It’s time for compromise and resolution of the lot-size issue in Spring City.

For some, preserving the grid set up by pioneer settlers, with 1.06-acre lots city wide, is at the center of everything they’ve worked for 40 years. 

For others the acre lot size is a burden, a requirement to have more land than they can manage, or simply an intrusion on their rights to do what they want with their land and, as one city council member put it, “to do what’s best for their family.”

Somewhere between those polar opposites is a center point where nobody gets everything they want, but everybody gets something better than what the other side wants. 

In 2004, the issue of half-acre vs. 1.06-acre lots went on the ballot. The Messenger editorialized in favor of the acre lots citywide. The vote was 70 percent in favor of the 1-acre lots. Some people told me our editorial helped influence the outcome. 

But today, in the context of the most contentious political campaign in the 25 years I’ve been publisher, I’ve come around to the view that it’s time to compromise.

To me, the best compromise is what is being called Ordinance 2025-05, which demarks a big chunk of the city, from 200 West to 500 East, and from 500 North to 500 South, as a historic zone where 1-acre zoning will remain in place.

Land outside the historic district boundaries will zoned for half acre lots and could conceivably be developed into subdivisions. There could be a handful of  low-to-medium density multifamily housing units. But that hasn’t happened overnight in any of our cities and wouldn’t in Spring City.

Tough as that is for everybody, it seems to me to be the only way to avoid rending the social fabric of what has been a close, almost idyllic community.

At this juncture, let me say that over the past 25 years, new subdivisions have cropped up in Gunnison, Manti, Ephraim and outside Fairview, among other locations. No, they’re not historic areas. But many of them are beautiful neighborhoods.

I say, it’s time to go overboard on civility. It’s time for a halt to scary headlines saying “Everything you hold dear is on the ballot” and telling you to “mail your ballot for integrity” (in other words if you turn it in to a drop box, someone might tamper with it).

Let me say, I’ve interacted with every city recorder in the county as well as the county clerk and her staff. I trust every one of them to be honest to a fault in administration of elections. I’m offended by any implication to the contrary. And I’m sure most of the county would be too.

It’s time to tone down the accusations against certain city officials, declarations about an imminent doubling of the population, insinuations of improper conduct by the mayor and city council members, and, I’m sorry to say, a boatload of misinformation.

Perhaps some people who have moved in from other states, or haven’t attended council meetings regularly, simply don’t know how municipal government works in Utah, and jump to some incorrect conclusions.

Let me clear up a few such points.

There have been charges of “taxation without representation.” The only tax the Spring City Council has control over is the property tax. Whit Allred, the city treasurer, says he doesn’t remember the last time the city council raised taxes. Neither do I. I think it’s safe to say at least five years, possibly 10 years.

Property taxes can’t be raised without the town going through a “Truth in Taxation” process, which requires large ads in the newspaper and public hearings.

Spring City’s certified tax rate translates to $83.90 for every $100,000 in assessed valuation. In Utah, only 55 percent of a home’s value is taxable. That rate translates to $184.58 on a $400,000 home. Of course, taxes imposed by other taxing entities, including the school district and county, are added to that. 

Mayor Chris Anderson has been charged with “making costly decisions for the city.” For starters, per state law and local ordinance, the mayor can make few if any spending decisions on his own. All spending has to be approved by the city council. The mayor doesn’t have a vote on any city council decision unless there’s a tie. 

Last year, the city hired David Oxman, long-time finance director of Mt. Pleasant, to help out with budgeting and accounting. Oxman started familiarizing himself with Spring City finances. 

He told me he was surprised to find that Spring City has almost as much in its cash reserves as Mt. Pleasant, a much bigger city. In financial terms, he told me, and I quote, “Spring City has been incredibly well managed over the past three years.”

We’ve heard that Spring City is in debt, and that’s bad. Yet, every municipality in Sanpete County, nearly every city in Utah, and the state itself is in debt. 

That’s because they’ve bonded for major projects they couldn’t afford in a single year. And nearly all of them have wisely built in some extra capacity to handle growth that is certain to occur over the life of the bonds, which is typically 30 years.

To draw a comparison, suppose you’re a young family with two children living in a two-bedroom apartment. You need a house. Should you wait until you save up $400,000, the price of an average single-family house in Sanpete County, or take out a mortgage?

If you take out a mortgage, should you buy a house that will accommodate four people and no more. Or should you buy a house with the potential for putting extra rooms in the basement in case another child comes along or an elderly parent needs to move in?

There are allegations the $8 million expansion, now underway, in Spring City’s water and sewer system is unnecessary. The truth? The water system did not meet Utah state standards. The state hadn’t come down on the city yet, but if the city hadn’t acted, the state would have. 

Why? Within the last few years the state has increased its standards for how much water a city must have in reserves in its tanks at all times, and how much water pressure it must have, so if there’s a major fire, there’s enough water flowing continuously into fire hydrants to fight the fire. 

Spring City didn’t meet the reserve or pressure requirements. In fact, the city didn’t have adequate pressure to give good service to much of the north side of the city, especially the 50 connections it has added in the buffer zone. 

The reason for expansion of the sewer system is that  homes on the outskirts of town were operating on septic tanks and the tanks were polluting springs that supply city water. The city needed to get rid of septic tanks now and in the future.

Another allegation is that the city took on the $8 million in debt without voter approval. 

There are two main categories of municipal bonds—general obligation bonds and revenue bonds. General obligations bonds are bonds that will be paid back from a town’s general fund. That’s the part of the budget that comes from taxes, traffic tickets, grants and the like. In Utah, general obligation bonds require voter approval.

Revenue bonds are bonds that are repaid from user fees. In Utah, towns generally cannot spent tax dollars on infrastructure. Water and sewer systems have to be supported by the users. 

After publishing a public notice and holding a public hearing, city councils can and always do approve revenue bonds without an election. In my 25 years, I’ve never seen more than a dozen people at a hearing on revenue bonds.

On Oct. 6, I moderated a meet-the-candidate night in Spring City where all seven candidates took questions from voters. A couple of questions were about their qualifications for office. 

At the end of the meeting, my reaction was, “All of these people would do just fine on the city council. They are articulate. They have education and/or experience in areas such as leadership, banking, real estate, law and raising families, all relevant to decisions the Spring City Council, and every city council in Sanpete, will be facing in coming years.

The notion that if you elect certain people to the city council, you can rely on them to vote a certain way is a fallacy. 

Several years ago, a physician who had served upwards of 20 years, stepped down from the South Sanpete School Board. In final remarks at a board meeting, he said that he ran for office thinking the school system was all messed up and he knew how to fix it. Then he got on the board and started hearing all sides of school district issues. He learned about some of the legal and financial limitations the district faced. He started to see how essential cooperation and good relationships were to smooth running schools. By the end of his tenure, he was voting the same way as other board members.

With rare exceptions, in all municipalities in Sanpete County, all votes are unanimous. That has always applied to Spring City. If everyone on the  council understands the facts, the limitations of state law and the tradeoffs in any given issue, and if social civility is restored, most votes of the Spring City Council will continue to be unanimous And that’s good.