Farrell held an at-large seat on the county council for five terms. He’s retiring at the end of this year.
In addition to his duties on the council, he represented the county on numerous boards and committees, including the Wasatch Open Lands board and the board of the Military Installation Development Authority, or MIDA.
As one of the county’s open space advocates, Farrell facilitated conservation easements and gave input on how open space bond funds should be appropriated.
That legacy was honored Friday with a $1 million donation to Utah Open Lands from the Mountainside Resort Foundation. The nonprofit was created by Gary Barnett of Extell – the New York developer behind Deer Valley’s East Village expansion.
Utah Open Lands Executive Director Wendy Fisher said Farrell has been an advocate for land preservation in the Heber Valley for decades.
“I first met Steve Farrell when Utah Open Lands was working to protect 1,000 acres in Snake Creek Canyon, and we succeeded, and that land became part of Wasatch Mountain State Park,” she said. “That was in the mid-90s, and even then, Steve Farrell was saying, ‘Well, what do we do about the North Fields?’”
She said Farrell brought a unique perspective to the issue of open space in the county.
“His commitment to seeing potential options for landowners who want to conserve their land in Wasatch County has really been monumental,” she said. “Not everybody gets it, but Steve did.”
In his role as a board member of MIDA, the state agency founded to serve veterans and the military, Farrell worked to represent Wasatch County’s interests in development projects.
During Farrell’s five-year tenure on the MIDA board, the agency’s presence in the county grew to its current size encompassing thousands of acres. It opened the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley, a hotel with rooms set aside for service members and some veterans, and advanced construction on East Village.
At his final MIDA board meeting in November, Farrell said MIDA had become “a real ally” to the county.
“I just want to say it’s been a great trip,” he said. “We was a little leery of MIDA and working with them, but we can understand as time went by, we’ve gained a real ally and a supporting factor that wanted to see it work. They proved they can do their job.”
Farrell said he looks forward to returning to full-time farming in retirement.
“I’m retiring after 20 years,” he said. “I’m going to ride off in the sunset on my tractor.”
His seat on the Wasatch County Council will be filled by former Midway mayor Colleen Bonner. Councilmember Karl McMillan will take over Farrell’s duties on the MIDA board.
Farrell wasn’t immediately available for comment Monday.
