Contractors propose Milford splash pad; Fervo Energy updates Cape Station, raises housing concerns

Jordan Erickson, representing Grama Group Incorporated, told the Milford City Council on Sept. 16 that his firm and project partners are offering labor and capital to help build a community splash pad and asked the council to narrow a preferred location so design and site work can proceed.

The pitch followed a presentation by Sarah Jewett of Fervo Energy, who updated the council on construction of the company’s Cape Station geothermal project and discussed local hiring, housing pressures and a recent donation from Fervo to support Milford’s zoning-code update.

The splash-pad proposal matters because local contractors have offered to contribute labor and some capital, potentially reducing the city’s cost for a new recreation amenity. Erickson said Grama Group and other partners can “shoulder the majority of this labor” and asked the council to decide between several candidate sites so engineering and utility work can be mapped.

Erickson presented two concept bids from Splash Pad USA. The higher-capacity “red, white and blue” design listed 33 water features and a turnkey price of about $290,000; a materials-only option for the same design was listed at about $123,001.10. A smaller “water tank” theme with 21 features carried a turnkey price near $270,000 and a components-only price of about $105,000. Erickson said the installation will require a 1-inch culinary water service, 220-volt power and space for pumps and controls; Splash Pad USA recommended ADA-compliant non-slip surfacing and offered an add-on engineering package in the proposal for roughly $10,500. Erickson said his group will coordinate survey and engineering help from Sunrise Engineering and others.

“We are more than willing to assist in that project,” Erickson said, describing multiple location options and asking the council to narrow a preferred site so the team can begin mapping and utility coordination.

Jewett, Fervo Energy’s community and government-affairs representative, gave an update on Cape Station and on local company efforts to hire and work with Milford. She said Cape Station phase 1 comprises three power plants totaling roughly 100 megawatts in development; a second phase under design and procurement would add about 400 megawatts. Jewett said first cold commissioning of the phase‑1 units is scheduled to start in January and that the overall project has “no major showstoppers.”

She described about 350 people currently working on the site across contractors and trades and said a recent hiring event produced 10 operator hires; 23 people have been identified as local or relocated hires who will run Cape Station’s first unit.

“So far, we have no major showstoppers. The project is going really, really well,” Jewett said, and added that the company is tracking and trying to address community impacts, especially housing.

Jewett and council members discussed housing pressure from increased local employment. Jewett said Fervo is discussing options with the Utah Inland Port Authority and other partners to direct increased property-tax revenues from the project toward community priorities — such as a bypass road, relocating a rail spur, or housing — rather than funding those items out of the company’s development budget.

“We fully recognize that housing is kind of our biggest issue,” Jewett said. She said Fervo does not want to spur unsustainable development but acknowledged that adding a modest number of new homes in Milford would relieve near-term pressure and that the company is exploring incentives and partnerships to encourage local housing investment.

Jewett also told the council that Fervo made a donation to Milford to support an update of the city’s zoning code; city staff has launched that project with Sunrise Engineering.

Next steps recorded at the meeting: council staff agreed to coordinate a site meeting with Splash Pad USA, Grama Group and city staff to review designs and utility requirements; Fervo offered to continue community tours and follow up on housing and inland-port discussions.

Speakers quoted in this article are Jordan Erickson (Grama Group Incorporated) and Sarah Jewett (Fervo Energy).