Springdale council pauses business-license revocation for Zion Outfitters, asks staff to obtain court records

The Springdale Town Council voted Wednesday to pause any immediate action on revoking the business license for Zion Outfitters and directed staff to obtain certified court records in the federal case involving business owner Philip Heaton before reconsidering the complaint.

The action followed public comments that raised questions about tax payments and the federal conviction cited in a formal complaint to the town. Suzanne Alger, a resident who spoke during public comment, asked whether the town had “conducted a review to determine if any local taxes were evaded?” and called the $4,700,000 wastewater contract oversight “a travesty.”

Erin Emerson, a town staff member who presented the item, said the complaint references a recent federal conviction and pointed council to Springdale Town Code section 3-1-12, under which the council “may” revoke a license for certain reasons. Emerson explained that if the council chose to proceed, staff would issue a written notice of pending revocation and the licensee would have 10 business days to request an administrative hearing.

Nate Wells, representing Zion Canyon Village and Cable Mountain Lodge, spoke during public comment and said the outfitter had “paid all of their taxes in full.” Wells said he planned to comment further later in the meeting.

Town Attorney Greg Hardman told council members they could begin the revocation process without having certified court records in hand because the initial decision at the meeting was whether to investigate and move forward with the process. Several council members said they preferred to see the underlying court documents before authorizing a formal proceeding.

Councilmember Pat Campbell made a motion directing staff to obtain a court-issued judgment, sentencing order, and a certified copy of the conviction record from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Utah, in U.S. v. Philip Heaton, and to present them to council. Kyla Topham seconded the motion. The motion passed on a voice vote with councilmembers Kyla Topham, Pat Campbell, Barbara Bruno, Randy Aton, and Jack Burns recorded in favor.

The motion effectively tabled any immediate revocation action until the council has the official documents and additional information to consider at a future meeting.

Next steps: staff will collect and present the certified court records for council review and, if warranted, begin the notice-and-hearing process specified by the town code.