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- More than 100 Kaysville residents opposed a planned warming center at a meeting.
- Residents expressed concerns about safety and lack of involvement in decision-making.
- Kaysville's mayor acknowledged frustrations, but says plans will proceed as required by law.
FARMINGTON — More than a hundred homeowners packed the Davis County Commission chambers Tuesday morning to oppose a warming center that is set to come to their community.
Tensions rose, as commissioners moved to close the public comment portion of their meeting, after listening to concerns for about 30 minutes.
"We don't want answers! We don't want the shelter," one woman yelled out.
Another man interrupted as Commissioner Lorene Kamalu started to read a positive email sent in by another Kaysville resident.
"One that you chose to listen to rather than the 100 people in front of you," he exclaimed in anger.
Another woman later stood up defiantly, after being warned she could be removed from the meeting.
"The people that are coming to these homeless shelters do not want help," she yelled. "They're drug addicts. They do horrific things. I have small children. This is not why we elected you."
According to a state law that went into effect in 2023, counties in Utah are required to make a warming center available to the unsheltered population when temperatures are forecasted below 18 degrees Fahrenheit overnight. The relatively new legislation calls on mayors and a county commissioner to choose and set up the warming centers in meetings that are not open to the public. Kaysville Mayor Tamara Tran voiced her frustration with the process.
"Kaysville City cannot say no to it because we don't own the property," Tran said during public comment. "We don't control it. We know that we've heard that loud and clear. But what we do need is a solution."
Commissioner Bob Stevenson said plans will roll forward for the warming center inside a former emissions testing center at the corner of 600 West and Old Mill Lane. He told KSL-TV it was too late to find another location, as any new plans would have to be approved by a state board.
Homeowners like Jason Largey are asking that they somehow be allowed to take part in the process in the future.
"I feel like anything you're trying to do, you get better solutions of the more people you include, and making it public from the beginning," Largey said.
Warming centers will also be located in Layton, at the Valley View Golf Course, and inside the Clearfield Senior Center. Stevenson said the commission has had little to no pushback on those centers.
