ST. GEORGE — After a sale on city-owned property has closed, Ivins City now has the funds to move ahead with the construction of a new city hall, Mayor Chris Hart announced at the Ivins City Council meeting Thursday night.
Hart said the sale has put $2.55 million that will be used for the new city hall, which will be built next to the current city hall, which will be converted into a police station.
“The good news is cause for a deep breath and sighs of relief,” Hart said. “There’s a reservoir of revenue to move forward.”
Nathan Leavitt of St. George-based VCBO Architecture presented the latest designs for the new facility, which is planned to be a net-zero building utilizing solar power and a water-based heating and cooling system utilizing pipes dug 300 feet into the ground.
The structure itself will be a tilt-up concrete structure with the outside sandblasted with elements of the area’s geography, including lava rock.
Inside the new council chambers will be large windows that will have a view of Red Mountain.
“This is making me emotional,” Hart said. “It’s such an incredible translation of concepts into reality.”
The designer of the Red Hills Desert Garden in St. George will be designing a desert garden to surround the new city hall. The garden will include a monument that will feature a bell donated by the namesake of the city, pioneer Anthony Ivins.
The meeting itself was the first held in the council’s chamber in the current city hall since it was closed on March 20 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Council members Miriah Elliott and Sue Gordhammer joined Hart in the council chambers, be it with social distance, while fellow council members Jenny Johnson, Cheyne McDonald and Dennis Mehr remained remote through Zoom.
In business requiring a vote, the council approved in a unanimous 5-0 roll call setting the city’s property tax rate at 0.001324%.
“That’s slightly below last year’s rate,” Ivins City Director of Finance Lane Meacham said.
The council also unanimously approved preliminary plans for the Anasazi Vista subdivision located at 250 S. 600 West and the Kanta Village at 343 W. Highway 91.
An architect's conceptualization of the new Ivins City Hall presented at the June 4, 2020 council meeting in Ivins City, Utah. | Photo courtesy Ivins City, VCBO Architecture, St. George News
Diagram showing how the layout of the current Ivins City Hall will be converted into a police station presented at the June 4, 2020 council meeting in Ivins City, Utah. | Photo courtesy Ivins City, VCBO Architecture, St. George News
An architect's diagram showing the power, heating, ventilation and air set up of the new Ivins City Hall presented at the June 4, 2020 council meeting in Ivins City, Utah. | Photo courtesy Ivins City, VCBO Architecture, St. George News
An architect's conceptualization showing the daylight lighting utilizing sunlight of the new Ivins City Hall presented at the June 4, 2020 council meeting in Ivins City, Utah. | Photo courtesy Ivins City, VCBO Architecture, St. George News
An architect's conceptualization showing the layout of the new Ivins City Hall presented at the June 4, 2020 council meeting in Ivins City, Utah. | Photo courtesy Ivins City, VCBO Architecture, St. George News
Architects' conceptualizations of the front and back of the new Ivins City Hall presented at the June 4, 2020 council meeting in Ivins City, Utah. | Photo courtesy Ivins City, VCBO Architecture, St. George News
Architect conceptualization of the new Ivins City Hall presented at the June 4, 2020 council meeting in Ivins City, Utah. | Photo courtesy Ivins City, VCBO Architecture, St. George News
Diagram showing the landscaping of the new Ivins City Hall presented at the June 4, 2020 council meeting in Ivins City, Utah. | Photo courtesy Ivins City, VCBO Architecture, St. George News
Diagram showing the location of the new Ivins City Hall presented at the June 4, 2020 council meeting in Ivins City, Utah. | Photo courtesy Ivins City, VCBO Architecture, St. George News
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