At Tuesday’s Midway City Council meeting the council committed 1/5 of their open space bond to the preservation of the Albert Kohler Legacy Farm. After a public hearing and receiving feedback from the community the council approved a motion to sign a letter of financial support in the amount of $1,000,000 to the dairy farm.
The Kohler Dairy Farm, along with the nonprofit Utah Open Lands are seeking $7 million to purchase the development rights off of 102 acres of land within the dairy. Utah Open Lands Executive Director Wendy Fisher pointed out to the council the property has several key values that make it a great candidate for open space funds, including its scenic value, agricultural heritage, and public education.
“Last year they hosted over 700 kids from the Wasatch School District,” Fisher said. “Unlike some farmers who are very careful about not letting the public on, they actually invite the public onto their property. The other thing that we see as being valuable about this property is the fact that it actually is somewhat of an economic stimulus if you will for the community. When you look at agricultural landscapes, when you look at this particular piece of property; people come far and wide to visit the cheese shop and well to visit the cows.”
Council members unanimously voted in favor of the support letter, all except Lisa Kohler Orme, who excused herself from the conversations to avoid any conflict of interest. With the addition of Midway’s support Utah Open Lands has raised 4,250,000 from the city and other funding sources. The project came to the council only after being vetted and recommended by the Open Space Advisory Committee, a group of 10 members who have been tasked with evaluating potential uses of the $5 million open space bond Midway residents voted for in November 2018. Committee Chair Courtland Nelson explained the process to recommend the Kohler Dairy Farm
“We sent out notices to all landowners two acres and up within the city,” Nelson continued. “That generated around 14 or 15 landowners who sent in a notice of interest. Of that, six or seven are fairly serious. Who are working either with Wendy’s organization or Summit Land Trust in pursuing an option to look at this for their family. (The Albert Kohler Legacy Farm) simply was the most advanced when we passed the bond. We are very much in support of this proposal.”
In addition to the Open Space Committee and city staff support the council also heard from nearly a dozen community members who spoke in favor of the council using 1/5 of the bond towards the Kohler Dairy Project, Support came from many Midway residents including Pure Midway board member Katie Noble, builder Russ Watts, and artist Robert Duncan. Duncan said he’d seen a lot of barns go away in the past 40 years he’s live in Midway.
“Midway was built on the backs of farmers and dairy cows,” Duncan explained. “We have one last chance to help save a working dairy farm. That’s a chance I would hate for us to pass up. I also think that this is the kind of open space that is rare. That's working, cared for, beautiful, and open for our whole community to be able to enjoy.”
While 60 acres of the project is located in Midway City annexation and therefore eligible for the bonds, the remaining 42 acres are in Wasatch County. Fisher clarified that the project is also seeking to access some of the $10 million open space bond funds that voters in the county approved in November 2018.
The remaining four million dollars in Midway open space funds will be issued to other projects that go through the same process the Kohler Dairy Farm has. Currently the Midway Open Space Committee is working with eight other projects that could preserve over 350 acres of open space while also preventing over 325 dwellings being added to the city, according to current zoning laws.
At the meeting council also voted unanimously to issue the five million dollars for open space in a single bond. The council determined that was preferable to two issuances of 2.5 million-dollar bonds.
