Civic leaders highlight 4 Iron County municipalities in ‘State of the Cities’ breakfast

Enoch Mayor Geoffrey Chesnut speaks during "State of the Cities" breakfast event, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 15, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Civic leaders from four Iron County municipalities gave updates on their respective cities during Wednesday morning’s “State of the Cities” breakfast sponsored by the Cedar City Area Chamber of Commerce.

Brian Head Town Manager Bret Howser speaks during “State of the Cities” breakfast event, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 15, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Approximately 50 people attended the event at the Cedar City Courtyard Marriott hotel. The four speakers, in order, were Brian Head Town Manager Bret Howser, Enoch Mayor Geoffrey Chesnut, Cedar City Mayor Garth Green and Parowan resident Tricia Harris, who was filling in for Parowan Mayor Mollie Halterman.

Howser talked about Brian Head Resort’s expansion plans, including new ski runs and seven new ski lifts. He said that even though the number of skier visits at Brian Head did see a slight drop, from a record 270,000 the year before to 250,000 last year, resort officials are anticipating a new record year this winter.

“I will go ahead and give Mother Nature the assist on that one,” he said.

The resort’s owners have their sights set even higher, with an eventual goal of 500,000 annual skier visits, Howser added, calling the admittedly ambitious number “a reasonable target.”

“What we’re trying to do is position ourselves to be what I call ‘The Next Great Western Ski Town,’ which might actually be a better vision statement for us than the one we’ve been using,” Howser said.

“We’re getting there, you know,” he added. “We’re actually making pretty good strides.”

Howser also talked about planned trail improvements, water and sewer system upgrades and fiber optic internet service. While some of the plans are for the more immediate future, others extend some 10-30 years down the road, he noted.

As Howser showed his last slide, which featured a photo of two kids sledding down a hill, he joked, “State of Brian Head in 2023: we are careening into the future at absolute breakneck speed with nothing but abject terror on our faces. Any questions?”

Next up was Chesnut, who provided an economic review of Enoch City, which he said currently has around 2,800 homes and just under 8,000 residents.

Enoch Mayor Geoffrey Chesnut points to map during “State of the Cities” breakfast event, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 15, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

But while 2020 saw 107 new residential units added, followed by another 103 units in 2021, the number dropped to 71 last year, he said, calling 2022 “a little weird.”

“I think everybody knows the market was just kind of odd, but we still ended up with 71 by the end of the year,” he said.

Chesnut also talked about the city’s growth on the business side, including several industrial projects already in the works. 

The city’s recreational opportunities are also expanding, Chesnut said. In addition to the 600-plus kids who play in Enoch’s soccer leagues each year, a private ice skating rink project is also under way. Rugby and disc golf events are also coming soon.

Chesnut also showed architectural drawings of future home for the Iron County Children’s Justice Center being planned. He also talked about the new Enoch Wildlife Rescue Center already started construction.

Chesnut discussed storm drainage improvements, noting that the city is working with the federal government on a project to construct a series of nine retention basins to help prevent the types of flooding the city experienced in the summer of 2021.

Traffic and transportation issues are also being addressed, he said, noting that the city is currently working with Utah Department of Transportation for a new Interstate 15 interchange to be constructed between Summit and Enoch. The added freeway access might in turn spur more business development in the northeast part of Enoch City, he said.

“I think that once that project is actually committed to financially by UDOT, that it may end up changing some of that dynamic,” Chestnut said, adding, “I’ve seen the master plan for the 600 acres that that the ice rink is in and it’s pretty ambitious. It’s a project the developers are hoping to be something like Daybreak or The District area in South Jordan. I mean, that’s what the goal is.”

Cedar City Mayor Garth Green speaks during “State of the Cities” breakfast event, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 15, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Green spoke next, first talking about the foot of snow the Cedar City had received the day before, on Valentine’s Day. He then showed a short video that provided a statistical snapshot of the growing city, which now has more than 37,000 residents.

“We have challenges and I think that’s no surprise to anyone,” Green said as he rattled off a few. “We have high home costs. We have a very low unemployment rate. And we have inflation. Demand is high. Supply chain issues are very frustrating. Workforce challenges every day. There’s not enough employees.”

The 73-year-old Green also spoke of intergenerational demographics.

“The baby boomers are retiring,” he said. “We’ve carried the weight for a very long time. We’ve done our best. We’ve saved our money. And we’re thrilled. So good luck to y’all. Now, millennials, it’s your turn.”

“How do we incentivize a work environment that will attract those groups of people who may or may not be working, or who are probably highly educated and under-employed, or highly educated and unemployed?” he asked. “How do we incentivize them into the workforce and build the future of Cedar City?”

“It’s not my job to figure that out anymore,” Green continued “It’s my children’s jobs. It’s the millennials’ jobs to figure out what incentivizes and what works for this environment that now they lead, and that they’re trying to inspire the future for their children.”

“Good luck,” he added. “They need to be creative. They need to be entrepreneurial, they need to put some pixie dust, some magic, into the workplace that will attract people and give them what they desire, and figure out a way to make money with it. And I wish them all success.”

Slide explaining wastewater treatment plans from Cedar City Mayor Garth Green’s presentation during “State of the Cities” breakfast event, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 15, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Green wrapped up his presentation with a discussion about various water-related issues. He showed a map that depicted existing wells and aquifers and how much water they supply or are capable of supplying. He suggested that the Cedar Valley needs to diversify its water sources, and that in order to balance the aquifer, water needs to be drawn from “every corner of the basin.”

One proposed solution, Green noted, is reusing treated wastewater.

“In the basin north of our wastewater treatment plant, 24% of the water in our entire basin comes from there and there,” he said, pointing to the map. “There are no city wells there. In fact, there’s virtually no wells there. It’s an untapped resource.”

“Our intent is to bring the water from the wastewater treatment plant up here to the old treatment plant area and to recharge it into the earth,” he said. 

The breakfast event’s final speaker was Harris, a Parowan resident who serves as chair of the Rural Utah Chamber Coalition. Harris was standing in for Mayor Halterman, who was unable to attend the breakfast, due to a budget meeting.

Harris gave a run-through of Halterman’s presentation, highlighting several current and upcoming projects and planned events for the town, which now has more than 3,100 residents.

Parowan resident Tricia Harris speaks during “State of the Cities” breakfast event, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 15, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“I’m looking ahead to 2023, which will be a big year for Parowan, with more going on than ever before,” Harris said, mentioning the city’s plans for a new bridge, a new or renewed swimming pool, and water and sewer upgrades, airport improvements and new pickleball courts, among other things. 

Iron County School District is also scheduled to start building a new multipurpose gym and cafeteria that will serve Parowan K-12 students, she noted.

One new event, Harris said, will be the inaugural Old Rock Church Days on June 16-17. The event is scheduled to feature special guest T.C. Christensen, a filmmaker who will be promoting his new movie about 1912 Olympic gold medalist and Parowan native Alma Richards.

“Thank you for being here to learn more about our local community,” Harris concluded as she expressed appreciation to those in attendance. “Thank you for being engaged community builders.”

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