Alta budget committee weighs $9 million facility plan, $1M church purchase and tax options

The Alta Budget Committee met April 24 to review a draft fiscal year 2026 budget that puts capital projects and possible new taxes at the center of planning for the next four years.

Committee members and staff focused first on long-range facility planning and a separately negotiated purchase of the building known as Our Lady of the Snows. Staff presented a range of replacement costs developed with consultant work: from about $6.2 million at the low end to $12.5 million at the high end, with a $9 million midpoint used for planning. The draft capital plan includes that midpoint as the working estimate for a new facility replacement.

Why it matters: the choice to buy or not buy Our Lady of the Snows (OLS) and how the town pays for a new building materially affect the capital-fund outlook and options for borrowing, bonding and future operating budgets.

The presentation said the town negotiated a $1,000,000 purchase price for Our Lady of the Snows, plus an estimated $50,000 in closing costs and $100,000 in near‑term repairs if the town proceeds with acquisition.…