During its regular Wednesday meeting the Wasatch County Council will receive their weekly update from the county health department regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The council will also discuss and decide on whether to move forward with an ordinance declaring Wasatch County a Second Amendment “sanctuary county” and updating the fee schedule for open records requests to the county.
The council will also hold a public hearing at 6:00 pm regarding the use of funds for open space preservation. Last week, the Wasatch Open Lands Board unanimously offered a recommendation that the county spend two million dollars for the preservation of the Albert Kohler Legacy Farm. The two million dollars would come from the 10 million open space bond county residents passed in 2018, the open lands board advises the county council on how to disperse the funds. The bond can be used to buy development rights off of properties, meaning housing and commercial buildings can’t be placed on the land, while still allowing farmers and ranchers to use the land for agriculture in perpetuity.
The open lands board says the 103-acre area on the Kohler Dairy farm meets all the general criteria for selection. The board further noted that preserving the dairy keeps farms in the area viable as they supply hay to the operation. The board also shared that the project leverages the open space bond money by a ratio of five to one. The $7 million land conservation already has 3.25 million in contributions from federal and state sources, as well as an additional one million in contribution from the Midway Open Space Bond. The Wasatch County Council will take all these factors into consideration when issuing the money.
