June 2020 | Vol. 6 Iss. 06
FREE BARELY SURVIVING ITS BIRTH IN 1980, WEST VALLEY HAS BECOME A STRONG, HEALTHY ADULT By Darrell Kirby | d.kirby@mycityjournals.com
I
t was July 1, 1980 in America and a campaign was well underway that would lead to the election of Ronald Reagan in November as the 40th president of the United States. July also saw the start of the Summer Olympics in Moscow that the U.S. and a host of other countries would boycott because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. The Oldsmobile Cutlass was the best-selling car in America that year. Paul McCartney’s “Coming Up” topped the Billboard pop chart. “M*A*S*H” and “Three’s Company” tied for the highest-rated TV shows that week. Weeks earlier, the Jazz finished their first season in Utah after relocating from New Orleans. Oh, and West Valley City was born. Yes, it was 40 years ago on July 1 that West Valley City became an incorporated municipality. By the slimmest of margins in February 1980, voters in the communities of Granger, Hunter and Redwood cast their ballots in favor of cityhood and of determining the fledgling city’s future course instead of Salt Lake County government. Undaunted, opponents of incorporation quickly gathered enough petition signatures to put the matter of undoing the election results to another vote just a week later, on July 8. It failed and West Valley City could look to the future with surety. It was rough going at first. Money was tight, but as time went on, West Valley began to gain its financial footing and by the start of the 1990s, it was on a solid foundation that continues today. Recent years have seen unprecedented residential, commercial and industrial growth that has nearly
West Valley City turns 40 this year, having incorporated as a municipality on July 1, 1980. There is a tentatively scheduled 80’s theme celebration scheduled for July 1 at City Hall. (Photo by Kevin Conde)
doubled the city’s population of 72,000 in 1980 to almost 140,000 today, making it Utah’s second-largest city. As West Valley City turns 40, here is a look at some of the key events that have shaped what the city is today: 1983 - Pioneer Valley Hospital opened, The facility still stands today under the name of Jordan Valley Medical Cen-
ter-West Valley Campus. 1990 - The current city hall was built. The city cashflowed the construction—an indication of how financial times improved—and finally had a permanent home instead of the converted warehouse it used the previous decade to house government operations. Continued page 5
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