Draper City Council Meeting Summary - December 2, 2025
Draper City Council Meeting Summary - December 2, 2025
The Draper City Council convened for a general meeting to discuss special event committee structures, update public works infrastructure plans, recognize law enforcement achievements, and deliberate on several zoning and general plan amendments. Attendance included four voting council members, with Councilmember Green noted as absent on a military assignment. No public comment was received for general items or most public hearings.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: Unanimously approved minutes from meetings held on November 13 and November 18, 2025.
- Planning Commission Appointment: Approved Resolution 25-68 appointing Laura Fiddler as an alternate member of the Draper City Planning Commission.
- America 250 Recognition: Approved Resolution 25-69 supporting America 250 Utah and recognizing the Draper Utah 250 Community Committee.
- Property Disposal: Approved Resolution 25-70 to dispose of personal property held by the police department as lost or mislaid.
- Infrastructure Standards: Approved Resolution 25-71 updating technical specifications and standard drawings for public infrastructure.
- Deed Amendment: Approved Resolution 25-73 amending previously issued deeds for the War Horse Ranch development.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Arena Committee Structure: Staff and council members discussed the need to merge or restructure the Special Event Arena Committee due to low attendance (only 2-3 active members) and lack of quorum since September. Positions were expressed regarding the loss of momentum when events moved; some members suggested combining the committee with Community Engagement to maintain volunteer goodwill, while others expressed caution against dismantling the structure entirely without a transition plan. Concerns were raised about the "Red Shirt Group" continuing their work independently if the formal board was eliminated.
- 700 East Sidewalks: Residents and council members debated the perception of speeding on 700 East; while some expressed strong concern about traffic safety, staff clarified that speed studies did not confirm a speeding problem, attributing the concern to perception.
- Water Conservation: Council members queried the proposed watering restrictions (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) regarding enforcement penalties; staff indicated that specific enforcement mechanisms and ordinances would require future council guidance.
Discussion Items
- Special Event Arena Committee: Staff reported only four members have expired terms and suggested a committee size of 4-5 people. Councilors discussed expanding the Community Engagement Committee (currently 9-10 active members) to include arena functions, specifically for the Rodeo, Monster Truck, and Holiday Market. A recommendation was made to require all current members to re-apply for the combined committee to ensure active engagement.
- Public Works Year-End Review: The Public Works Director reviewed completed projects including South Mountain reconstruction, 700 East storm drain fixes, 138 South widening (Phase 3), and Highland sidewalks. The Director highlighted a cost-saving strategy that shifted funding from underfunded federally sponsored Pioneer projects to the Lone Peak widening, leveraging existing federal funds to save city dollars. The 2026 schedule was adjusted due to UDOT concurrent work on 123rd Street, postponing Lone Peak widening.
- 700 East Widen vs. Sidewalk Project: Staff proposed a stop-gap project to install 450,000 worth of sidewalks on the west side of 700 East (two missing sections) rather than the full road widening project ($4.5 million estimate) which had faced significant public opposition during outreach. Councilors expressed support for the sidewalk-only option as a sustainable interim measure, provided the ends of the road connect well to existing infrastructure.
- Pump Station 3: Staff presented on the upgrade of Pump Station 3, including the installation of two new pumps to meet state redundancy codes following a breakdown. Councilors were invited to tour the site, noting its complex water pressure system (400 psi).
- Mowing Contract Update: The Public Works Director reported high success with the contracted mowing service, which freed up staff capacity to hire an arborist and improve morale. The Director demonstrated a remote-controlled robotic mower used for steep terrain, noting significant improvements in weed control and tree maintenance.
- Holiday Lighting: Staff presented on the new lighting contract model, where the contractor owns and maintains the lighting inventory. This model eliminated city labor costs for light maintenance and inventory, though the city still incurs costs for new installations.
- Law Enforcement Recognitions:
- Promotions: Officers Ben Ricks and Zach Campbell were promoted to Master Officer. Ricks (18 years experience) serves on the graveyard shift and as a canine operator; Campbell (10+ years experience) serves in Canyon Patrol and the drone team.
- Medal of Merit: Captain Evans was awarded the Medal of Merit by representatives from Brigham City and Logan City Police Departments for his leadership in coordinating funeral services for fallen officers from Box Elder County.
- Stationary Plans (Ordinance 1692): Staff presented minor revisions to the Draper Frontrunner Station plans to include a building visualization per UTA requests, which were approved.
- Boundary Adjustments (Ordinance 1693): Text amendments were presented to align with SB 104, redefining "lot line adjustments" as "boundary adjustments" (simple vs. full) and adding notice requirements.
- Water Use & Preservation Element (Ordinance 1694): Staff presented the new Chapter 7 of the General Plan, including goals for density, irrigation restrictions, and conservation team formation. The plan aims to meet SB 100 requirements.
- Water Conservation Plan (Resolution 2572): The fifth Water Conservation Plan was presented, noting Draper has achieved its 2014 target goal ahead of the 2025 deadline.
- Huber Property Zoning (Ordinances 1686 & 1687): Public hearing held to rezone 1.3 acres at 11730 S 700 West from low-medium density/residential 1-acre (RA1) to medium density/residential 1/3-acre (R3) to facilitate a subdivision adding one 19,000 sq ft lot to Fox Landing.
Key Outcomes
- Committee Restructuring: Council directed staff to explore combining the Special Event Arena Committee with the Community Engagement Committee, with the caveat that all members must re-apply to ensure active participation.
- 700 East Sidewalks: Council authorized staff to pursue a $450,000 sidewalk-only project on the west side of 700 East for Fiscal Year 2026, deferring the full road widening.
- 2026 Project Schedule Adjusted: The Lone Peak widening project was pushed to a later date due to UDOT constraints on 123rd Street; funding was reallocated to maximize federal matching benefits.
- Ordinances Adopted Unanimously (4-0):
- Ordinance 1692: Draper Frontrunner Stationary Plan amendments.
- Ordinance 1693: Boundary Adjustment Text Amendments.
- Ordinance 1694: Water Use and Preservation Element General Plan amendment.
- Ordinance 1686 & 1687: Land Use and Zoning Map amendments for the Huber property.
- Resolutions Adopted Unanimously (4-0):
- Resolution 2572: Water Conservation Plan adoption.
- Recognitions: Official recognition granted to Captains Evans, Ricks, and Campbell for their contributions to the department and the broader law enforcement community.
Meeting Transcript
Oh, time point for said meeting to begin. I'm calling it to order. Welcome everyone. Um looks like we have a need for a closed session. No. No. That's just gonna show up on the on the agenda in case we need it. Okay. All right. Um then uh dispensary. And then now we're going to have a a special event committee arena committee presentation by Miss Kelly. Or just a discussion, really. Okay, I I just need some direction on the special event arena committee. So they've had um they only have like um five members that are valid current right now, two of which come. So they have two members, they have four members that are expired, so they think maybe two of those want to renew. So they're looking at like a committee of like four to five people. So we're just trying to decide if we can if you guys want us to if if we want to keep them, or is there is there a reason that we're trying to have a hard time finding members because they're they don't have this much to do. They do the rodeo, the horse bolt, and the monster truck, and then they've been helping at the holiday market. Yeah, they signed up for the holiday market. Um I think there's like a couple that are planning on. Yeah, because I know they've enjoyed doing that in the past. Um so I mean, I talked to David today, he said, you know, we can look at if we wanna you know, try utilizing the arena more, we can bring on like a demo derby car show, maybe concerts. But then you also run into like does David Wilkes have the bandwidth to do a bunch of more events and what's the budget like. Um, you know, we could bring food trucks back there one evening since we've paid for that nice awning. They were helping with that, but now they're not doing that. That's kind of what happens to tell you if I can just interject real quick where they were really involved as a committee. And um then you can interject anything what Doug's talked to you about. But when we were doing the food trucks and all of that stuff, then they were energized by all that, and then when we moved it, which they all understood the reason, it makes more sense over there, but I think they lost some momentum because it's like, oh now we're and they they have offered to want to help at other events, which I think the group did that people like at that time they offered you like, hey, we'll help the the down at the park for the food trucks. But of course, then we signed with it and you wanted they don't need anybody, yeah. So I think there was a lot of momentum lost where they didn't really feel like they're needed. So yeah, there's like there's I mean two or three. And then we have volunteers that haven't come, then we have a lot of staff that's already there helping, and so then they think oh I brought these people and now that's been a big thing. I think that's then one of the problems that the people have lost interest. I mean the history here, the reason that committees came to do that job. There was an arena committee that didn't do anything, but because we're trying to have events at the facility. But it doesn't make any sense to have events that aren't making any money. I mean, I'm not thinking we should add things that the city keeps paying for if they don't make any money. So I I don't know. I think Wilkes is pretty tapped out with so many meetings. But I think the events we've had, they have made money this last couple years. The rodeo does, the monster truck does, yeah. Those those two. Um is there space on community engagement? Because it kind of seems like the same purpose really. And we we thought about that too. If we could just make kind of a welcoming events committee. Right now, community engagement has eleven. There's a couple more I could see dropping off. We could maybe get to the eleven number at some point. Um I mean, could you expand that committee to have it be a part of the reina?
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