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RIVERTON — A city councilman says the demolishing of two markers from Sons and Daughters of Utah Pioneers at Riverton Park was the only option in the building of a new park.
Last week, Riverton's spokesperson emailed KSL a written statement about the project, but declined to answer any questions on camera when he was contacted.
After the story aired on KSL TV, a city councilman felt the issue was important to talk about, and since he knew there was some controversy, was willing to answer questions on the record about why the city took the monuments down. A construction site currently occupies the space where Riverton's new city park will be, but all the work will likely result in one of the prettiest parks in Salt Lake County.
"Our concept is you'll be able to come down on the weekends and we'll have markets and different activities throughout the week," Riverton City Councilman Sheldon Stewart said. "We'll have a splash pad there for little kids."
A replica of Riverton's old Dome Church is also being constructed to be used as a gathering place for people who visit.
"We felt it was necessary to restore it, and we also felt it was a great anchor for the park," Stewart said.
Stewart smiles when talking about what the park is going to become. Unfortunately for him, and other city leaders, though, some of this construction has been controversial.
We were trying to be responsible, and when we looked at it, the cost to move those was greater than the cost to rebuild them, and also, moving them, we didn't know if they would survive the move.
–Sheldon Stewart, Riverton city councilman
Not only were baseball and softball fields ripped up, but the city demolished monuments from the Sons and Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
"We were trying to be responsible, and when we looked at it, the cost to move those was greater than the cost to rebuild them, and also, moving them, we didn't know if they would survive the move," Stewart said.
The old monuments were crumbling at the base, so construction crews took them apart by hand, Stewart added. The plaques were saved and are now at city hall. However, the city plans on building new monuments honoring the Pioneers at the new park.
"The original intent was not to necessarily be able to preserve the monuments, but we wanted to do what we could to honor the dignity behind the monuments," Stewart said.
Stewart also said the city communicated with the Sons and Daughters of Utah Pioneers about these monuments through voicemails.
The new park, with the new monuments, is set to open next year.
