[{"_1":2,"_85":-5,"_86":-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],{"_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",6505443,"mediaKeyId","5682524-b00838062262733a61a676e46d865559","parentId",5682524,"title","Organizers outline Bluff Dark Sky Festival in public comment; seek volunteers and ambassadors","audioSeconds",453,"startMs",319000,"endMs",772000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5682524-b00838062262733a61a676e46d865559&start=319&end=772","thumbnailUrl","https://d352y6ypj4mjo3.cloudfront.net/AudioPlaceholder.png","articleUrl","/articles/6505443/Utah/Organizers-outline-Bluff-Dark-Sky-Festival-in-public-comment-seek-volunteers-and-ambassadors","mediaUrl","author","Bluff Town Council","date","2025-08-19T16:00:00Z","article","Organizers of a planned Bluff Dark Sky Festival updated the Blufftown Council on plans during the public‑comment period of the Aug. 19 meeting, and asked for volunteers to staff telescope nights and dark‑sky monitoring activities.

Diana Davidson, who identified herself as calling in for the Bluff Dark Sky Festival organizing committee, said the event is scheduled for a weekend in November (organizers did not state specific dates at the meeting). The program will include a Friday evening speaker session and a full day of family activities on Saturday followed by an evening speaker program and telescope observing. Confirmed or proposed speakers mentioned in the presentation include Kevin Schindler of Lowell Observatory, Nancy Maryboy and David Begay on Navajo constellations, a professional Navajo storyteller (name not finalized), Jonathan Till on ancestral Puebloan alignments, and astronomers from the Stargazing Zion group.

Davidson said speakers, telescope operators and some travel support are being coordinated with San Juan Visitor Services and local partners. She said daytime activities planned for Saturday include a portable planetarium (with shows on Navajo and western constellations), a rock‑painting workshop, a planet walk and solar scope demonstrations. The evening sessions will move outdoors for telescope viewing and constellation tours at the Bluff Community Center; organizers said daytime events may be staged at additional locations around town.

Sarah Brack (identified in the meeting as working with the event) invited residents to a volunteer meeting at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Bluff Community Center parking area with an 8:30 p.m. community star party to follow. Organizers asked for volunteers to serve as dark‑sky ambassadors who can learn constellation identification, assist with telescopes and perform light‑level monitoring to help maintain Bluff's dark‑sky designation. Davidson and Brack asked the council to publicize the event and encouraged residents from neighboring communities to attend.

Organizers said the schedule and certain speaker confirmations remain in progress; a tentative verbal commitment exists for a professional storyteller and for several guest astronomers. Davidson noted weather is always a factor; the star party will proceed even if skies are forecast to be cloudy.

Speakers and organizers at the meeting noted that the main speaker sessions, telescope walks and constellation tours are planned for the Bluff Community Center, with daytime programming at other community sites. They asked anyone interested in volunteering to contact the organizing committee or attend the volunteer meeting.

Provenance

Statements summarized above were made during the public comment portion of the Aug. 19 Blufftown Council meeting by Diana Davidson and by Sarah Brack (organizer).","mediaType","Audio","parentTitle","Bluff Town Council Regular Meeting - August 19, 2025 - Town Council Regular Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Organizers told the Blufftown Council the festival will be held in November with speakers, telescope nights and daytime family activities; volunteers and dark‑sky ambassadors were requested.","taxTitle","Bluff, San Juan County, Utah","taxId",79934,"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},6505448,"Blufftown Council approves playground contract, cemetery mapping bid, dark‑sky mailer; sets Sept. 15 pickup for flower boxes",693,4560000,5253000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5682524-b00838062262733a61a676e46d865559&start=4560&end=5253","/articles/6505448/Utah/Blufftown-Council-approves-playground-contract-cemetery-mapping-bid-darksky-mailer-sets-Sept-15-pickup-for-flower-boxes","Blufftown Council on Aug. 19 voted to award a playground contract, accept a cemetery‑mapping bid contingent on references, authorize printing and mailing of dark‑sky education materials, amend the town's board and committee policy and apply for a Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Transportation Alternatives Program grant.

The council approved the recommendation of the playground advisory committee to award the playground and sport‑court work to Garrett Parks and Play and directed the committee to finalize the design and bring back the edited contract price for final review. Malia Collins, who presented the committee's recommendation, said the project is expected to be funded primarily by a $165,000 grant plus a $13,000 town cash match and additional in‑kind contributions, putting the committee's target near $178,000.

The council also accepted a low bid from Century Mapping to perform mapping at the Bluff Cemetery, contingent on the company providing two references confirming prior ground‑work experience. Council members discussed a larger competing bid and said the lower offer and previously awarded state cemetery funding made the lower bid the practical choice to get work started.

Councilors set a pickup deadline of Sept. 15 for four flower boxes on the Cooperative Cultural Center grounds, allowing the current holders to recover them if they coordinate pickup in advance and supply their own labor and transport; Louann (surname not specified in the record) was named the point person to coordinate the pickup.

On outreach, the council authorized printing 500 resident brochures and 50 business brochures about the town's dark‑sky rules and outreach program, awarding the print order to the online vendor listed as \"Online B/Canva\" in the materials packet.

The council voted to amend the town's board-and-committee policy to remove or change several restrictions (including limits on the number of committees any person may serve on and requirements about geographic representation); the motion passed with one recorded “nay.” A councilor who objected asked for more clarity about compliance steps under the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act before final administrative changes are published.

Separately, the council authorized staff to apply for UDOT's Transportation Alternatives Program to pursue a non‑paved/ADA‑compliant trail along the Old Highway through Bluff's historic district; staff said engineering estimates from Jones & DeMille could be provided in time for the Aug. 29 application deadline, and any award would return to the council for acceptance and approval of required matches.

The council approved payment of routine bills and a $50,000 transfer from the PTIF account into general checking to cover August and early September obligations.

Votes at a glance

- Playground contract (Garrett Parks and Play): Motion to award contract to Garrett Parks and Play and permit the advisory committee to finalize design and return with a final contract amount — Outcome: approved; motion and second recorded; final price to be returned for council approval. (See provenance: meeting transcript start ~00:15:21, discussion ~00:15:21–00:23:00; motion ~00:21:55–00:23:10.)

- Bluff Cemetery mapping (Century Mapping): Motion to accept Century Mapping bid for cemetery mapping, contingent on two references — Outcome: approved unanimously; motion included contingency that two references be provided. (See provenance: discussion ~00:23:45–00:31:00; motion ~00:32:20–00:32:40.)

- Cooperative Cultural Center flower boxes: Motion to allow current holders to remove four flower boxes by Sept. 15 with Louann as on‑site coordinator and that pick‑up parties supply labor and transport — Outcome: approved unanimously. (See provenance: discussion ~00:33:00–00:40:00; motion ~00:41:00–00:41:40.)

- Dark‑sky brochures printing (Online B/Canva): Motion to print 500 resident brochures and 50 business brochures using vendor listed as Online B/Canva — Outcome: approved unanimously. (See provenance: discussion ~00:48:20–00:51:30; motion ~00:51:40–00:52:05.)

- Boards and committees policy amendments: Motion to accept amendments to board and committee policy as presented — Outcome: approved (recorded vote: majority yes; one recorded no). (See provenance: discussion ~00:57:00–01:00:00; vote ~01:00:30–01:01:00.)

- Apply for UDOT Transportation Alternatives Program (Old Highway trail): Motion to apply for TAP grant for an ADA trail along Old Highway in Bluff Historic District — Outcome: approved unanimously; application deadline noted as Aug. 29; any award will return for council action. (See provenance: discussion ~01:04:30–01:12:00; motion ~01:12:30–01:13:00.)

- Pay bills / PTIF transfer: Motion to pay bills and transfer $50,000 from PTIF to general checking to cover short‑term cash needs — Outcome: approved unanimously. (See provenance: discussion ~01:19:30–01:22:00; vote ~01:22:20–01:22:40.)

Discussion vs. decisions

Council discussion generally focused on confirming funding sources and ensuring follow‑up: the playground award was conditional on the advisory committee returning with a final, tweaked package; the cemetery mapping award was contingent on references; the TAP application was authorized as an application step only and would return for acceptance of any award and approval of matching funds.

What remains to be done

- Playground advisory committee to finalize contract details with Garrett Parks and Play and return to council with the final total for approval.
- Century Mapping to provide two references before the mapping contract is finalized.
- Louann to coordinate flower‑box pickup by Sept. 15.
- Staff to complete the TAP application (deadline Aug. 29) and return to council if an award is made to approve match funding.

Sources and attributions

Statements and motions summarized here are taken from the Blufftown Council meeting audio and minutes of Aug. 19, 2025. Direct quotes in the meeting record were attributed to Malia Collins (playground committee), Erin Nelson (town manager), and council members during the motions and votes.","At its Aug. 19 meeting the Blufftown Council awarded a playground contract, accepted a cemetery‑mapping bid contingent on references, approved printing and mailing of dark‑sky brochures, amended the town's boards-and-committees policy, authorized a TAP grant application and approved routine payments.","actionData","errors"]

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Organizers outline Bluff Dark Sky Festival in public comment; seek volunteers and ambassadors

Blufftown Council approves playground contract, cemetery mapping bid, dark‑sky mailer; sets Sept. 15 pickup for flower boxes