Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski is seeking public input on a potential $17 million land purchase.
- The 17-acre site, owned by Canyons School District, may become a community center.
- Open houses are on Wednesday and July 15; a city council vote is on Aug. 4.
SANDY — The mayor of Sandy on Monday said she hoped for public input at two upcoming open houses on the city's potential purchase of a 17-acre property currently owned by Canyons School District.
The site at 11150 S. 300 East used to be home to Crescent View Middle School and, more recently, has served as the location of the school district's Life Skills Academy, a vocational skills school for disabled adults.
Mayor Monica Zoltanski said Sandy is currently under contract to purchase the property for $17 million, but she also said it was not a done deal, as the city would have to rely on taxpayer money through a bond to fund the purchase and whatever improvements follow.
"We don't have $17 million, $20 million (or) $30 million laying around the city," Zoltanski told KSL. "We've just come through our budget season. We've done some big, important consolidation. We've done a reduction in force, eliminating some personnel positions in Sandy. Basically, I've spent the last six months turning over couch cushions just to meet our operations needs … That's why this would take investment from the voters, investment from residents and their support and approval, because we wouldn't have the assets, we wouldn't have the resources to make it happen otherwise."
City officials mocked up five different concepts, which they shared with KSL, including two plans that would prioritize preservation of open space while establishing a community center for recreation and the arts. Two other concepts called for some development.
A fifth option was to not go forward with the purchase.
Zoltanski said all the purchase options give Sandy residents more say in the future of the area than if Canyons School District were to simply sell to the developers who are next in line.
"Every time there is a new, big, in-field development in our city, the first thing we hear is, 'Why didn't the city acquire this for open space?'" Zoltanski said. "I know that conversation would be coming if we stepped back and said, 'Let the developers take over.' We'd be probably looking at a rezoning, so before we even got there, let's put it to the people and let our residents make that decision — at least have the first crack at bat."
Zoltanski said the decision would be "influenced heavily" by residents' input.
According to the plans shared with KSL, the "buy" concepts would cost the average homeowner somewhere between $2.72 and $4.80 per month.
Open houses are scheduled for Wednesday and July 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Crescent View Middle School gym.
Officials said a tentative schedule called for the matter to be presented to the city council on July 28, with a vote potentially coming on Aug. 4.
They said the bond issue would have to go to the county by Aug. 20 to get on the ballot this fall.
"At the end of the day, I want what my residents want," Zoltanski said. "It's also defining who we are as a community, because we're more than plots of land on a map. It's what we build together."
