Lehi City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - May 26, 2026
Lehi City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - May 26, 2026
The City Council held a work session at 4:30 PM followed by a regular meeting at 7:00 PM on May 26, 2026, in the Lehi City Council Chambers. All council members were present: Newell, Harrison, Stallings, Freeman, and Lockhart. The work session covered presentations on Front Runner 2X, proposed code amendments, electric rate study, life safety signage, neighborhood exchange structures, and budget amendments. The regular meeting included approvals of design contracts, park construction, subdivision concepts, and a public hearing on executive officer compensation. The fiscal year 2026-2027 budget was tabled for further discussion.
Discussion Items
- Front Runner 2X Presentation (Work Session): Brian Allen, UDOT project manager, presented the double-track project to increase Front Runner frequency to every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes off-peak. The project is anticipated to be completed by 2030, pending federal funding. Key segments in Lehi include North of American Fork and North of Lehi. Noise and vibration studies found no impacts from the new track, but two properties may require mitigation for increased frequency. Construction noise will occur during daytime, and the quiet zone will remain in effect. Council members asked about enforcement of noise mitigation and construction timing.
- Parks, Trails and Trees Committee Code Amendments (Work Session): Scott Thane, committee chair, proposed removing the tree component from the committee's duties and revising the park tax allocation process to allow citizen recommendations for smaller projects. Discussion included concerns about committee authority, transparency, and the need for a clear action plan. Council members suggested the committee evaluate the full 70% of park tax funds rather than a subset, and emphasized the importance of branding and community engagement. The item was tabled for further council discussion.
- Electric Cost of Service and Rate Design Study (Work Session): Dave Berg, consultant, presented rate comparisons showing Lehi's proposed rates would keep it competitive. The proposed rate increase is approximately 5%, but the Power Purchase Adjustment Clause (PPAC) is expected to decrease due to favorable wholesale power costs, resulting in a net decrease for many customers. The base rate increase is needed to cover operational costs and capital improvements. Council members asked about the rate design, impact on different customer sizes, and the methodology for the PPAC. Adoption is scheduled for June 9, 2026.
- Life Safety Signage Ordinance (Work Session): Fire Marshal Gary Rowlett proposed an ordinance to standardize signage for fire alarm control panels, fire department connections, and fire riser rooms. The ordinance would apply to new buildings with life safety systems and require durable, reflective signs. The ordinance aims to improve consistency and first responder recognition. No opposition was raised.
- Neighborhood Exchange Structures Ordinance (Work Session): Trent Dyer from Parks proposed a code amendment to clarify that small structures like little free libraries and produce stands must be on private property, not on city right-of-way or park strips, to reduce liability and maintenance. Discussion included exceptions for temporary lemonade stands and the need for public education. Council members suggested clarifying the definition of temporary uses.
- Budget Amendments for FY 2025-2026 (Work Session): Dean presented several budget amendments, including donations, grants, bond payments, construction costs, and wage transfers. Notable items: $100,000 for Civic Center construction additions, $20,000 for security door and cubicles for council workspace (requested by the mayor, not the council), and funding for police overtime. Council members expressed concerns about the process for spending on council workspace and requested that future such expenditures be brought to a vote.
- Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget Adoption (Regular Meeting): The interim budget was presented after the council had rejected the mayor's proposed tax increase. The interim budget included a 3% wage increase for employees (reduced from 4%), funding for firefighter pay increases ($750,000), and no new positions. Extended discussion revealed divisions: some council members wanted to restore the 4% wage increase and fully fund firefighter wages, while others opposed a tax increase and sought cuts elsewhere. Proposed cuts included reducing council pay, benefits, travel, and IT budget. The mayor and finance director requested to table the item to rework the budget based on council input. The motion to table passed 4-1 (Stallings opposed).
Key Outcomes
- Front Runner 2X: No action taken; presentation only.
- Parks Code Amendments: Tabled for further council discussion.
- Electric Rate Study: Adoption scheduled for June 9, 2026.
- Life Safety Signage Ordinance: No formal action; discussion only.
- Neighborhood Exchange Structures Ordinance: No formal action; discussion only.
- Budget Amendments: Approved (as part of the work session, but not explicitly voted on in the transcript; the regular meeting budget was tabled).
- Resolution 2026-36 (Pony Express Parkway Design): Approved unanimously.
- Resolution 2026-37 (Lakeview Park Construction): Approved unanimously.
- Spring Meadow Villas PUD Concept: Approved with findings that the concept conforms to general plan goals.
- Heritage Meadows Preliminary Subdivision: Approved with density and loop connectivity for trail access.
- Public Hearing on Executive Officer Compensation: Opened and closed; no action.
- Resolution 2026-39 (Employee Retirement Contributions Pickup): Approved unanimously.
- Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget: Tabled (4-1) to allow staff to rework based on council input, with a work session scheduled for June 8, 2026.
- Lehi Local Building Authority Budget: Approved unanimously.
- Lehi Redevelopment Agency Budget: Approved unanimously.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, welcome uh to our city council meeting today on May twenty sixth, twenty twenty-six at four thirty here in the Lehigh City Council chambers. We have a full council today, Councilmember Newell, Councilmember Harrison, Councilmember Stallings, Councilmember Freeman, and Councilmember Lockhart. Uh, reminder that this is a work session, so there won't be public comment during this section. Uh, but we welcome all of you who have joined with us today, and and we're excited to hear from you. Uh, we will go ahead to our first um item number one and ask that m uh Mr. Harrison. Councilmember Harrison offer uh an opening prayer. Dear Father in Heaven, we are grateful to gather together as a council and with staff and with our residents to discuss the items of the day and how we can best serve the community and and be responsible in our roles. Uh, for a special blessing upon our first responders and their and all of city staff as they're out doing their jobs and helping the community that they'll be safe, they'll be protected and um the that will watch over them. We ask for thy spirit to be with us throughout this meeting and the rest of the evening in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you. Okay, item two point one, the front runner. Two times presentation and update here. I think so. Correct. My name is Brian Allen. I'm a project manager for for the Utah Department of Transportation. Perfect. Um, so today I want to be talking about front runner two X. Uh how long do you about ten minutes? Okay. Don't want to sound great. So yeah, feel free to ask questions as we go through the presentation. We're gonna start just an overview of what the Front Runner Two X project is. Then we have a little more detail about the the segment that affects your city. Um, called the North of American Fork segment, and then also the the north of Lehigh. Um with me today, I have uh subject matter experts and noise right away, uh, all the disciplines that um take the that takes to deliver a project of this size. So want to make sure we can answer all your questions tonight. Um this is uh this project is a partnership between UDOT and UTA. The project is primarily state funded. Um couple years ago, the state legislature passed a law where if there's a state funded project in transportation, they would like the the UDOT to lead it. So as we all know, um, sometimes it gets a little confusing with different government agencies. So actually, I work for UDOT. Um, however, we work very closely with UTA. Um, so I I don't mind if you call me UTA or UDOT. Um, we're really one team working to really enhance front runner to deliver a better transit service. So this is a video right here. Uh it's on YouTube. Let's see, this is a real test of boldness to see if a video will play in a city council meeting, right? Or working session. We'll see if this works. So I love that video because I think it does a really good job of simply explaining, you know, why double track and uh why frequency really drives ridership. Uh going. So we're actually in what's called a core capacity program through FTA. FTA is the Federal Transit Administration. Um one of the reasons why we qualify for federal funding is because of front runner ridership is so high, actually. So they look at ridership in the peak hour peak direction, which actually occurs uh in the southern portion of the alignment between Salt Lake and uh Draper and and Murray. Um we're at ninety percent of the seated capacity. So that program enables us to apply for federal funding um to basically increase the capacity because front runner is such a successful system already.
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