[{"_1":2,"_95":-5,"_96":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,85],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6582433,"mediaKeyId","3091774-92c44f121bf34576e259f83ee9c38327","parentId",3091774,"title","Kane County fire warden warns of staffing gaps and HB48 assessment burden; commissioners weigh Kanab City agreement","audioSeconds",2677,"startMs",837000,"endMs",3514000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3091774-92c44f121bf34576e259f83ee9c38327&start=837&end=3514","thumbnailUrl","https://d352y6ypj4mjo3.cloudfront.net/AudioPlaceholder.png","articleUrl","/articles/6582433/Utah/Kane-County-fire-warden-warns-of-staffing-gaps-and-HB48-assessment-burden-commissioners-weigh-Kanab-City-agreement","mediaUrl","author","Kane County Commission","date","2025-04-22T10:00:00Z","article","Alexander Larson, the newly appointed Kane County fire warden, told the County Commission on April 20 that the state–county cooperative wildfire agreement obliges counties to maintain local initial-attack capacity even while the state provides catastrophic-fire financial backstop, and he warned that federal staff shortfalls and a new state law (House Bill 48) create operational and funding pressures.

\"What our role is is a liaison and operational response position hybrid,\" Larson said, summarizing the warden position and its responsibilities under the master agreement. He explained the financial split that supports the warden program, saying the cooperators \"were 51% funded by the state and 49% funded by our county,\" and described how that funding is tied to performance and risk-reduction work the county must report to a state Cooperative Wildfire System (CWS) manager.

Larson described limits on local capacity and delegation rules: when an incident involves multiple jurisdictions or unincorporated private land the state may assume command and absorb costs, but each cooperator — city, fire district or county — is required by the agreement to provide its own initial-attack response. \"We can't be at all fires at all times,\" Larson said, pointing to the county's large geography and limited personnel.

He raised short‑term operational concerns: recent federal hiring freezes and cuts have left some U.S. Forest Service and BLM staffing at low levels (Larson said some BLM forces “were at 50%” last year), which reduces available mutual-aid resources and increases demand on county cooperators. Larson also warned of a potentially busy wildfire season given dry conditions and recent early fires in neighboring counties.

Larson highlighted House Bill 48 as a major coming change for the county. The bill, he said, requires on-the-ground assessments of properties designated at very high risk in the wildland-urban interface. \"There's no money associated with it, so we have no funding,\" Larson said. He told commissioners he has seen no definitive state guidance on how many parcels will be included locally but estimated \"somewhere in 1,000 to 1,500 properties\" in Kane County could be subject to on-site assessment; statewide estimates discussed at a briefing ranged from 80,000 to 300,000 properties. Larson warned the commission that the county will be responsible for implementing the assessments and collecting a fee but that the state has not set the fee amount or explained how insurers may use the assessment results.

On a related agenda item the commission debated whether to terminate its fire protection agreement with Kanab City in advance of a May 1 deadline to avoid a $150,000 payment. County Attorney Jeff Sott introduced the item and summarized the immediate choice: \"In order for us to avoid the $150,000 payment, the county will need to decide by the end of the month whether to give notice of termination,\" he told commissioners.

Commissioners discussed drafting a replacement template for Kanab and other providers that would permit response into unincorporated areas while addressing liability and payment. One option they directed the attorney to prepare was a waiver-of-liability template that could be offered to Kanab City and other providers; commissioners also discussed pay-per‑incident arrangements and special-service districts as alternatives. A Kanab City representative told the commission prior agreements \"were a short term fix\" and emphasized that any long-term arrangement would require clear indemnification language because a city does not want to assume open-ended liability for incidents outside its jurisdiction.

Legal and process constraints were flagged: a county official noted state code and practice often expect interlocal agreements to have at least a one‑year term, which complicates short-term replacements; commissioners asked the county attorney to draft proposal language and to check statutory requirements before any formal termination or replacement. The commission did not vote to terminate the Kanab contract at the meeting; commissioners directed staff and counsel to prepare draft replacement language and to continue pursuing district-formation and other coverage options.

Why this matters: HB48 could impose substantial staffing and administrative tasks on counties without direct state funding, and federal staffing shortages increase reliance on local cooperators. The commission’s near-term decision on the Kanab City agreement could change who responds to fires on specific parcels and how liability and costs are allocated.

No formal vote on termination was taken; the commission asked the county attorney to prepare waiver and replacement‑agreement templates and to report back.","mediaType","Audio","parentTitle","Commission Meeting - April 22, 2025 Commission Audio","oneSentenceSummary","Alexander Larson, the new Kane County fire warden, told the commission the county must both fund and demonstrate initial-attack wildfire capacity under its cooperative agreement with the state, warned that federal staffing shortfalls reduce mutual-aid options, and said House Bill 48 will require large on‑the‑ground property-assessment work paid for by counties.","taxTitle","Kane County Commission, Kane County Boards and Commissions, Kane County, Utah","taxId",67578,"location","Utah","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":50,"_51":82,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":83,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":84,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6582438,"Kane County victim services program reports 224 clients, seeks two-year grant renewal",532,257000,789000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3091774-92c44f121bf34576e259f83ee9c38327&start=257&end=789","/articles/6582438/Utah/Kane-County-victim-services-program-reports-224-clients-seeks-two-year-grant-renewal","Devon Shakespeare, the Kane County victim services coordinator, reported to the County Commission on April 20 that the county program served 224 clients between April 1, 2024, and April 1, 2025, and has applied for a two-year state grant that would provide $21,000 per year if approved.

Shakespeare said the program’s caseload includes a broad mix of crime victims and that roughly half of clients were served for domestic violence or child sexual-abuse cases. \"Each year will be $21,000. It's not approved yet, but I don't expect there to be any issues with that,\" she told commissioners. She also told the board that \"In Utah, every adult is a mandatory reporter\" when asked how members of the public should respond if they know or suspect child abuse.

The report summarized available services: advocacy and court support, assistance with protective orders through the Certified Advocate Partner (CAP) program, referrals for free therapy through contracts with regional providers, and help applying for the state Crime Victim Reparations program. Shakespeare said the program also enrolled victims in a new Safe at Home service that provides a legal substitute address to protect survivors who qualify.

Shakespeare gave specific program statistics: in calendar 2024 the Children's Justice Center served children ages 7–18 (the youngest served last year was 7), and across the April-to-April reporting window the office provided about 1,200 criminal-justice services such as hearing notifications, restitution assistance and victim-impact statements. On the composition of the caseload she said, “Every case? Every single case. Yeah. None of them were, like, strangers or anything like that,” describing that most alleged perpetrators were known to victims.

Commissioners asked follow-up questions about the Children's Justice Center caseload and repeat victimization. Shakespeare said some clients are repeat victims while others are new cases; she declined to give an exact repeat-victim count beyond noting \"a handful\" of repeat instances and estimated about 15 families served through the Children's Justice Center portion in the period discussed.

Why this matters: the program’s grant renewal and continuing services affect survivor access to legal and mental-health supports and the county’s ability to provide court-based advocacy, protective-order help and trauma-informed referrals. Shakespeare said she reports biannually to maintain grant compliance and offered to brief commissioners in more detail if needed.

The commission did not take any formal action on the report; commissioners thanked Shakespeare and moved to the next agenda item.","Devon Shakespeare, Kane County victim services coordinator, told commissioners her office served 224 clients from April 2024–April 2025, outlined services and new programs and said she applied for a two-year state grant that would pay $21,000 per year if approved.",{"_33":86,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":87,"_41":88,"_43":89,"_45":90,"_47":91,"_49":50,"_51":92,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":93,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":94,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6582430,"Votes at a glance: Kane County Commission actions and outcomes, April 20, 2025",4586,2410000,6996000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3091774-92c44f121bf34576e259f83ee9c38327&start=2410&end=6996","/articles/6582430/Utah/Votes-at-a-glance-Kane-County-Commission-actions-and-outcomes-April-20-2025","The Kane County Commission recorded the following formal actions on April 20, 2025. Motions and vote tallies below are taken from the meeting record.

- Consent agenda (checks and minutes for April 8 and April 15): approved unanimously. Vote: yes — Commissioners Patty Cabea, Gwen Brown, Celeste Myers; outcome: approved.

- Destination Development Association contract (Roger Brooks Company) for OHV park feasibility study (state grant-funded): motion to approve contract as reviewed by county attorney — approved unanimously. Vote: yes — Commissioners Cabea, Brown, Myers; outcome: approved. Funding source: state grant (as stated during discussion).

- Transfer of funds to hire an additional assessor staffer (temporary hire through 2026): motion to approve transfer up to $50,000 from the employee-expense line of fund 01/2010 for an additional assessor employee through the end of 2026 — approved unanimously. Vote: yes — Commissioners Cabea, Brown, Myers; outcome: approved. Motion includes cap and sunset language (end of 2026).

- Ordinance 2025-8 (KCLUO chapter 2): adds language allowing dismissal from planning-and-zoning commission after more than two unexcused absences in 12 months — approved unanimously.

- Ordinance 2025-9 (KCLUO chapters 1 and 6): adds definition and rules for multi-unit \"flex\" or \"lehi\" housing (2–8 units) and prohibits short-term rentals in multi-residential units as written — approved unanimously.

- Ordinance 2025-10 (Kane County Land Use Ordinance chapter 21): updates names/definitions for amended plats and boundary adjustments to align with state surveyor code changes — approved unanimously.

- Ordinance 2025-12 (zone change request and PUD overlay for applicant Guthrie — development agreement and PUD concept plan): motion to approve the PUD overlay and associated development agreement failed on roll call. Vote: yes — Commissioner Celeste Myers; no — Commissioners Patty Cabea and Gwen Brown; outcome: denied (motion failed). The commission returned the parcel to R-1 density status.

Procedural notes: several agenda items were approved by unanimous voice vote without roll-call naming of individual movers/seconders in the transcript; where a roll call was taken the transcript records votes as shown above. The commission also directed staff and legal counsel to draft template agreements and waivers related to fire-protection coverage (Kanab City) but took no terminating vote on that contract at the meeting.","The commission approved the consent agenda, a state-funded OHV feasibility contract, three land-use ordinances and a temporary assessor staffing transfer; it denied a proposed PUD zone change. This roundup lists motions, tallies and key details from the April 20 meeting.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Kane County fire warden warns of staffing gaps and HB48 assessment burden; commissioners weigh Kanab City agreement

Kane County victim services program reports 224 clients, seeks two-year grant renewal

Votes at a glance: Kane County Commission actions and outcomes, April 20, 2025