April 2nd, 2026 - Hanksville Town Council

The Hanksville Town Council convened its regular meeting in conjunction with a public hearing on the 2nd day of April 2026 in the Hanksville Community Center; meeting commenced at 6:00pm.

Present: Mayor Jeffren T. Pei, C. Mona Wells, C. Peter Devonshire and C. Robert Gilner 

Absent: Treasurer Jessica Alvey

Employees: Clerk Lisa Wells 

Public in Attendance:  Slate Banner, Ashton Brian, Morgan Stephens, Chylene Whipple, Curtis Whipple, Doug Roberts, Deanna Mecham, Margaret Re, Jason Linder and Kayd Burton

Pledge: Mayor Jeffren T. Pei

Prayer: C. Mona Wells

Roll Call: Mayor Jeffren T. Pei (Mayor Pei directed the clerk to add Maintenance Utility Director Eric Wells to the roll call going forward.)

Motion to approve minutes from the February and March council meeting: C. Peter Devonshire; Second C. Robert Gilner Aye: All in attendance.

Motion to move the planning commission to the first of the agenda: Mayor Jeffren T. Pei; Second C. Mona Wells Aye: All in attendance.

Planning Commission:

The planning commission does not approve zone changes or requests for variance.  They review the requests and determine if it meets the criteria of the zoning ordinances. This is a correction to the letter that was sent out to residents regarding the zone change requests.   They are the administrative body and the town council is the legislative body.  Both the Livinston and Rasmussen requests meet the criteria of the zoning.  On the Rasmussen request for an exemption of utility connections to their property, the planning commission will not approve that exemption because it does not meet the requirements of our zoning.  

The planning commission has been made aware that on the McCoy property there are 2 additional sewer dumps besides the new house connection. This should have been on the building permit request.  The P&Z needs to define what constitutes an RV park because in our ordinances it says 2 or more. The McCoy’s should have been made aware that they will be required to pay additional sewer monthly fees due to the 2nd sewer dump.  

The planning commission held a public hearing to gather input from the community on the Annexation Policy Plan that was presented to council at the last meeting.  There were no negative comments from the public and they recommended to the council to adopt this plan.  The clerk will put it on the agenda for the next council meeting. 

The planning commission would like to create a process that is reliable to move an ordinance through from beginning stages at the council level, to the planning commission and the public hearing, as needed, to adoption. 

Public Hearing:

Neil & Becky Rasmussen - zone change from Agricultural Industrial to Resort Commercial - 11 acre parcel.

Morgan Stephens - She is never a fan of changing ag property to commercial property.  She questions whether they will continue to break-up the property and sell off acreage or develop more of it for commercial use.  Morgan asked if Rasmussen's plan on using her drive of N Star Springs Lane that dead ends at Morgan’s property? She will not allow access through her driveway.  She commented that nobody goes into agriculture to make money; farmers are the backhoe of the USA and they do it knowing they won’t make money.  Morgan will grant an easement for utilities through her property to the Rasmussen’s if needed. 

No other comments from the public regarding this request.

Scott Livinston - zone change from Residential Mixed Use to Resort Commercial at 55 E Main.

Deanna Mecham - She is surprised by his plans and is concerned about the size of the lot and how he will fit 8 motel units and also 8 RV connections.  It seems too small to fit and what about the parking; there could be 20+ vehicles at one time.  She is also concerned that this will raise her property tax.  In the future, if desired, will Deanna be allowed a zone change on her property across the street if she wants to do something commercially with her property? She is most worried about the lights, increased noise and increased traffic.  

Curtis Whipple - If this zone change is allowed it will really change the atmosphere of the residential area.  He thinks it will be a mistake to turn residential property into commercial property.  As a town, be respectful of neighbors when considering this zone change.  His short-stay residential that borders the Livingston property will be impacted if this goes forward and the residential atmosphere will change.  He does not support this zone change request.  Curtis supports increased commercial businesses for the town but this location is not a good place.  There are other commercial properties that could be developed with the plans of Livingstons.  Curtis likes the residential feel and would like to keep it that way.

Chylene Whipple - She thinks it’s too much for this location, it’s a beautiful plan but not for this residential area.

Curtis Whipple - On a county level - a zone change doesn’t happen, Wayne County will allow a conditional use for property and this is how they control the growth and what is allowed on each piece of property.  If the town issues a conditional use of a piece of property, when the ownership of the property changes the conditional use is no longer applicable.

New Business: 

An ordinance adopting the International Wildland-Urban Interface code - this was presented by Brock Jackson with R6 as an ordinance that municipalities need to adopt if they don’t want to carry the burden of funding firefighting costs of wildland fires.  Hanksville would identify those areas within town boundaries that wild fires would significantly impact the community.  

Motion to adopt the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code: C. Mona Wells; no second.  C. Robert Gilner would like to table this item until he can review this ordinance.  The council agreed to have the planning commission review this ordinance and report to the council.

Motion to approve the Municipal Wastewater Planning Program: Mayor Jeffren T. Pei; Second C. Mona Wells Aye: All in favor.

Tabled Business: 

Motion to adopt Ordinance 2026-01 Sales and Use Tax for Transportation: C. Robert Gilner; Second C. Mona Wells.  Roll Call Vote: Mayor Jeffren T. Pei - Aye, C. Mona Wells - Aye, C. Robert Gilner- Aye, and C. Peter Devonshire - Aye.

Motion to adopt Ordinance 2026-02 Resort Community Tax at 1.1%: C. Robert Gilner; Second C. Mona Wells.  Roll Call Vote: Mayor Jeffren T. Pei - Aye, C. Mona Wells - Aye, C. Robert Gilner- Aye, and C. Peter Devonshire - Aye.

Review applications for open town council seat and planning commission seat - NO APPLICANTS. The clerk will continue to accept any applications for either opening.

Public Comment: 

Chylene Whipple - Brought up the McCoy property and the number of RV hook-ups.  

Jason Linder - Introduced himself and his friend, Kayd Burton, they have been operating their business, Sticks and Stones Adventures, since 2018.  They are a canyoneering group and they would like to help Hanksville be informed on the fast growing sport of canyoneering.  They will be hosting “What the heck is canyoneering?” on May 1st at 7pm at the firehouse here in Hanksville to help the community understand what they do, why this matters to Hanksville and basically inform the community of the canyoneering sport. The event isn’t to teach how to do canyoneering but why this sport matters to Hanksville.

Slate Banner - Encourages the council to vote no regarding the offer to purchase the Affordable Housing units.  He feels like the property is a significant advantage to the town.  Helps dial in long term housing. The money from the sale will be gone quickly and he believes there are better solutions to the management of the housing.  He has been researching the region and understands that housing is a serious challenge to the economy of the town and there are better ways to solve it instead of selling the housing off.   

Michele Ekker - (letter read to council - see attached to the minutes) Rent has increased but the maintenance of the housing has not. Her concerns - weeds need to be removed, new screens placed, laundry room issues, electrical outlets not working, attic access needs to be locked, door stops have damaged the walls, oven making weird noises, smoke detector isn’t working and the heating/cooling controller is not working.

Hanksville Tourism Advisory Board: ABSENT

 Mayor Jeffren T. Pei:

Addressed public safety - there were many concerned citizens on the night of March 4, 2026 when word got out about 3 murders in Wayne County and they didn’t have the suspect in custody.  Wayne County Emergency Management will do a better job of communications when events such as this or long-term power outages or other emergency situations that might occur.  The street flock cameras were used in this murder case and they were successful in apprehending the suspect fairly quickly and tracing him through Utah, northern Arizona and into Colorado.  Some citizens have expressed concerns of privacy regarding the flock cameras; the mayor informed the community that the sheriff monitors the use of the film and there can be restrictions placed when it can be assessed and also deleted. 

The mayor is still working on the easement on Doug and Mona Wells property.

Council member Mona Wells:

Nothing to report.  

Council member Robert Gilner:

The town can expect big pours of cement on the dam project starting in September of this year.  They will do the big pours in the night to avoid issues in the community.  Mayor assigned C. Gilner to look for a new backhoe and possibly newer pickup for the assistant maintenance.  There is a pile of dirt by Sam Browns that needs to be spread out; the mayor will get with Anthony Jones and line him out.  Bull Creek crossing was discussed and C. Gilner said DLII didn’t respond to the request for a bid and Brown Brothers looked at the project and said it would be better money spent to fully clean out Bull Creek.  The mayor advised him to contact NRCS and Wayne County in regards to Bull Creek.  NRCS would have to approve the funding on any work done on Bull Creek.

Council member Peter Devonshire:

Nothing to report.

Council member Eric Wells: 

  Council member Eric Wells resigned on 3/17/2026 due to a conflict of interest related to Subdivision Ordinance 2023-01.

Treasurer Jessica Alvey: 

ABSENT

Clerk Lisa Wells:

• Bills presented to council for approval (spreadsheet attached)

• Motion to approve bills: C. Robert Gilner; Second C. Mona Wells Aye: All in attendance. 

• Building permit for demolition of BLM office NOTE: Federal agencies are exempt from building permits issued by municipalities for this purpose as per Eric Torgerson, Hanksville Building Inspector.

Motion to hold a closed session to discuss an offer received for the Affordable Housing property: C. Robert Gilner; Second C. Mona Wells, Roll Call Vote: Mayor Jeffren T. Pei - Aye, C. Mona Wells - Aye, C. Robert Gilner- Aye, and C. Peter Devonshire - Aye.

The council tabled any decision for zone change requests addressed at the public hearing.

Motion to adjourn: C. Mona Wells; Second C. Robert Gilner Aye: All in attendance. The meeting adjourned at 8:23pm.