2025 State of the City

2024 was a good year for the City. Here is a look at some of the significant things that happened last year and why I am positive about the upcoming year: 

HATCH PARK RENOVATION 

In February, 2024, the City approved a contract with Hogan Construction for construction and management services for the Hatch Park renovation and expansion project. With their help and the design services of G. Brown Design, the City has completed its initial draft of the new park plans. In 2024, the City completed the purchase of the final two properties needed  for park expansion. Hatch Park will increase in size from approximately 12 acres to over 16 acres when all phases are complete. I invite you to come to a public open house at City Hall on January 29, 2025 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. to see the latest plans, look at the phasing plans and to provide the City with input on the park design features. We hope to be under construction in the early spring.

GENERAL PLAN UPDATE 

Also in February, the City hired Landmark Design to assist us with the update of the City’s General Plan. This important project will update the City’s 2013 Plan and will guide how the City will grow and change into the future. Throughout the year, City staff and Landmark Design held public information meetings in order to gather feedback from residents on what your biggest citywide concerns are. On October 7, the City also held a public open house on the draft plan concepts and received lots of great feedback. We hope to adopt the Plan in mid 2025.

FOXBORO WETLANDS PARK 

In October, the City received approval from the US Army Corps of Engineers to make improvements to 23 acres of wetlands in the Foxboro neighborhood. The City awarded a bid to begin construction of boardwalks, landscaping improvements, upgrades to the stream channel and more. Construction is expected to begin in February and be completed in 4-6 months. View the park plan here: https://nslcity.org/1040/Foxboro-Wetlands-Park

ONE KIND ACT A DAY

In May, the City approved a resolution and partnership with the One Kind Act A Day organization. The City cares about your and well-being and believes that engaging in an initiative to encourage kindness in our neighborhoods is beneficial to the social fabric of our community. We hope you have seen advertisements around the City and in participating businesses and schools. Please join us in helping spread kindness!

A BOLDER WAY FORWARD

The City also recently adopted a partnership with the Statewide initiative, A Bolder Way Forward. This is an educational drive to make real  improvement in Utah to reduce child sexual and emotional abuse, to improve income disparities between genders, to create more opportunities for girls and women to thrive in leadership roles, to increase the education levels and to generally reduce disparities that exist between males and females. Visit https://www.usu.edu/uwlp/a-bolder-way-forward/overview to learn more. 

INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS

In 2024, the City continued to make significant investments in water line and road replacement. We have aging water lines, storm drain facilities and roads, so every year, it is important to replace infrastructure so we can safely deliver water, mitigate flood risks and improve roads. The City has an active grant program where we have received millions of dollars in grant funds to help in these efforts. We will continue to  fund these projects and appreciate the public’s support when it is necessary to increase water and storm drain fees in order to keep up with the demand to reconstruct our critical infrastructure.

EAGLEWOOD GOLF COURSE

In 2024, the City entered into a contract with Gateway Parks to provide winter recreation at the course including a snow tubing operation as well as a ski and snowboard experience that will provide terrific winter fun all season. Residents can use the PROMO CODE: “Ridewhereyoureside” for a 10% discount.

You may notice that the driving range at the Course has a new building. We have installed a 20-bay covered facility, and soon Trackman devices will be installed and the public will be able to watch their shots on monitors, gauge distances, speed, direction and many other features on this digital system. The range will also have lighting for nighttime play. Please visit the driving range for this new experience in 2025. Finally, the golf course hole #8 is being improved through the expansion of the City’s storm drainage and flood prevention systems. Look for a new island green created by the pond expansion for an exciting new golf challenge.

CHALLENGES IN 2024

The year 2024 has also been a year of challenges. The State recently passed legislation that requires Davis County to provide more homeless resources than it has in the past. During 2024, a site in North Salt Lake was the subject of these efforts to provide a large homeless shelter to meet the needs of Davis County in complying with State statutes. The City held a public meeting and we adopted a formal position statement that indicated North Salt Lake was not the ideal site for a homeless shelter in Davis County. The City Council believed that there are more centrally located sites that would better meet the needs of the County’s homeless than the proposed site on the west side of the City. Shortly after the public meeting, the North Salt proposal was withdrawn. I am happy to report that Davis County has complied with its obligations and will be using other facilities further north.

Another challenge the City is experiencing is the removal of the Quiet Zone status on the City’s rail crossings. This quiet zone runs from Salt Lake City to Ogden and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) deemed two crossings out of over 80 in this zone to be out of compliance with current safety standards. One of those crossings is a low use industrial lead (not on the mainline rail corridor) crossing on Main Street in North Salt Lake. We have submitted construction plans to Union Pacific to bring this crossing into compliance. Union Pacific has indicated that it may take 18-24 months to approve and construct the repairs. Union Pacific will only allow construction on their rail lines by their own contractors and so the City is not allowed to perform the work. The project is fully funded and will be completed once approved by Union Pacific. In the meantime, North Salt Lake and Salt Lake City (the location of the second non-compliant crossing) have applied for waivers so that the quiet zone can be adjusted so that train horns only blow at the two locations rather than at every crossing. I know this is a significant disruption, and the City is working hard to find a solution prior to waiting for possibly two years to have train horns silenced. 

WILDFIRE PREVENTION

We are all concerned about the recent wildfires happening in areas of Los Angeles. I have discussed these with the South Davis Metro Fire District and other public safety officials in order to review and improve the City’s wildfire readiness. There are many things which we are committed to doing over the next months and years to increase the safety of our neighborhoods, particularly within the foothill areas. Please know that we are working on plans to clear brush and debris from dangerous canyon locations, increase public awareness and improve protocols for evacuations of foothill locations. Look for additional information in future newsletters and social media. 

EVENTS AND VOLUNTEERS

I am proud of the City’s efforts to provide great services including the many events which happen throughout the year and bring residents together like our Easter Egg hunt, Arbor Day tree planting, NSL Kite Festival, Liberty Fest races, fireworks and car shows, Christmas lights celebration and many other events. I thank the many volunteers and City staff who make these great events happen. 

It takes the work of many employees and citizen volunteers to make the City operate smoothly. We have 83 full-time employees in order to provide Police and Public Works services, City administrative support and court services. We are also a member of the South Davis Metro Fire District which provides first responders for all medical calls and fire incidents in the City. In addition, the City hires and uses dozens of critical part-time and seasonal employees from crossing guards, parks maintenance workers, golf course employees, recreation staff and others. 

The City recently formed three new citizen committees and is now seeking citizen volunteers to become part of those committees: Civic Events, Arts, and Parks and Active Transportation. Please consider volunteering on one of these committees. You can volunteer online:https://nslcity.org/529/Volunteer-Opportunities or scan the code below.

THANK YOU

I want to thank the many people who help the City operate every day. North Salt Lake is a wonderful place to work, live and play. I thank my fellow elected officials for their vision, determination and strong desires to improve the City and help the public. I wish all of the citizens of North Salt Lake my best wishes for a prosperous and successful 2025.  

Brian J. Horrocks, Mayor