Hey Eagle Mountain. Colten here.

There’s a lot to cover today, so let’s jump straight into it.

The City Council met Tuesday, September 15 at City Hall, 1650 East Stagecoach Run. Only three of the five Council members were there to vote. Councilmembers Zachory Huish and Rich Wood were both excused from the evening meeting.

Eagle Mountain is adding more than 200 cars a month. Counting Saratoga Springs and west Lehi, the region is adding nearly 500 a month.

City Manager Ben Reeves gave those numbers to the Council Tuesday night, reporting on a meeting the city had that same day with House Speaker Mike Schultz and Rep. Stephanie Gricius.

State transportation money for this area is already committed out to 2032 and beyond. As an example, Lake Mountain Road is one of those projects expected to relieve traffic in and out of Eagle Mountain. Despite this project being in the state's plans, the money to fund it has not been allocated. Reeves said that by the time the money is available, the city will have 24,000 more cars on its streets.

During the meeting with Speaker Schultz and Rep. Gricius, the city did not ask the state to put Eagle Mountain ahead of other cities waiting on the same money. Reeves instead asked, "How do we fix the process?"

As a quick background, Utah County cities split state road money through a regional board called MAG, and every city in the county has an elected official on it. Reeves said that leaves Eagle Mountain with less of a voice: "we have larger geographic areas with less representation on boards like MAG." Other parts of the county are split into more, smaller cities, and each of those has a seat too.

To get around this problem, the city proposed building sooner and paying for the projects itself, or alongside developers, with state money arriving later to cover it. Reeves said that would give residents relief now and cost less than building in the 2030s.

The city is not waiting on the state for everything. The Council put three road projects into the city budget the same night, paid for with city money. $1.8 million was budgeted to widen Pony Express Parkway between Eagle Mountain Boulevard and Shadow Drive, taking it from two lanes to five and removing the median. This work is scheduled to start in February 2027. Another $250,000 was budgeted to design the next stretch of Pony Express, from Shadow Drive to the Public Works area. A separate $250,000 was budgeted to design replacing the two roundabouts on Silverlake Parkway, at Woodhaven and at Golden Eagle, with traffic signals. The turn lanes going in at Woodhaven right now are at one of those roundabouts.

Missy Perry told the Council at the budget hearing that the city should paint, sign and widen the roundabouts it already has instead of replacing them. "You save $250,000," she said. "And you don't have to run electric to a currently existing roundabout."

The city said the roundabout design work is planned for this fall. The packet does not say when construction on either one would start.

If your child rides an e-bike or an electric scooter on a public road, Utah law now requires a helmet until they turn 21.

Unified Fire Authority brought the case to the Council in a video. "E-bikes and e-scooters are not toys," it said. "They are vehicles." Intermountain Healthcare emergency rooms across Utah treated 536 people for e-bike and e-scooter injuries in 2025, and only about 40% of bike trauma patients were wearing a helmet when they crashed.

The city posted its own summary of the state's e-bike laws the same day. Children under 8 cannot ride on a public road, and riders under 16 cannot ride a Class 3 e-bike, the kind with pedal assist up to 28 mph. Modifying an e-bike to make it faster is illegal. Starting May 5, 2027, riders between 8 and 15 will need an adult with them or a state safety certificate. You can read the city's summary here.

The city budget has a line in it for an administration building, and it is not a new City Hall. "This is not the new City Hall," City Manager Ben Reeves told the Council Tuesday night, after a question about it. The building is planned for the new sewer treatment plant, which is where the staff would run the plant.

Reeves also pointed out that most of the budget changes are not new spending. He said close to 90% of these changes are related to projects that were approved last year and are already under contract, but were moved into this year so the work can be finished. "This isn't the budget, this is an amendment to the budget," he said.

Six budget items did get added during the meeting. Three of those items are the road projects, which I described above. The other three are: 1) leftover money for the Eagle Monument, 2) about $268,000 for a digital information display, and 3) about $200,000 for wildlife corridor fencing paid for with a state grant.

Three residents spoke at the hearing, which the Council held before approving the change. Missy Perry said she could not find the city information she was looking for: "the links that are provided are not adequate at all." Councilmember Craig Whiting responded with instructions on how to find it: Start at eaglemountain.gov, then click on public meetings, then the meetings portal, find the Tuesday City Council meeting, then click on the agenda, and then find the budget worksheet.

That is six clicks deep and hard to navigate. Or you could just subscribe to the Eagle Mountain Valueletter. 😉

The RV parking rule never came up. Mayor Gray set it aside before the discussion started, because Councilmember Huish wanted to weigh in and was one of the two councilmembers who were not present. No new date was set to discuss this item.

The Council decided not to make room for the high-voltage power line. In June it asked staff to write a rule allowing transmission lines on farm-zoned land, which is where the line's route runs. Tuesday it dropped the idea, with no vote taken. "If there's nothing we can do to regulate it, then why are we trying to create a zone that we can't regulate anyway," Councilmember Brett Wright said. Transmission lines are still not allowed on farm-zoned land.

UTA On Demand will not take you more than six miles. Councilmember Melissa Clark told the Council the ride service will not take you farther than that unless you are headed to a transit station. This means City Center residents cannot even reach jobs at Ridley's or Walmart. Mayor Gray said UTA will go up to ten miles to certain destinations, and the city is trying to get Walmart and the high school added to that list.

You can read the full agenda and packet here, or contact the city if you would rather write in.

Forty-nine people subscribed to the Valueletter at my booth on September 12, and I randomly selected three of those subscribers for the Teton Toys drawing. I sent an email to the winners on September 16 and am super excited to deliver their prizes. I've heard from one of those winners so far, but I'm still waiting for a reply from the other two. If you subscribed at my booth on September 12 during ShopFest, then be sure to check your inbox and spam folders.

All three prizes were generously donated by Teton Toys. If you haven't already, please support them by following them on Instagram, or visiting their store at 1438 E Main St in Lehi. They have a huge selection of toys and games.

And thank you again to Ryan's Design & Print and Kat Ashby, Principal Broker / Realtor® at RootQuest Realty, for sponsoring my ShopFest booth.

Free and reduced school meal benefits from last year expire at the end of September. Families have to reapply every school year, and Alpine School District says benefits cannot be applied to meals a student has already eaten. Applying late does not get those meals covered. You can read the district's announcement or apply here.

The fall clean-up dumpsters are open at Cory B. Wride Memorial Park through Wednesday, September 23, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. They take yard waste, e-waste and light household waste. They do not take paint, tires, appliances, furniture or mattresses, dirt or rocks, oversized items, or anything hazardous. Some of what they will not take can go to the Intermountain Regional Landfill for a fee.

Two city events are coming October 3. Adaptive trick-or-treat runs 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at City Hall, 1650 East Stagecoach Run. A Movie in the Park showing of Hocus Pocus runs 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Cory B. Wride Memorial Park, the same day.

There is now a medication disposal kiosk inside City Hall, next to the Recorder's Office and the Public Safety Office. It takes prescription and over-the-counter medication, pet medication and vitamins, as pills, tablets, capsules or liquids. It does not take needles or sharps, bottles or packaging, batteries or aerosol cans, or antacids. It is open during City Hall business hours.

A mobile mammography unit will be at the Eagle Mountain Senior Center on Tuesday, October 27, 1632 E. Heritage Drive. It does 3D screening mammograms only, for women 40 and older, and appointments are required. You can book one here.

The EM30 Challenge runs September through November. Eagle Mountain turns 30 on December 3, and the city is asking residents to mark it with some kind of exercise built around the number 30. Walk, run, bike or hike 30 miles in Eagle Mountain. Hike 30 different trails. Get outside for 30 minutes a day. Take photos as you go, send one in with a short description when you finish, and you get an EM30 sticker while supplies last and an entry in a drawing for anniversary prizes, awarded in December.

Thursday, September 17

Friday, September 18

Saturday, September 19

Sunday, September 20

Monday, September 21

Tuesday, September 22

Friday, September 18

Saturday, September 19

Monday, September 21

Tuesday, September 22

Senior Center programs. Arts, Crafts & Lunch and Senior Lunch Wednesday and Thursday, Senior Crocheting Wednesday, Senior Exercise Thursday. More at the Senior Center.

Wednesday, September 23

Thursday, September 24

Friday, September 25

Saturday, September 26

Wishing you all a lovely Thursday and weekend.

See you around,

— Colten

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