Eagle Mountain City Council, 19 May 2026

In short: Eagle Mountain's council met all afternoon for briefings and all evening for business. It agreed to back an $8 million road-improvement bond with a citywide sales tax pledge to get a cheaper interest rate, agreed to sign the city up as the first "Believer City," approved a reworked agreement with Ivory Homes after stripping a water clause, approved a fencing deal with Flagship Homes, and rejected a proposed wildfire setback rule.

Present: Mayor Jared Gray and all five councilmembers — Melissa Clark, Brett Wright, Craig Whiting, Rich Wood, and Zac Huish. No one was excused, and every roll call recorded five votes. A fire official took part in the evening's wildfire discussion by phone.

Staff: The city manager (referred to as Ben); Marcus Draper (city attorney); Steve Mumford (deputy city manager); David Stroud (senior planner); Elizabeth "Beth" Fewkes (long range planner); Brandon (community development); Lacie Messerly (city recorder); Dawn Hancock (events manager); Erin Hart (city treasurer); Jason Hall (recreation); Chief Fossum (Unified Fire Authority). Outside presenters: Laura Lewis (municipal advisor, LRB Public Finance Advisors); Randy Larson (bond counsel, Gilmore Bell); Benjamin Lyne (founder, Show Me a Sign); Jessie Southworth (chair, Community Services Board); Brad Mackey (Ivory Homes).

Decisions

#	Agenda ref	Motion	Moved / Seconded	Vote	Result
1	4	Adjourn to a closed session under Section 52-4-205(1)	Whiting / Wood	5-0	Passed
2	10.A	Appoint Chad Decoursey to the Planning Commission for a one-year vacated term, May 2026 – March 2027	Huish / Clark	5-0	Passed
3	10.A	Appoint Laura Jensen as a three-year alternate, May 2026 – March 2029	Clark / Whiting	5-0	Passed
4	12–14	Approve the consent agenda, correcting the budget years in 14.A to read 2026–2027 and pulling 14.B for separate discussion	Clark / Wright	5-0	Passed
5	14.B	Approve the memorandum of agreement with Ivory Homes, changing "the city will consider" to "the city may consider" and deleting the first listed benefit (reduced water requirements)	Wood / Wright	5-0	Passed
6	15.A	Deny the ordinance adding wildland urban interface setback definitions and standards	Wood / Wright	5-0	Passed (ordinance denied)
7	16.A	Approve the Flagship Homes development agreement	Whiting / Wood	5-0	Passed
8	17.A	Add to the legislative priorities list a study of whether the city should own the forms for concrete privacy walls	Wood / second unclear (the mayor names Councilmember Huish)	5-0	Passed
9	17.A	Add to the legislative priorities list the creation of a water policy covering the priority dates of paper water rights	Wright / Wood	5-0	Passed
10	20	Adjourn	Clark / Whiting	Voice vote	Passed

Settled without a vote:

• The council told staff to sign Eagle Mountain up as a "Believer City" on the Show Me a Sign website at no cost, with sign locations to come back for approval one at a time; the city attorney said no formal vote was needed, and the mayor liked the idea of a proclamation later.
• The council settled on the third bonding option — pledging citywide sales tax on a subordinate basis behind existing bonds — so that bond counsel could start drafting documents.
• The Community Services Board was told to go ahead and draft a full sponsorship policy and bring a recommendation back.
• The council agreed the Corrigan Farms parcel should be rezoned RTI rather than industrial, and asked staff to bring back a formal rezone.
• The Deer Run concept plan was left unresolved; Brad Mackey was asked to meet with councilmembers two at a time, with the mayor included, before anything comes back.
• The council agreed to expand the utility bill assistance program to renters and to cover the whole city utility bill rather than just water.
• The council told planning staff to keep developing senior housing rules as an overlay zone rather than a standalone zone, and to work out an incentive strong enough to get builders interested.
• Staff was asked to follow up on a resident's report that the Meadow Ranch equine overlay had missed part of the development.
• Item 1.F, the Scenic Mountain rezoning of 223 properties, was postponed to a later meeting because it was not ready.

Meeting map

Agenda ref	Topic	~Start (elapsed)	One-line note
1.B	Become a Believer City	~0:02	Taken first; unanimous enthusiasm, staff told to sign up.
1.A	Tax increment financing and bonding options	~0:20	Three security options presented; council picked the strongest backstop.
1.C	Recreation and events sponsorship	~0:50	Board asked permission to draft a policy; got it.
1.D	Corrigan Farms rezone	~1:05	Quick agreement on the RTI zone.
1.E	Deer Run concept plan	~1:15	Longest work session item; roads, a wash, and a deer corridor all unresolved.
1.F	Scenic Mountain rezoning	—	Postponed before it was reached.
1.G	Utility billing water assistance	~1:40	About $15,000 left to spend by December; expansion agreed.
2	City manager information items	~1:45	Water planning, neighborhood meetings, county money for the observatory.
3	Agenda review	~1:50	Flagged the budget-year typo and the Ivory agreement.
4	Closed session	1:54	Adjourned at 5:57 p.m.
5–6	Policy session call to order and pledge	3:07	Reconvened at 7:10 p.m.
7.A	Upcoming events	~3:10	Pony Express Days runs May 25 to June 13.
8.A	Rodeo royalty introductions	~3:15	Queen, princess, and attendants introduced themselves.
9	Public comments	3:17	Three Silver Lake residents on the missing second road.
10.A	Planning Commission appointments	3:23	Both appointees sworn in.
11	Council and mayor items	~3:28	Long, unusually personal round of comments.
12–14	Consent agenda	~4:00	Passed with a correction and one item pulled.
14.B	Ivory Homes memorandum of agreement	~4:05	Amended on the floor, then approved.
15.A	Wildland urban interface setbacks	~4:15	Public hearing drew no speakers; ordinance denied 5-0.
16.A	Flagship Homes development agreement	~4:45	Approved with almost no debate.
17.A	Legislative priorities	~4:50	Two additions; Bitcoin payments still pending.
18	Liaison reports	~5:00	Rodeo prep, bulk trash pickup, youth council changes.
20	Adjournment	5:02	Adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

Discussed but NOT on the agenda: a Silver Lake Parkway connection to the new high school and a requested stop sign near Brookhaven Elementary (raised in public comment); a possible joint race with Cedar Fort to raise money for volunteer police; county funding for the city observatory; bulk curbside trash pickup; accepting Bitcoin for city fees; senior housing zoning; and a Meadow Ranch equine overlay gap.

On agenda but little/no discussion: the Scenic Mountain rezoning of 223 properties (postponed); the two bond releases and the May 5 minutes (passed inside the consent agenda without comment); and the financial report and upcoming agenda items, which were never taken up.

What was discussed

1.B — Become a Believer City

Benjamin Lyne, a 20-year resident, asked the city to become the first "Believer City." He explained that he has spent years running through Eagle Mountain holding a sign that reads "I believe in you," and that he has now launched a nonprofit, Show Me a Sign, to spread the idea. He wanted two things from the city: permission to install permanent signs carrying belief-based messages in a few high-impact locations, and help organizing chapters and events. He stressed that his nonprofit would raise the money, so the city would pay nothing.

Every councilmember who spoke was supportive. One said it would be "a shame for another city to become the first" to adopt the idea, while cautioning that the city has to stay even-handed with other groups that might want a similar partnership. Councilmember Clark called it "a no-brainer" and pushed to sign up now and sort out sign placement later. Councilmember Wood asked to see the message list and locations. The city attorney said the mayor could act without a vote, so staff was directed to register the city, with each sign location to be approved separately. Clark suggested a proclamation later so the whole council could go on record.

1.A — Tax increment financing and bonding options

Laura Lewis, the city's municipal advisor, and Randy Larson, its bond counsel, came to settle how roughly $8 million in road work would be secured. The money would speed up improvements to Old Airport Road and the Lake Mountain Corridor, which Lewis said would otherwise be built to a minimum standard rather than full width with turn lanes. The repayment source is not in question: a share of the sales tax generated inside the new development area, with both the city and the county participating. What the council had to choose was what, if anything, stands behind that.

Lewis laid out three options. The first pledges only the tax increment, which carries the most risk for buyers and the highest cost — roughly 6.20 percent, with an average payment near $930,000 a year and a reserve fund carved out of the bond proceeds. The second adds a moral obligation, a non-binding promise to put any shortfall into the budget. The third adds a binding but subordinate pledge of citywide sales tax, which she estimated at about 4.12 percent and roughly $732,000 a year, with no reserve needed. She noted the city's sales tax bonds are rated AA-, that sales tax revenue is around $13 million and growing, and that even after this pledge the city would retain roughly $82 million in borrowing capacity.

Councilmember Huish recused himself from any future vote but asked questions for education, confirming that a city hall or rec center could still be financed separately without touching that capacity, and probing prepayment terms. Councilmember Wood asked what happens if the state takes over road maintenance; Lewis said the city would keep paying unless it could negotiate otherwise. Councilmember Wright argued for option three, saying he disliked tying up money in a reserve fund for 15 years and wanted the lower rate. Clark agreed, and the mayor heard enough assent to call it consensus.

1.C — Recreation and events sponsorship

Community Services Board chair Jessie Southworth asked for permission to develop a formal sponsorship policy. The city currently accepts no sponsorships for recreation programs and has used them for events only informally. She showed that neighboring cities run programs ranging from about $300 to about $25,000, walked through Saratoga Springs' tiered recreation model and Lehi's event model, and recommended starting with jersey logo sponsorships as the simplest step. Her pitch was that sponsorships lower costs for families, improve equipment and scholarships, and give local businesses an organized way to give back.

The council was uniformly positive but raised guardrails. Councilmember Huish worried about the city looking like it plays favorites, invoking Idaho Falls' corporate-branded fireworks show. Councilmember Wood wanted the ability to cut a sponsor loose if that sponsor becomes an embarrassment, suggested separating recreation sponsorships from event sponsorships, and pressed hardest on succession — if the current chair leaves or "gets hit by a bus," the program has to keep running without her. Councilmember Whiting asked that local businesses win any tie. Clark noted the board also wants to avoid competing with existing local nonprofits. The board was told to build the policy and come back.

1.D — Corrigan Farms rezone

Senior Planner David Stroud brought a rezone request for a parcel near the QTS and Meta sites that is currently being used to stage contractor trailers. The applicant originally asked for the industrial zone, but staff recommended the RTI zone instead, since RTI already surrounds the property on three sides, with unincorporated county land to the west. The council agreed immediately. Councilmember Wood said RTI "fits the narrative of what we're trying to do in that area." Huish asked why it had not been rezoned RTI in the first place; Stroud guessed the owner is relatively new to the parcel and that earlier owners simply did not ask. Stroud will bring back a formal rezone.

1.E — Deer Run concept plan

Ivory Homes brought a concept plan for a foothill residential subdivision north of SR-73 and the newly extended Airport Road. Stroud flagged three complications: a deer migration corridor crossing the northwest corner, a wash that the plan currently splits down the middle between private lots, and two city-owned parcels the applicant wants to fold into the project — parcels still governed by the Clearview development agreement, which requires half-acre lots and allows horses.

The roads drew the sharpest exchange. Councilmember Wood objected that one road simply ends at the edge of the plan and that the plan does not show the developer's half of a road on the north boundary. Brad Mackey of Ivory Homes explained the road's endpoint depends on whether he can buy an adjoining Holbrook parcel. Wood pushed back on planning around conditional purchases: "if it's filled with too many ifs, then what are we actually getting?" He asked for a rendering showing both outcomes. Separately, Wood pressed staff on why no wildlife biologist is reviewing applications now that the position is vacant, and argued outside consultants should fill the gap.

The wildlife corridor caught Mackey off guard — he said one leg of it "has never been shown to me" across a year of meetings. Councilmember Wright said the leg is not new and blamed poor communication, tying it to the loss of staff biologist Todd Black and renewing his call to hire a replacement. Councilmember Whiting said a developer should not simply eat the lost lots and floated recovering density elsewhere; Huish agreed. The mayor cautioned that the parcel has no entitlement, sits in the Air Force buffer area, and that he was the sole no vote on its earlier rezone — so "density" might mean one-acre lots rather than more homes. Wright suggested Mackey meet councilmembers two at a time, and the mayor added himself to those meetings.

1.G — Utility billing water assistance program

City Treasurer Erin Hart asked to widen an existing assistance program funded by federal block grant money, with about $15,000 that must be spent by the end of December. Two changes were proposed: opening eligibility to renters, not just homeowners, and covering 50 percent of the whole city utility bill up to $75 a month instead of only the water portion. The three-month cap stays because federal rules require it. Wood asked whether service could still be shut off if the 50 percent does not clear the bill; Hart explained payments are applied to fees, then water, then other services. Clark asked whether other funding streams might extend the help; Hart said staff could look into it. The council agreed to proceed.

15.A — Wildland urban interface setback ordinance

Long Range Planner Elizabeth Fewkes brought a proposal, recommended by fire officials, to require a 30-foot setback from the property line for homes and larger accessory buildings on lots that back onto wildland — washes, hillsides, and federal or state trust land at the city's edge. She was candid that the idea goes beyond state law, that she found few comparable ordinances outside Utah, and that it would likely push those lots larger and raise their cost. Her argument was that Eagle Mountain is unusual: it is ringed by wildland, it deliberately preserves open space, and defensible space is what actually saves houses.

The council could not get comfortable. Huish, whose own insurer dropped him, asked whether the rule would improve the city's fire rating; a fire official on the phone said honestly that no one can promise that, because insurers cancel policies regardless, though he defended 30 to 50 feet of defensible space as the single best protection. Wood objected that the burden falls entirely on homeowners while the undeveloped neighbor has no matching duty, and asked how buyers would even learn their backyard is restricted. Wright called it a code enforcement nightmare and worried about a boundary that moves every time the next phase is built. Clark, who initially saw it as a useful safety tool, ended up agreeing there was no clean fix.

The public hearing drew no speakers. Wood moved to deny and the ordinance failed 5-0 — but the conversation immediately turned to what should replace it. The council asked staff to look at requiring larger lots along the wildland edge, at fire-resistant building materials for sheds and hay barns, at clearing duties for undeveloped adjacent land, and at educating residents. Brandon noted the state is adopting the 2024 wildland urban interface code around July 1, which contains its own defensible space rules and may give staff a better starting point.

16.A — Flagship Homes development agreement

City Attorney Marcus Draper presented an agreement letting Flagship Homes post a bond for required privacy fencing along arterial and collector roads and begin building the fence within nine months, rather than installing it before any homes go up. He described it as identical to a deal already made with Meritage Homes in the same Harmony development, and framed it as treating the two builders the same. The item passed 5-0 with no real debate. The more interesting thread was Wood's aside: he asked whether the city has ever considered buying the forms for these concrete panels itself, to cut costs and get a uniform look along arterials. That idea became a separate motion adding a cost study to the legislative priorities list.

14.B — Memorandum of agreement with Ivory Homes

This item was pulled from the consent agenda during the afternoon agenda review and taken up separately in the evening. The council had already approved a version in April, but it was never signed because SITLA declined to execute it; the new version simply removes SITLA as a party. Draper warned that the real loss is around the middle school site, since that is the piece SITLA controls, though he stressed the clause only committed the parties to negotiate in good faith.

Councilmember Whiting said he was uncomfortable removing SITLA. That objection eased after Brad Mackey explained Ivory's lease structure: Ivory transacts on all eight villages and would exercise its option on the Pony Express parcel, purchase it from SITLA, and then deal with the city directly — meaning Ivory can deliver what SITLA would have signed for, subject to SITLA's consent on any final deal.

Wood's objection was different and stuck. He had made the original motion in April without catching a clause listing reduced water requirements among the benefits the city might offer. He argued that even a "may" becomes an expectation, and that water is not something he is willing to trade. Wright proposed softening "the city will consider" to "the city may consider" and striking the water item entirely. Clark, sympathetic to both sides, noted that once the city bends on water for one developer, every other developer expects the same. Mackey said only that it is all a negotiation and something else would have to be traded instead. The amended agreement passed 5-0.

Notable moments

• Three Silver Lake residents came to say the same thing. Dave Peterson, Robert Woodward, and Scott Griffith each asked for a road connecting Silver Lake to the new high school. Griffith said his online petition drew 300 signatures in under two days and now has 445. Woodward was blunt about the studies: "We don't need a study. We need a road." He pointed to a recent crash on Pony Express that stranded people for hours.
• A councilmember defended the council from the dais. Councilmember Wood, who lives in Silver Lake himself, said nobody on the council benefits financially, that the Lake Mountain Corridor exists because of the people sitting there, and that an eight-to-ten-year timeline is a money problem, not a will problem. He offered his phone number: "I'd rather you call me than try to fight this out on Facebook because it doesn't seem like anybody's interested in the truth there."
• The mayor described his own frustration at a regional funding meeting. Mayor Gray said Eagle Mountain roads had scored below the funding threshold and that "because of my just short of a tantrum" some may get moved up. He also corrected the record on a television interview: "I didn't say that I was okay with 8 to 10 years. What I said is that's not soon enough."
• Five emergency calls in twenty minutes. The mayor reported that while he sat in that meeting, the city had five calls in twenty minutes — extrications, life flights, search and rescue — needing mutual aid from Pleasant Grove, American Fork, and Lehi. "We can't do this any longer."
• A councilmember recused himself before the discussion even started. Councilmember Huish said upfront he would recuse from the bond vote and was asking questions only for education, adding "I'm not giving any investment advice to the council."
• A developer learned about a wildlife corridor leg on the spot. Brad Mackey said the northwest leg shown on the staff slide had never been presented to him despite a year of meetings, prompting Councilmember Wright to acknowledge the city had not communicated it well.
• A resident asked for a stop sign in stark terms. Scott Griffith said of Golden Eagle Road and Silver Creek Way near Brookhaven Elementary, "a kid almost dies every day, and I don't think a kid should have to die in order to put a stop sign in."
• Eagle Mountain may become the first Utah city to take Bitcoin. Councilmember Huish confirmed his proposal to accept Bitcoin for application fees, not utilities, is still on the priorities list. "We would be the 4th city in America, the 1st in Utah."
• The mayor got asked for an autograph. After a Shark Tank-style event at the junior high — where he says he bought two student businesses and is now broke — a child asked for his signature. His takeaway: "nobody's looking for Jared Gray's autograph... They're looking for the mantle."
• The evening's most explicitly religious remarks. Councilmember Whiting urged residents to watch Speaker Mike Johnson's prayer rededicating the country and read a scripture that President Trump had shared, saying God preserved this land for a purpose.

About this transcript

Several proper nouns come through unreliably. Councilmember Zac Huish is rendered as "Hewish," "Huish," "Hughes," and "Huebsch" at different points; the new planning commissioner appears as "Chad DiCorsi," "Chad Kirksey," and "Chad Decoursey," with the agenda confirming Decoursey. City Recorder Lacie Messerly is variously "Lacey" and "Lacey Messerschmidt." Treasurer Erin Hart is transcribed as "Aaron." Elizabeth Fewkes goes by "Beth," and the agenda spelling is used here. "Sitla" is the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration; "RUFA," "wooey," and "bluey" are all the transcript struggling with UFA and the wildland urban interface acronym. The mayor's line about recognizing "El Monte as a believer city" is almost certainly "Eagle Mountain."

Speaker attribution has real limits. The automatic labels are consistent per voice but unmapped to names, and they blend people in several places: bond counsel Randy Larson shares a label with Councilmember Rich Wood, and the fire official who joined by phone during the wildfire item is addressed as "Brett" — which is not Councilmember Brett Wright, who was in the room and speaking throughout. That remote voice is most likely Chief Fossum or another Unified Fire Authority officer, but the transcript never confirms it. Where the speaker was genuinely unclear, this summary says "a councilmember" rather than guessing.

Two names may be one person or two: a "John Magnus" is mentioned as someone Wright wants at a water summit, while the city manager refers to "John Schutz" working with the engineering firm Hanson Allen Luce. The John assigned the water rights and fence form research is not clearly identified as either. Audio is roughest during the closed session transition, the swearing-in of the new commissioners (where the oath overlaps), and the rodeo royalty introductions, where the young women's names and the labels do not line up cleanly.