Kane County readies experts and 21 targeted questions ahead of Lieutenant Governor's Willow feasibility hearing

KANE COUNTY, Utah ' Jan. 2, 2026 ' Kane County officials and community members met Friday to organize testimony and a coordinated question-submission strategy ahead of a Jan. 6 public hearing by the Lieutenant Governor's office on the proposed Willow preliminary municipality.

At the meeting, Taylor Glover, the county's Government Affairs Director, walked attendees through the lieutenantgovernor.utah.gov submission portal and distributed a packet of 21 sample questions intended to test whether the consultant's feasibility study meets the narrow statutory metrics the Lieutenant Governor must apply. "If you have some questions regarding that, please put that in there," Glover said, demonstrating how the LG's office will accept a primary and, if time permits, a secondary question.

Why it matters: under Utah statute the Lieutenant Governor's review focuses on whether the feasibility study satisfies specified metrics; if the study meets those metrics, the preliminary incorporation must be approved. County officials say the Willow study contains optimistic revenue and population assumptions and omits realistic infrastructure costs that could shift the analysis.

Tom, the county engineer and a certified on-site septic professional, presented the meeting's most detailed technical critique. He told the group the study relies on sponsor pro forma sales projections that forecast implausible early-year unit sales and that the analyst effectively doubled the area's historic growth rate to make the numbers work. "In year number 1, they're going to sell 117 units," Tom said, noting historical data showing far fewer sales in the region and explaining that the study's absorption assumptions appear unsupported.

Tom also flagged septic and sewer issues: the study assumes many lots will use on-site septic systems, but state on-site septic rules limit lot density and the site soils are classified in higher-risk categories. "They are proposing the majority of their first five years of lots are 0.11 to 0.15 acres, which is around 5,000 square feet," Tom said, adding that state rules typically require lots no smaller than about 20,000 square feet when served by on-site septic. He said the developer would need an expensive large, centralized wastewater system (a so-called LUDs) to achieve the density shown, and that the study omits construction and long-term operation and maintenance costs for such systems.

Participants also criticized the study's revenue assumptions. Attendees said the consultant applied a municipal services fund tax model used in other counties even though Kane County lacks that tax mechanism, and they questioned the inclusion of projected hotel revenues and optimistic occupancy assumptions. Becky Glover, a local real estate agent identified by organizers as a priority witness, was listed to present market facts if the hearing allows live testimony.

Public safety and access were prominent themes: speakers noted that the Vermillion Cliff Special Service District and Kanab City have passed resolutions saying they will not provide structural fire protection to the proposed area, and the group raised the study's apparent failure to include the cost of establishing a fire department or contracting full coverage. Tom and other technical speakers also said the study omits costs for required turn lanes and highway access improvements at U.S. 89; Tom estimated full turn-lane construction at roughly $1 million and noted that UDOT and the Federal Highway Administration must approve major access changes.

The group agreed to priorities for the LG hearing: submit the 21 targeted questions with redundancy (several people submitting the same primary question), prepare physical packets including the county's red-line comments and formal resolution opposing the incorporation, and designate priority witnesses (Tom for infrastructure and septic, Becky Glover for market analysis, county staff or a commissioner for the county's legal/official position, and a Kanab City representative). Organizers also recommended submitting technical letters from the county assessor and public-health experts for the hearing record.

County and community leaders acknowledged they may not be permitted to speak at length during the two-hour hearing. "The statute says the Lieutenant Governor shall allow members to express views," one county official said, "but they may interpret that as allowing submitted questions rather than live public testimony." To ensure the record, the county plans to file documents and, if necessary, have the county attorney deliver a prepared statement.

What comes next: assigned participants will post or submit their primary questions to the Lieutenant Governor's web portal before the hearing, prepare physical document packets to take to the Kanab Center on Jan. 6, and continue outreach to legislators and the press. The county also intends to press the legislature for changes to the statutory framework that governs preliminary municipalities.

The meeting closed with organizers urging residents to attend the Jan. 6 hearing at the Kanab Center from 6 to 8 p.m., to submit primary and secondary questions in advance, and to bring printed materials so the group can preserve a technical, evidence-based record for the Lieutenant Governor's review.