Kane County creates Vermillion Cliff fire district, funds feasibility study and sends liability draft to Kanab City with HAZMAT added

The Kane County Commission on April 29 voted unanimously to establish the Vermillion Cliff Special Service District to provide fire response services and to direct up to $50,000 for an outside feasibility study on countywide fire and emergency response. The commission also finalized an initial waiver-of-liability and emergency-response agreement draft with Kanab City, instructing staff to add explicit HAZMAT coverage and send the document to Kanab City for review.

The commission said it will serve as the district’s governing board until elections in 2026; it did not adopt any fee schedule at the meeting. Chair (unnamed) said the proposed $50,000 investment is justified to hire objective consultants to draft an RFP and map options for a countywide approach that balances coverage and fairness. "A $50,000 investment in an outside consultant is something that could benefit the entire county," the chair said during debate on the study funding.

During public comment, Charles High Tower, a part-time Kane County resident, urged the commission to tailor the study to mountain-area conditions—winter snow, spring mud, summer dust and seasonal population spikes—and to involve the county road department. He recommended the study produce memoranda of understanding among hospitals, fire departments, the sheriff’s office and federal and state agencies to clarify response roles.

County staff presented protest tallies tied to the special-district petition: staff reported 38 registered-voter protests, 89 qualifying parcels and 7,736.913 protested acres representing $50,305,122 in protested value. That amount fell about $7,000,553.84 short of the statutory value threshold required to invalidate formation under state code, staff said.

The committee’s more detailed negotiations focused on a separate but related item: an initial draft agreement intended to allow Kanab City responders to operate outside city jurisdiction for certain unincorporated incidents, with the county assuming indemnity for responses occurring outside city limits. Kanab City’s representative and staff flagged two legal concerns in the draft: (1) clauses that could leave the city exposed to negligence claims, and (2) an absence of contractual "consideration" (something the city receives in exchange for committing resources). A Kanab City representative said those issues will require modification before the city council can accept the county’s draft.

Chief Pearson, speaking for responding departments, urged broad language rather than a narrowly written vehicle-extraction or EMS-only agreement. "If you put fire response, it handles HAZMAT. It handles the rest of the stuff we do," Pearson said, arguing broader "all-hazards" language would better reflect operational reality. The commission debated whether to substitute an "all hazards" approach immediately; members worried the broader language could prompt Kanab City to demand compensation or reject the draft. After discussion the commission withdrew the motion to adopt an immediate "all hazards" change and instead approved a motion to add explicit HAZMAT coverage to the draft and send that draft to Kanab City for negotiation.

What passed and what happens next - Resolution 2025-12: Creation of the Vermillion Cliff Special Service District. Motion made by Speaker 1 and accepted; vote: unanimous (3-0) in favor. - Allocation: Up to $50,000 to solicit an outside feasibility study and RFP procurement. Motion by the chair; vote unanimous (3-0). - Waiver/response draft with Kanab City: Commission approved sending the county’s initial draft to Kanab City with the addition of HAZMAT language and asked staff to work with Kanab City on counterproposals. Motion passed unanimously (3-0).

Commissioners stressed this meeting did not finalize fee structures for the new district; commissioners said additional community discussions (including ranchers and other rural residents) and further legal negotiations with Kanab City remain. The commission scheduled a later special meeting to address termination of the existing contract with Kanab City and next steps for fire services if needed.

The commission’s action clears procedural hurdles for forming the Vermillion Cliff Special Service District and starts a procurement process for a consultant to outline countywide fire-response options. The draft agreement with Kanab City now goes to the city for legal review and potential counterproposal, after which the county commission will consider revisions.