Draper City Council Meeting - August 18, 2026: Budget Adoption, Great Salt Lake Report, and CRA Overview
Draper City Council Meeting - August 18, 2026
The Draper City Council held a study session and business meeting on August 18, 2026, at 1020 E. Pioneer Rd. The study session included a presentation on Great Salt Lake preservation efforts and an overview of the Community Reinvestment Agency (CRA). The business session featured oaths for the Youth Council, public comments, approval of minutes, two public hearings, and adoption of the final budget with a property tax increase.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The council unanimously approved the minutes of the August 4, 2026 City Council meeting (5-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Library Closure: Sarah Brinkerhoff from the Draper Library announced the library will close from August 31 to November 30, 2026, for HVAC replacement, new vestibule, and flooring. Holds will be sent to Sandy Library.
- Flock Cameras Opposition: Chase Kimball (292 W Galena Park Blvd) asked the council to cancel the Flock camera contract, arguing they violate the Fourth Amendment by collecting data on all vehicles without probable cause. He requested the item be placed on the next agenda. Scott Standage echoed concerns and also opposed any tax increase, citing waste in government and noting police hide to catch speeders. Alberto Delator (13889 Standing Oak Dr) supported the opposition, questioning how Flock cameras were approved without citizen input and urging transparency.
- Tax Increase Concerns: Scott Standage also argued against raising taxes, suggesting the city should cut spending line by line.
- Historical Museum Support: Gary Free (13561 E Tim Tree Hill Cove) and Kathy Free (same address) spoke in favor of a proposed Draper Historical Museum and Event Center, emphasizing preservation of artifacts and educational value. Chris Foresta (11723 Shadow View Ln) supported moving forward with the concept, noting a draft framework for a 10,000-square-foot facility with private funding and city land.
Discussion Items
- Great Salt Lake Preservation Report: Jacob Young (General Manager, Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District) reported that due to conservation, the district has dedicated 21,000 acre-feet per year (20% of deliveries) to Great Salt Lake temporarily—about 30% of the total 70,000 acre-feet dedicated so far. Draper City achieved an 11% reduction in water demand during a Level 2 critical water shortage. Aspen Johnson (Strategic Coordinator, Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner) presented on lake elevation trends, noting a record low in 2022 but improved conditions after a wet 2023. She discussed the need for 250,000 acre-feet annually to stabilize the lake (per Dr. David Tarbotten), and explained voluntary agricultural water leasing, cloud seeding, and the new Great Salt Lake Preservation Fund ($2.75M ongoing). Council members asked about engineered solutions (e.g., furrowing, boulders), pumping, and the impact of 70,000 acre-feet. Johnson emphasized long-term management and invited city staff/officials for an airboat tour. Mayor commented that the presentation seemed less urgent than media coverage, but Johnson stated they are pursuing what is politically achievable. The council acknowledged the urgency.
- Community Reinvestment Agency (CRA) Overview: Jason Burningham (LRB Public Finance Advisors) explained tax increment financing, the city's six active project areas, and current fund balances totaling approximately $31 million. He detailed three buckets: project area expenses (e.g., $19.4M), housing set-asides (e.g., $3.7M), and additional increment (e.g., $7.7M for Crescent, estimated $6M future). He noted that Sand Hills, East Banger, and West Freeway have only two years to spend funds or lose them. Allowable uses include public infrastructure, housing assistance, developer incentives, arts, and education. Council discussed using funds for road improvements (e.g., 123rd Street, Bangerter Highway, Kimball's Junction), potential coordination with UDOT, and the intersection of CRAs with HTRZs (state tools with less local control). Mayor noted the city's enviable CRA position and urged programming funds soon.
- FY 2026-2027 Budget Adoption (Resolution 26-39): John Vuyk (staff) reviewed the budget process starting in October 2025. He presented slides on sales tax trends (flattening growth), staffing (258.12 general fund employees, with three additional firefighters), and expenditures (police $14.3M, fire, public works $4.8M, parks $10M). The proposed budget includes a property tax increase of approximately $123/year (from $489 to $612 for a median home) to partially address a $2.69M shortfall, with $3.3M drawn from fund balance. Council debated deficit spending, the need for cuts vs. revenue increases, and the value of public safety investments. Mayor explained that Draper has only raised taxes once in 17 years and that this increase is necessary to sustain current service levels, especially for police and fire. After public hearing (no comments), the resolution passed 5-0.
- Town Center Residential Zoning Text Amendment (Ordinance 1736): Staff report by Todd Taylor; the ordinance corrects zoning text to allow single-family dwellings as conditional uses on properties under half an acre in the Town Center zone, and clarifies multi-family units on larger parcels. The Planning Commission recommended approval. The ordinance passed 5-0.
- Planning Commission Structure and Procedures (Ordinance 1734): Spencer DuShane presented state-mandated changes regarding appointment, removal, and recusal of planning commissioners. The ordinance delegates appointment and removal to the mayor with council consent, lists mandatory removal reasons, and sets a 5% conflict-of-interest threshold (vs. state's 10%) consistent with city ethics code. The ordinance passed 5-0.
Key Outcomes
- Great Salt Lake: The council received the report and expressed interest in future collaboration; no formal action taken.
- CRA: The board adopted the 2026 Annual Report (Resolution CRA 2604) with a 4-1 vote. Council directed staff to explore programming fund balances for infrastructure improvements, particularly on Bangerter Highway and near proposed developments.
- Budget Adoption: Resolution 26-39 approved (5-0), setting the FY 2026-2027 budget with a property tax increase to fund ongoing public safety and operational costs, while still utilizing fund balance.
- Zoning Amendment: Ordinance 1736 approved (5-0).
- Planning Commission Ordinance: Ordinance 1734 approved (5-0).
- Youth Council: Oaths administered to new members; current leadership introduced.
- Library Closure: Noted for public awareness.
Meeting Transcript
We have everyone here. We have our presenters here. I'd like to call our study session order. We've got a report tonight from the Great Salt Lake Preserv regarding the Great Salt Lake Preservation efforts. We're going to start with our Jordan Valley Water Conservation District and then we'll talk over here from the Great Salt Lake Commission. So who we got here? Mike, y'all know. Jacob Young. Jacob Young. Jake go ahead and take kick it off. Great. Where's best to bring us down? Well, good evening. Thank you for having us this evening. We're happy to be here. My name is Jacob Young. I'm the new general manager for Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. So I wanted to come and introduce myself and then I'll introduce the commissioner's office here as well. So I've been in the role just for since January now. And prior to that, I was the deputy general manager with Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. And am absolutely just honored to serve the community in this capacity. For those that may not be familiar, we Jordan Valley Water is a regional water provider. So we we wholesale water to about 12 cities throughout the Salt Lake Valley service area is about 800,000 people total. And then those cities or like water pro entities like that provide the retail service to residents and businesses throughout the valley. So I'm here tonight to introduce the Great Salt Lake Commissioner's office. One of the roles that we are happy to play with the community or play for the community is somewhat of liaison with uh various state entities, uh the Great Salt Lake Commissioner's office being one of those. And so I meet uh about twice a month with the the commissioner's office collaborating on what uh we can do from the municipal and industrial sector uh of water use uh to help support the lake. And I'm very uh happy to share that because of the conservation that the community is achieving and has achieved over the last several years, uh including Draper City. Uh we are now uh we have dedicated on a temporary basis, uh, we've dedicated 21,000 acre feet per year of water to the Great Salt Lake. Um that number may not mean much uh to you all, but that's about 20% of our deliveries are now to the Great Salt Lake, and that is water that we're holding for future use for to meet the growth and future demand. And we anticipated that we would have needed to develop uh that supply at this point, um, the ability to treat that water. Uh it's water that would otherwise just sit in Utah Lake and evaporate there or get used by other entities that have water rights in Utah Lake. Um, but because we've been able to conserve and not needed to develop that supply, uh we're able to dedicate that to the Great Salt Lake. And it is it's a significant number. It's it ends up being about 30 percent of all of the water uh to this point that's been dedicated to the lake. There's about 70,000 acre feet total that have been dedicated to the lake, uh, and we're 21,000 of that. So um, so thank you to to Draper City for being a part of that. Um I'll just mention uh one more thank you as well to the the community here in Draper. Uh so we're all very well aware that we're in a significant drought right now, uh lowest snowpack ever. Um, and so we uh declared a level two water shortage, a critical water shortage for our service area, asking for a 10% reduction in demands for from the service area as a whole, and uh really happy to share that Draper City uh between WaterPro and Public Works. Um you're right at 11% reduction in demands over last year, so uh we really appreciate that as well from uh from Draper City. So with that, um I will uh turn it over to Aspen uh to talk through some of the Great Salt Lake efforts uh specifically, and I'll be here for questions uh to either Aspen or myself when he's done. Thanks for you. Hello, uh my name's Aspen Johnson. I'm the strategic coordinator for the office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner. Been with the agency for about two years now. Before that, I was with the Division of Water Rights for a little over five years. So I'm really happy to be able to spend my working time trying to improve conditions on Great Salt Lake in such a crucial and essential part of our state's heritage. That really is unique in the world and uh is really incredibly crucial for um ecological, economic, social, and other reasons. So before I jump in here, my presentation didn't take very much time, but I just wanted to uh echo what Jacob was saying about existing water conservation efforts, those are uh really greatly appreciated, and uh we know that Draybird has been a huge uh contributor in that space, and so from the commissioner's office, thank you for your efforts and efforts there.
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