Guests started arriving for the August 11th chamber luncheon at Houston’s Trail’s End just before 11:30 AM. Chamber President Pat Guerrero, Vice President Ron Thomas, and Treasurer Matt Claflin had everything setup and ready to go, and the staff at Houston’s had their back room eating & meeting space ready with ice water and place settings. After 30 minutes of socializing, delicious taco bowls with fresh salsa and guacamole arrived from the Houston’s kitchen.
Chamber Secretary Don Jennings and longtime member Dave Baird were also on hand for the event, as well as folks from Berkshire Hathaway Home Services - Kanab Realty Group; Best Friends Animal Society; Best Friends Fitness Center; Best Friends Roadhouse & Mercantile; Burro Flats High Desert Lodge; Center for Education, Business, and the Arts; ERA Real Estate; Honey's Fuel Center; Kanab City; Kane County; Kane County Tourism Office; Mountain America Credit Union; Nicholas & Company; Parry Lodge; Realty ONE Group; The Cut Scene; and While You're In Town.
Matt Claflin said a few words of welcome as folks were receiving their meals, noting that Escobar’s Mexican Restaurant, Bugsy's Pest Control, While You’re In Town, Best Friends Fitness Center, and The Cut Scene had joined the chamber since the last meeting. He then introduced Colten Johnson, Kanab City Mayor, as our guest speaker.
After noting to appreciative chuckles that he’s “not a long-winded guy and school is starting soon,” Mayor Johnson thanked the chamber and spoke about recent happenings in the city. There’s a new City Manager in place (Kyler Ludwig, who was with us at the meeting), as well as a new City Attorney. The MOU for collaboration with Kane County for a new Wellness Center is in place and initial planning is underway. New lights for two baseball fields will soon be installed, thanks to donations of equipment and labor from South Central Communications and Garkane Energy. And the road improvement project on Kanab Creek Drive, the largest city project underway at the moment, is proceeding nicely.
After his comments Mayor Johnson took questions from the group, with answers including:
New space for the Kanab City Police Department is a #1 priority. Regarding their existing space: “It’s pretty tight quarters in there.”
The Wellness Center project is still in the MOU phase.
A UDOT study regarding a traffic light at the junction of Kanab Creek Drive and Rt 89 will probably have to wait until the new elementary school is finished.
The Kanab Creek Drive project includes widening a portion of the road to match the repositioned 1100 S across the intersection, as well as new drainage culverts, and will be important when the UDOT study happens.
We’d like to thank the Mayor for coming out, it was a pleasure to have him speak to the group!
Matt Claflin led the room in round-robin introductions to finish up the event, and the luncheon wrapped up just after 1:00 PM.
The next chamber luncheon will be held at Southwest Technical College Kane Campus on September 8th from 11:30 – 1:00, when the guest Speaker will be Susan Honey with a presentation on the importance of a positive workplace culture. Save the date!