January 2018 | Vol. 4 Iss. 01
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WVC CAPTURED ACCREDITATION, FOUGHT OFF SHELTER IN 2017 By Travis Barton | travis@mycityjournals.com
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12 people, the force is made up of various members in the city such as police intelligence, legal department and business licensing. Its strength is its coordination. “The task force has made us more savvy and powerful in our efforts,” Assistant City Manager Nicole Cottle told the city council in October. An ordinance that prohibits panhandling on major roadways to curtail accidents was passed unanimously in April. Pyle said they’ve had success in shutting that down. Pyle said they’ve also done encampment cleanups all over the city in undeveloped areas, vacant lots and most notably, along the Jordan River. They’ve partnered with the county health department, UDOT, Rocky Mountain Power among others to maintain the river. Probably the most meaningful preparation, Pyle said, “is the physical efforts we’re actually taking to make sure those problems are taken care of.”
n a year that was bookended by a potential homeless resource center and breaking ground for new development at Fairbourne Station, West Valley City experienced a little bit of everything.
Homeless Shelter Possibly the biggest event to take place in Utah’s second largest city in 2017 was its unwilling participation in the homeless shelter site selection. Seven possible sites were announced on March 10 for one of the county’s planned homeless resource centers. Three of those were in WVC. Salt Lake County was required to make a site recommendation to the state’s Homeless Coordinating Committee by March 28, a mere 18 days after the sites were announced. The legislation that was passed on March 9 appropriating more than $10 million to help build the centers also removed local cities from having any formal say on the matter. “It was interesting to me the process that had been set up,” said Mayor Ron Bigelow. “In order to force a decision, the legislature passed these extremely arbitrary time frames and methods.” Bigelow said not including any cities or interest groups in the selection process gave it a very negative perception. “You would have gotten a lot more buy-in by letting a lot of groups have their participation. I think you would have gotten better results too.” Though he did understand why it was done and the difficult position Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams was put in. After a month long process of mobilization by city employees, elected officials and residents protesting the sites selected by flooding open houses and implementing information campaigns; 3380 S. 1000 West in South Salt Lake was selected. City Manager Wayne Pyle said what he remembers most about that time period was how impressed he was with the city’s quick reaction going “from zero to 100 mph.” “To have that whole dynamic imposed on us and the response we were able to muster in that short amount of time and be successful, in my mind, was really gratifying,” Pyle said. It was a full-city effort, he said, from handing out flyers door to door to business owners making videos. “I have great respect for our whole staff, our elected officials who put their faces out there in front to deal with this,” Pyle said. “Our business community who was willing to do the same and our residents and neighbors who were willing to mobilize themselves.” He was also happy with how they presented their argument in a balanced way, making their point without being offensive or against this class of people. WVC has been working with homelessness for decades, Pyle said adding he would completely reject anyone who thinks the city doesn’t care or isn’t cognizant of the issues homeless people face. “We’re not doing them any favors by letting them live in these
Jeff Brotherson holds the street sign bearing the name of his oldest son during a one year anniversary memorial for the fallen officer. The city renamed a stretch of 4100 South from 2200 West to 3600 West to Cody Brotherson Parkway. (Kevin Conde/West Valley City)
encampments,” said Pyle, who has spent considerable time visiting transient areas with police officers. “The conditions are unsanitary, there are crime issues that occur, they have problems between them, some with criminal records are preying on the other ones.” Though the WVC sites weren’t selected, the SSL site is only a stone’s throw away from the city’s border so the city has continued to prepare for its eventual arrival. Before the sites were announced, WVC had already put together a Homeless Task Force in November 2016. Made up of 10-
Local Postal Customer ECRWSS Scan Here: Interactive online edition with more photos.
Economic Development Economic development within the city has blossomed over the last five years, with Pyle estimating just in the northwest section of the city it’s been over half a billion in capital investment with 2,000-3,000 jobs and another 3,000 ancillary jobs generated by development. Bigelow said it is significant growth to what the city’s seen in the past. “Compared to anywhere else in the state except Salt Lake, that’s huge,” Pyle said. He added 201 Commerce Park (approximately 4400 West and 2300 South, just north of Stonebridge golf course) also saw a number of big projects going on. But perhaps the most visible sign of progress happened in November where ground was broken for a nine-story, 225,000-squarefoot office tower built on Fairbourne Station. The tower will replace Staples and Toys “R” Us and will serve as a city center. Mark Nord, redevelopment agency (RDA) director, told the city council “this will truly be our shining star for a downtown Fairbourne Station.” For the city’s economic development, the tower will be a tangible sign of the city’s continuing progress and growth, Pyle said. The office tower, parking structure and potentially iconic bridge is part of a partnership between the city, RDA and Wasatch Commercial Management, owned by Dell Loy Hansen. Its expected completion is set for August 2019. At a ground breaking that featured Hansen, elected officials and city employees; Bigelow said this is a sign of WVC’s changing face. For a city that used to be known as a “bedroom community” where residents worked in SLC or Kennecott, it now brings a city center to them. Continued on Page 5...
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