Commission approves Horrocks engineering contract and ratifies jail-related sewer amendment; ratifies UDOT Iron Springs federal-aid agreement

The commission approved several infrastructure-related matters on Jan. 13 tied to the new county jail and regional transportation work.

Staff presented a professional-services agreement with Horrocks Engineers to manage a utility railroad crossing and related easements at the site of the planned county jail. Reed explained Union Pacific crossing requirements are complex and Horrocks has staff experienced in negotiating railroad crossing approvals; the contract not-to-exceed amount was presented to the board and the motion to approve the agreement passed by voice vote.

The commission also ratified a first amendment to an existing Cedar City/Iron County memorandum of understanding related to sewer connections for the jail. The amendment clarifies sewer-connection language and grease-management requirements and does not alter the project's substantive responsibilities beyond standard technical clarifications, staff said.

Finally, the commission ratified a UDOT federal-aid agreement for the Iron Springs Road reconstruction project, which staff noted is funded in part by a federal award of roughly $7.5 million and will dovetail with a separate UDOT intersection/highway project. Commissioners emphasized coordination to avoid repaving over planned sewer installations, and staff said they will pursue additional grant cycles for remaining construction funds.

All three items were approved by voice votes during the Jan. 13 meeting.