South Jordan council reviews $12.5M capital plan; $27M water tank and $20M fire station flagged as future needs

The South Jordan City Council on Tuesday reviewed the city’s capital improvement plan (CIP) and longer‑term facility needs, as staff recommended concentrating roughly $12.5 million in available funds on maintenance, ongoing projects and grant matches rather than new, discretionary large builds.

"As they looked at that pot, they focused on how do we really put the most efficient use of that money towards our maintenance," Mayor Dawn Ramsey said, summarizing staff priorities for the limited pool of funds. The mayor and staff emphasized preventive maintenance, completing multi‑year projects and using local dollars to leverage state or federal grants.

Key numbers and priorities: staff said the near‑term capital pool is about $12.5 million, which includes about $1 million in a one‑time transfer from the Community Development Agency (CDA). The draft CIP prioritizes pavement preservation, trail upkeep, fleet replacement on scheduled rotations, park amenities and grant match dollars to leverage outside funding. Officials described an ongoing approach to keep infrastructure maintained rather than defer work that would become more expensive later.

Major projects flagged for future financing: Finance staff identified three larger projects that will likely require bonding or new revenue strategies:

- Water tank: staff estimated a new water storage tank at about $27,000,000 and said a bond issuance process will be required; staff said they plan an intent resolution to authorize bonding and an intent‑to‑reimburse so initial work may be reimbursed with bond proceeds once issued.

- Public Works building: planned as a multi‑year project to replace aging operations space; staff noted about one‑third of the cost has been saved by enterprise funds but a general‑fund financing plan is required.

- Fire Station 65: estimated at about $20,000,000; staff described response‑time issues and growth‑driven need for a new station and said it would take roughly 18 months to build. Staff discussed a hypothetical start in early 2026 to have the facility online in 2028, noting that schedule and funding must be finalized.

Insurance and operating costs: staff told the council the city’s employee health insurance renewal was higher than earlier projected; the anticipated increase went from an expected 5% to roughly 8.9%, and finance staff said that will be incorporated into finalized budget numbers.

Budget schedule and next steps: staff said they will finalize tentative numbers and bring a tentative budget for public release on May 6; the council will conduct the public hearing and consider final adoption in June. Finance staff asked council members to review outstanding items so the city can avoid an additional special budget meeting in April.

Council discussion: members discussed the tradeoffs between small, incremental tax increases and larger, less frequent increases as a way to pay for long‑term needs. No new revenue measures or tax rate changes were adopted at the study session; council members said they prefer transparency and early communication with residents if rate changes become necessary. Staff and council signaled they will analyze debt strategies and present options for funding the flagged capital projects in the coming budget cycle.