Riverton City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - January 20, 2026
Riverton City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - January 20, 2026
On January 20, 2026, the Riverton City Council held a work session at 4:00 PM and a regular meeting at 7:00 PM at City Hall. The work session focused on regional transportation planning, budget kickoff, development projects, and formation of a skate park subcommittee. The regular meeting included public comments on the ICE partnership and other issues, adoption of ordinances and resolutions, and recognition of the police department's crash investigation team.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes of December 16, 2025.
- Approved Resolution No. 26-01 appointing an alternate city representative to the Unified Fire Authority Board.
- Approved Resolution No. 26-02 appointing a city representative to the Association of Municipal Councils.
- Approved Resolution No. 26-03 appointing Shannon Smith as a board trustee for the South Salt Lake Valley Mosquito Abatement District.
- Approved Resolution No. 26-04 appointing a city representative to the Jordan River Commission.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Douglas Hendricks (Riverton resident) spoke against the city's partnership with ICE, arguing it targets non-violent individuals and creates fear in immigrant communities, discouraging crime reporting. He urged the council to end the agreement.
- Dr. Steven Ford (Riverton resident) reported being blocked by protesters on Redwood Road and criticized police for not clearing the street, stating that First Amendment rights should not disrupt traffic on public roads.
- Nathaniel (Riverton resident) opposed the ICE contract, calling it harmful and unsafe, and urged termination.
- Richard Keeler (neighbor to the collective school) expressed concerns about the proposed greenhouse and animal enclosures, citing potential impacts on property values, traffic, noise, rodents, animal care, and weekend farmers markets.
- Ellen Ford (Riverton resident) opposed the current design of the Timberline development and urged the council to listen to neighborhood feedback.
Discussion Items (Work Session)
- Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) Presentation: Ted Knowlton, Chief Planner, and Hugh Van Wagenen presented the 30-year Regional Transportation Plan (to 2055). Three transit concepts were highlighted for Riverton: extending the TRAX Red Line to Mountain View Village and along Bangerter Highway to connect with FrontRunner, implementing Bus Rapid Transit on Redwood Road, and enhancing bus service on 12600 South. They also discussed the Utah Trail Network ($45 million annually from UDOT statewide) and the Beehive Bikeway system. Council discussed the importance of proactively incorporating these projects into the city's master transportation plan to strengthen funding opportunities.
- Budget Kickoff: Administrative Services Director Nick Geer outlined a more collaborative budget process with staged reviews of revenues, operations, debt, and capital projects. Sales tax accounts for 43% of total tax revenue and funds most general operations. Current year collections are 3% below prior year actuals through October, but November and December data are pending. Council emphasized conservative budgeting, prioritizing projects based on confirmed cash flow, and preparing for potential legislative changes affecting sales and property taxes. The next session on February 3 will include a water rate study presentation by HDR.
- Timberline Development: Development Services Director Jason Lethbridge presented a proposed rezone from commercial to higher-density residential at 13400 South and Redwood Road. A revised concept closes two road connections to existing neighborhoods (70 and 40 years old) and provides only pedestrian and utility links, with a new primary access from Redwood Road. Council expressed support for the revised road layout, emphasizing minimal disruption to long-established neighborhoods, simple concrete pathways over landscaped strips, and HOA maintenance for the private road. The developer, Fieldstone, confirmed the project would be an HOA community. Further review with emergency services and public input will occur before final decisions.
- Sentinel Ridge Median: Due to increasing traffic and safety issues, a center median is required on Sentinel Ridge Boulevard between 13400 South and 13800 South to restrict left turns. The median design is dictated by traffic studies and is not optional. Council strongly opposed landscaped medians due to long-term maintenance and water costs, favoring concrete with possible decorative elements or public art tied to Mountain Ridge High School. They stressed quick installation so new residents understand traffic patterns from the start. Emergency services confirmed the median will not impede response times; residents may need to travel up to half a mile to reroute.
- Skate Park Subcommittee: Mayor Buroker recommended forming a subcommittee with Councilmembers Haymond, Johnson, and McDougal to provide balance of perspectives. The intent is to move quickly while gathering meaningful community input. A list of 22 residents requesting to be on the committee was circulated for council feedback.
Key Outcomes (Council Meeting)
- Mayor Pro Tempore: Councilmember Andy Pierucci was elected unanimously as Mayor Pro Tempore for 2026 (motion by Councilmember Haymond, second by Councilmember McDougal).
- Ordinance No. 26-01 – Utah Collective Rezone: Adopted unanimously (5-0). The ordinance adds specific development designations to the RR-22 zone at 2673 West 11800 South, allowing: 1) animal shelters with wood siding and metal roofs; 2) chicken coops with natural wood siding and chicken wire; 3) a greenhouse with aluminum and glass/polycarbonate clear panels; and 4) a greenhouse with a 10-foot setback from the property line adjacent to 2700 West (instead of the standard 20 feet). The Planning Commission had recommended approval with clarified language.
- Resolution No. 26-05 – Budget Amendment: Approved unanimously (5-0) to fund a new stormwater camera system, as detailed in Exhibit A.
- Resolution No. 26-06 – Skate Park Subcommittee: Approved unanimously (5-0), creating a subcommittee with Councilmembers McDougal, Johnson, and Haymond to consider what, if any, skateboarding services should be provided. The committee will include the mayor and staff and will make a recommendation to the full council.
- Resolution No. 26-07 – Personnel Policy Amendments: Approved unanimously (5-0). The amendments: 1) observe Juneteenth on the actual date of June 19 (instead of adjusting to a nearby Monday); and 2) allow employees to voluntarily donate sick leave (in addition to vacation and comp time) to the catastrophic leave program for coworkers experiencing emergencies.
The regular meeting adjourned at 8:19 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Yeah, that's the one to send it down here. Ted, are you okay if we wait five minutes? See if we can get somebody else to come. Because I gave you thirty-five minutes anyway, so all right. Okay, we'll we'll we'll stall for five more minutes. When I was in high school, uh being like all this by the presentation. Yeah, I was always connected. We can go ahead and start. And in everyone's defense, we've never started before at four. This is a little earlier than we're used to, so it may take a little time for us to adjust. And for the council members to understand, I wanted the work being to to be very robust um and informative. So that's why they're starting a little earlier than we're used to. But if they just become tedious, then we will reduce their time that we're in this meeting. We don't need to be here just to fill time. Okay, so let's start our work session with a presentation from the Wasatch Front Regional Council. Okay, you can hear me. Okay, I assume I'm Ted Knowlton. I'm with Wasich Front Regional Council. And I'm I'm the chief planner and deputy director. I'm joined here today by uh Hugh Van Wagenen, uh, who is our active transportation specialist. And um let me start by giving you a sentence uh or two about WFRC, and then I'll tell you what I'm aiming to accomplish with this presentation and see if it fits with your expectations. Wallset Front Regional Council is a member driven organization. We are a governmental entity, we represent the cities and counties from on the north end Brigham City all the way down through to the southern tip of Sullick County, inclusive of Morgan and Towilla counties. So it's it's a variety of counties and lots of cities, and our main purpose is to work collaboratively and facilitate the region's transportation plan, roads, transit, and trails uh long term, and then we also facilitate the programming or the funding of projects collaborative a pot of money relating to that. That's kind of our purpose in a nutshell. Um I had a chance to meet with Mayor Baroker and uh City Manager Hicks, and uh they invited us to come with an eye towards talking about the transit fresh look, that uh transit visioning process in this area, and active transportation. Now we cover those two modes and roadways as well. We just don't have material tonight on roadways, but I want to let you know we love and care about the quality of our roads too. Um and I are gonna endeavor to be succinct and then listen. And so if you find that we are too succinct, just say, can you like drill down into that a little bit more? And then also you can do the opposite. If I act if I end up being long-winded, you can say, hey, let's let's let's get a move on. Um next slide, Jason. The regional transportation plan is a 30-year plan. We are this plan that we're working on now, uh, goes out to the the horizon year of 2055. You can think of this as the place where projects are born. So before I-15 was widened, or the red line uh tracks line was built, or even the Jordan River was built, it first appeared on the region's transportation plan. So this is where projects are built, and also how we help identify funding. But you can think of every mode of transportation. Go to the next slide. Um, and it's a four-year process. We're um in the third year where we're starting to prioritize, but we're still refining the package of projects, which we call the preferred scenario. And we want to engage you as much as you're willing to be engaged as a community. Go to the next one. So it's roads, transit, and trails. You've had a chance. We just had a workshop that included Riverton Council and Planning Commission. And uh, but we can give you that that link and invite additional comment as you need to, but hopefully you've had plenty of opportunity to do that. Now, I realized that I failed in my introduction to mention that Mayor Barrocker is serving on one of our key committees, the Wasatch Front Economic Development District, and Councilmember Perucci is going to serve on what's called the joint policy advisory committee, which is a statewide committee. So your city is engaged directly in the sort of governance, if you will, of Wasatch Front Regional Council.
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