The Unified Fire Authority will be tentatively conducting a controlled burn on Pole Canyon Blvd. this Sunday, June 30, to eliminate the massive influx of tumbleweeds that rolled into the community last week following high winds.

Residents in the areas affected near White Hills may notice and smell smoke as the burn takes place. The controlled burn will remove the tumbleweeds, which pose fire hazards and could potentially obstruct roadways.

To ensure public safety and facilitate the controlled burn, the Eagle Mountain Streets department will assist UFA by closing Pole Canyon Blvd. from Pony Express Parkway to Lehi/Fairfield Road. This closure will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Commuters and residents are advised to plan alternative routes and avoid the area during these hours. While this controlled burn has been scheduled for Sunday, weather conditions may cause it to be rescheduled. Residents should be aware of possible changes based on weather conditions.

The community’s cooperation is appreciated to help the UFA conduct this burn safely and efficiently. For more information or any questions, residents are encouraged to contact the Eagle Mountain City offices.

Cory Wride Memorial Park will host Eagle Mountain’s annual Independence Day celebration on July 4th from 8-10 p.m., featuring a fireworks display and other activities for the family.

The event will include food trucks providing a range of delicious options.

Entertainment for the evening will be provided by a guest DJ, who will play a mix of music to keep the atmosphere lively. The evening’s highlight is the fireworks display synchronized to music.

The city encourages residents to come out and enjoy the festivities. The celebration at Cory Wride Memorial Park aims to bring the community together to honor Independence Day with a night of food, music and fireworks.

Residents and visitors are advised to arrive early to secure a good viewing spot for the fireworks, which are set to begin as night falls. The event is expected to draw a large crowd.

Join Eagle Mountain in celebrating Independence Day at Cory Wride Memorial Park for an evening of community spirit and patriotic pride.

A water shutoff is anticipated to impact five buildings on Pony Express Parkway south of Eagle Mountain Blvd. on Friday.

The affected area should be aware that Landmark Excavating intends to shut off the water from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Landmark Excavating will be connecting to an existing water line during this period. The company advises caution when driving through the work zone to ensure safety.

Eagle Mountain City is committed to minimizing traffic disruptions and thanks the community for its patience and cooperation.

In the wake of this week’s high winds, Eagle Mountain has been inundated with tumbleweeds in certain neighborhoods, causing disruption to local roadways and requiring property cleanup among residents

To address this issue, the Eagle Mountain City Streets department and Neighborhood Improvement crews have been working diligently in the most affected neighborhoods.

To aid in the cleanup efforts, the City has announced the provision of dumpsters at key locations throughout the community.

Starting Wednesday and Thursday this week, dumpsters will be available at the following addresses for residents to dispose of tumbleweeds:

• 2095 E. Granite Ln.
• 2041 Granite Ln.
• 4861 Granite Ln.
• 1942 Emerald Way
• 1845 Church Way
• 2433 Quaking Aspen Ln.
• 2371 Quaking Aspen Ln.
• 2251 Quaking Aspen Ln.
• 589 Stonebriar Dr.
• 5389 Black Smith Road

The City’s approach aims to facilitate a swift and efficient cleanup process, ensuring neighborhoods can return to normal as quickly as possible.

Residents are encouraged to make use of these dumpsters to remove tumbleweeds from their properties and surrounding areas. The City also advises residents to exercise caution while handling tumbleweeds, as they can sometimes harbor pests or cause minor injuries.

For more information on the cleanup efforts and dumpster locations, residents can contact the City Streets department or Neighborhood Improvement departments directly. The community’s cooperation and prompt action in utilizing these resources will play a vital role in restoring cleanliness and safety to the affected neighborhoods.

Eagle Mountain remains committed to supporting its residents through clean-up efforts.

Eagle Mountain has completed a comprehensive feasibility study aimed at evaluating the city’s capacity to attract and support a hotel.

Conducted by hospitality consulting firm HVS, the study equips City leadership with insights into the potential upside, as well as the logistics of hotel development in Eagle Mountain.

“The right hotels can be a catalyst for enticing other forms of commercial development highly desired by residents,” says Eagle Mountain Economic Development Director Evan Berrett.

The study was initiated to provide data to City leaders and potential developers.

Prior to engaging HVS, there was already interest from certain hotel chains; however, these companies required a third-party analysis before moving forward with any evaluations. As of now, there is no specific hotel proposal in Eagle Mountain, but the study’s findings may change that soon.

HVS’s evaluation focused on three potential sites, with an emphasis on the downtown area to ensure the findings would be broadly applicable across the community.

Eagle Mountain has multiple locations that could accommodate a hotel, but the downtown area was selected for its central location, reducing the need for additional studies and maximizing the study’s utility.

“This study helps hotel developers know a project will be successful broadly,” says Berrett. “Going forward, they will need to dedicate the time and resources to review in greater detail and negotiate for sites based on their requirements.”

The analysis included interviews with numerous hotel brands and management teams from Utah and Salt Lake Counties. The approach aimed to assess not only the potential utilization of a hotel but also to identify the best type of hotel for the area.

HVS found that Eagle Mountain has a significant and growing need for a hotel, with the potential to support more than one establishment in the near future.

Based on the study’s findings, HVS recommended the development of an upper-midscale to upscale extended-stay hotel. This facility could feature 120 to 140 guestrooms, a swimming pool, a market pantry, a fitness room, and up to 2,000 sq. ft. of meeting space.

The study also projects an impressive 83% occupancy rate by the third year, surpassing the industry benchmark of 75%, and an average nightly rate between $140 and $150.

The extended-stay model is expected to attract a mix of guests, including 48% business travelers, 32% leisure visitors, 9% group bookings (such as sports teams), and 12% extended-stay guests.

The development of a hotel in Eagle Mountain is seen as a crucial driver of economic development.

Hotels attract large employers who require nearby accommodations for their workforce and visitors. They also support tourism, which in turn boosts local businesses, including sit-down restaurants. Moreover, hotels are essential for hosting privately-run festivals, sports tournaments, and other large-scale events.

“Although we are not as close to I-15 as many other cities in Utah, we have a lot of what hotels look for,” says Berrett. “In my conversations with several brands, they are all very excited about Eagle Mountain.”

Eagle Mountain’s downtown area, while not yet defined, is set to be an integral part of the City’s development strategy.

The future downtown is likely to encompass Cory Wride Memorial Park and a significant portion of land to the east of the park across Pony Express Parkway. This area will feature centers of traditional retail and a Main Street district focused on small businesses.

City leadership is committed to involving the public heavily in the downtown planning process.

A lot of effort will go into ensuring that the new downtown area reflects the community’s needs and values.

“Residents and small-business owners will be the key contributors to designing a unique downtown that emulates who we are and becomes something we are truly proud of,” says Berrett.

In the context of downtown development, land owners and developers in the area are planning for a large commercial development with retailers, restaurants, and other commercial development in the near future.

It is unlikely that any hotel development will occur along Pony Express Parkway, particularly near the middle school, to ensure the suitability and convenience of the hotel’s location for all potential guests.

Moving forward, City leadership intends to maintain current building height regulations, requiring hotels to seek variances if height issues arise.

As the City considers these findings, the groundwork is being laid for future hospitality opportunities that could greatly benefit the community.

For more information about the study and future developments, residents can learn more here. 

Eagle Mountain City introduced Trailhead, a new City magazine this week.

Tailored for newcomers and valuable for all residents, Trailhead features welcome messages from City leaders, local events and activities, tips for exploring scenic trails, community resources, services and stories from fellow residents.

Look for Trailhead in your mailbox and around town, or order online: https://eaglemountaincity.com/product/trailhead-magazine/

Rocky Mountain Power is improving its efforts to mitigate wildfire risks by enhancing weather monitoring capabilities, managing vegetation more actively and strengthening its infrastructure.

These measures are part of a comprehensive strategy to ensure the safety of customers and communities across the service area, including Eagle Mountain.

To prevent potential wildfire ignitions, Rocky Mountain Power is prepared to de-energize power lines during periods of high wildfire risk, according to a press release. This preventative measure is essential to protect both the natural environment and populated areas, RMP says.

Key components of Rocky Mountain Power’s updated safety strategy include:

• Enhanced Safety Settings: Devices equipped with these settings will automatically de-energize lines upon detecting faults, significantly reducing the likelihood of fire ignitions.
• Public Safety Power Shutoff: Implementing a Public Safety Power Shutoff will depend on extreme weather conditions, such as high wind speeds, low humidity, and critically dry fuels. These shutoffs aim to prevent wildfire outbreaks in vulnerable areas.
• Encroachment Strategy/Emergency De-energization: In scenarios where an active wildfire threatens power lines or equipment, Rocky Mountain Power will conduct an emergency de-energization. This proactive approach is designed to minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

For residents seeking more information, Rocky Mountain Power provides several resources:

• A detailed explanation of emergency de-energizations can be found on their website.
• Comprehensive wildfire safety information is available at RockyMountainPower.net/Wildfire.
• Customers can get outage updates and sign up for alerts at RockyMountainPower.net/Outages and RockyMountainPower.net/Alerts.

As of today, Rocky Mountain Power has adjusted one of Eagle Mountain’s circuits to a more sensitive setting. This circuit traverses the mountain and grasslands areas that are particularly susceptible to wildfires.

Eagle Mountain City has taken another step toward water conservation by converting water used to cool servers at the Meta, formerly Facebook, datacenter into irrigation water to water the grass at Cory Wride Memorial Park.

Treatment of the water requires the City to meet the standards of what is referred to as Type 1 effluent, which is considered suitable for irrigation.

“This will help alleviate the stress on our culinary system,” says Public Utilities Director Mack Straw.

The project, started in 2020, was a collaborative effort between the City and Meta to address water conservation in the state of Utah.

While the project was facilitated by Meta, Eagle Mountain City was responsible for constructing the necessary infrastructure. This setup enabled the City to repurpose a portion of the water from Meta’s server cooling systems to irrigate Cory Wride Memorial Park, a significant recreational area for the community.

The conversion of water to Type 1 effluent involves meeting stringent requirements to ensure its safety and suitability for irrigation. These requirements include rigorous filtration and treatment processes to remove impurities and pathogens, ensuring the water is clean enough for use on public landscapes.

“The state requires testing that is facilitated by our Water Resource department and tested by a state certified laboratory,” says Straw.

To achieve this, Eagle Mountain City installed several filtration units—one at the City’s water treatment facility and another at Cory Wride Memorial Park. Additionally, a booster station was added at the park to ensure adequate water pressure and service quality. These infrastructure investments totaled around $5 million.

While the current focus is on irrigating Cory Wride Memorial Park, Eagle Mountain City has plans to extend its water re-use initiative to a few nearby subdivisions. The City is also pursuing re-use water rights from the state of Utah. Once these rights are granted, Eagle Mountain City plans to expand its re-use applications further within the community.  However, there are no immediate plans to expand the use of re-used water for irrigation community-wide.

In addition to the collaboration with Meta, Eagle Mountain City is actively working on another project to convert its wastewater effluent into Type 1 water for re-use.

This week marked a significant milestone as the City began fully running the equipment for this project at Cory Wride Park.

“This project had many hurdles that needed to be addressed,” says Straw. “City staff was diligent with the process and the outcome is a well-designed and implemented system that’s robust and scalable.”

This dual approach—repurposing server cooling water and treating wastewater effluent—is designed to ensure the City is contributing positively to water conservation

The Eagle Mountain City Streets department has announced that the trailway systems at Pioneer Park will be closed for maintenance from June 17 to June 20, 2024. An overlay will be applied during this period to improve the trailways. Park visitors are advised to plan accordingly.

Eagle Mountain residents are invited to participate in public hearings regarding the potential formation of a new school district.

The Eagle Mountain City Council will host two hearings at Eagle Mountain City Hall, located at 1650 E Stagecoach Run, on Thursday, June 13 at 6 p.m. and Tuesday, June 18 at 7 p.m. These hearings aim to gather community feedback on the feasibility studies and recommendations concerning the creation of the new district.

“These public hearings are critical to making the right decision for Eagle Mountain,” says Eagle Mountain’s Director of Legislative Affairs Cliff Strachan. “I know there are varying opinions and it’s important that those perspectives are shared with the City Council before the public comment period ends.”

The proposal, supported by an interlocal agreement among Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, and Fairfield, with Cedar Fort’s endorsement, seeks to improve educational oversight and financial stability.

The cities have engaged LRB Public Finance Advisors to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study. This study assessed the projected outcomes of forming a district comprising the western cities of the Alpine School District.

In a column in the Daily Herald, Mayor Tom Westmoreland emphasized the importance of balancing financial sustainability with the needs of the growing population.   

“We must be mindful of the financial implications and work toward solutions that promote fiscal sustainability while meeting the needs of our growing population,” Westmoreland said.

The community is encouraged to participate in this decision-making process. Residents can fill out a public comment form to express their views. The public comment period runs from May 22 to July 5, followed by a 14-day period during which the city councils will decide whether to place the proposal on the ballot for the November 5, 2024 election.

If approved, the new district would not replace the Alpine School District until July 1, 2027, allowing ample time to address issues such as asset division, staffing and resource allocation.

For more information and to access resources, visit the informational website at Eagle Mountain City Education. Residents can also contact the Eagle Mountain City Council and the Alpine School District for further details.