It’s been said that death is the most democratic institution. However, not every community has a place for those who pass, including the Snyderville Basin.
Last week, the Snyderville Basin Cemetery District got the greenlight to build.
“If I were to expire tonight, I'm not sure where my family would decide to put my remains,” Summit County Councilmember Roger Armstrong said during a Nov. 13 public hearing. “So we do need one. That's why we undertook this process and appointed these good people to work on trying to find a cemetery.”
Part of the need the need for a cemetery in the area is that the Park City Cemetery is full.
The Snyderville Basin cemetery’s board members think they have found the right spot, beneath the Utah Olympic Park and across the street from the Run-A-Muk dog park.
That’s land the county owns and could donate to the district. Board President Max Greenhaulgh says it still needs to be subdivided, because the way the board reads state law, cemeteries should be standalone properties.
That process requires consulting past and current property owners, and he expects it will be resolved in the coming months.
After that, the board would get to work on building it. Thanks to a new tax the council approved Nov. 13, its initial budget is $495,000.
About $100,000 of that is reserved for initial property-related costs, says Board Vice President Dan Whitehurst.
“We're not going to get the whole cemetery built for $395,000,” he said. “We do plan to phase it and pace it based on what the demand will be in the community.”
According to the Park City Board of Realtors, the median price of Snyderville Basin homes sold in the third quarter of this year was just over $2 million.
Factoring in the discount primary residents get, a home of that value would pay about $25 per year for a cemetery to start.
After the upfront investment to improve the property, county leaders say taxes will come down as costs come down and the cemetery sells plots and niches. Armstrong says state law prohibits the cemetery from collecting more taxes than it spends.
