Category Archives: Community
Westside Arts Fest Draws Big Crowds
It was a sunny day with a light breeze and kids ran around with painted faces and balloon animals. The first annual Westside Arts, Food and Music Festival was in full swing. “This is our first year and we couldn’t be happier with the turnout!” said Restore North Temple Founder, Jade Sarver. “The whole purpose of this event is to bring our entire community together to appreciate all the things our neighborhood is known for. Our food, our art, our music and our history!” The event was well attended with estimates in the range of about 500 people. The event was free to attend and featured over 30 local artists and vendors, as well as 3 stages packed all day with live music from bands like The K Tones, individual guitarists and singers like local favorite Dan Weldon, and local dance groups like the popular Malialole Dance group, who performed several traditional dancers, and even got a few audience members to jump in. “I’m here for the food trucks!!” said one festival goer. The Red Food truck sold delicious Peruvian sandwiches, and Facil Taco truck sold locally flavored fare. “We are so thankful to Westview Media, the River District Business Alliance Neighborworks and Rocky Mountain Power for being our key sponsors. We were able to put on this free event for neighbors through generous donations from local businesses,” said Sarver. The event was held at the Sugar Space Arts Warehouse. “This was a hugely successful event,” said Brittany Reese, owner of Sugar Space. “We would love to host more events like this in the future.”
Restore North Temple is a citizen-led, grassroots movement to bring the entire west side community together to support the restoration of our Grand Boulevard, North Temple. The purpose of this movement is to unite residents, community organizations, and businesses to reduce crime, increase economic development and improve the perception of the west side of Salt Lake City, particularly focused on the North Temple corridor.
Get a HAND up from Salt Lake City
The city of Salt Lake has several programs to help residents buy or fix their homes. So long as the property is within the Salt Lake City limits, lower income residents can benefit. Run by Housing and Neighborhood Development, there are two main programs Fairpark residents can put to use.
For existing homeowners, repair options are available. Older and disabled homeowners who make less than 80% of the area median income can qualify for free, minor home repairs through the handyman program. Regardless of age or ability, so long as you make less than 80% AMI, homeowners can benefit from the Home Repair 
Program. This is a low interest loan that may have deferred payments to help improve a property.
Prospective homeowners can make their monthly payments more affordable through the Welcome Home SLC loan program. This lending program doesn’t require a down payment or mortgage insurance which can save hundreds of dollars a month. It also has a low interest rate of only 3% allowing people with smaller incomes to still buy a home. Buyers need $1,000 of their own money for closing costs and a 620 credit score to qualify.
To get more information on these programs and to apply, visit http://www.slcgov.com/hand/housing-programs or call 801-535-7228.
300 North Bridge Planning a GO!
Part of living on the West side of Salt Lake is the risk of being delayed by trains if you’re heading east. Frontrunner is just a short delay, while freight trains can be
a huge unknown. If you’re on a tight deadline for work or school, taking a road with a bridge is an absolute necessity!
For students attending West High school, avoiding the train on the 300 North crossing is an inconvenient detour to North Temple. This has been true for every
West High student to date. But in just a couple years, this headache and safety hazard will be over.In coordination with Salt Lake City, UTA has secured Federal grant money to fund a pedestrian and cycling bridge to traverse the 300 North rail line. Plans for a final design are being decided right now. You can supply your input and get project updates at 
http://www.slcgov.com/transportation/300NorthBridge.
Besides providing a safe crossing for pedestrians and cyclists in the area, the bridge will have art and a contemporary design to bring a little bit more flair to
the neighborhood.
While part of a series of projects secured by the umbrella grant, it is required to be completed within five years. Salt Lake City transportation planner Collin
Quinn-Hurst says it’s one of several top projects on the list.
How You Can Be Involved
• Tell Salt Lake City your experiences with this location
• Participate in the design process
• Invite your neighbors
• Educate Salt Lake City about your neighborhood needs
• Learn about the project
• Sign up for updates
Dirt2Table: Festival of Spring and Plant Sale – This Saturday!
What does the Northwest Recreation Center, Jackson Elementary, Salt Lake County’s Lead Safe Housing Program, Fairpark Community Council, the Northwest Community Center, All Chay Restaurant, Salt Lake City, about 3 dozen volunteers and pizza have in common?
Okay, maybe not the pizza (that’s for the Volunteer orientation). But the rest are all supporting and participating in the 2nd annual Festival of Spring and Plant Sale April 29 from 10-2 at the Northwest Community Center. This has truly been a community effort through collaboration, interest in sustainability and relationship building with our neighbors.
The event will include activities for kids (including face painting and seed planting), outreach, snail deterrent cage making, and FUN! We can’t think of a better way to spend a few hours on a Saturday in our neighborhood, getting your season’s vegetable plants and enjoying time with your neighbors.
We inventoried over 4300 plants, all planted from seed, separated and maintained by volunteers. Hours of handling these beautiful seedlings, watering them and just plain giving them TLC have generated very happy plants!
We hope you have prepared your garden area for the plants you will have this year. Stay tuned for articles on gardening as the season progresses. More information on the Festival of Spring and Plant Sale: dirt2tableslc@gmail.com or 801-502-1991
Dream Turns to Reality – Folsom Trail Design in Process
The Folsom Trail project has been in the works for over two decades and is finally starting to take shape through the leadership of the Fairpark Community Council based on feedback from residents like you!
Located between 500 W and the Jordan River, and between North Temple and 200 S, this area used to be an old rail line and will be replaced with a new park and trail. It is currently in the early stages of planning and design. The Folsom Trail is a planned off-street, paved walking and biking path designed to connect the Jordan River Parkway Trail to Downtown Salt Lake City.
The concept of an east-west trail from Downtown to the Jordan River Trail is found in five adopted master plans. In the short term, our community will be the home to new off-street paths and parks, and improved street crossings. Long term plans include daylighting city creek and development of new urban neighborhoods.
The Folsom Trail will provide a route for people of all ages and abilities to travel between the Jordan River Trail, and the communities of Fairpark, Glendale, Poplar Grove to Downtown. Working in partnership with Salt Lake City, local community councils and community organizations such as the
Seven Canyons Trust, and the University of Utah’s Westside Studio, will move forward with a public design process to establish the design for upcoming trail improvements. Make sure to come to future Community Council meetings for updates on how you can make your voice heard for what you want to see in this new urban walking and biking trail!
Parks of Fairpark
With the Spring weather coming, it’s a wonderful time of
year for taking a moment to enjoy the outdoor parks and
trails of Fairpark.
– Jackson Park: 481 N Grant Street (Fun playground)
– Guadalupe Park: 500 North, 600 West (Beautiful trees)
– Constitution Park: 300 N 1300 W (Huge multisport field
with pavilions)
– Cottonwood Park: 1580 W North Star Drive (Dog park,
Gold mile walking path with quarter mile markers)
– Fairpark Community Garden: 1037 W 300 North (Lovely
community gathering place)
– Jordan River Parkway Trail (Scenic hiking and jogging
trail)
Get more info here about reserving pavilions. If you see any suspicious activity, contact 801-799-3000. If you notice a maintenance item, contact:
Salt Lake Parks:
http://www.slcgov.com/parks
http://www.slcgov.com/cityparks/parks-contact-us
Fairpark Community Council:
Contact page: https://fairparkcommunity.org/?page_id=33
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FairparkCommunityCouncil
Dirt2Table:
Spring Festival and Plant Sale!
It’s almost here! The Fairpark Community Festival of Spring and Plant Sale, hosted by the Fairpark Community Council and several community partners, April 29th at the Northwest Community Center. The greenhouse has been erected at All Chay restaurant (1250 West 500 North) and the plants are growing!
Watch for information about pre-orders of plants for your garden. Stop by the greenhouse and check it out!
In the meantime, be sure to be preparing your garden area for the plants you will have this year. We will be writing more articles on gardening in general this season. More information: dirt2tableslc@gmail.com or 801-502-1991.
Homeless Resource Center Discussion with Mayor’s Office
Now that the Homeless Resource Center Sites have been chosen and community information sessions held, you probably still have questions about how those Resource Centers will operate. Please come to the next Fairpark Community Council meeting, February 23 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Northwest Community Center to learn more. There will be a discussion with Salt Lake City Mayor’s staff, David Litvak, Deputy Chief of Staff and Moana Uluave-Hafoka, Community Council Liaison.
The purpose of the discussion is to hear your ideas on how these Resource Centers can achieve their objective of assisting people experiencing homelessness into
homes. There will also be an opportunity for you to share your ideas on how the Mayor’s office and Salt Lake City Council can assist in the improvement of our community.
Your ideas are important! Don’t miss this chance to share them with officials from Salt Lake City. Please refer to the article on Homeless Resource Centers in the January 2017 edition of the Fairpark Gazette. The article is also posted at the Fairpark Community Council website.
Dirt2Table: Spring is Coming! Plant your Seeds Now!
Isn’t it fantastic? The days keep getting longer, the low temperatures keep getting higher and the dirt is thawing out. Soon, we can get our hands in it and prepare it for giving us back the fruits (and vegetables) of our labor.
During the month of March, we should all take advantage of the dirt’s willingness to start growing an array of wonderful treats for our tables. Among those plants that can be planted by seed in March are greens such as kale, spinach, chard and lettuce. It’s also a good time to plant seeds for root vegetables such as carrots, beets and onions. There are many varieties of each of the food plants mentioned, so have fun and plant as many varieties as you can!
Don’t forget that the Fairpark Community Council will be working hard between now and April 29th to grow a delectable assortment of starter plants, ready for you
to plant out in your patch of dirt by May 1st. We will be starting herbs, tomatoes, eggplant and pepper plants soon so that by the end of April they will be established
and ready to thrive in your garden. This year, to create an event that provides more value to our Community than just a plant sale, we are having the First Annual Fairpark
Community Festival of Spring and Plant Sale. The event will feature a seed giveaway and plant sale like last year, but will also include many educational booths and workshops to help make your spring and summer more enjoyable for
all.
If you have any ideas to help make this Festival of Spring and Plant Sale a success, please reach out to Tom King at 801-502-1991 or write to dirt2tableslc@gmail.com.