Efforts underway to launch North Sanpete regional school district

Community leaders from Mt. Pleasant and Spring City are formally advocating for the creation of a North Sanpete Recreation District, a regional entity they say would distribute recreational costs more fairly across towns and unincorporated areas while expanding access and infrastructure.

During separate June city council meetings, Cade Beck, a Mt. Pleasant City Council member, and Christine Straatman, principal at North Sanpete High School, outlined a proposal to form a special service district matching the boundaries of the North Sanpete School District. The district would centralize recreation efforts now born largely by Mt. Pleasant City.

“This recreation district that we are proposing is not just for youth,” Beck said during the Mt. Pleasant City Council meeting on June 10. “It’s for adults, it’s for any rec department or any recreation program in the entire North Sanpete area.”

Beck described the current setup as unsustainable, saying Mt. Pleasant “is footing the bill for all of this,” including facilities, programs, and administrative costs. While cities like Fairview, Moroni and Spring City have recently agreed to cost-sharing contracts with Mt. Pleasant, Beck said the goal is to formalize and expand that cooperation through the district. He also noted that the district would include residents outside city limits who currently use services but don’t contribute to funding.

Straatman echoed similar points during her visit to Spring City’s council meeting on June 5, noting that a broad committee of local volunteers has formed to oversee planning, signature gathering and potential district creation.

“Mt. Pleasant has been carrying that for all of us, the majority of it,” she told the council. “They do a lot for our community.”

Both Beck and Straatman made clear that the proposed district is not part of the North Sanpete School District, despite mirroring its geographic boundaries. Instead, it would be a separate, state-recognized entity with its own independent board and financial authority.

To move forward, organizers must collect signatures from 10% of registered voters within the district’s boundary. Beck and Straatman both cited roughly 7,500 registered voters district-wide, meaning approximately 750 valid signatures are needed to initiate the legal process. Signature-gathering is expected to begin in July, with organizers aiming for 1,000 signatures.

Once that threshold is reached, a 60-day public comment and hearing process would follow. If successful, the district could be established as early as January 2026.

“There’s a need in this end of our county to make some improvements,” Straatman said, noting that an early committee has already broken into three focus groups: recreation infrastructure, district formation and grant funding.

Straatman said the committee is also looking long-term at possibilities such as a recreation center. “When I’m 70, I want an indoor place that I can walk a track,” she told the Spring City Council.

At both meetings, leaders emphasized that the creation of the district would not automatically trigger new taxes.

Instead, early funding would rely on grants, partnerships and continued municipal contributions. Beck said residents will likely encounter volunteers seeking signatures at events such as parades and ballgames over the summer.

If created, the district would be governed by a board. Straatman noted that appointments would come first, followed by eventual elections.

The district could also enable larger grant applications than those typically available to individual small towns.

“We can demonstrate a larger need for grants,” Beck said.

In the meantime, the existing recreation staff, such as Mt. Pleasant’s recreation coordinator, would likely continue in their roles. “Eventually [she] should probably be employed by the service district instead of by Mount Pleasant City,” Beck said.

No formal votes were taken at either city council meeting and both presenters framed their appearances as informational.

“We just want to get awareness going,” Beck said. “This is the first step.”

Straatman told Spring City officials to expect banners, booths, and more detailed information to appear starting in July.