Commission ratifies legal and operational agreements, personnel changes

At its March 9 meeting the Iron County Commission approved several administrative and operational items, including a clerical amendment to Ordinance 2026-2, a 2026 legal-services agreement with the Utah Association of Counties, ratification of public defender contracts, MOUs with local institutions and personnel changes across county departments.

Deputy Attorney Sam Woodall explained that Ordinance 2026-2 had inadvertently omitted the previously presented definition of a “vehicle storage lot;” the commission approved a corrective amendment to restore that definition without changing regulatory substance. Woodall also presented an agreement designating Utah Association of Counties attorneys as special deputies to make UAC legal resources available to the county; the county’s annual fee for the service was $10,000, and commissioners approved the agreement.

Candace Reid, the county public defender, presented renewals for indigent defense contracts for Jeff Slack ($93,500), Ryan Nielsen ($98,500), Christa Nelson ($118,500) and Mark Barlow ($90,000) and the addition of a contract for new attorney Ron Noyes; commissioners ratified the roster.

Emergency Manager George Colson presented an MOU that allows Southwest Technical College to provide on-campus first-response care in coordination with Gold Cross under the county EMS license; the commission approved the MOU. Deputy Attorney Sam Woodall also presented an MOU to accept a donated steel building from the Southwestern Heritage Association for artifact storage at the county fairgrounds, subject to SWHA meeting plan and timeline requirements; the commission accepted the donation.

HR Director Jennifer Bradbury listed hiring and promotion actions across multiple departments (Attorney, Sheriff, Landfill, Road, Weed, Council on Aging, Fair), which the commission approved. Sheriff Ken Carpenter and Lt. Shawn Peterson described reclassifying two Deputy 3 positions to Corporal to serve as a Canine Coordinator and Drug Court support (no pay increase; existing positions restructured); commissioners approved the change as a leadership and operational adjustment.

Each of these items was approved by unanimous recorded votes among attending commissioners (Michael Bleak and Kenneth Robinson), with Commissioner Paul Cozzens recorded as absent.