Candidates identify water and transportation as Tooele's top infrastructure priorities

Candidates at a Tooele City Meet the Candidates event told residents that transportation congestion and water-system capacity and maintenance are the city’s most significant infrastructure concerns.

Marissa Manzion, a current council member and mayoral candidate, said the city must address deferred maintenance at the wastewater reclamation plant and expand surface and roadway connections. “We just drilled two new test wells. One of them proved to be really good, and so we're going to be digging a well there,” Manzion said, adding that the city had “cleaned the filters of our wells” to improve production after years of underinvestment.

Transport problems and SR‑36 congestion were emphasized by several candidates. Brad Pratt said transportation is his “top concern” and warned that the valley must “work with the county and the other entities” to upgrade roads before growth outpaces access. Pratt noted he attended a UDOT presentation on local transportation needs and said: “We are...to a bridal [bridal=??] and we need to address this.”

Other candidates echoed those priorities. Spencer Peck and John Gossett emphasized water as “life,” saying the city must secure additional sources and maintain existing infrastructure. Dave McCall said long-term underinvestment occurred in part because the city preserved jobs through hard budget years, which left deferred maintenance. “When you put something off today, next week is going to come back and bite you,” McCall said.

Why it matters: Multiple candidates framed water and transportation as prerequisites for future growth, economic development and public safety. Several candidates said the problems require coordination beyond the city alone — with county and state agencies — and pointed to recent local efforts such as test wells and easement negotiations to support a future Mid Valley Highway connection.

Details and context: Manzion described working with UDOT and other partners to obtain easements across Tooele Army Depot property and to prioritize the Mid Valley Highway. Candidates said the city has started catch-up work on water infrastructure after years of limited maintenance; Manzion described “cleaned the filters” of wells and praised a successful test well. Several candidates said expanding roads and finding water sources are necessary to attract employers and handle projected population growth.

Ending: Candidates repeatedly linked infrastructure fixes to broader goals — attracting jobs, keeping residents working locally and reducing commute pressure on SR‑36 — and said full solutions will require funding, intergovernmental cooperation and time.