March 2021 | Vol. 8 Iss. 03
FREE
THOUSANDS IN GRANT FUNDING TO ASSIST WITH LABRUM PARK LANDSCAPE MAKEOVER By Carl Fauver | c.fauver@mycityjournals.com
T
ucked away off the beaten path, Labrum Park (6041 South Jordan Canal Road, about 1900 West) is poised to receive a makeover this spring, courtesy of the Taylorsville Parks & Recreation Committee and the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. Officially named T. John Labrum Memorial Park, a portion of the 7-acre site is about to become much more sightly and “water friendly.” Committee member Aaron Johnson is spearheading the project. He’s the person who convinced JVWCD to pledge thousands of dollars to the effort. He says a primary goal of the “Loving Labrum Park” project is to educate residents about the value and attractiveness of landscaping with socalled “water-wise” plants. “I think Utahns believe we have more water than we actually do,” Johnson said. “When I moved to Arizona to attend graduate school, I fell in love with the beauty of not having large lawns everywhere. In Tucson, it is almost socially unacceptable to have a bunch of grass. I grew up with our large lawns here in Utah. But I was converted in Arizona.” After graduating from Olympus High School a dozen years ago, Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah in urban ecology and his landscape architecture master’s degree at the University of Arizona. He’s now the only landscape architect working for Psomas, one of our nation’s top engineering firms, with 15 offices in California, Arizona and Utah. In other words, he’s a “real find” for the city’s Parks & Recreation Committee. “When we moved back to Utah, we specifically wanted
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This small open space next to the Labrum Park playground equipment is expected to soon receive a major makeover. (Tville P&R Committee)
to find a place in Taylorsville because I would like to volunteer on the city’s Planning Commission someday,” he said. “There weren’t any openings at the time. So, I volunteered for the Parks & Recreation Committee (in September 2019).” The Loving Labrum Park project is not a complete makeover of the entire site but rather a planned upgrade for two specific areas within the park: the small open space near the
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park entrance, where a storage container sits and a modest grassy area adjacent to the park’s playground apparatuses. “I think improving Labrum Park is a great idea,” said Mayor Kristie Overson. “It will clean up spots that are not visually appealing right now. I support the city council proContinued page 4
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