Tooele City staff presented a request for 1.2 acre-feet of water under the city’s fee-in-lieu policy for Advanced Spine & Pain during the City Council work meeting on Aug. 20, Economic Development Director John Perez said.

The request, Perez said, combines two project phases — about 0.7 acre-feet for phase one and about 0.5 acre-feet for phase two — and was submitted by Physicians Accounting and Management Systems with Brent Davis identified as the applicant representative. Perez told the council the developer estimated the project would create eight full-time jobs with average annual wages of $48,000 and a capital investment of approximately $8,000,000.

Perez also noted that the city’s fee-in-lieu policy had been revised in November 2023 and that “that calendar year total is 50,” a benchmark the staff packet shows this request falls well below. Council members asked whether the developer had a timeline for completing phase two; Perez said no specific dates were in the letter and offered the council the option of placing an expiration or vertical-construction milestone on the allocation.

One councilmember suggested using a two-year expiry for vertical construction; Perez said staff could add such a condition and that applicants can request extensions if needed. No formal vote or final action on the resolution was recorded during the work meeting.

Why it matters: water rights and allocations are municipal capital resources that affect new development and future availability. The council’s discussion focused on balancing support for a local business expansion with safeguards that ensure the development proceeds in a timely manner and does not consume more of the city’s annual allocation than intended.

Next steps: the resolution was discussed as an agenda item; staff offered a two-year milestone option and indicated developers can return for extensions. No final council action or adoption was recorded at the Aug. 20 work meeting.