Category Archives: Salt Lake City

Prison Relocation Decision

The Prison Relocation Commission voted unanimously on August 11 that a new state prison be built near the Salt Lake International Airport, at about 7200 West north of I-80.

Salt Lake City Councilman James Rogers, District 1, joined Mayor Ralph Becker in a press conference just after the decision was announced, on the proposed site for the new prison. (source: Salt Lake City Council website)

We are troubled to learn that the Prison Relocation Commission has chosen Salt Lake City as their recommended location for a new Utah State Prison. Despite the vocal and constant opposition from our community and information Salt Lake City has provided that this site is unsuitable for this use, the Commission has recommended moving the prison to our City.

By moving the prison out by the Kennecott tailings in west Salt Lake City, the State will have ignored the opposition by our residents and elected leaders.

Salt Lake City will continue to fight today’s decision, and we look forward to working together with Salt Lake City’s legislators to pursue all options to prevent the prison being built. This State prison would be a new, additional burden, removing taxable property and potentially adding costs.

The Salt Lake City Council hand delivered a letter to Governor Herbert, stating the city’s continued opposition to the relocation of the state prison.

The Salt Lake City Council remains opposed to relocating the Utah State Prison from Draper to Salt Lake City. Simply put, there is at best, a questionable use of public funds based on the poor analysis done by the PRC’s consultants. The economics of that information led to the decision to locate in Salt Lake City, which is therefore inherently flawed.

The challenges addressed in the letter included

  • building a foundation in an area with a high water table and on unstable soil that runs 125 feet deep in places.
  • the need to address the Boo-acre landfill at 7200 West.
  • the cost burden to citizens with the $559 million to build a new prison,building the prison’s foundation which will cost more than $6o million, an estimated cost of between $31 million and $64 million to run utilities to the prison site; $30 million to buy the land; and between $6 million and $8 million to: build temporary roads accessing the prison from 1·80 to s6oo West and North Temple

Finally, questions were posed to the Governor with a request for acknowledgement of the magnitude of the investment it will require to build a new prison.

What company relies on so-year financial projections to make decisions? What company in Utah accurately predicted its financial position today in 1965? Wouldn’t a better calculation of cost effectiveness measure cost savings over the time it takes to pay off the construction bonds?

The Mayor and City Council will continue to actively oppose this measure in the hopes that the decision will be reversed.

SLC Transit Master Plan

As Councilman Lamalfa mentioned in the May Community,Council meeting, Salt Lake City is currently working on developing a SLC Transit Master Plan (TMP). The TMP is a city effort to document SLC’s short, medium and long-term public transportation needs, goals, and implementation strategies to improve transit. The Plan will include an in-depth analysis of how people are traveling today,
the strengths and weaknesses of the current mass transit system, and projections for future growth to identify a network of corridors for investment. A survey effort will be conducted in Summer of 2015. For more information, visit slcrides.org

Education Corner: Charter Schools in West Salt Lake City

edcornerThe charter school movement in Utah is 15 years old and continuing to grow. There are now over 100 public charter schools in Utah, with more than a dozen opening the next two years. The State Office of Education has a charter school department and there are two charter school associations that exist to support charter schools. Read all about charter schools in Utah here.

There are two non-profit organizations that support charter schools by providing technical assistance, advocacy, events and numerous resources to members:

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools

The Utah Charter Network 

Salt Lake City has several charter schools within its city boundaries, some which are on the west side of the city. Continue reading →

USU FREE Water Check Program

WaterCheck_Logo_GreenLightGrass_FInalDid you know that about two-thirds of Utah’s pristine drinking water is used to water lawns?  Want to save money on your water bill?  Utah State University Cooperative Extension, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District and the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy, and have once again teamed up to bring you the USU Free Water Check Program (now in its 17th season), offering free sprinkler system and landscape evaluations to residents of participating counties.

A team of Water Check employees will visit your home to conduct an on-site analysis of your in-ground, automatic sprinkler system.  A customized watering schedule and a specific list of sprinkler system and landscape recommendations will be created, as well as other valuable tips for water conservation.

Interested homeowners should visit www.SlowTheFlow.org/watercheck or call 1-877-728-3420 to sign up for a free Water Check, and a representative will contact you to schedule an appointment.  The program is currently running and continues until late August.  Appointments are available Monday–Friday, 8am to 5pm.

You can also visit the facebook page.

Open House for Homeless Services Site Evaluation Commission

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The Homeless Services Site Selection Evaluation Committee sponsored the Open House event on April 29 at the Salt Lake City and County Building.The purpose was to gather public feedback regarding the Community Commitments and Values. Additionally, the committee was seeking input regarding the identified Factors for Success. These values and factors, when combined, will help the committee determine the most appropriate location and configuration of day-to-day homeless services.

Additionally, the committee was seeking input regarding the identified Factors for Success. These values and factors, when combined, will help the committee determine the most appropriate location and configuration of day-to-day homeless services. Continue reading →

Hive Pass 2.0 Has Arrived!

HivePas2-0Last year, Salt Lake City, in partnership with the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) started the Hive Pass, a reduced fare pass for residents of Salt Lake City. Hive Pass 1.0 offered Salt Lake City residents with unlimited rides on buses, TRAX, streetcar, and FrontRunner for a cost of $30 per month. The caveat being that residents would have to commit to buy the Hive passes for 12 months. The retail price of a monthly unlimited ride pass on these modes is $189 per month, so residents were saving $159 per month. When the Hive Pass was introduced, the city hoped that 6,000 residents would purchase the pass in its inaugural year. They ended up selling about 3,000.

After the first year pilot of the program, Salt Lake City is back with Hive Pass 2.0. The new Hive pass will let residents ride on buses, TRAX and streetcar lines. FrontRunner was excluded as the city found that most residents who bought Hive passes did not use FrontRunner. This new pass will cost $42 a month (a 50% reduction), but there is not a yearlong commitment. Residents can pay month to month and cancel their Hive Pass at any time. The city has capped the number of available Hive Passes at 3,000 this year on a first come first served basis.

The Hive Pass is a great opportunity for Fairpark residents. With the new Airport TRAX line, many of us are within a few blocks of a TRAX station. Fairpark residents will hopefully take advantage of this opportunity. Hive passes can be purchased now at the City and County Building. For more information please go to www.ridewithhive.com.

Prison Relocation Meeting – Recap

prison relocation meeting 1The Prison Relocation Commission (PRC) held the first of three open houses on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 to share information, and answer questions from the public. The event was moderated, with audience members submitting questions for screening. The open house featured informational displays with question-and-answer sessions during the final two hours. About 200 people showed up to the event, including State Representatives and Senators.

There are currently five potential sites in the running for the new facility: two near Eagle Mountain in northwest Utah County, two near Grantsville in Tooele County and one west of the Salt Lake International Airport at Interstate 80 and 7200 West in Salt Lake County.

Easily over 50 questions were asked and answered by the panel of guests, and the session was both informative and civil. Continue reading →

Education Corner: West High School

edcornerThe editors of The Gazette would like to learn more about the history of schools in our community. If you have any materials such as yearbooks, news articles, photos or other information to share, please contact us at: info@fairparkcommunity.org
This month’s featured school is West High School, “Home of the Panthers,” which is located at 241 North 300 West in Salt Lake City. West is the high school that serves students in grades 9-12 in the Fairpark community.
West was the first high school in Utah, originally known as Salt Lake High
School. According to the West High website, “West has been a Salt Lake
City School District high school since 1890, and was the #1 high school in
the State of Utah and #167 (2007) and #169 (2008) in the Nation according to Newsweek Magazine. West High School is the home to 18 National Merit Scholarship 2012 Semi-Finalists – the most in the entire State of Utah! We have more than any other public school in the State.”

West is an urban school that serves a very diverse community. There is a concentrated partnership between the community and the school so that all stakeholders in the school community are involved, which better serves the students in their education. Academically, “West offers over 200 courses ranging from remedial courses to vocational and college level academics, including the prestigious Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs, designed for serious academic students.”250px-SouthCampusWestSide
West also has a comprehensive sports program, that has a long history. “Participation in a sport is one of the major vehicles by which young men and women can learn to experience healthy fun and, at the same time, develop their full
potential as individuals. Students develop not only greater physical skill but also skills in teamwork, integrity, judgment, responsibility, leadership, self-discipline, and respect for rules and authority that benefits both themselves and their
teams. Winning isn’t everything, honor is. It does not matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up. Play with heart, win with class, and lose with dignity.”
You can learn more about West High School at its website:

http://west.slcschools.org.