reason to continue the in-house court: The hometown feel.

“I visited the Washington County court recently and it’s a very different feel than we have here,” Waite said. “It’s much less imposing here.”

A key for Warriors

Having already conquered the state in hoops, the state champion Snow Canyon boys basketball team received a rare honor from the city of Santa Clara during the council meeting. 

Snow Canyon High boys basketball coach Doug Meacham receives the key to the city from Santa Clara Mayor Rick Rosenberg during the Santa Clara City Council meeting, Santa Clara, Utah, May 11, 2022 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

With the entire team assembled as the tallest people in the council chambers Wednesday, Mayor Rick Rosenberg presented Warriors coach Doug Meacham and the team with the key to the city. 

“I’ve only given out four or five of these,” said Rosenberg, who has been mayor for 15 years.

Snow Canyon won the Utah 4A State Championship on Feb. 23, the school’s second in school history. 

New city holiday

With little comment, the council voted unanimously, 5-0, to make Juneteenth a city holiday. 

Juneteenth, which falls on June 19, marks the freeing of Black Americans from slavery. It coincides with the anniversary of the June 19, 1865, announcement of General Order No. 3 by the Union Army just after the close of the Civil War that proclaimed freedom for enslaved people in Texas, the last state of the former Confederacy that still had slavery in place.

Juneteenth became a national holiday last June after Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. 

June 19 falls on a Sunday this year, but the holiday will be in place for future years when it falls on a weekday. 

As a city holiday, Santa Clara city offices and other services will be closed on June 19 in future years. This year, federal offices and banks will be closed on June 20, the Monday following Juneteenth. 

In other City Council business 

In a unanimous 5-0 vote, the council approved an agreement governing the construction of the $6.7 million high-speed internet network by UTOPIA Fiber that will bring internet and multimedia to every address in the city. The agreement puts UTOPIA in charge of maintaining the network but puts the city in charge of approving which internet service providers will be permitted to use the network. 

The council also approved a new lease for dog training and kennel club Southern Utah Dog Sports to continue to lease the land behind the old city offices at 2760 Vineyard Road. The new agreement is for the club to use the city land for $10 per year lease with an automatic renewal each year unless the city gives 30 days to end the lease. The vote was 4-0, with council member Denny Drake abstaining because of his wife’s involvement in the club.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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