Ivins City Council close to finalizing new welcome signs, praises resident water conservation efforts

IVINS — The Ivins City Council went on a “field trip” just before their meeting Thursday night to take a look at the proposed sites for new Ivins City signs for the entrances into town.

A photo illustration showing the main sign for Ivins CIty to be located on Old Highway 91 as it would be seen at night. Ivins City, Utah on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. | Photo courtesy Young Electric Sign Co., Ivins City, St. George News

The new signs would be illuminated at night, which would include a white LED star field to highlight the night skies of the city. As designed, the signs would be nine feet tall by about 22 feet wide. However, the council recommended some last refinements after a visit to the proposed sites with flat mock-ups of the signs.

Ivins City Mayor Chris Hart told St. George News the signs will boost the profile of the city.

“All we have is a little the size of a yield sign to let you know you’ve arrived,” Hart said. “Yeah, so we wanted to do something.”

Council members visited the sites on Old Highway 91 just before the meeting. Vinyl mock-ups of the signs were put up to give them an idea of what they would look like.

During the meeting, council members said among those recommendations are smaller lettering for the “Ivins City” portion of the sign and a slight reduction of width.

A diagram showing features of the main sign for Ivins CIty to be located on Old Highway 91. Ivins City, Utah on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. | Photo courtesy Young Electric Sign Co., Ivins City, St. George News

The sign was designed by Young Electric Sign Co. (YESCO) of Salt Lake City – known for their design work on many of the marquees on the Las Vegas Strip including the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.

The next step is taking the council recommendations back to the designer where it will be finalized into a final proposal of expenditures that would need to be approved by the council.

In other council matters, Charles Gillette, Ivins City’s public works director, reported to the council that water conservation efforts in the city exceeded expectations, with gallons per capita water use reaching its lowest level in the city’s 22-year history in 2019 despite a steady gain in population.

“We’re a pretty conservation-minded city,” Hart said. “It’s mostly our residents to thank for realizing that they can do it.”

Gillette said residents used 203 gallons per capita per day of water in 2019. That compares to 224 in 2018 and a high of 293 in 2000.

If the numbers don’t say enough, there is a new glass 2019 Water Efficiency Award trophy in the City Hall lobby from the state of Utah.

New conservation tiering rates went into effect last March. Along with residents, Councilman Dennis Mehr took the time to spread his praise to Gillette and the Public Works Department.

“I think you can take some credit,” Mehr told Gillette.

A chart showing the per capita per day water use in Ivins City over the last 19 years. Ivins City, Utah on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. | Diagram courtesy Ivins City, St. George News

The city purchased 2,006 acre-feet of water and sold 1,888 acre-feet to customers, which was a four-year low for water usage.

Councilman Cheyne McDonald also announced during the meeting that he has been named as the new chairman of the Washington County Solid Waste Board.

McDonald told the council the biggest issue the board is tackling is the future of recycling pickup in the county. Late last year, the board approved a new deal with Republic Services to handle the blue bin recycling, but that contract expires at the end of the year and is being renegotiated.

McDonald said continuing the recycling program might mean having to have residents pay an extra $1.70 per month for waste disposal.

“It’s a tough one to swallow when it’s cheaper to bury than recycle,” McDonald told the council. “But if we don’t recycle, it would reduce the life of our landfill.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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