Home Care In Ivins, UT

Ivins, Utah CNN —

In a bright-red county in a state allergic to regulations, there is a ban on growing grass outside new businesses. Only 8% of a home’s landscaping can have a grass lawn in this booming corner of Utah, about a hundred miles northeast of Las Vegas.

And if any developers want to add another country club to this golfing mecca, “I don’t know where they would get the water from,” said Zach Renstrom, general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District. “And I’m telling you, I know where every drop of water is.”

Like lots of spots in the West, the combination of more people and less water makes for an uncertain future around St. George, Utah. While this winter’s generous snowpack could buy precious time, the entire Colorado River system remains in danger of crashing if water gets too low at Lakes Powell and Mead.

But that reality hasn’t stopped St. George from booming into the fastest growing metro area in the US two years running, according to the US Census Bureau, and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake Powell, their growth will turn to pain.

In the meantime, Lake Powell – the country’s second-largest reservoir – has struggled to serve even the places it currently provides water to. Last week it sank to the lowest water level since the reservoir was filled in the 1960s, and since 2000 has lost more than 150 feet.

“If we stop construction water, that act alone would lay off about 20% of our county,” Renstrom said. “We’ve made a commitment that we’re going to make sure to be good stewards of every single drop of water that’s already here and make sure we’re utilizing that. But when we look at our long-term growth and you know how much water we need, (the Lake Powell Pipeline) is still in our long-term plan.”

Washington County said it consumed about 50,000 acre feet of water in 2022, all of it supplied by the Virgin River which flows into the Colorado system and out of taps from Vegas to LA. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre to the depth of one foot – roughly 326,000 gallons.

A showdown over Colorado River water is setting the stage for a high-stakes legal battle

A plan to pump 80,000 acre feet of water a year from Lake Powell to Sand Hollow Reservoir passed the Utah legislature in 2006 and met immediate opposition from environmental groups worried about fragile desert ecosystems. Fourteen dry years later in 2020, the Trump administration tried to fast-track the project’s environmental review but water managers from the other six Colorado River Basin states banded together to block it.

“The system is crashing and to be honest, it’s kind of incomprehensible to think of a diversion of that size that would serve 200,000 people in one county in southern Utah at this moment in time. There’s just not the water,” Matt Rice, Southwest Region Director of the nonprofit American Rivers told CNN. “We’re worried about every molecule of water that that we can deliver to Lake Powell and Lake Mead to protect critical hydroelectric infrastructure.”

While in legal limbo, the controversy brought fresh headlines in January when the mayor of the small Washington County town of Ivins called it “the Lake Powell pipe dream” during a public meeting.

“Shame on me,” Ivins Mayor Chris Hart laughed about his words as he welcomed CNN to Ivins, proudly pointing out the irrigation-free desert xeriscape around the new city hall.

“The motivation for that comment is that this project has faced a lot of obstacles and continues to with the shortage impacting all of the basin states,” Hart explained. “There are groups who believe that we can that we can work our way out of it through conservation and other ways. The studies show us that eventually the Lake Powell pipeline will be necessary for us to continue to develop in the county. So, I actually used that word tongue-in-cheek, because the serious side of it is that it is an essential part of our plan.”

'The brink of disaster': 2023 is a critical year for the Colorado River as reservoirs sink toward 'dead pool'

Hart also said it’s Utah’s turn to grow, after the growth in California, Arizona and Nevada. “They’ve had their enormous growth spurts through the years and the water has been made available for them to do that. And now here we are,” he said. “I think our perspective, from the state of Utah, is we’re entitled to that, to our share, whatever that is,” he said.

Hart and Renstrom are evangelists for water conservation in a county allergic to rules and regulations and where 74% voted for Donald Trump in 2020. “We’re a red state and in Utah, this is a red county. And so we like our independence, we like our freedoms,” Renstrom said. “If I step in and say, ‘I just want more government regulations,’ it’s immediately dead.”

But Renstrom has managed to help pass some of the strictest water laws in the West. “It is causing a lot of friction,” he said, “Because we’re asking people that have had a certain type of lifestyle or a certain way of living and asking them to radically change that, to make sure that we have additional water for our economy. And it’s hard.”

Rice at American Rivers says a shift in mindset — especially among Eastern transplants ignorant to living with drought — is vital to future desert survival. Instead of focusing on the pipeline, he hopes desert leaders like Mayor Hart will tap into the unprecedented federal funding for water reclamation projects in both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

“There’s about $12 billion that could be deployed in the Colorado River Basin not only for municipal needs but agricultural needs and watershed restoration,” he said.

Hart acknowledged that item is on the wish list.

“One thing that we haven’t done a lot of here that Vegas have become masters at is to recapture the water that flows through our buildings and run it through a treatment plant and then recycle it,” Hart said. “So the few drops of rain that we get, if we can use them four or five times, that’s a whole different thing than the drop of rain comes, you use it and off it goes down the river and it’s gone.”

IVINS — In a unanimous vote, the Ivins City Council last Thursday added language to its sensitive lands ordinance, which members say gives better clarification as to what is protected land in the city and what is not.

The new language is more specific to the height and other physical criteria for a protected ridgeline, creates more specific “sensitive land districts” and adds flexibility for developers to “modify or remove relatively small topographic features which may have slopes distinctly different from surrounding property.”

The amendment to the existing sensitive lands ordinance was approved 4-0, with Council member Jenny Johnson absent, after a public hearing where two residents expressed opposition to the move.

“This is so much more clear now,” Council member Adel Murphy said. “They’ve taken something that’s confusing and (are) dialing it down better.”

That sentiment was echoed by fellow member Mike Scott.

“A few months ago, I had zero chance of understanding the document. Now, I think I have 10 out of 13 things right so that’s an improvement,” Scott said to the sound of laughter.

The ordinance describes its purpose as to “Preserve the natural setting of the city to maintain and strengthen private property values.”

The city’s sensitive land ordinance came into dispute in September when the developers of The Retreat residential and commercial resort complex – a 113-acre property at the corner of Puerto Drive and 400 South – sought to level some of the rock ridgelines in the area.

There was a difference of opinion between the city, residents and the developer as to what constituted a protected ridgeline. Detractors of the resort claimed the developer was aiming to destroy some of the “natural beauty” and views in the area, while the developer, Rize Capital, said it intended to retain the taller ridgelines but that some of what were called ridgelines shouldn’t be defined as such, including some that were less than 8 feet in height.

The council later approved a revised plan by Rize Capital that was viewed as a compromise that included retaining some of the ridgelines and lining them with public walkways.

The new language defines a ridgeline as a “15-foot rise over a run of 125 feet or less.”

The two members of the public who spoke during the public comment portion of the debate on revising the ordinance said the move was meant to appease Rize Capital and retroactively make them in compliance with the sensitive land ordinance.

“Repeatedly, (the developer) presented a plan with no plan for this typography. It wasn’t the developer preserving it. It was the city,” said Michael Cook, a resident who was a plaintiff in an unsuccessful lawsuit that aimed to overturn the zoning approval for The Resort land. “It seems to me that the city is working so hard to accommodate this developer.”

But Mayor Chris Hart responded that the ordinance change discussion wasn’t about The Resort and its zoning application.

“This agenda item has nothing to do with the applicant,” Hart said. “The changes came about because of an application that came before the Sensitive Lands Committee because of inconsistencies in the language. That is what we’re discussing. We’re not denying or approving an application.”

Hart added the revised ordinance will eliminate any confusion as to what is protected and what is not, he said protecting the natural beauty of the area while still protecting the rights of property owners.

“This is going to lead to a more accurate depiction for the developer and the city for what’s meant to be preserved,” Hart said. “I don’t think it’s right for the city to disallow development for the kind of features that aren’t that significant in height.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Written by Chris Reed November 8, 2023

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IVINS — The Ivins City Council approved an updated water conservation plan at its meeting Nov. 2 after some refinements and skepticism from council members.

The 5-0 vote on two separate measures concerning the plan came after a public hearing and discussion about language and the doubts by one council member on whether limiting watering times saves water.

Much of Ivins’ conservation plan is modeled after past efforts in the city that recently earned the city the state’s water conservation award as well as plans suggested by both the Washington County Water Conservancy District and the state.

Among changes in the new plan is the increased use of automated, real-time water meters that has already been budgeted, quickly notify resident if they have plumbing issues and support more water reuse and storage. The stated goals of Ivins’ plan are to reduce both water usage in the city by 10% in the next 10 years and water system losses by 7%.

According to the city’s public works department, Ivins has dropped its water usage by 38% since 2000 even though the population has doubled.

Nevertheless, there was concern about the city locking itself into pledges.

Council members Dennis Mehr and Lance Anderson were concerned about having certain language “baked into” the plan. They wanted to make clear such suggestions such as holding households to water budgets, creating water reuse systems and encouraging artificial turf installations were just suggestions and not requirements for residents or city leaders.

“I always want to have the most control on the local level,” Mehr said. “We bake in language that seems benign today but won’t be later.”

The council agreed with Mehr’s suggestion that in the section of the plan “Strategies for the Future” the words “encourage (or require)” should be replaced with “consider.”

Mehr also took issue with the suggestion that mechanisms be put in place to set a water budget for each household based on the number of residents in the household and the size of the landscapes.

“I want to make sure there’s nothing at all about water cops,” Mehr said. “We’re penalizing a household that has more residents. A family with seven children using too much water. I get a little nervous with this kind of language.”

Mayor Chris Hart, who serves on the water conservancy’s board of trustees, said such a household would have more leeway but actions would be taken against residents who are legitimate “water hogs.”

“In the county, there are not just over-users but major abusers,” Hart said. “There are homes where they don’t care about the bill using 10 times the amount. There need to be mechanisms in place to combat extreme abuse. We have at least one of those in Ivins City.”

Hart noted this is “just a plan” and a guide subject to revision, rather than a binding ordinance.

During the resident public comment period, one resident said they were concerned about the plan focusing on residences, rather than commercial properties in Ivins. The city’s public works director Chuck Gillette replied that water budgets are being considered for commercial properties and will likely be more uniform and rigid compared to the leeway made for larger residential households.

Hart praised Washington County Water Conservancy District Conservation Manager Doug Bennett who attended the meeting. He joined the conservancy in April after working in a similar role for the Southern Nevada Water Authority where he helped create water conservation efforts.

“He’s the guy who led the efforts in Vegas so we hit the jackpot,” Hart said.

Bennett, meanwhile, returned the compliment.

“You guys are the model for water efficiency in the state,” said Bennett, adding that Ivins now needs to be the model to lead the conservancy’s 20-year plan.

“It’s essential we get this 20-year plan in all the districts we serve,” he said.”Ivins does not provide all of its own water. We need to be moving to a lower demand per household.”

Getting more focus and concern from council member Anderson was something not listed in the plan but is in the city’s binding water ordinance: Limiting the watering of lawns to between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. He also expressed opposition to a secondary water system that would reuse water from runoff, sinks and other “greywater” as non-drinking/irrigation water.

“I don’t want to give the impression by voting for this that I’m for putting in a secondary water system like we’ve already budgeted it. I’m against that,” Anderson said.

He added he thinks limiting watering to mostly the early morning hours puts too much pressure on the city’s water system.

“I heard the watering clock doesn’t matter with saving water,” Anderson said. “I’m concerned about that and too much of a burden on the system at one time.”

Anderson said a “gentleman from Logan University” stated limiting water to the early morning doesn’t save water.

St. George News could not find such a study from Logan University. However, there is a study from Logan, Utah-based Utah State University that watering before 9 a.m. in the morning “can save up to 30% of the water used for irrigation.” There are also similar studies from Iowa State, UC Davis and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Bennett replied to Anderson that while an 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. restriction might be “too broad,” he said his long experience as a horticulturist is that the biggest bang for the buck is watering before the sun gets too high on the horizon. He said there is less wind and heat at that time, allowing for less evaporation.

“The best time to water is in the wee morning,” he said.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

IVINS — At its meeting last Thursday, the Ivins City Council approved preliminary plans for two major projects in the city: The Boardwalk Village at Black Desert Resort and The Retreat commercial, resort and short-term rental complex at 400 South and Puerto Drive.

The approval for The Resort came after an opponent of the project on the council said compromises made by the developers of the project were sufficient, though he still voted against it in a 4-1 vote.

The Boardwalk Village, which will be the retail and commercial complex with underground parking garages on the front side of the resort nearest to the roundabout on Snow Canyon Parkway, was approved in a unanimous 5-0 vote.

The Retreat was the subject of a failed lawsuit by a group of citizens known as The Defenders of Greater Ivins who sought to overturn the initial rezoning of the 113 acres of land owned by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration – known as SITLA – that is being developed by Rize Capital.

City Council member Mike Scott said he was appreciative of changes in Rize Capital’s plans for the site including sufficient parking while still saving 7 acres of lava rock, river bed and outcroppings as parkland that will be open to the public.

Ultimately, Scott said his “no” vote – the only one on the council – came because of an increase in the number of residential units in the complex.

“I’m still not happy with the bump from 249 to 393 units, but happy with what you’ve offered here and agreed to compromise on,” Scott said.

Fellow council member Lance Anderson said, however, that the increase in the number of people did not mean an increase in the number of residents, as some larger units were being divided into two units.

“We’re going from four-bedroom units to two-bedroom units,” Anderson said. “We’re not really increasing the number of people in the units.”

Among the conditions placed by the council on the approval of Rize Capital’s plans is that an extension of 400 South to the east planned to be built with the project will be closed to construction traffic.

Ivins Public Works Director Chuck Gillette told St. George News that the extension of 400 South will be a way to reduce traffic on Center Street.

“We have required it to be part of the first phase of SITLA project,” Gillette said. “With it being a developer-driven project, timing is totally in the hands of the developer. So it could be done next year, or it could be done in five or 10 years. Who knows?”

Boardwalk Village

Receiving a unanimous “yes” vote from the council on Thursday was Black Desert Resort’s preliminary plan for its Boardwalk Village – the last piece of the large resort project that will be home to PGA and LPGA tournaments starting next year.

The Boardwalk Village will be an outdoor mall similar to Town Square in Las Vegas or The Gateway in Salt Lake City with dozens of retail spaces and restaurants.

Scott said he welcomed that the village will still be below Ivins’ height limit for retail buildings.

“The plus is it’s one-story buildings with a low profile,” he said.

In detailing the Boardwalk Village, Black Desert Resort/Enlaw LLC Managing Director Patrick Manning noted to the council that it won’t be completed in time for the first professional tournaments next year.

However, in the last week or so, the large cranes that dominated the skyline there have come down as the hotel and resort complex buildings have been topped off.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Written by Chris Reed October 17, 2023

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IVINS — “I’m a bird guy,” Joseph Platt says.

The environmental consultant and professor of environmental studies at Utah Tech has made being a conservationist his lifelong work. But as a bird and wildlife guy, Platt says an oasis for golfers and tourists under construction in Ivins will also be an oasis for birds and other wildlife.

Last month, Audubon International selected the under-construction Black Desert Resort to begin the process of becoming a Platinum Certified Signature Sanctuary. If the resort is able to fulfill the requirements of the yearlong process, not only would it become the first Audubon Signature Sanctuary in Utah but also one of the first platinum sanctuaries in the world.

Platt said many bird species that previously have flown right over St. George are now nesting there. This might explain why some social media users have reported sightings of cardinals and other birds usually not seen locally.

Platt Environmental is the consulting firm that has been working for the resort for the last three years as its director of environmental affairs. And Platt said even a golf course can be an environmental hub.

“Golf courses are kind of an oasis,” Platt said. “Even in St. George, the golf courses that are wedged in amongst all the houses and everything become a magnet for wildlife. I think every golfer has seen a coyote cross the fairway in St. George. So how can we maximize that?”

As VIPs and dignitaries were taken around the completed golf course at Black Desert during announcements that it would be hosting LPGA and PGA tournaments, many noted how the lava rock and sagebrush surrounding the pristine greens were left in their natural state.

Platt said that was deliberate.

“The question was how can we make a golf course friendly to native species whether it be songbirds or coyotes and raccoons and everything else that should be here but is kind of pushed to the edges in developed areas like St. George,” Platt said. “There’s this mentality of the old golf courses, and some of the ones here in St. George typify it, where there’s massive amounts of grass and it’s mowed right to the edges. There’s no kind of natural vegetation habitats.

“But you could, with a little bit of effort, make a water feature in a golf course to be a resource for wildlife.”

Audubon International, according to its mission statement, works on environmental protection practices for communities, developments, resorts and golf courses worldwide. It is a separate entity from the National Audubon Society, which is known for its bird-watching and other services focusing on the protection of birds in the United States.

There are 77 resorts, developments and golf courses worldwide that have received the Signature Sanctuary designation from Audubon International. Designations are arranged Olympics style with bronze, silver and gold. There are none in Utah and 20 with the highest gold ranking worldwide.

In May, Audubon added a new platinum standard with more stringent standards than the other three. And it is this never-achieved platinum level for which Black Desert is gunning.

Audubon said it will be sending a team of environmental specialists in the coming months to confirm if Black Desert is worthy of platinum status.

“We’re not certified. It’s going to take a year to do that. But we have qualified for the process and we’ve begun that process,” Platt said. “If you read through what some of the requirements that we have to be platinum-certified, we have to have an education program, we have to have a public outreach program.”

Platt said outreach will go beyond a place for local schools to take students on field trips. Although it’s still in the development stage, plans include a nature center that will be open to the public and will include live animal exhibits. Platt is quick to caution it won’t be a zoo but something that will allow people to see animals in their natural habitat.

There will be signage along the seven miles of trails inside the resort to identify fauna and animal habitats.

Christine Kane, the CEO of Audubon International, said she sees the Black Desert Resort as a model for the nation — and the world.

“As the development takes shape on some of the West’s most ecologically diverse and visually stunning landscapes, we will partner with them to create a lasting and groundbreaking model of environmental stewardship on all fronts: golf course, resort, retail and residential,” she said.

Regardless of whether humans determine if Black Desert is certified, the birds and other animals already have.

“We’ve already got all kinds of birds showing up here that you don’t find normally,” Platt said, adding some species of ducks and other fowl that normally don’t see Southern Utah as more than a road stop are now using Black Desert as a breeding ground.

“They’re flying across this desert, and suddenly they look down and there’s hundreds of acres of green and water and vegetation. So it becomes a place that is important not only for us to enjoy the birds, but for the birds to survive as they consistently lose habitat.”

Platt and his team have set up remote cameras with night vision throughout the resort to capture some of its furry residents who may be too shy when humans are around but don’t mind a camera close-up.

Among them have been bobcats, foxes, roadrunners, chuckwalla lizards more than a foot long and what Platt said are “happy” coyotes.

“I’ll tell you, the happiest animals we have out here are the coyotes,” Platt said. “We are growing cottontail rabbits like it’s a farm and the coyotes all have grins on their faces when you see them.”

With native milkweed growing throughout the resort, Platt also expects migrating monarch butterflies – considered a vulnerable, nearly endangered species – to set up camp at Black Desert.

“Several of those species are native here, and they are critical to the survival of monarchs. They only lay their eggs on milkweed, and that’s why they taste so bad when the bird tries to eat the monarch butterfly because they taste like milkweed,” Platt said, saying the circle of life will be on full display. “It’s just this phenomenon of a beneficial wildlife habitat that we’re creating.”

There will be a monthly monitoring report submitted to Audobon International for at least the next year, Platt said.

Reef Capital Partners, the investment firm funding the resort, said in a statement that it was conscious “from day one” about the impact the resort and the golf course would have on the environment and welcomes having the eyes of Audubon on it.

“We’re looking for them to help us develop a product that all can be proud of, that shows we’re environmentally conscious and that the product is sustainable years from now,” Ross Laubscher, executive director of construction and Agronomy for Reef Capital, said.

When the resort was gaining approval from the Ivins City Council in 2020, some residents expressed concern about whether the resort would retain the natural lava rock and other natural landscapes of the area.

Critics might wonder whether Platt has any autonomy as far as recommendations he makes about conservation and the environment.

However, Platt said the proof of that commitment will be seen in the butterflies likely to populate the milkweed around the hotel. Platt said he approached resort leaders about planting specific milkweed plants around the hotel and resort to attacking the monarch butterfly.

“I said, ‘Look, we’re going to landscape around the hotel and all these rooms and everything. Let’s plant pollinator gardens and do the milkweed plants because the federal government has just listed the monarch butterfly as an endangered species,” Platt said. “‘That’s fine,’ they said. Nobody asked, ‘Well, how much is that going to cost?’ It’s just, ‘No, we’ve got a plan, let’s do that.’ That was the kind of commitment that was just, ‘That’s the right thing to do, let’s do it.’”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

IVINS — In its last meeting of the year and before a transition where 60% of its members will change, the Ivins City Council rejected a request for a developer to build high-density, multi-family housing on land in the center of the city while moving forward on two other developments.

Developer Brent Ence came to the council with a request to rezone just under 2 acres of land at the corner of Main Street and 200 South from a minimum 12,500-square-foot, single-family home medium-density to high-density, multi-family residential.

Last month, the city’s Planning Commission recommended against the rezoning but did recommend a compromise with 7,500-square-foot, single-family lots.

In a 4-1 vote during the Thursday night meeting at Ivins City Hall, the council concurred with the decision by the Planning Commission, rejecting Ence’s rezoning request but allowing for single-family homes at a higher density.

The council had received a petition signed by 79 residents opposing the rezoning. Among those signing was Councilmember Jenny Johnson, who lives near the land.

Johnson, in her last meeting on the council, said as a signee of the petition she was OK with the compromise.

“I grew up in Ivins with large lots and would like it to stay this way,” Johnson said. “While I personally would like to see the large lots, I can live with the smaller lot.”

Along with Johnson, who wasn’t re-elected last month after being in office since 2016, the meeting was also the last for fellow Councilmembers Dennis Mehr and Adel Murphy – who both chose not to run for re-election.

Two of the three council members replacing them next month, Sharon Gillespie and Sharon Barton, were in attendance Thursday. Both had taken a stance of slower growth in the election.

Along with wrapping up some business before an almost entirely new council takes over, another reason zoning and developer plans may have dominated the last meeting of 2023 is as of Jan. 1, cities like Ivins will have less say on the preliminary developments of residential projects after a move by the state Legislature.

Dustin Ence, son of Brent, said they had wanted to rezone the area with high density as a way to bring more affordable housing to the city.

“I’m in construction. I see numbers on housing every single day,” Ence told the council. “Luckily, I was fortunate enough to build a home before things went crazy but I don’t think I could build a home here today. I would like my kids to live here.”

Ultimately, both Ences told the council while they wanted the higher density, they were willing to abide by the compromise suggested by the Planning Commission.

But Councilmember Mike Scott said apartments or townhomes wouldn’t be in character with the other single-family neighborhoods nearby and parking could also become an issue. At the same time, he acknowledged the council and the city are in a tough place trying to weigh the need for affordable housing against demands by residents in the city to side against high-density residential neighborhoods in Ivins.

“Beyond the need for affordable housing, we have a mandate from the state to create affordable housing,” Scott said. “But we also have a mandate from the community not to increase density. It’s a tough balance.”

Scott said he would like to see the city take a look at an overall affordable housing solution throughout the city, rather than a lot-by-lot “piecemeal” approach. Scott was ultimately the one “no” vote as he said the zoning should have been kept as is, rather than the compromise.

In other business, the council voted unanimously, 5-0, to agree to a preliminary plan by the developers of The Retreat residential and commercial resort complex at the corner of Puerto Drive and 400 South for its fifth through seventh phases.

The plan includes an open zone for some ridgeline areas that had been in dispute over whether they qualified under the city’s sensitive lands ordinance. The Ivins Sensitive Lands Committee signed off on the plan as suitably protecting the scenic ridgelines and also said it complies with the city’s new sensitive land ordinance.

The council also unanimously approved an amendment to the public entity that will be charging additional property taxes specifically for those who will live at the new Black Desert Resort that will be used to pay off the bond issued by the city for its construction.

The amendment removes an artificial $10 million debt limit to the Black Desert Resort public infrastructure district that was established by the council back in 2021.

The developers of the resort say the rise of inflation since then has more than doubled the price of some of the materials being used to complete the under-construction resort and more wiggle room is needed in the district than was anticipated two years ago.

Aaron Wade, an attorney who has been aiding the city with fellow attorney Randy Larsen on the public infrastructure district, said there is no risk the the city of Ivins. If Black Desert Resort defaults on the loan, he said, it will ultimately be the developer that will be foreclosed on, not the city.

In his last council meeting, Mehr – who had been outspoken in his opposition to the public infrastructure district back in 2021 – said the removal of the debt limit justified his previous position, but he would vote to approve it as it doesn’t carry risk to the city.

“I was not excited about this back then, citing that we ought to let market forces work. The only thing that’s different between today and back then is inflation,” Mehr said. “That highlights market forces and I think we should live within our means. If society can’t afford something, we should not create incentives that can come off the rails.”

Speaking to the council, Black Desert Resort/Enlaw LLC Managing Director Patrick Manning said Thursday the main resort center is on pace to be completed by September or October.

That would be just in time for the resort’s golf course hosting of its first PGA Tour event next October, with the first LPGA event the following spring.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Written by Cody Blowers December 27, 2023

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ST. GEORGE — The second of two defendants charged with multiple counts of child abuse at a home in Ivins entered a plea in the case on Wednesday. The case stems after two severely malnourished children bound in duct tape were found in August.

Jodi Ann Hildebrandt, 54, of Ivins, appeared for a preliminary waiver hearing at 5th District Court in St. George. She is the second of two defendants in the case. The state was represented by Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke and Prosecutor Ryan Shaum, and Hildebrandt was represented by defense attorney Douglas Terry.

During the hearing held before District Judge John J. Walton, Terry said his client would be waiving the preliminary hearing. He said she had signed a plea agreement, wherein she pleaded guilty to four second-degree felony counts of aggravated child abuse. The two remaining counts of the same charge were dismissed under the terms of the agreement.

Hildebrandt, founder of the now-deactivated YouTube channel ConneXions Classroom, along with her business partner and codefendant, Ruby Franke, a mother of six from Springville, were each charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse.

An emergency call about a malnourished boy at an Ivins residence asking for food and water started a search of Hildebrandt’s nearby residence, which revealed a second child who was also found in a malnourished state.

The incident

On the morning of Aug. 30, St. George Communications Center received a report that an adolescent had climbed out of the window of an Ivins residence and run to a neighbor’s house, as previously reported by St. George News.

Responding officers described the 12-year-old boy as being in a “severe” state of malnourishment. Authorities also found open wounds and deep lacerations, reportedly caused by rope that was used to tie the child to the ground.

During the initial search, officers located what was described as a “panic room” underneath the garage of Hildebrandt’s home, according to 911 recordings captured at the time.

During a sweep of Hildebrandt’s residence, authorities found a second child in a similar malnourished state. Both children were transported to the hospital by ambulance.

Franke, the children’s mother, who lived in the home with Hildebrandt and co-hosted the YouTube show, was reportedly seen in a video filmed in a downstairs room two days before the 911 call.

This led investigators to suspect the defendants were aware the children were being abused and neglected. Investigators say they later learned Franke used the ropes to keep the children tied to the ground. Once the children were bound, cayenne pepper and honey were applied to dress the wounds, the investigator noted.

Further details of the case were provided in a comprehensive summary that included additional background information relating to both defendants in a report published Sept. 21 by St. George News.

After the children were transported to the hospital, officers tracked down both women. When questioned, Hildebrandt declined to speak with investigators, but once she was informed of the charges she told investigators that the children “should never be allowed around any other kids.”

Franke also declined to speak to officers and requested an attorney.

Facing multiple charges

The cases were filed and each defendant was charged with six second-degree felony counts of aggravated child abuse. Hildebrandt and Franke made initial appearances in 5th District Court via video on Sept. 8, where newly appointed District Judge Eric R. Gentry presided over the proceedings.

During the proceedings, the defense attorneys waived the reading of the charges and the judge ordered that both defendants remain in jail without bail.

The cases were then transferred to Walton, who was set to preside over future proceedings relating to the two cases.

A review hearing in both cases was originally scheduled to take place Sept. 18 but was continued to allow the defense time to review the “copious amount of discovery,” which included evidence collected from cellphones, cameras and other communication devices belonging to both Hildebrandt and Franke.

Franke pleads out first

During Franke’s hearing held on Dec. 18, her attorney, Winward, said his client would be waiving the preliminary hearing and had signed a plea agreement, wherein she pleaded guilty to four second-degree felony counts of aggravated child abuse. The two remaining counts of the same charge were dismissed under the terms of the plea agreement.

Franke is scheduled to be back in court on Feb. 20 for sentencing.

The abuse of two children

Additional details emerged in the defendant’s statement in support of the guilty plea that Hildebrandt signed prior to the hearing. The defendant admitted to forcing one of the children to “remain outside at all hours of the day and night for extended periods of time,” which resulted in “repeated and serious sunburns with blistered and sloughing skin.”

The child was also denied adequate water for several of the days he was required to remain in the summer heat, and was punished when he was caught “secretly” consuming water.

After a failed attempt to escape two months before the incident that led to both defendant’s being arrested, the boy’s hands and feet were regularly bound and he was tied to either an adult or to a set of weights, the court documents showed.

Hildebrandt also admitted to binding the child’s wrists and ankles with handcuffs, and at times the boy was placed on his stomach and ropes used to tie the two sets of handcuffs together, so that his arms and lower legs were suspended off of the ground — abuse that caused both muscle and tissue damage.

Franke also signed a statement in support of the guilty plea, wherein she admitted to kicking one of the children while wearing boots and holding the boy’s head underwater, as well as placing her hand over the child’s mouth and nose to restrict breathing.

The defendant’s actions also caused severe emotional harm to the younger child as well, who was subjected to the same treatment as her brother, including isolation and being forced to remain outside without any food or water.

The child was also told repeatedly that she was evil and possessed, and that the punishments were necessary for her to be obedient and to repent, actions “that were done in order to help.”

Moreover, both children were forced to work outside in the heat, as well as being forced to run barefoot on dirt roads for an extended period of time. The latter left the younger child with repeated injuries to her feet that were still apparent when the youngster was examined at the hospital.

The two statements also said the abuse escalated in May, approximately three months prior to the arrests.

Hildebrandt’s plea

During Wednesday’s hearing, the judge asked the defendant for her plea to each of the four charges, to which Hildebrandt uttered “guilty” four times.

In just over four minutes, the hearing was over and Hildebrandt returned to a holding cell awaiting transport back to the jail.

Outside of the courthouse, Hildebrandt’s defense attorney, Terry, said that his client agreed to cooperate with the state early on. He added that Hildebrandt has taken responsibility by pleading guilty to the charges because she did not want the children to have to testify.

“It is her main concern at this point that these children can heal both physically and emotionally,” Terry said on behalf of his client.

While the defense stated that Hildebrandt was the first one to admit to the charges, the prosecutor said he was not aware of that intent.

Clarke went on to say the decision to enter into the plea agreement was based on several factors, but the primary reason was to spare the victims any further trauma of testifying. He said the state agreed to drop two of the charges, since facing six charges would have removed any incentive for the defendant to avoid trial.

When asked if the child abuse laws in Utah should be strengthened — the maximum sentence for aggravated child abuse carries a 1-15 year sentence, Clarke said, “I hope so,” adding that he has been working with legislatures to increase the penalties for such crimes.

The prosecutor declined to speak further on this particular case until after both defendants have been sentenced.

The judge ordered a presentence investigation be completed, which Walton said would take place after Franke’s hearing on Feb. 20 in St. George’s 5th District Court.

Both defendants have been held without bail since their arrests and remain in custody at the Purgatory Correctional Facility facility located in Hurricane.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

IVINS, Utah, April 4, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — An Ivins man has been arrested after an alleged dispute with a local irrigation company led to the discovery of a possible explosive device.

Carlos Enrique Oliver-Dean, 70, faces a single count of recklessness involving an incendiary device, a second-degree felony.

On Monday, an officer with Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety responded to a report of “a suspicious other” at 145 E. Center St., arrest documents say.

“Upon arrival, officers spoke with the complainant, an employee with Ivins Irrigation Company. Officers found that there has been an ongoing dispute between Ivins Irrigation and [Oliver-Dean] over the water rights and access since the summer months of 2022. The Ivins Irrigation Company employee was attempting to cap the water line leading to Carlos Oliver-Dean’s property, when he found a possible explosive device.”

It appeared someone had placed a device against a water spigot “to scare or prevent anyone from touching near or around the spigot in fear that the device would cause bodily harm,” the officer’s statement says.

“The bomb squad entered the property and disassembled the device to prevent bodily harm. During an interview with [Oliver-Dean], he stated that he placed metal stakes into the ground and connected them to power. He then placed bottles of chemicals on and near the stakes to create a ‘scare tactic’ to prevent anyone else from digging,” arrest documents say. “He stated that it was obvious and that anyone could see the items and would not proceed with digging.”

Oliver-Dean said he was “aware that the item configuration could appear to be a bomb and that if someone saw it, they would not continue digging,” his probable cause statement says.

“Oliver-Dean was placed into handcuffs, checked for comfort and double locked, and transported to the Washington County Jail, where he was booked” Monday evening and ordered held without bail.

Black Desert Resort is on a roll.

Literally, Black Desert Resort gained a giant piece of momentum for the new course located next to Entrada Golf Club in southern Utah.

It just opened in May.

In the past 20 days, the Black Desert track landed a 2025 LPGA Tour event and a PGA Tour stop, the first Tour stop for Utah in 60 years.

The PGA Tour announced Friday that Utah’s newest golf course will host the Black Desert Championship in 2024. It will be part of the FedEx Cup fall series. In other words, many of the best golfers in the world will target Utah to chase Cup points.

This is huge.

The course hasn’t even cut its grass more than a few dozen times this summer and the world’s best players can now put two professional events on their calendar.

This is a home run for Utah, for golf in the state, and for Black Desert Resort, located in Ivins.

Related

If you thought it was already hard to get tee times in southern Utah, just wait. The world will get a peek of Black Desert’s pristine and immaculate fairways and greens cut out of a beautiful lava field and word will spread about play all over the St. George area.

“Oh, this is big time,” said St. George director of golf Colby Cowan.

“I mean, I think we’ll see big things happen around here because of it. I don’t think we fully understand the impact it’s going to have on our area and all golf courses. I mean, it’s going to elevate it to where people are going to be looking at St. George and Washington County as a true golf destination and getaway.

“I think you can see some people saying, ‘Hey, let’s go to Bandon Dunes and the next year we’ve got to hit up St. George again.’ Everything is really gonna change the complexity of golf down here entirely. It’s a new set of eyes on all of our golf courses. I mean, it’s gonna help raise the tide a little bit. We’re all gonna benefit from it greatly and it’s going to make us work harder to make things better.”

In early May, I had the chance to play some of the holes at Black Desert. It was eye-popping, challenging, yet fair. The rough is minimal because of the wide fairways and the lava rock fields that line the entire layout. No question the layout can be set up to challenge the world’s best from the tips.

“We are thrilled to partner with Black Desert Resort in bringing PGA Tour golf to the state of Utah,” said PGA Tour executive vice president and president Tyler Dennis. “In introducing the PGA Tour — and the LPGA the following year — to a new market, we look forward to collaborating with the Black Desert Resort team in their vision for professional golf in the greater Zion community. Competitively, our members will enjoy the challenges and incredible views that define the Black Desert Golf Course.”

It is estimated the financial impact to the area will be more than $60 million. Black Desert Resort, when all phases are complete, is destined to be the largest resort in Utah — bigger than any ski resort. A hotel, shops, condos, spas, pools and the golf course will make it a destination stop for sure.

Covering the event as media or attending the event as a fan will be an interesting addition to the Utah sports scene.

“Black Desert Resort has quickly made a huge impact on Utah golf history, already having announced an Epson Tour event, the Black Desert Resort Championship, this fall at Soldier Hollow Golf Course in Midway and bringing an LPGA Tour championship to St. George in 2025,” remarked Randy Dodson, publisher of Fairways Magazine, the official publication of the Utah Golf Association.

“With today’s announcement of a PGA Tour event in the fall of 2024, Black Desert Resort has reestablished Utah’s significance in professional tour golf, all at a time when the game of golf in Utah has seen significant growth. Junior golfers and even casual golf fans will now have a chance to see the world’s best golfers in person. And by the way, the golf course itself is a must-play.”

The Senior PGA Tour, now the Champions Tour, used to conduct a stop in Park City at Jeremy Ranch and we’d see some of the legends of the game. Then we had the Champions Challenge at Thanksgiving Point, which featured a lot of father-son combinations of senior pros, including hall of famers Johnny Miller, Billy Casper, Jack Nicklaus and many others.

But this Black Rock Championship event is a long-overdue call from the PGA Tour itself. The last time we had a Tour event was the Utah Open back in 1963 at the Salt Lake Country Club when Tommy Jacobs earned the trophy.

The folks at Black Desert Resort should be extremely satisfied. Tour officials dropped in for a visit, toured the course, viewed the resort hotel plans, and bit. It’s a giant compliment to all involved.

It says a lot about Tom Weiskopf’s design, located in a beautiful setting in our red rock country.

“We are honored to host the world’s most prestigious professional golf tours at Black Desert Resort,” said Black Desert’s managing partner Patrick Manning. “Bringing the best from the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour to Black Desert, then having the best experience imaginable, along with their fans, is priority No. 1.”

Can’t wait.