Eagle Mountain City Council, 15 September 2026

In short: Eagle Mountain's council spent the afternoon deciding not to write a transmission line zone it could not enforce, and hearing a resident board's list of small park and trail fixes. In the evening it welcomed a new sheriff's deputy, took an hour of public criticism over the property tax increase and data centers, and approved the first change to this year's budget. Roughly 90 percent of that change was money carried over from projects already under way.

Present: Mayor Jared Gray; Councilmembers Melissa Clark, Brett Wright and Craig Whiting. Councilmember Rich Wood joined the afternoon work session by phone, with audio failing repeatedly, and was excused from the evening session. Councilmember Zac Huish was excused from both.

Staff: City Manager Ben (city manager); Marcus (city attorney); Brandon (community development); Terrence Dela Peña (budget manager); Brad (public works/parks operations); Lacie Messerly (city recorder); John (engineering/fencing report); Steve (community services staff liaison); Mac (water/public works); a Utah County Sheriff's Office lieutenant who introduced the new deputies; Deputy Cunningham (new patrol deputy); Deputy St. Peter (patrol deputy); Chief Fossum (Unified Fire Authority); Jessie (chair, Community Services Board, presenting) and Charlotte (board member).

Decisions

#	Agenda ref	Motion	Moved / Seconded	Vote	Result
1	4	Adjourn to a closed session under Section 52-4-205(1) of the Utah Code	Whiting / Wright	4-0 (Clark, Wright, Whiting, Wood yes; roll call taken with Wood on the phone)	Passed
2	12–15	Approve the consent agenda, with item 14B including only the Planning Commission's second condition	Wright / Whiting	3-0 (Wright, Whiting, Clark)	Passed
3	16.A	Approve the resolution adopting the first amendment to the fiscal year 2026-2027 annual budget as presented	Wright / Clark	3-0 (Whiting, Clark, Wright)	Passed
4	4	Adjourn to a second closed session under Section 52-4-205(1)	Wright / Whiting	3-0 (Clark, Wright, Whiting)	Passed
5	21	Adjourn	Wright / Clark	Voice vote	Passed

Settled without a vote:

• The council told Brandon to stop work on a transmission line overlay zone, agreeing that state law leaves the city paying any cost its conditions add and that a zone it cannot enforce is not worth writing.
• Mayor Gray pulled the recreational vehicle parking code discussion from the agenda so Councilmember Huish could take part, and asked the recorder to place it on a future agenda.
• The council asked the Community Services Board to survey every city park, say what each one needs, rank those needs and bring back a list the council can attach a funding schedule to.
• The council asked the board to design a way for residents to pay for memorial or honorary benches, while leaving the city free to install benches first out of the existing amenity replacement line.
• Councilmembers agreed the rodeo grounds should be maintained on a schedule like a park, open for riding without charge, with a reservation fee for anyone blocking it off and a waiver for youth groups. Nobody settled what the maintenance will cost.
• Staff will look at whether buying the rented water department trailer beats paying $18,000 a year, and will look at a double drive-through design Councilmember Wood saw at a restaurant in American Fork or Pleasant Grove.
• The precast fence panel report from John will come back as its own work session item rather than being closed out.

Meeting map

Agenda ref	Topic	~Start (elapsed)	One-line note
1.A	Transmission lines and the ag zone	0:00	Council dropped the overlay zone idea after hearing what state law lets a city require.
1.B	Recreational vehicle parking code	0:28	Held for a future meeting so Councilmember Huish could weigh in.
1.C	Community Services Board project list	0:29	Seven recommendations, from curb ramps to a disc golf course.
2	City manager information items	1:12	Report on a meeting with House Speaker Mike Schultz about road funding.
3	Agenda review	1:20	Walked the consent items; one site plan condition flagged for the motion.
4	Closed session	1:35	Adjourned at 5:36 PM, back at 7:00.
5–6	Call to order and Pledge	1:36	Deputy St. Peter led the Pledge without warning.
7	Events and an e-bike safety video	1:38	Unified Fire Authority video on e-bike injuries and the new under-21 helmet law.
8.A	New sheriff's deputy	1:45	Deputy Cunningham introduced.
9.A	JustServe proclamation	1:49	Read by Councilmember Whiting, issued by the mayor without a vote.
10	Public comments	1:52	Three residents on prayer, data centers and the tax increase.
11	Council and mayor items	2:00	Thanks to staff, and answers on prayer timing and budget transparency.
12–15	Consent agenda	2:12	Approved 3-0 with the site plan condition named.
16.A	Budget amendment and public hearing	2:14	Approved 3-0 after a long back-and-forth with residents.
17.A	Open and Public Meetings Act training	3:05	Annual training, with hypotheticals and film clips.
18.A	Legislative priorities	—	Not reached as a separate item.
19	Liaison reports	3:40	Fence panels, traffic calming, transit, fire service transition.
21	Adjournment	3:54	Adjourned at 10:22 PM after a second closed session.

Discussed but NOT on the agenda: the rented water department office trailer, a double drive-through restaurant design Councilmember Wood wants staff to study, precast decorative fence panels and their cost, and the transfer of fire service from Unified Fire Authority.

On agenda but little/no discussion: the recreational vehicle parking code amendment (1.B), the legislative priorities update (18.A), and every consent item except the Spring Run Plaza Lot 2 site plan and the lobbying contract.

What was discussed

1.A — Code for transmission lines

A high voltage line is planned from Spanish Fork Canyon around the bottom of Utah Lake and through the back of the Lake Mountains into Cedar Valley, ending at the Mercer substation. Its preferred route crosses Eagle Mountain's agricultural zone, where transmission lines are not an allowed use, and the city's data centers need the power. Months ago the council asked staff to draft an overlay zone so the city could steer the route. Brandon came back with what he found: Spanish Fork City wrote that zone for the same reason and then repealed it.

The reason is in state law. A city may condition a utility facility only if the condition does not impair safe, reliable and adequate service, and if a condition costs the utility more, the city pays what the code calls the actual excess cost, within 30 days, or the condition is waived. There is a Utility Facility Review Board that hears disputes, but Councilmember Whiting called it a poor backstop. Councilmember Wright put it in one line: "You hold the checkbook is what you hold." Mayor Gray added that the utility holds eminent domain in any case.

Councilmember Wood, fighting a failing phone connection, asked why the existing alternative energy overlay zone could not cover this. Wright drew the distinction he saw: that zone covers behind-the-meter generation the city entitles itself, while this is a state-regulated public utility. When Wood asked what an overlay zone is for if the utility need not follow zoning, Whiting answered, "that's the crux of the debate." Wood said the question had answered itself. Brandon noted Rocky Mountain Power and its consultants have been coming to the development review committee, and Councilmember Wright sits on that committee, so the city keeps a route to ask for changes informally.

1.C — Community Services Board project recommendations

Jessie, who chairs the Community Services Board, brought seven recommendations drawn from resident conversations at city events, a feedback app and things board members noticed. She opened by naming the constraint: "I want to recognize the strain that both our staff and our budget are under right now." The board did not rank the list beyond agreeing everything on it belonged there.

Five trail crossings lack curb ramps required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, at about $4,450 each. Wright called that one a no-brainer given Community Development Block Grant money can cover it, but Brad cautioned that each site needs assessment first: a ramp poured where a trail tees into a sidewalk would dump users into the roadway. Councilmember Clark asked whether the city's code has a gap that let trails get built without ramps, and pushed for a code fix rather than case-by-case catching. The off-street trails master plan identified 39 signage problems, including blind intersections where all-terrain vehicles and mountain bikes meet without warning and trails whose difficulty and permitted uses are unmarked. Smith Ranch Park has three playgrounds and nowhere to sit; benches run just under $1,000. Clark proposed memorial benches, noting how often neighbors ask to donate something when a child dies, and Brad said the city already has an amenity replacement line that could buy benches sooner than a donation program would.

The rodeo grounds drew the longest exchange. The arena is groomed the week before the annual rodeo and becomes hard to ride about a week after, and the lease with Pony Express Events may blur who owes what maintenance. Wood argued the city should decide whether it is a park or not: "we can't continue to pretend like it's not something that we need to maintain." Mayor Gray, a horseman, compared it to mowing a soccer field and said the old tractor the city kept was meant for this. Brad pushed back on the time: turning the arena is closer to a couple of hours than 15 minutes, and three times a week the hours add up. The council landed on open riding at no charge, a reservation fee for exclusive use, and a waiver for groups like the high school Future Farmers of America. Wildlife-themed vinyl wraps on utility boxes, at $1,000 to $1,500 each, could come from the roughly $48,000 collected in the restricted public art account fed by a quarter-percent capital projects tax. On Nolan Park, where the splash pad is unusable and there is nowhere to park, the board asked only that a redesign process start; Clark asked that Nolan Park East, where residents from nearby townhomes exercise their dogs, be included and considered for a community garden. The last item asks only for a conversation with Firefly about hosting a championship-level disc golf course, since the existing one is tight enough that long throws land in backyards.

2 — City manager information items

City Manager Ben reported on a meeting that day with House Speaker Mike Schultz, arranged by Representative Stephanie Grecious. The city's pitch was not an earmark but a change in how road money reaches fast-growing areas with few seats on regional boards. Eagle Mountain adds more than 200 cars a month, and close to 500 across the region with Saratoga Springs and west Lehi, while transportation funding is already programmed out to 2032 and beyond. The city offered to build projects sooner, with itself or development partners fronting cost and state money arriving later, which gives residents relief now and costs the state less than building in 2033. Mayor Gray said Schultz extended the meeting to nearly double its scheduled length and agreed the problem needs addressing.

16.A — First amendment to the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget

Budget Manager Terrence Dela Peña presented the year's first amendment. About 89 percent of the capital side is rollover: money the council approved last year for projects that span fiscal years, moved so contracts already signed can be paid. New capital asks include $1.8 million to widen Pony Express from Eagle Mountain Boulevard to Shadow Drive, going from two lanes to five and removing the median, with construction planned for February 2027; $250,000 to design the next phase from Shadow Drive to the public works area; and $250,000 to design the removal of two roundabouts in the Silver Lake neighborhood, replacing them with signals. On the operating side the largest share is vehicles for staff the council already approved, plus equipment, a plan review software purchase, impact fee studies, an airport feasibility study and one new deputy city recorder.

Three residents spoke against it. One questioned why city vehicles go home with employees and whether $250,000 for a design of a straight road is a fair price. Another asked the council not to pass the amendment because the slides carried no dollar figures, and asked whether the "admin building" was a new city hall. A third compared the list to a grocery list with desserts on it, and argued painting and widening the existing roundabouts would beat spending $250,000 on signals.

Staff answered each. Ben explained that the administration building is an office for sewer plant staff, planned as part of the treatment plant and last in line so the processing capacity comes first, and that take-home vehicles go to on-call staff who must respond to water breaks at any hour, with police vehicles following a national norm and an Internal Revenue Service exemption. Councilmember Whiting pointed out the line-by-line worksheet is in the public meeting packet on the city website. Clark explained that parks impact fees cannot legally be moved to water or staffing. Mayor Gray defended the future city hall, saying nine offices serve roughly 200 employees and he will never sit in the building he is advocating for. Wright offered a figure for scale: property taxes raised about $2.8 million citywide last year, and even after the increase the number reaches roughly $4.5 million, about half the sheriff's contract.

17.A — Open and Public Meetings Act training

City Attorney Marcus delivered the yearly training, combined with the municipal ethics act, using clips from a casino film and a television comedy to make the points stick. A meeting is a quorum of the body, three councilmembers not counting the mayor, discussing public business, whether in a room, on a call, or over text. Two members may talk and even agree; adding a third, even in sequence, is a violation. Members may discuss the professional competence of an individual in a closed session, but "individual" here means a human being, not a company. Penalties run from voiding the action to expulsion from office.

On ethics, he covered the $50 safe harbor for gifts, the ban on using office for personal gain, and the disclosure rules: a sworn statement to the mayor and recorder for business interests over $5,000, plus a spoken disclosure immediately before the item is called, and under city code, recusal. Councilmember Wright noted Marcus keeps the council "on a short leash" in closed sessions for exactly this reason.

19 — Liaison reports

John reported that a custom precast fence panel mold costs $20,000 to $30,000 to design and lasts 800 to 1,000 pours, after which each panel costs the same as a stock one. Clark asked whether restricted art funds could pay for it; Ben said street beautification can qualify. Mayor Gray's interest is different: city-owned forms would let developers get a better-looking fence cheaply. The item goes to a future work session.

Clark reported on the Utah Transit Authority's new on-demand service, which will not carry a rider more than six miles unless the destination is a transit station. That cuts off residents in City Center who work at Walmart or Ridley's. She is pushing to have specific destinations designated, which raises the limit to ten miles, and warned the limit will suppress the ridership numbers the agency is using to judge the service. The service logged about 1,000 rides in its first nine days with 16 vehicles. Mayor Gray said Bob Allen at Mountainland Association of Governments asked whether Eagle Mountain wants to join a Saratoga Springs grant application; Ben reported advice to apply separately, since each application can seek up to $3 million. On fire service, Mayor Gray said the contract is 90 percent drafted, with a target date of 31 December 2027, and the open question is how to move the tax without triggering a truth-in-taxation process for what should be a net-zero change to residents.

Notable moments

• A resident objected to the opening prayer. Brianne Salazar asked why the council prays and called the absence of a clear separation "troubling." Mayor Gray answered later that the prayer happens before he calls the meeting to order, and said that is by design.
• Data centers came up twice from the floor. Joy Rasmussen said residents are concerned about land use, property values, the tax deals and infrasound, and asked the council to pass a resolution halting approvals. No councilmember responded to that request during the meeting.
• A first-time attendee asked to see the work. Missy Perry, a resident of six years, said she supports more deputies but wants the line-by-line proof of what was cut first, pointing to Saratoga Springs as a model, and said the topic keeps getting deleted from community forums.
• The referendum timing was corrected. Rasmussen said the city's pamphlet lists August 2027 while the code points to this November. Mayor Gray said the county is already printing ballots and the signatures are not yet counted, so if the referendum qualifies, the city would call a special election.
• Councilmember Wood's audio failed for most of the work session. He got through on the transmission line item and the parks discussion, but several attempts came through silent, and he was off entirely by evening.
• Councilmember Wright praised the mayor at length, on purpose. "He's not expecting this. He doesn't know this. I'm probably going to embarrass him, and I'm going to do it on purpose."
• Clark honored a staff member. She credited Evan Barrett with the street fair that just marked its tenth anniversary, started when he was a city intern.
• Mayor Gray got pulled over. Recalling that the new deputy has not yet stopped him, he noted it happened last week, "pulling into City Hall of all places."

About this transcript

This account comes from an automatic transcript, and several proper nouns are uncertain. Councilmember Huish's surname appears as "Hewish" throughout; Zac Hilton is a staff member and a different person. The Mercer substation is rendered both "Mercer" and "Merkur," and Nolan Park appears as "Nolan," "Noland" and once as "Miller Park" in Councilmember Wood's remarks, where context makes clear he meant Nolan. Pony Express Parkway shows up as "Point Express" in places, Quarry Ridge Park as "Cory-Royd" and "Quarry Ride," Eagle Mountain Boulevard's cross street "Paul Canyon" may be Pole Canyon, and the block grant program is written both CDBG and CBDG. The restaurant Councilmember Wood wants staff to study is transcribed as "Tava."

Speaker labels are diarized but unnamed, so attribution rests on roll calls and on people addressing each other. Mayor Gray, the five councilmembers, City Manager Ben, City Attorney Marcus and Budget Manager Terrence Dela Peña are identifiable with confidence. Several staff first names (Brandon, Brad, Steve, John, Mac, Kyle) appear without surnames in the recording, and the sheriff's lieutenant who introduced Deputy Cunningham is never named. Two exchanges during the parks discussion are ambiguous enough that a line could belong to either Councilmember Clark or Councilmember Wright. The dollar figure in the public art account was said three ways in a row, $49,000, $48,000, then $47,000, and was not settled. Short stretches around the microphone failures and the video playback are garbled or consist of crosstalk, and the training section includes dialogue from film and television clips rather than from anyone in the room.