Juab County proposes state film-trail marker for Eureka; tourism director pitches Main Street grant

Juab County Tourism Director Shanna Mema told the Eureka City Council on a recent meeting night that the Utah Film Commission has funded a “film trail” marker program and has offered a marker for Eureka at no cost to the city. The marker recognizes movies and scenes filmed in Utah and would be installed in concrete at a city-selected location.

Mema said the marker is paid for through an Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant and that installation requires drilling four holes in a concrete base; the commission will bring the marker and a script describing the site. “They’ll bring us a script of what they’re going to do to put for it,” Mema said during the presentation.

The proposal matters to Eureka because the town is among sites the commission has highlighted for cinematic history, and county tourism officials said a marker could draw visitors and be incorporated into state itineraries. Mema noted local film history — references in the presentation included earlier westerns, a church scene, and more recent productions — and suggested downtown or a location near the sand dunes as candidate sites.

Council members and the mayor discussed practical steps and permissions. Mema said typical local film permits in the county cost $55 (nonrefundable) and that productions are expected to provide law-enforcement support, road-closure costs and insurance. She also offered to leave the process for issuing film permits to the city and only require county coordination for road closures or closures that affect adjacent jurisdictions.

Mema separately told the council the state historic-preservation office is restarting a Main Street grant program used by other Utah towns to support downtown revitalization. She said county tourism staff and the state office encouraged Eureka to apply, adding that other cities such as Helper and Vernal had used the program for building re-use and revitalization projects. “They said, Shanna, you really need to look into this for Eureka because everyone says you have more potential than even Helper did,” Mema said.

Council members said they were interested in exploring possible marker locations and would coordinate with the recreation committee to identify a site on city property or downtown right-of-way. The council did not take a formal vote on the marker or on applying for the Main Street program during the meeting; members discussed delegating location selection to the recreation committee and confirming property ownership and permissions if the marker would be placed on privately owned parcels.

Mema also said Juab County has promotional video material and offered to share drafts and raw footage with the city for local marketing. She encouraged the council to contact the county for help with ribbon cuttings and promotional events if the city accepts the marker or applies for grants.

The presentation concluded with council members thanking Mema for outreach and county support; no ordinance or funding decision was made at the meeting, but council members indicated willingness to follow up.