Salt Lake County residents will vote whether to approve $128M recreation bond this fall

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County voters will decide this November whether to approve a $128 million bond to fund several new recreation facilities and a slew of improvements to existing centers and parks across the county.

The county council voted Tuesday to increase the cost of the 10-year bond from the $100 million it initially approved on Aug. 4 to help cover a new recreation center in West Jordan and a civic campus in Salt Lake City. Both projects were not initially recommended by the county's Recreation Bond Advisory Board, but will be funded if voters support the amended bond approved by the council.

West Jordan Mayor Dirk Burton appeared giddy about the new recreation center being included in the proposal, after arguing for it earlier this month.

"This is so extremely important to West Jordan's residents," he told the council. "I'm exploding on the inside and working really hard to contain myself. I'm so excited that you followed through on what you said you'd do two weeks ago ... and you found a way to make it happen. I'm just so thrilled."

"After you do the vote and it's 'yes,' watch out, I just might do a happy dance," he added.

The bond still needs to be approved by a majority of voters in the county in the upcoming Nov. 3 general election. The county will hold a public meeting on the bond on Oct. 6 at the Salt Lake County Government Center.

What is the bond for?

Salt Lake County has relied on general obligation bonds to pay for large improvements and projects for the Parks and Recreation Department for the past several decades. This year's bond will cover dozens of projects and replace a previous bond that was approved in 2016.

The bond will not increase property taxes on residents if approved, when taking into account the repayment of the previous bond the county has been paying off, according to the county.

Much of the money will be spent on maintenance and improvement projects at parks and recreation centers across the county. It also includes funding for several new facilities, including $21 million for a Union Park Recreation Center in Midvale and the first phase of the Southwest Athletic Complex in Herriman.

The planned Union Park Recreation Center will hopefully feature a swimming pool with slides and a lazy river, along with a basketball court and an indoor track, according to Midvale Mayor Dustin Gettel. The center would benefit the swim teams at the nearby Hillcrest High School, which currently have to travel to West Jordan to train and compete, he said.

"This was definitely an interest for Hillcrest High and Canyons School District to get a swimming pool that can be used for the swim team as well," Gettel said.

The facility is expected to cost between $40 and $45 million, but city voters already approved $10 million toward the project in 2023. If the $21 million from the county bond is approved, the city will work aggressively to cover the rest of the cost.

"We're doing all we can to close that gap and find the additional funding," the mayor said.

In Herriman, the $10 million would cover most of the cost of the initial phase of the Southwest Athletic Complex, which is planned to eventually house 14 athletic fields west of Mountain View Corridor between 11800 South and 12600 South, according to Jonathan LaFollette, the city's communications manager. Phase 1A would encompass the first two fields with the ability to host small tournaments, along with parking, restrooms, and concession areas.

"There are a lot of unmet needs, and I think this would help meet a lot of those recreational needs," LaFollette said. "This would benefit Herriman, but it would benefit South Jordan and Riverton and Bluffdale and West Jordan."

The complex is designed to eventually accommodate large athletic tournaments with teams from out of state. The city projects the finished product will lead to increased hotel stays and raise nearly $600,000 in annual tax revenue for the county.

Herriman has been working on the project for years, according to LaFollette.

"It's been a massive project and maybe (it's) overstating it to call it a Hail Mary, but it's something that has had a lot of hope and a lot of passion attached to it without any guarantees of success," he said. "So, to get to this point has been exciting and we hope it will be something that the region ... can be proud of."

Council adds Salt Lake, West Jordan projects

Mayor Burton of West Jordan spoke at the original meeting earlier this month to push for the inclusion of funds to help pay for a new recreation center near the Ron Wood Park in the southwest corner of the city near Daybreak. The city already hosts the Gene Fullmer Fitness and Recreation Center, but the mayor said residents on the western edge of the city are several miles from the nearest recreation facility.

Burton said he lives between the recreation center and Ron Wood Park, about 4.3 miles from the recreation center and 3.5 miles from the park.

"Between those two is quite a distance and that's a big gap," he told the county council. "If we had a rec center in that spot, it would not only help the people in West Jordan ... but also help other communities out near there, which are not in West Jordan."

The city has long been eyeing a recreation center at that site and has reserved land for the project "for about 10 or 12 years, maybe longer," said Korban Lee, chief administrative officer.

"We also feel like the west part of the valley doesn't have as many recreation opportunities as the east part of the valley because of proximity to public land and proximity to prior recreation investments," he said. "We feel like there's a big need for a rec center at this site."

Like the Herriman complex, he expects the facility to benefit residents of several nearby cities who don't have a nearby recreation center.

Of the additional $28 million added to the bond Tuesday, just shy of $25.7 million will go to the West Jordan recreation center, while $3.1 million will go to Salt Lake City's proposed "civic center," according to Council Chairwoman Aimee Winder Newton.

Salt Lake City's Community Reinvestment Agency board of directors voted on Tuesday to amend the agency's 2027 fiscal year budget to add $2.2 million toward the project, completing the $3.2 million needed for construction documents.

That essentially gets the ball rolling on a design, while the city seeks additional funding for the project so it can get to construction, a spokesperson for the city explained.

The amended bond resolution passed the council 7-1, with Councilman Carlos Moreno voting in opposition. He said he had "big concerns about the process" of adding the new projects to the bond and questioned whether the bond was worth the cost. But both he and Winder Newton noted that the ultimate decision still lies with the voters in November.

"Obviously, this is going to go before the voters, and when I look at policy and how we're ensuring that we're equitable in the services we provide (as a) county, I think this rec center will provide that," she said. "We know there's good things that happen when kids are exercising and connecting together."

Contributing: Carter Williams

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