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Mayor Garth Green lays out four-year record and water-first agenda in final report
Summary
Mayor Garth Green delivered a lengthy end-of-term report on Dec. 3 highlighting water-security moves, road and park projects, grocery recruitment for the North End, and recreation funding choices; he urged continuation of wastewater reuse and major pipeline work to protect Cedar City’s long-term supply.
Mayor Garth Green delivered a nearly hour-long end-of-term address on Dec. 3, telling residents that his administration focused on securing water and finishing long-stalled infrastructure projects.
"It is time to stop wasting 3,400 acre feet of water each year and put it to work for our community," Green said, describing the wastewater treatment upgrades that will allow Cedar City to produce type-1 effluent for irrigation.
The report reviewed a string of infrastructure initiatives that the mayor called central to the city’s future: completion of the 100 East corridor to provide a north–south alternative to Main Street; a portfolio of park projects including a new Fiddlers Canyon neighborhood park and a multi-field athletic complex on land donated by Joe Burgess; and recruitment efforts that led to commitments from WinCo Foods and two new Smith’s stores, one of which the mayor said will sit on the north end.
Why it matters: Green framed the agenda around water security in Basin 73, saying the city moved quickly to purchase senior water rights and to invest in reuse technology so more treated water can irrigate parks, schools and other public spaces instead of being discharged. He reported the city purchased nearly 3,000 acre-feet of senior, safe-yield water rights during his term and that the city invested about $35 million in such acquisitions.
Details and next steps: Plant improvements to reach type-1 effluent are largely complete, the mayor said, and the next phase will require a pump station and 7–8 miles of pipeline to deliver reclaimed water back to the city. Green described those connections as expensive and likely to require a mix of grants, loans or bonding, and he urged the incoming administration to prioritize the booster-pump and pipeline work needed to comply with state chlorination rules and reduce excessive transmission pressure.
On recreation, Green said the council ultimately favored expanding the aquatic center rather than the lower-cost, neighborhood gym model he supported; he noted the city has set aside $2 million toward recreation but that no construction has begun on the aquatic project.
The mayor closed with an appeal to future leaders to continue work on roads, parks, water and economic development; he said he will post the full report at garthgreen.com and called the city "stronger today than when I took office."
