The Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District is pausing plans for fieldhouses in Silver Creek Village and the Summit County-owned Cline Dahle property in Jeremy Ranch.
That’s because voters decided against issuing $71 million in bonds to pay for them, and by a narrow margin: little more than 2% as of Monday. Results won’t be final until Nov. 17.
Almost 10,000 votes were cast, and Basin Rec director Robert Parrish was pleased by the turnout.
Without the bonds, he’s focused on Basin Rec’s property in Silver Creek, where there is still the potential for new outdoor amenities.
“I’ll go out here in the next few weeks with an RFP to hire a landscape architect company, master planning, development-type of planning firm to help us come up with a plan for that parcel,” Parrish told KPCW. “I think we plan for some pickleball.”
Basin Rec had already budgeted for those designs in 2027.
Parrish said he won’t move forward with any designs in Jeremy Ranch because the recreation district doesn’t own that land; the county does.
Summit County is negotiating on a rezone and public-private partnership on that land with a private developer.
“So until that zoning and development plan gets ironed out and the property's transferred to us, there's nothing — I'm not going to spend taxpayer dollars on developing a plan for that, which was also going to be the case even if the bond passed,” Parrish said.
As for Silver Creek, the plans could still include an indoor pickleball facility and combination sculpture garden-miniature golf course, depending on funding.
“I've been approached by quite a few community members who were interested in donating to specific amenities, like pools or other things,” Parrish added.
It’s the second time plans have downsized.
Basin Rec initially proposed a $150 million in bonds, before walking that back to $71 million. The revised amount would have cost the median homeowner more than $100 extra per year.
Parrish said the district isn’t planning to put bonds back on the ballot in 2027, but would consider it for 2028. The reason for the proposal is to keep up with future growth.
“The need is not going away. The district is still growing,” he said.
Salt Lake County successfully passed a $128 million recreation bond Nov. 3, also for new buildings and parks. Despite its size, it was less costly for individual residents.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports it will cost about $16 per year for the average resident with a home worth $658,000. And that’s the same as a bond passed in 2016, which will soon be paid off, so taxpayer bills in Salt Lake County won’t actually change.
Basin Rec is a financial supporter of KPCW.
