Cedar City Mayor backs Veterans nursing home project; Council approves process for construction

CEDAR CITY — The Cedar City Council has committed an 8-acre plot for the construction of a Veterans' Affairs nursing home.

The council agreed Wednesday to dispose of city property three blocks north of the old hospital for the project.

City Councilman Steve Wood said the process to approve the land for the project would take between 60 to 120 days.

Cedar City is competing with St. George as the site for the proposed nursing home.

Cedar City residents and Marine Corps veterans Chuck Hoepfner and Chet Simpson have been trying to establish a VA nursing home in Cedar City since May 2009.

Hoepfner, who approached the council last week about the project, said Wednesday that not only would it serve veterans in the southern Utah region but there would also be long-term economic benefits.

Councilman Dale Brinkerhoff said he wanted to a convey the message to the veterans that "(the council) could get something on the table to start to process before Friday."

Hoepfner's group hosted a town hall meeting Friday to launch a campaign in support of the project. He said the goal of the meeting is to persuade VA administrators to build the nursing home in Cedar City rather than St. George.

The $17 million project would be a 110-bed nursing home on a six- to eight-acre lot. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will provide 35 percent of the cost for the VA nursing home in the southern Utah area with the remainder of the cost coming from the state.

Mayor Joe Burgess the home would not only benefit Cedar City economically by providing jobs but would also benefit the veterans.

"They would be able to have a place and be close to family and friends. This is definitely a central location for all of southern Utah," he said. "We're going to fight for it to get it here and do everything we can."

In other business, the council voted against the proposed ordinance amendment to restrict parking on a public street in front of Cedar City resident Carol Carpenter's home during high peak hours at Toadz Tavern.

Carpenter originally requested the parking restriction because Toadz customers would park in front of her house, leaving no parking space for her or her guests.

Although the council denied the amendment, they said it was in the best interest to encourage Cedar City Police to communicate with the Toadz Tavern owner to inform customers not to park in front of Carpenter's home.

The council also unanimously voted against amending the taxicab ordinance to soften taxicab permit requirements.

The vote was in response to Cedar City resident Julie Munn who applied for a taxicab permit and was denied because she had a misdemeanor drug conviction two years ago.