CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — Following a recent donation by a local businessman, a 150-foot flagpole now has a new home in Southern Utah.
Donated by Scott Nielson, owner of the forthcoming Zion Utah Jellystone Park RV resort and previous owner of the Nielson RV dealership, the flagpole – worth an estimated $225,000 – will be installed at a new veterans memorial park planned to be built in Hurricane.
“It’s an awesome donation,” Hurricane Mayor Nanette Billings said. “It’s a hallmark of a statue in our community to show that we are supportive of veterans and our country along with faith, family and freedom. Something to that significance and magnitude is pretty amazing and a beautiful remembrance.”
The 150-foot flagpole was first installed six years ago just off Interstate 15 at Nielson RV. Shortly after, the city of St. George issued a code enforcement violation stating the flag needed to be removed due to permitting issues. The violation concluded that Nielson had not obtained a conditional use permit for a variance allowing for the pole’s height, which was five times higher than the ordinance allowed.
“So it was controversial in the sense that a lot of people wanted it up, a lot of veterans. They all came out in droves to support and help,” Nielson said. “So many veterans offered us money – which we wouldn’t take – tens of thousands of dollars to help get the flag back up when we were dealing with the controversy with the city of St. George.”
Ultimately, city officials approved the flagpole, and thousands of people attended the flag-raising ceremony. During the symbolic presentation, Nielson, his World War II veteran grandfather Bill Sampson, who has since passed, and then-St. George Mayor Jon Pike flew in on a helicopter. The American flag was then handed off to the Marine Corps, who lifted the 78-pound flag.
Several years later, Nielson sold his chain of Nielson RV dealerships and storage facilities to Camping World. Nielson said Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis has a separate leasing company on flags, which meant that regardless of how tall the flag was, he had to install his own flagpole. Lemonis took down the 150-foot flagpole and replaced it with a 120-foot flagpole.
“What we were able to do was commandeer the flagpole,” Nielson said. “Basically, when they took it down, we said, ‘If you guys are just going to cut up the steel and recycle it, we will haul it away.’ So they allowed us to do that, and we kept the pole.”
The flagpole was then moved to Nielson’s Jellystone Park RV resort near Sand Hollow.
About six months ago, Nielson began discussions with Hurricane city officials about his newest project: installing the tallest flagpole in North America at Jellystone Park. During these conversations, Billings unveiled plans for a new veterans memorial park in Hurricane, and Nielson said he felt inspired to offer the flagpole as a donation.
“We have a 40-by-80 flag that we’re donating with all the components and the pole, which equates to well over $140,000,” he added. “My highest quote was $225,00 to redo it if I was to duplicate it.”
On Feb. 2, Hurricane City Councilman Dave Sanders made the motion to accept the flag donation and the council voted unanimously in favor.
“Our parks people have really come up with a nice plan for this whole memorial,” Sanders said. “And I feel that would be a great centerpiece for that. To me, it’s a great tribute to those from Hurricane especially, and adjoining communities to pay tribute to those people who have served our country.”
Sanders said honoring veterans runs close to his heart, with a grandfather who served in World War I, a father in the military and his son who has served in the Army for the last 17 years.
“When I see somebody in uniform or I can tell they served, I have the utmost respect for them,” he continued. “If we can do something like this to pay tribute to those people, including the unsung heroes, I just feel very strongly that we need to recognize those people who go above the call of duty and their willingness to serve.”
Billings said the city’s Joint Utility Committee recently finished plans for the new veterans memorial park. The city utilized three different engineering firms and received $55,000 in donations for that piece alone.
“We have about $100,000 raised from the community to help with this,” she said. “And it’s about $550,000 to actually do this park.”
They plan to build the park in stages relative to funding, Billings said, adding that the park will serve as an iconic symbol and draw the community together for celebrations such as Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Wreaths Across America.
“It’s really cool, the story and backdrop to this specific pole,” Nielson said. “And then its final resting place with the veterans at the Hurricane City veterans park – you really can’t even put that into words.”
Nielson said his plans to put up the tallest flagpole in North America on his Jellystone Park property are still being discussed with the city, and he looks forward to sharing more information on the project soon.
A GoFundMe page as well as a line item have been set up for direct donations to the memorial park build. Those who wish to donate can do so in person at the Hurricane City Hall or by calling 435-635-2811.
Written by JESSI BANG for St. George News.
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Resources
- Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort Zion Utah | Address: 505 S. Sand Hollow Road, Hurricane | Telephone: 866-934-5267 | Website.
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