Mt. Pleasant gets updates on pantry, recreation trail and road projects

By James Tilson

Associate Editor

11-21-2019

MT. PLEASANT—The Mt. Pleasant city council heard updates on several infrastructure projects going on around the city.

Monte Bona, executive director of the Mt. Pleasant Community Development and Renewal Agency (CDRA), gave his monthly report last Tuesday. Mayor Dan Anderson also reported on projects he was overseeing.

“We’ve all heard about the Sanpete Pantry in the news,” said Bona. He explained since the resignation of the old board, the pantry has gotten the attention from the George S. and Delores Dore’ Eccles Foundation.

Bona explained the food pantry building is within the redevelopment agency’s footprint. Mt. Pleasant donated the land years ago, and worked with the county to build the building.

“On Nov. 7, I and Robert Graham, the foundation treasurer, met to look at the building,” Bona said. “The foundation is exploring ways to help the food pantry, especially for its long-term sustainability.

“The problem is not a lack of food inventory; it’s a lack of money for operational expenses. We’re analyzing what would be needed to achieve sustainability, and we will get back to the council with our results.”

Mayor Anderson updated the progress of the recreation trail. “I met with UDOT and Sunrise Engineering last Friday concerning the trail,” Anderson said. “We still need to get a document ready to take bids, and to coordinate some issues. There are still some unknowns we are trying to clear up before the document will be ready.”

Councilman Kevin Stallings asked, “I’m starting to wonder if that path is worth the trouble to build?” Bona answered, “One of the problems the path is encountering is there are no economies of scale to help reduce costs. I have been talking with Rep. Ben McAdams’s staff to figure out a way to streamline the process for grants intended for these kinds of trails in the future, but we’re locked in as far as this one goes.”

Anderson also updated the new road material construction. He told the council the contractor had stopped for the winter season, and the new road had been postponed until the spring. Anderson explained the new material depends on having enough heat in order to cure properly, and the recent cold snap had taken the heat out of the ground.

Bona introduced Brad Payson to the council, telling them Payson had recently purchased the old airport hangar in order to run his business out of it.

“I’m from American Fork, but I have friends from Mt. Pleasant,” said Payson. “I have an automotive dealership, and I’m planning on doing repair work in the building.”

Payson explained his business is a warehouse/storage business, specializing in secondary sales. Payson said he would keep almost everything inside the building so no one can see what’s in the building.

“I have a background in EMT work, and law enforcement, but I’m retired now. I do some work as a ‘mall cop.’ I will likely buy a cabin in the east foothills.”