Joint Grand County Commission-Moab City Council Meeting Preview Arches Hot Spot Funding 2020-10-30

Hopefully I can make this a comparatively short update. I have three items to discuss:

1)    Joint Meeting with the Moab City Council regarding the UDOT’s Recreational Hotspot Funding projects; view agenda and packet here.

2)    Covid-19 Risk Level

3)    Voting information

As an aside, there is a fairly detailed review of the last regular commission meeting and joint council/commission meeting (10-20-20) here.

As a reminder, anyone can sign up to receive updates (MADAR = Moab Almost Daily Report) direct to their inbox from this site, AND you can choose to receive only what you’re interested in.

12:30 PM: Grand County Commission/Moab City Council Joint Meeting 

The purpose of the meeting is to update the Public, the City Council, and County Commission on the three projects that have made it through the Hot Spot committee’s process and hopefully get a vote of endorsement to present them to the State Transportation commission for funding. There is detailed information on each project in the packet (please check it out); the three projects are:

1)    Downtown Dispersed Parking

2)    Spanish Valley Shared Use Path

3)    Shuttle Pilot Program

Also being discussed is the potential of joint resolution in support of a bypass for the Moab area.

As always, Citizens to be Heard is very near the beginning of the meeting. You may submit comments in the following ways (please limit comments to 2 minutes):

By phone and online through Zoom: 

Dial: 669 900-9128;  Meeting ID: 850 617 8107;  Passcode (if needed): 463557

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85061178107?pwd=u2e210pjagtvsxvxvmm0yjvwk4rut09

Written Comments:To have your written comments considered for the Citizens to Be Heard portion of the electronic meeting, please fill out the form found here: http://bit.ly/publiccommentform

You must submit your comments by 11:00AM on October 30, 2020. Please limit your comments to 400 words.

COVID-19 Transmission Index and Updates

• COVID-19 Case Counts: Things have sort of exploded. According to the Southeast Utah Health District, Grand County has had 34 cases since the update of 9 days ago for a total of 134 (2 hospitalizations; 0 current) and 109 recovered, and 1 death (total of 5 deaths in the 3-county health district). There have been 15 cases reported in Grand School District with 9 of them recovered. 
• Statewide (Utah Coronavirus Update), there are 107,228 cases (increase of 12,894); 5,169 hospitalizations (up 513); and 578 deaths (up 35) as of yesterday, October 27, 2020. On a troubling note, Utah’s 7 day rolling average of new cases per day has risen to 1,500 and the 7-day rolling average of percent positive rate in relation to tests administered has reached 17%.
• High Risk Index: The State recently announce a ‘Risk Index’ system for counties and health districts to set parameters for organizations, businesses, and individuals. Grand County (actually all three counties in the Southeast Health District) has been placed in COVID-19 High Risk Transmission Index. It uses three levels: High, Moderate, and Low and is updated weekly. It is based on:
  • 7-day average percent positivity (12% for Grand)
  • 14-day case rate per 100,000 population (368.7 for Grand)
  • Statewide ICU utilization – seven-day average (18.2% statewide)

The State’s goal is to keep the state running while mitigating for COVID-19 risk. Most Utah Counties are in High; 3 are in Moderate and 5 are in Low. You can view the Transmission Risk Index for each county by clicking here.

Basically, in HIGH Risk Index, face coverings are required when physical distancing is not feasible, and social gatherings are limited to 10. There’s an informative and concise summary of the different phase requirements along with a Handbook link for Businesses here.

That’s a very brief overview; you can learn more at: https://coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels/

Finally, here is an article that you might find interesting: https://www.fox13now.com/news/coronavirus/local-coronavirus-news/on-the-cusp-of-crisis-will-utah-enact-state-crisis-protocols-as-covid-19-cases-surge

Voting

With less than a week left to vote, the State has provided a couple graphics that might help answer questions you may have about the voting process as well what happens to your ballot after it has been mailed or dropped in the ballot box. One very important reminder is that if you are voting by mail, your ballot must be postmarked November 2^nd, the day before Election Day. If you put it in the mail on Election Day, it will not be counted.

Jaylyn Hawks, Grand County Commission, District 3