By City Councilmember Heather Pehrson

The need for a City Hall has grown over the last few years as Bluffdale’s need for services has increased with its population.

We currently have employees in three different locations throughout the city.  The city building on Redwood Road houses our court, public works, building inspection, planning department and code enforcement.  This building is over 40 years old, and a recent engineering report advised us to retrofit it with costly seismic structural reinforcements.  Additionally, the design does not meet current municipal court code requirements. 

To continue using this facility the city would have to spend over $300,000 in remodeling and upgrades.  The city engineering department is housed in rented office space at another location.  Our city administrators, city council, utility billing, accounting, reception and police department are sharing space with the fire department at the fire station.

Consolidating all the citizen services, except public works, at one location would better serve our residents.  This would eliminate confusion and unnecessary trips.  One location will also increase administrative effectiveness.

As the need for a city hall has become clear, the city council has been considering its possible location for some time. After vetting several sites, the City Council is proposing that a Bluffdale City Hall be built on the southeast corner of the Bluffdale City Park (14400 S. 2200 W.).

In anticipation of this upcoming need, we have been setting aside money in our Capital Projects Fund for the last few years. Of all the sites the city council considered, the city park site is the only option where we own the land and all major utility infrastructure is already in place. Other properties could cost Bluffdale as much as $900,000. The city park site would allow us to instead make a large down payment toward our new city hall.

Other benefits of the city park site are its central location within the city, the ability of the city council to control architectural design, and the opportunity to also provide more parking and community space to events at the park.

At this time, the city park site is still a proposal.  We welcome your comments and suggestions. A picture of the proposed location of the City Hall can be found on the city website www.bluffdale.com.  I can be reached for comment and questions at [email protected].

In other news, I am leading the Bluffdale Parks, Trails, and Open Space Citizen Committee.  This committee’s goal is to prioritize park and trail planning and programming and to ensure resident involvement in the process.  The city council has contracted with Conservation Technix, Environmental Planning Group, Inc, and ETC Institute to help develop a citywide parks, trails, recreation and open space master plan.  Public involvement will be crucial throughout the development of this plan to make sure program goals and priorities are consistent with community needs and interests.

Your first and most important opportunity for input in the Parks, Trails, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan will be responding to a Community Recreational Needs Survey which will be mailed to every Bluffdale resident household early 2015. PLEASE thoughtfully complete this survey and return it to our offices. For more information, call the Bluffdale Planning Department (801-254-2200) or visit www.planbluffdale.com.