Syracuse City Council Meeting Summary - December 10, 2025
Syracuse City Council Meeting - December 10, 2025
The Syracuse City Council convened for a evening of recognition, public testimony, and administrative decisions. The meeting featured a celebration of the Syracuse High School State Champion Soccer Team, emotional farewells to departing Councilmembers Carver and Savage, and significant public concern regarding the condition of the city cemetery. The council unanimously passed several contracts, approved zoning changes, and rejected a General Plan amendment related to property at 741 West 3700 South.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of minutes from November 18, 2025 (Work and Business Sessions).
- Proposed Ordinance 25-42: Adoption of the Utah Wildlands Urban Interface Code (HB 48).
- Proposed Resolution R25-44: Appointment of new members to the Syracuse City Architectural Review Committee.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Concerns regarding Cemetery Damage: A resident (father-in-law of a cemetery visitor) raised concerns about increased damage to headstones and planters at the Syracuse Cemetery. They suggested the installation of security cameras to identify perpetrators, noting that personal surveillance is impossible 100% of the time.
- Matthew Page: Read a statement on behalf of his ill daughter, Blair Smedley. Smedley described heartbreak over repeated damage to her 10-month-old daughter's grave and other family plots by groundskeepers who allegedly treat the graves as inconveniences. She cited city ordinances requiring the cemetery to be a place of "serenity, solace, and reflection," arguing that the current maintenance practices violate this and desecrate the "sacred ground." She expressed a position of urgent need for protection and respect for the dead.
- John Akin (Candidate for Davis County Sheriff): Stated his position supporting the protection of children, relentless crime enforcement, and the U.S. and Utah Constitutions. He expressed a willingness to work with elected officials to prevent cities from becoming a burden and proposed focusing on emerging threats like cybercrime and artificial intelligence.
Discussion Items
- Departing Councilmembers: The Mayor and Councilmembers expressed warm appreciation for Councilmember Carver (praised for leading with heart and caring for the city's people) and Councilmember Savage (praised for maintaining civility and acting as the "glue" that kept the council from splintering despite spirited debate).
- Public Comment on Cemetery: The Mayor acknowledged the emotional weight of the testimony regarding the cemetery desecration.
- Audit Presentation: Ron Stewart of Gilbert and Sullivan CPAs presented the FY2024-2025 audit. He noted a "clean opinion" (unmodified opinion) on financial statements, effective internal controls, and generally sound state compliance. He identified one specific issue: the Colendary Water Fund was over budget by $300,000, noting the need to monitor budget amendments.
- America 250 Initiative: Council discussed the urgency of forming the Syracuse Utah 250 committee to qualify for grants before year-end.
- Bluff Drive Improvement: Robert presented 12 bids received; the low bid from Saunders Excavation was significantly under budget ($1,455,968). A councilmember noted the high number of bids as a sign of successful city procurement practices.
- Ground Maintenance Contracts: Council discussed renewing grounds maintenance for city facilities and awarding a new contract for park and ride lot maintenance (Yard Masters). A councilmember raised a position seeking legislative support to amend state law, allowing Class C road funds to be used for the maintenance of newly acquired park and ride lots.
- Zoning and General Plan (741 West 3700 South): Debate arose regarding two connected items: amending the General Plan from Commercial to Low Density (to allow splitting a lot with two houses) and amending the zoning from Agriculture A1 to Residential R2. Councilmember Jordan expressed a position that the General Plan should remain Commercial, citing the high traffic intersection and the desire to signal the "highest and best use" for future development, even if the immediate zoning change to R2 is approved. Council supported the idea of keeping the General Plan Commercial to allow future flexibility.
- Work Session - Emergency Services: Chief Aaron discussed the potential impact of Senate Bill 215 (2025), which may introduce competition for EMS transport services. The discussion highlighted uncertainty regarding logistics and the potential for private entities to operate out of fire stations, though the Chief noted the city's competitive advantage in cost and service quality.
Key Outcomes
- Motion Passed: Unanimously approved the award of the Bluff Drive Improvement Project contract to Saunders Excavation.
- Motion Passed: Unanimously approved the award of Ground Maintenance Services to Franklin Sprinkler and Repair LLC.
- Motion Passed: Unanimously approved the award of Park and Ride Lots Ground Maintenance to Yard Masters.
- Motion Passed: Unanimously rejected Ordinance 25-43 (General Plan Amendment) to change the property at 741 West 3700 South from Commercial to Low Density.
- Motion Passed: Unanimously approved Ordinance 25-44 (Zoning Map Amendment) to change the property at 741 West 3700 South from Agriculture A1 to Residential R2.
- Motion Passed: Unanimously authorized the administration to execute the America 250 logo usage agreement, approved the resolution to form the Syracuse Utah 250 community committee, and authorized the Mayor to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the America 250 Utah Commission.
- Meeting Adjourned: The meeting ended with no further public comment, and the Council will not meet again until January.
Meeting Transcript
Oh right. Are we around? Come on in and have a seat, ladies. Come on in up front. That's a good idea. Maybe all the women's sports except for our watchment. Even polo. I love full wave sounds games. I like what it is for. That's what I really want. I don't have Julie. I'm ready to tell me. I mean it well, I figured it's possible for now, but it is clear that Jordan and I are closing this one night because they just get emotional. Very small. Thank you for stories on the problems. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, it is six o'clock, so I will call this meeting to order for the Syracuse here in December. Uh tonight, we will begin with an invocation or thought. Uh Jordan, would you provide that? And then uh Jennifer, would you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Our Father in Heaven, we are truly grateful to be to be gathered together today. Opportunity to be a little kinder to each other. Please bless us as we go about our days that we can care for those in need and be mindful of others. We are truly grateful for the opportunities we've been given and for this great city. Please bless us as we consider these items in the agenda that we can be wise in our approach and make those decisions that we'll be able to help all of us the Syracuse citizens to succeed and progress. Please stand. I pledge allegiance of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. Can I get somebody to make a motion to adopt the agenda? So moved. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Tonight we are going to begin with the first item on our agenda is very exciting. We have with us the Syracuse High School Titan Ladies 6A State Champion Soccer Team. Thank you for coming. If you ladies could come forward with your coaches and council, how do you do your receipts is a bag if you bring those down with you? Okay, so I'm just going to use the use the mic for the purposes of the record. But as these ladies come down, anytime our kids in our city do something really wonderful, it brings uh notoriety to the city as well. And so we want to reward that and let them know how much we appreciate them. So we have council in your bags. We have some Syracuse City water bottles we want to give out to all of you as recognition for what you've done. We want to you athletes to stay hydrated and do your best. So yeah, coaches as well. We have one for the coaches, and there may be a couple missing because we did say so. Okay, we'll we'll take care of those. Anyway, ladies, thank you so much for bringing the good name of Syracuse forward, doing an awesome thing, and we would just like to give you a round of applause. If we could get a quick picture for uh our website, please one. I mean, the edits of these. The next item on our agenda, we want to recognize those who are leaving us, and the city has a recognition.
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