Mt. Pleasant pursuing funding for infrastructure improvements
By James Tilson
Staff Writer
Dec. 21, 2017
MT. PLEASANT—The city council of Mt. Pleasant recently learned funding exists for infrastructure improvements to the industrial park in the city.
During the regular meeting of the city council last Tuesday, Dec. 12, Community Development and Renewal Agency (CDRA) Executive Director Monte Bona informed the council that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) had given its preliminary approval for an application for funding to improve the infrastructure of the Mt. Pleasant Industrial Park.
Bona explained that the project is a continuation of improvements to the industrial park. Specifically, the new project is designed to improve the infrastructure in the industrial park by extending Blackhawk Drive south to the county road and installing a cul-de-sac for ease of ingress and egress.
“By giving this approval, the EDA has said that the funding exists for this project. Now we have to make sure that all the items in the application are verified,” said Bona.
What had been sent to the EDA before was only a proposed application. Now Mt. Pleasant will have to send an actual application, which is due no later than Feb. 2, 2018.
The project is estimated to cost $1 million, with the grant from the EDA covering 70 percent of the project and the remaining 30 percent to be provided by the municipality.
But Bona assured the council that not all of the matching funds would be coming from the city. Private companies and investors would also be providing funds, although the exact amount was as yet unknown. “We do need our private partners to step forward with their investments,” he said.
In other business, the council approved a resolution which changed the area in Mt. Pleasant designated “Enterprise Zone” to include all of Mt. Pleasant.
When the city originally created the Enterprise Zone in 1997, it was to take advantage of business tax credits offered under Utah and federal law.
However, since then the council has taken notice of the number of “home businesses” and “e-businesses” that had come into existence. In order to extend the tax benefits to those types of businesses, the council enlarged the Enterprise Zone to all of Mt. Pleasant.
The council also took up discussion of a resolution to establish a process for resolving complaints at the Cleone Peterson Eccles Equestrian Center/ConToy Arena.
Seeing no framework in existence for such complaints, Bona put together a proposal for how a review of complaints at the arena could be resolved.
A “review committee” would be made up of the mayor, the city ombudsman, the city personnel director, a representative from Wasatch Academy and the chairman of the CDRA.
At the suggestion of a member of the audience, the council discussed the possibility of adding a representative of the members of the arena. The council agreed adding a member representative was a good idea and tabled the resolution for amendment.
During public participation, North Sanpete School District board member Rich Brotherson, responding to reports that the city and the school district were not able to resolve their differences on how to pay for the operation and maintenance of the new aquatic center, stated that “the school district wants to be invested in the pool,” and they were only discussing how that should take place.
