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Salt Lake City Council has millions to devote to community projects – more may be in the works – and this year a large portion of the ideas for improvement are coming from residents.
Suggestions include new parks for the west side and corrections for existing ones. City-owned buildings could be improved, as could city starting points. Certain funds need to be spent on transportation and road improvements, but that leaves room for some creativity.
The city council is expected to vote on proposals for this fiscal year by the end of the month, but this is all part of a capital improvement program that runs year-round. City officials in departments such as engineering and public land submit proposals, as do parishioners and business districts. The ideas are worked on by a voluntary advisory board, then the mayor makes recommendations to the city council, who holds the wallets.
This year the list is long with a total of 75 projects. Of these, nearly a third were from parishioners (as opposed to internal recommendations from city officials), which is also a large number.
“Last year the process was a little different,” said city council chair Amy Fowler. “We didn’t make any citizen applications, and that was really difficult for me.”
Fowler called community input the “heart” of the capital improvement program.
Mayor Erin Mendenhall encouraged residents to come up with ideas for the next cycle this fall.
“Nor can I stress enough how important the role of equity and inclusion as a factor in the distribution of these funds will always be for us,” said the mayor in a brief written statement.
Projects need to improve urban property such as public land, buildings, roads and paths. They must cost $ 50,000 or more and have a useful life of at least five years.
The council allocated $ 37.4 million for its capital improvements this year, and Mendenhall has recommended a $ 58 million loan (which does not raise taxes as the city recently paid off a larger loan) for funding further projects. In addition, the US bailout plan will give the council a large inflow of federal dollars that could be directed towards even more improvements, although the exact amount that will flow into the capital is not yet known.
“In many ways, it’s still up in the air,” said Fowler. “[But] it’s also an exciting thing to be able to spread love a little more. “
The council is unlikely to make a final decision on which proposals to fund until August 24th, and the public will be able to participate during the comment periods at the formal meetings of the council on August 17th and August 24th.
In the meantime, here are some of the big projects that could hit neighborhoods across the city.
Refurbishment of Glendale Water Park
A regional park is being built on the west side to replace the closed and abandoned Raging Waters. It also receives one of the largest heaps of capital improvement funds.
The mayor has requested $ 3.2 million to redesign the 17-acre site in the Glendale neighborhood.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) The old Raging Waters water park seen in this photo is so dilapidated that Salt Lake City is planning to dismantle it and replace it with a regional park that will be linked to Liberty or Sugar parks House is comparable.
If the loan requested by the mayor is approved, documents from city officials show the park could receive an additional $ 10 million to add a splash pad, public art and water sports rentals next to the Jordan River, and possibly a swimming pool.
Extension of the Three Creeks Confluence Park
Salt Lake City unveiled its newest park last month, where three streams meet the Jordan.
Also located in the Glendale neighborhood, Three Creeks Confluence Park has exposed three tributaries of the Jordan – Red Butte, Emigration, and Parleys Creek. The city spent $ 3 million to upgrade the area with bridges, fishing opportunities, and a play area with reused logs from trees that fell from last year’s hurricane storm.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Three Creeks Confluence Park opened on Wednesday, July 7th, 2021 in the Glendale neighborhood on the east bank of the Jordan. A proposal for capital improvement would extend the park to the west bank of the river.
All of these improvements were on the east bank of the river. A capital improvement proposal for the coming fiscal year would extend the park to the West Bank as well and cost $ 650,000.
Green ribbon in the city center
Salt Lake City is known for its wide downtown streets, and a $ 610,000 request would add linear parking systems to some of those streets as part of a broader vision of the “green loop”.
The downtown green ribbon is an idea the city has been discussing for nearly two decades, according to city officials, and the ultimate goal is detailed in a 2016 master plan for the area. A series of green median strips would connect the inner city boroughs for 8 miles, providing a safe place for active transportation and parking for areas where these amenities are not available.
(Image via Downtown Salt Lake City Masterplan) This map shows Salt Lake City’s vision for a “green loop” connecting downtown districts with a series of linear parks and landscaped boulevards. The city’s proposals to improve the capital in 2021-2022 include funding the construction of the linear park along the 200 East line.
The city previously added the first of these linear parks to 500 West near The Gateway, and this year’s proposal would bring landscaped median strips 200 East from South Temple to 900 South.
Development of the foothills
The list of capital improvements includes $ 425,000 to purchase land in the Salt Lake City foothills and $ 1.3 million to upgrade the base, all of which are part of an ongoing expansion project. And the mayor’s loan proposal provides for an additional $ 5.3 million for Phase II of the Foothills Trails system plan, which would revise the starting points of Victory Road, Popperton Park, Bonneville Boulevard, I Street and Emigration.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Cyclists will ride on Saturday, Jan.
However, Phase I of the Foothills Plan has proven controversial as local residents complain that new trail works are unstable, an eyesore, and too focused on bikers versus hikers.
Allen Park building renovation
Last year Salt Lake City spent $ 7.5 million to save rundown Allen Park, dubbed Hobbitville, from developer bulldozers. That year, the mayor requested $ 420,000 from the investment budget to begin renovating its historic buildings.
The ultimate goal is to transform the park into an artist village with creative spaces and concessions.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) This 2019 file photo shows one of about a dozen historic structures in Allen Park.
If the mayor’s proposed bond gets the green light, an additional $ 1.3 million would go towards redeveloping the park. The existing structures require extensive work. They are currently in rough condition and connected to sewage treatment plants.
Repairs of park sports areas
Just under $ 100,000 could go to Liberty Park to refresh its cracked and aging basketball court and replace the tires. Fowler, the city council chairwoman, said this was one of the projects she’s most excited about because a resident who trains local children suggested it.
“It was a voter-led effort,” said Fowler. “He called me a few years ago and said, ‘We don’t want to go anywhere else, but it’s dangerous. I can’t let the kids play on a basketball court that could hurt them. ‘”
The mayor has also recommended recommending about $ 433,000 for the demolition of two 40-year-old dilapidated tennis courts in Poplar Grove Park. In their place, the city would build either two new tennis courts or six pickleball courts. If the community chooses pickleball, the park could become a destination for tournaments. The city recently upgraded the park’s toilets and built a concession stand that isn’t used much.
“Overall,” said the mayor, “I look forward to seeing the impact of these community-run projects on Salt Lake City in the years ahead.”
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