Heber City wants to build a “Fitness Court” in a local park. It would feature equipment for body-weight exercises like pull-ups, incline situps and pushups. Fitness Court partners with the National Fitness Campaign nonprofit to build outdoor gyms in cities around the country.
The city council has debated several locations for the facility, and on Tuesday recommended Vista Park, which is under construction near Wasatch High School. Assistant City Manager Luke Searle told KPCW that park is expected to open later this year, and the Fitness Court would hopefully open next summer.
“It's central,” Councilmember Rachel Kahler said about the Vista Park’s location in Tuesday’s city council meeting. “It allows for a community that doesn't have even a neighborhood park off of 600 South and we know that it's going to serve a population of growing families.”
That follows months of back-and-forth over the location. In March, the council identified Red Ledges Park as the preferred location, but a Red Ledges official said there wasn’t space. The council also discussed Muirfield Park, but decided Vista Park would be easier for residents to access.
Searle said grants from the National Fitness Campaign, Intermountain Healthcare and the Wasatch Community Foundation will cover a little more than half of the $140,000 project cost.
The city included the remaining $65,000 for the Fitness Court in its tentative budget for next year.
Visit nationalfitnesscampaign.com for more on the outdoor gym design and nonprofit that supports cities seeking to build them.
