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North Ogden Council approves Barker Park plan that includes soccer fields; trustees sign off
Summary
After public comment and a city presentation of a high‑level concept plan, the council voted unanimously to include soccer fields in Barker Park. Staff said the plan is a 50,000‑foot schematic and that actual construction will depend on funding and subsequent design approvals.
The North Ogden City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve inclusion of soccer fields in the Barker Park concept plan after hearing public comments, a staff presentation and confirmation that members of the family trust that sold the land to the city do not object.
Why it matters: Barker Park is a large undeveloped property long discussed by the city and local volunteers. The council’s vote gives staff and parks volunteers a guiding document to pursue fundraising, impact‑fee allocations and grant applications and to develop detailed designs for future budget requests.
What happened at the meeting: Public comments ran for nearly an hour before the formal agenda item. Residents — including longtime neighbors and members of the Barker family — urged the council to preserve heritage elements such as historic encampment areas, flower beds and orchards while acknowledging the city’s limited budget and the practical need to add recreational amenities. “I just want to make sure that we didn’t lose that opportunity without fully exploring whether or not we can really make it happen,” said Grant Protsman, a resident who asked that heritage and educational elements remain flexible in final design.
City presentation and plan details: City Manager John Call presented a “50,000‑foot view” schematic that retains many heritage components while adding two soccer fields in the central landscape. Call said staff and the city engineer evaluated infrastructure needs — water, sewer, parking and basic circulation — and trimmed high‑maintenance items such as a splash pad and a zip line from the set of initial features. “This is not the end all be all. It’ll become the guiding document so that as the parks department starts looking at what to include, they can come in the budget process,” Call said.
Trust agreement and fundraising: Call told the council he had met with trustees representing the original Barker trust; three trustees signed a document indicating they would not object to the inclusion of soccer fields. “We have a signed document, by 3 members of the trust… indicating that soccer fields would be something they wouldn’t object to,” Call said. He also said the city will pursue a mix of volunteers, donor contributions, impact fees and grants to implement the plan and that large‑scale work on the northern areas will require major funding. “If someone walked in with $20,000,000 tomorrow, we could do the whole park,” Call said.
Council action and next steps: Councilmember Severing moved to approve the plan including soccer fields; Councilmember Dalpez seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Councilmembers said the approval is an authorization to use the concept as a working framework: staff, the parks committee and volunteers will prepare specific projects and funding requests that the council must approve before construction. Call said staff will apply for available grants and suggested the council could designate impact fees to the project.
Ending: With the council’s endorsement, staff and volunteers can now proceed to refine designs, pursue donors and prepare formal budget requests. The council emphasized that detailed design and funding approvals will be required before any construction begins.
