Happy Thursday. Colten here.
How’s everybody doing? I hope you’re all surviving. I just wanted to thank everyone who completed my short survey. You are helping me understand you better. Would you be interested in seeing the results? If so, let me know.
Do you find these newsletters useful? No obligation, I'll keep writing every issue either way, but I have a Venmo (@eaglemountainvalue) if you'd like to help support the work. Really appreciate it.
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Own a local business or have an event coming up? Reply to this email or reach out at [email protected]. I'm always looking for things to share.
UTILITY BOX
Weather this week:
🌞 Thu 03: 86°/58°
💨 Fri 04: 88°/59°
🌞 Sat 05: 89°/60°
🌧️ Sun 06: 82°/58°
🌤️ Mon 07: 79°/53°
🌤️ Tue 08: 82°/57°
Active Construction Projects:
🚧 Seal coat — Spring Run, Ranches Estates, Sunset Ridge, Deer Haven, Rush Creek, Eagle Heights, Eagle Point. One road at a time, 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM, through September 25. Details
🚧 North Lehi Fairfield Rd. — Closed at Willard Peak and 4000 North through Friday, September 4. Detour: E. Willard Peak or Finnstown. Details
🚧 Spring Water Way — Closed at Ira Hodges and Thomas for sewer work, about two weeks from August 27. No detour posted. Details
🚧 Trail Head Rd. & Pony Express Pkwy. — Lane closures 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM for a new signal. Details
🚧 Red River Dr. at Woodhaven — Closed through October, detour via High Noon or Moon River. Details
🚧 Cory B. Wride Park — Parking lot construction through November, events still on. Details
Resources:
📚 Eagle Mountain Library — Closed all day Saturday, September 5. Details
🚐 UTA On Demand — On-demand rides in parts of Eagle Mountain. $2.50, or $1 reduced fare. Book in the app or call 385-217-8191. Details
💧 The state's lawn watering guide.
🔗 Eagle Mountain City's Linktree.
📱 The Eagle Mountain City App: App Store or Google Play.
🏛️ Civic Roll Call — Tool for tracking what's happening at City Hall.
AT CITY HALL
The city is leaving the fire service area, and that means one more tax notice in 2027
Fire protection in Eagle Mountain comes from Unified Fire Authority, paid for through a special fire district that collects its own property tax from residents. The city plans to leave that district on January 1, 2028 and pay for fire protection itself.
To do that, the city has to run the Truth in Taxation process again in 2027. That is the public notice and hearing the state requires before a city collects more property tax than it did the year before.
The city stated that this should not cost you more. If Eagle Mountain raises its own rate to pay for fire protection, the fire district lowers its rate by about the same amount. The city expects the two changes to cancel out in the first year. The 2028 date is the plan right now but is not solidified yet.
The Council made a second property tax decision Tuesday. All the property tax the city collects now goes into a fund that can only be spent on police protection. The Council said it plans to let that fund pay for fire protection too, starting next year. Each year it will look at how much of the police bill property tax is covering and decide whether to move the rate up or down. The rule also stops the city from adding staff anywhere else until police funding is covered.
A short retaining wall may now need a permit
The city rewrote its retaining wall rules Tuesday. City Engineer Vince Hogge said the old code left builders and inspectors guessing about when a permit was actually required.
Here is what changed:
Height stops being the only test. What a wall holds up now matters as much as how tall it is.
A short wall carrying weight needs a permit. A wall four feet or shorter that supports a car, a parking pad or RV pad, a shed, or ground sloping up from the top now needs a permit and a design from a licensed engineer. Those walls were not covered before.
A plain short wall doesn’t need a permit. A backyard rock wall with nothing sitting on it is fine.
Anything taller than four feet needs a permit and engineering.
Businesses can build higher. Homes cannot. Commercial and industrial properties can go up to 10 feet. Homes stay capped at 6.
The city can inspect walls while they go up. The old code had no inspection program, and Hogge said walls were getting built differently from what the city approved.
Nobody spoke at the public hearing. If you are not sure whether your project needs a permit, the city put out a short piece on what to check before you start.
The city is writing rules for selling eggs and honey from home
A resident applied for a home business license to sell eggs from her chickens and ran into a problem. The city has no category for it. The closest one covers greenhouse products, meaning plant starts and microgreens. Selling honey from home sits in the same gray area.
Councilmember Melissa Clark said at least four residents have raised this with her. Her fix is a small one. Change "greenhouse products" to "farm products," and leave the rest of the home business rules alone. The rules already limit how many cars come and go, how many people can work there, and where they park.
Councilmember Brett Wright said: "I don't think we should be regulating things so that somebody that wants to keep bees can't sell the honey. That's ridiculous to me... But by the same token, I don't think that we should be creating commercial chicken egg production farms in our townhome condominiums."
Staff has been told to start drafting. No date has been set for it to come back.
Seven other things from Tuesday
The city is going after funding to widen Pony Express Parkway to seven lanes. Councilmember Brett Wright said so Tuesday. The money is not approved, the next round of regional road funding is a couple of years out, and construction would run for years after that. Traffic was the top concern residents named in a Utah State University survey of Eagle Mountain this spring.
The Council turned down a request to change about 14 acres on Aviator Avenue from commercial to farmland, 3 to 1. The owners wanted the lower property tax rate that farmland qualifies for. The city attorney checked during the meeting and confirmed that rate is not available on land zoned commercial, so the vote closes off the tax break.
A charter school is proposed near Mount Airy Drive and SR-73. The Council approved splitting the land into three lots, and the six-acre one is meant for Ripple Academy, which hopes to open in August 2027. Its founder told the Council more than 300 Eagle Mountain residents have expressed interest. Approving the land plan is not the same as approving the school, and it is not clear whether the state has approved its charter.
Well 2 is running again and Well 8 should be online in October.
The $1.7 billion Williams power plant going in south of the Meta data center will not start paying property tax to the city until 2028 and 2029. About 300 construction jobs run between now and then. City Manager Ben Reeves said the power has to be in place before more development can follow.
The city's yearly survey is coming, and it asks what you want the city to spend money on. When it gets to recreation options like an ice rink or a field house, it will show what each one would cost. It also asks whether you see police around and feel safe, and how you want the city to contact you.
The city is writing a plain-language summary of its budget. Councilmember Zac Huish said it will run about ten pages, written so an eighteen-year-old can follow it.
The Council wants the wildlife corridor to carry Todd Black's name
Todd Black was Eagle Mountain's wildlife biologist and open space manager for three and a half years. He mapped the routes mule deer use to move through the valley between seasons, and the city calls that work a critical piece of how it plans open space. He also made Living with Wildlife, the monthly video series and newsletter column about the animals living around us. He died one year ago this month.
The Council voted unanimously to move the renaming forward, though it still has to come back as its own item before the name officially changes. Councilmember Brett Wright asked for signs, for the name to change on city maps so the land stops showing up as "the deer migration corridor," and for people to start using the name out loud.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT: Ryan's Design & Print
Ryan's Design & Print is a family print shop here in Eagle Mountain, run by Ryan and Jennifer Dewsnup. Most people come to them for business printing for banners, flyers, business cards, and yard signs.
But they also do wedding invitations, graduation announcements, canvas prints, thank you cards, and vehicle magnets.
They are open Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. You can reach them at 801-455-2936 or [email protected], or see their work at ryansdesign.com.
COMMUNITY NOTES
Last year's free and reduced-price school meal benefits expire at the end of September. Every Alpine School District family, Eagle Mountain schools included, has to reapply each school year. Apply through LINQ Connect or pick up a paper form in English or Spanish at any school. Benefits do not apply to meals your student already ate.
The EM30 Challenge is open. The city turns 30 on December 3, and the challenge runs September through November. You pick what your 30 is — 30 miles walked, run, biked, or hiked, 30 minutes outdoors a day, 30 different trails, 30 hats crocheted, or something you come up with. Finish it, submit a photo and a short description, and you get a 30th anniversary sticker while supplies last plus an entry into a December prize drawing. Details
The library's food pantry runs on donations. Shelf-stable food and hygiene supplies, open to anyone who needs it, no registration and no questions asked. The library gets no dedicated funding for it, so unopened food and hygiene items are always useful. Smaller donations can go straight on the shelves, larger ones to staff. Details
Halloween Town vendor registration is open. The city calls it its largest trick-or-treat event of the year. It runs Saturday, October 17 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Cory B. Wride Memorial Park, with vendor setup at 9:00 AM. Businesses and organizations can register for a 10x10 booth.
QTS Data Centers gave Cedar Valley High School $10,000 for science equipment, announced August 21. The school plans to spend it on lab and STEM equipment, including zoology supplies and 3D printing. Details
Eagle Mountain Academy starts September 16. Six Wednesday classes on how the city actually runs, 6:30 to 8:30 PM, through October 28 with no class October 14. Sign up here.
Registration is open for the Cedar Valley half marathon. I Believe In You x RUN Cedar Valley runs Saturday, October 10 — a half marathon, 10K, 5K, and a kids run, from the Cedar Fort Rodeo Grounds to Sage Canyon Middle School. Code BELIEVER15 takes 15% off. Register
THIS WEEKEND
Thursday, September 3 — Cedar Valley home varsity: girls volleyball vs. Mountain Ridge, 3:30 PM, Cedar Valley High School, ticketed
Thursday, September 3 — Thread & Yarn Club, 6:00 to 7:00 PM, Eagle Mountain Library, 1650 E Stagecoach Run, free. Drop in, ages 12 and up. Bring a knitting, crochet, or cross stitch project.
Saturday, September 5 — Eagle Mountain Farmers Market, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Cory B. Wride Memorial Park, 5806 Pony Express Parkway, free. Every Saturday through October 10.
Saturday, September 5 — Eagle Mountain Library closed all day
Monday, September 7 — City offices and the library are closed for Labor Day. Trash and recycling pickup runs on its normal schedule.
WORTH THE DRIVE
Friday, September 4 through Monday, September 7 — Festival Latinoamericano, Utah County Historic Courthouse, 51 S University Ave, Provo, free. Friday 5:45 to 10:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM with Lucha Libre, Sunday 6:00 to 8:00 PM, Monday 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Vendors, food, music, and dance. Note that the vendor booths and food stalls are closed Sunday, so Sunday is the main stage only.
Saturday, September 5 — Big Jack's World opens, Outlets at Traverse Mountain, 3700 N Cabelas Blvd, Lehi, free. A Halloween pumpkin display with a scavenger hunt for twelve hidden hobbit figures. Pick up a map at Customer Service in the Grand Lobby.
Saturday, September 5 — Beyond the Uniform: Military Coffee Hour, 9:30 to 10:30 AM, R&R Tactical, 227 E Crossroads Blvd Ste 1, Saratoga Springs. Hosted by Warrior Revival. The organizer lists this one as veterans only.
Saturday, September 5 — Super STEM Saturdays, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Curiosity Farms at Thanksgiving Point, Lehi, ticketed
Saturday, September 5 — The Great Pottery Throwdown, competition begins 5:00 PM, SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre, Orem, free. Local potters competing, with free chalk art for kids.
Saturday, September 5 — Simply Queen: A Live Tribute, 8:00 PM, gates at 6:30, SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre, Orem, ticketed
Monday, September 7 — Saratoga Springs Farmers Market and Food Trucks, 5:00 to 9:00 PM, Neptune Park, Saratoga Springs, free
Monday, September 7 — Labor Day Luau, Waterfall Amphitheatre at Ashton Gardens, Thanksgiving Point. Doors 6:00 PM, show 7:30. Often sells out.
NEXT WEEK
Tuesday, September 8 — Senior Citizens Computer Class, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Valley Crossroads Chamber of Commerce, 3688 E Campus Dr #101
Tuesday, September 8 — Cedar Valley home varsity: girls volleyball vs. Riverton, 3:30 PM, ticketed
Tuesday, September 8 — Planning Commission meeting, 5:30 PM, City Hall, 1650 E Stagecoach Run
Wednesday, September 9 — Constitution Bootcamp, 7:00 to 8:00 PM, Cedar Valley High School. For school-aged youth and adults. Attendees get a copy of the Constitution.
Wednesday, September 9 — Stargazing at Walden Park, 8:00 to 9:00 PM, 4337 Frontier St. Part of the Wildlife and Nature Education course. Weather dependent.
Thursday, September 10 — Utah's Statewide Virtual Job Fair, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, online. Sign in or create an account at jobs.utah.gov and pick the job fair from your dashboard. Veterans, service members, and military spouses get priority service. A free preparation workshop runs September 9 at 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM.
Thursday, September 10 — Timpanogos Storytelling Festival opens, 3:00 to 10:00 PM, Ashton Gardens, 3900 Garden Dr, Lehi, ticketed. Runs through Saturday, September 12.
Thursday, September 10 — Cedar Valley home varsity: girls soccer vs. Westlake, 3:30 PM
Thursday, September 10 — Walk to Fight Suicide, 6:00 to 8:00 PM, Cedar Valley High School football field. Food trucks and community resources at 6:00, program and walk at 7:00. If you or someone you know is struggling, you can call or text 988 any time to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Friday, September 11 — Eagle Mountain's Days of Service begins with a Hero Parade at the elementary school and a flag ceremony at Cedar Valley High School
Friday, September 11 — Cedar Valley home varsity: football vs. Riverton, 7:00 PM, ticketed
Friday, September 11 — Eagle Mountain Scorpion Hunt, 8:30 to 10:00 PM, meet at the City Hall Council Chambers, 1650 E Stagecoach Run. Family friendly, with a required safety briefing at 8:30 before the hunt starts.
Saturday, September 12 — ShopFest Utah, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Cory B. Wride Memorial Park. Hundreds of local businesses, run by the Valley Crossroads Chamber of Commerce.
Saturday, September 12 — Eagle Mountain Library closed all day
Tuesday, September 15 through Thursday, September 17 — Days of Service projects: a food drive, a clothing drive, open space cleanup, fence painting, and culvert planting. All ages and abilities. Call 801-789-6600 or email [email protected].
Happy Labor Day, Eagle Mountain!
See you around,
— Colten
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