Council gives conditional approval for Tuacahn funding, OKs ‘opt-out’ recycling

The Santa Clara City Hall, Santa Clara, Utah, Sept. 17, 2014 | Photo by Cami Cox Jim, St. George News

SANTA CLARA – The Santa Clara City Council pledged $5,000 annually to the Tuacahn Center for the Arts for the next 20 years, and approved an opt-out form of curbside recycling at its regular meeting Wednesday at the city offices, 2603 Santa Clara Drive.

Entrance to Tuacahn Center for the Arts, Ivins, Utah, photo undated | Photo courtesy Tuacahn Center for the Arts, St. George News
Entrance to Tuacahn Center for the Arts, Ivins, Utah, photo undated | Photo courtesy Tuacahn Center for the Arts, St. George News

Tuacahn attracts thousands of visitors each year and brings an estimated $75 million in economic benefit to Washington County, but is in serious need of financing for critical maintenance and other capital improvements.

Ivins City has pledged $10,000 per year, and is encouraging other municipalities and Washington County to make similar commitments.


Read more: Tuacahn funding urgent; Ivins commits $200,000, asks other cities follow suit


“We are committing the funds, if they are able to go forward,” City Manager Edward Dickie said.

The funding commitment for Tuacahn will come from RAP (recreation, arts and parks) tax revenue, Dickie said. Santa Clara officials estimate, conservatively, that the city will receive $50,000 in RAP tax funds each year.

Of that, 20 percent will be used for arts projects, including the $5,000 for Tuacahn, and the remaining 80 percent of RAP tax money will be spent on parks and trails, Dickie said.

Other cities in the county, and Washington County itself, need to commit funds for Tuacahn as well or the whole deal is off, Dickie said, because Tuacahn has private donors willing to pay the majority of what is needed.

Curbside recycling

BluCan logo | Image courtesy of the Washington County Solid Waste District, St. George News
BluCan logo | Image courtesy of the Washington County Solid Waste District, St. George News

The council approved an ordinance and resolution that paves the way for the city to participate in a countywide curbside recycling program. Santa Clara chose the “opt-out” version of the program, meaning residents can choose whether or not they want to recycle, Dickie said.

Participating cities can either choose to offer an opt-out option for their residents or make the program mandatory. Cities choosing the opt-out option will have an opt-out period.

Details of the arrangement have not yet been worked out for Santa Clara residents, Dickie said; the council is looking at how other cities are going to implement the program. Opt-out programs can be labor-intensive, as the city must keep track of which residents want to recycle, which ones don’t, and any changes in a resident’s status.

The recycling program will be run by the Washington County Solid Waste District, and is officially called the BluCan curbside recycling program. An informational website, BluCan.org was launched in early August to help county residents understand the program and what material can be recycled.

Other business

The City Council approved a preliminary plat for a new subdivision, Snow Canyon Estates, which will have 46 lots on approximately 16 acres. The development will be located on Lava Cove Drive, directly north of Little League Drive, and the lot size will be one-quarter to one-third of an acre.

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9 Comments

  • laytonian August 14, 2015 at 12:31 pm

    Raise the ticket prices for Tuacahn’s retread “entertainment” for kids.

  • beentheredonethat August 14, 2015 at 5:53 pm

    This is a small scale government bail out. Something all mormons……sorry. republicans cried about. Why no whining? Oh ….Tuachan might be an lds entity.

  • Dexter August 14, 2015 at 7:48 pm

    Oh oh wait till MESAMORON sees the comment….. Yeah Joseph Smith is gonna hit the fan… LOL.!!!!

  • beentheredonethat August 14, 2015 at 10:02 pm

    Ok a s long as he don’t hit my magic stones.

  • Dexter August 15, 2015 at 12:02 pm

    I can’t. wait to see what REAL LIFE VILLAGE IDIOT has to say. LOL.!

  • izzymuse August 15, 2015 at 5:23 pm

    If we can opt out of recycling WHY can’t we opt out of paying for our taxes helping Tuacahn???? Seriously, our city leaders are messed up! Why is there no uproar over this bailout?! Argh!!!

    • Dexter August 16, 2015 at 12:52 pm

      IZZY.. this is Utah and the LDS politicians don’t care what you think and that’s why it wasn’t up to the voters. You should know by now that in Utah and certain group and it’s holdings get anything they desire because of the pretty temples their building…

  • radioviking August 15, 2015 at 5:29 pm

    The surrounding cities should NOT be bailing Tuacahn out! It shouldn’t cost the tax payers! Have fund raisers so people who care can donate. Forcing local citizens to keep s#%* going is none sense. WHY DIDN’T WE GET A CHANCE TO VOTE ON THIS?

    .
    Failure city leaders. If Tuacahn can’t keep itself going, let it flop. Retard republicans here who criticized all the government bail outs do this?! Idiots. Bunch of hypocrites.

  • Dexter August 16, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    Well I just made another comment so REAL LIFE VILLAGE IDIOT should be along any moment now. LOL.! Looking forward to it….

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