Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Copy Link
SunCrest Public Works Station Meeting Recap
SunCrest Public Works Station Meeting Recap (3/26/14)
Draper City staff on hand began the meeting by having poster boards of the site renderings, site plan, and estimated costs of the building. A brief introduction and history of the proposed works station was given. 1.7 million of the TRSSD funds have already been appropriated for this project should they decide to move forward with the SunCrest architectural design approved option. Draper City explained the less aesthetic option ($290k) is typically what is used in other cities (American Fork was used as an example). Draper City staff explained the benefits of having the Public Works Station up here would reduce travel time, reduce man-hours, faster service, safety, and convenience (among others).
From 100-125 residents in attendance, questions were asked about the facility, among them:
• What alternatives have been explored versus spending a large amount of money? 1.7 million can only be spent once. With an estimated 21-year turn around, what other alternatives were considered? I.E. Buying another truck, hiring another full time employee, etc… No cost benefit analysis was provided at the meeting.
• Why do we even need this? Most residents in attendance complemented Draper City’s efforts for both this year and previous years and felt like the current service is acceptable. No analysis or data was provided at the meeting showing complaint calls, accident related issues, estimated reduction in current man hours, reduced fuel savings, etc…
• What other areas were considered? Draper City explained that this was the best location for this facility among the others considered. No other site plans or analyses of alternative locations were available at the meeting.
• Why would such a structure be built on known landslide area? The proposed area is known potential landslide area. Residential homes cannot be built here because of this. Because the building would be a “non occupied” building, this structure could be allowed. As mentioned, no other site plans were presented or available at the meeting.
• Is a fuel tank in a FireWise community area the best option? Draper City and SunCrest residents have recently gone through a FireWise program to help SunCrest be less susceptible to wildfires spreading. Many residents felt putting a 1,000-gallon fuel tank would be counter intuitive to recent efforts.
• Should a special service district pay for this? Would Draper City use any public funds to reduce the investment by the TRSSD tax paying citizens?
• Is this a conflict of interest? If Draper City owns the land and the TRSSD owns the structure, what happens going forward?
The meeting was continually repeated as an information-gathering meeting. Draper City staff indicated public comment would be considered and presented to Draper City officials. If you were unable to attend, you can submit comments online at www.draper.ut.us/substation
Proposed Public Works Facility (Salt Dome) in SunCrest
At the February 18 City Council meeting Draper City officials discussed plans for a proposed Public Works Substation (aka Salt Dome) located in SunCrest. Similar plans were presented before Draper City and discussed at a Board of Trustees meeting (aka SunCrest Hoa) in 2013. The talks and plans for the Substation appeared to have halted publicly after concerns of the Substation’s impact in SunCrest from SunCrest residents.
At the present time, two structures are being proposed. The first, would serve as the Substation and storage for salt. The second, a 1,000 gallon fuel station. The proposed Substation would be paid from the Traverse Ridge Special Service District fund. This is a tax that SunCrest homeowners pay for “elevation related issues” based on their homes value.
Draper City Council agreed at the February 18th meeting to move forward with gathering input from SunCrest residents in an open house style forum. No date for the meeting has been set at this time.
Below is a site map, building sketch, interior view, and Draper City's cost breakdown of the proposed facility including Draper City's estimated time to payback the facilty.
Draper City suspends decision to declare 120-acre of SunCrest property as surplus
At the city council meeting on January 7 Draper City made the decision to suspend declaring 120 acres of SunCrest property as surplus. Declaring property as surplus is Draper Citys formal declaration of their intent to sell the property to interested parties. After a property is declared as surplus a request for proposals ‘or RFPs’ are released to begin looking at different uses for the land.
The 100-acre parcel located near the Highland/Alpine drew a large response from Highland city residents. Residents presented a petition of 120+ residents asking Draper City not to declare the property as surplus. Among their concerns were lot premiums paid by residents for ‘open space’, disturbance of wildlife, less accessible access to the trail system, new infrastructure, water concerns, existing power lines in the area, and the overall difficulty of building on the terrain. Draper City explained their intent would be to not add any infrastructure to this particular parcel.
The 20-acre parcel located near the existing Maple Hollow subdivision didn’t receive as much attention from the public. Draper City explained this parcel they believe would be much easier for a developer to submit plans for as most of the infrastructure is already there. Residents from SunCrest asked questions wondering if this is the first of more ‘surplus’ properties yet to be released and when can we expect to have a more permanent plan of what will happen with the 2300+ acres Draper City purchased in 2012. It was also brought before Draper City that both properties lay within SunCrests governing documents and both parcels would be subject to its rules and regulations.
Draper City indicated declaring these parcels as surplus is the first step in helping repay 5.6 million that purchased the 2300+ acres. They reiterated their intent is to keep as much of the SunCrest property as open space but from the beginning these were 2 of the 3 parcels they would try to sell to help recoup costs. The 3 parcel is believed to be in the Deer Ridge community located where the roads ends on the southwest. No information was given to the expected release or size of this potential parcel.
The next public hearing on both the 100-acre and 20-acre parcels will be January 21 at Draper City – 1020 E Pioneer Road.
