Happy Monday, Eagle Mountain. Colten here.

I cannot believe it’s already August. Like, wtf. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.

Let’s see what we’ve got going on this week.

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Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs leaders met on July 30 for a special interlocal transportation meeting, working through unresolved pieces of Eagle Mountain City's Transportation Master Plan that matter to Saratoga Springs. What Eagle Mountain does with its roads directly affects Saratoga Springs, since every main road out of Eagle Mountain's northeast side leads straight through it.

The biggest discussion point was Lake Mountain Corridor, the road that will travel through Lake Mountain and connect with Saratoga Springs at Mountain View Corridor, close to the Saratoga Springs temple. Exactly where the road should connect with Mountain View Corridor is not finalized. Saratoga Springs wants the route shifted further south and east, away from some of its more visible land. Eagle Mountain is wary that a longer route adds cost and may not get used the way a more direct route would. The Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG), the government agency that helps plan road building projects, asked both cities to leave the meeting with a shared direction rather than a final decision. Since this stretch of road is not expected to break ground within the next 5 years, both cities have time to work through the disagreement. To be clear, both cities know this road must be built. Exactly how and where will take more time to resolve.

Also during the meeting, several other roads were discussed:

There is still a lot of work to be done to get Eagle Mountain's roads ready for the traffic Eagle Mountain has today, and the traffic it's expected to have in the future. On August 4, the City Council votes on whether to adopt the updated Transportation Master Plan, which was built with these growing traffic conditions in mind. That vote does not settle where the Lake Mountain Corridor actually connects with Saratoga Springs. That question is still being worked out separately. Road construction projects take a long time to complete and are extremely expensive. I'll do what I can to understand these projects and keep you updated as I learn more.

The Truth-in-Taxation public hearing on Eagle Mountain's proposed property tax increase is set for August 6 at 6 PM in the City Council Chambers. The final vote on the budget and tax rate follows on August 18 at 7 PM.

As a reminder, I wrote a full breakdown of this increase in my July 3 issue, including what it would cost the average home and business. The city has also published its own timeline of the council work sessions and resolutions that led here. If you want to weigh in before the hearing, the city's public comment form is open now.

If you want to go deeper on city government than what fits in a biweekly newsletter, Civic Roll Call, built by a local resident, tracks every Eagle Mountain City Council vote in one searchable place. Its Tax page includes an interactive estimator showing exactly what the proposed property tax increase would cost your household, along with a record of every meeting where it's come up. Its Budget page maps out the city's most recently adopted budget dollar by dollar in an interactive diagram, useful context heading into the August 18 final vote.

Eagle Mountain's proposed use of its 2026 Community Development Block Grant funding goes before the City Council on August 4 for a public hearing, the second of two required hearings on the plan. This is the last public opportunity to weigh in on how the city plans to use its federal CDBG allocation before the plan is finalized. Questions can be directed to Affordable Housing Coordinator Kiara Polee at [email protected].

If you have a kindergartner through 6th grader and have been looking for a free, non-district school option, there's a new one coming to the area. American Preparatory Academy, a tuition-free public charter school, opens a temporary campus in Cedar Fort this August, its first step toward a permanent Eagle Mountain campus in fall 2028. The temporary location is at 40 E Center St in Cedar Fort. Enroll now and your spot moves with you when the permanent campus opens. No reapplying required.

The timing isn't a coincidence. Alpine School District is closing Cedar Valley Elementary, the public school that's served Cedar Fort for years, and American Preparatory Academy's arrival gives local families a tuition-free option right as that transition happens.

American Preparatory Academy has operated in Utah since 2002 and currently runs 6 campuses statewide. Its academic model leans classical: strong core academics, character development, and direct instruction, meaning teachers actively teach the material rather than students working through it independently. Families looking for a more traditional, structured approach to elementary education tend to be the ones who look into it.

If you're curious, the school holds a weekly information session every Wednesday from 8 to 9 PM over Zoom, no commitment required, just a chance to ask questions and see if it's a fit. Enrollment for the 2026-2027 school year is open now, and families already enrolled at another American Preparatory Academy campus get priority placement at the new one.

School Director Cody O'Brien leads the new campus, along with Assistant School Director Austin Brakey and Administrative Director Amber Shupe.

Stay connected via their Facebook link here. Contact them directly at [email protected]. Learn more at their website.

The 2026 Eagle Mountain Bingo Challenge is still going. Complete activities on the card, get them stamped at City Hall or the Valley Crossroads Chamber Welcome Center, and turn in a full row or blackout card for a prize.

Want to go deeper on city government than what fits here? Civic Roll Call, built by a local resident, tracks every Eagle Mountain City Council vote in one searchable place. Its Tax page has an interactive estimator showing what the proposed property tax increase would cost your household, plus every meeting where it's come up. Its Budget page maps out the city's most recently adopted budget dollar by dollar in an interactive diagram.

Wishing you all a wonderful start to your August.

See you around,

— Colten

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