Council holds public hearing on outdoor-recreation and Jordan River grants; moves items to consent

At its Oct. 21, 2025 formal session, the Salt Lake City Council received a policy briefing and public comment on four grant applications the city has applied for and then closed the public hearing to place the items on a future consent agenda for action.

Council policy analyst Sylvia Richards summarized four grant applications: an Outdoor Recreation Initiative Grant to fund design for a City Creek daylighting project with a skate park and green space and to improve the Folsom Trail connection to the Jordan River Trail; a Local Law Enforcement Program grant that would fund training, overtime, technology and enhanced investigations with a subaward to the YWCA for cybercrime response work; a Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation grant to remove hazardous debris and revitalize nine miles of the Jordan River; and a Jordan River Corridor Improvement Grant to remove decades of dead and obstructing trees and branches.

Jeff Olsen, chair of the Fair Park Community Council, spoke in support of the Folsom Trail design, saying new green space is needed for thousands of residents living in nearby apartment buildings. "This would provide green space for the people in these buildings," Olsen said, noting his board voted unanimously to support the application.

After the briefing and the single registered public comment, Councilman Poulli moved to close the public hearing items B1 through B4 and place them on a future consent agenda for action; the motion was seconded by Councilman Amano and passed 6-0 with one member absent.

Why it matters: The grants would fund design and on-the-ground work for recreation and river corridor improvements and could leverage state and federal resources for park and trail access on the city's west side and along the Jordan River corridor. The council—s action was procedural: public hearing closure and referral to consent for formal action at a later meeting.