Lindon council approves road reconstruction bid, cemetery construction and amends budget and fees

LINDON, Utah — The Lindon City Council on March 17 approved multiple procurement awards and budget actions, including a contract for the 2000 West Reconstruction project and a bid award for the second phase of the city cemetery, and adopted amendments to the current-year budget and fee schedule as well as a tentative budget for fiscal 2026.

Council members discussed infrastructure priorities and long-term funding while considering the awards and budget items. Council members expressed differing views about timing and opportunity cost for large capital projects but ultimately approved the items recommended by city staff.

The council awarded the 2000 West Reconstruction contract to Staker and Parsons companies for $411,720.60. The project will shift and re-grade a narrow stretch of 2000 West/Broadway to improve lane width and drainage where stormwater from nearby Pleasant Grove has caused periodic flooding. City staff said the work would begin in late spring as asphalt plants open and noted a $90,000 reimbursement from Pleasant Grove toward the project cost.

The council next considered the Phase 2 cemetery construction bid. Staff recommended Terra Works for the construction contract; the recommended construction amount presented to council was $924,527. Council and staff discussed additional cemetery-related expenses including estimated costs for granite monuments (about $150,000) and a survey of burial pins (about $65,000), plus contingency. Staff said the total completion cost is higher than the engineer’s original estimate and described a funding approach that uses roughly $750,000 from the current fiscal year and roughly $750,000 planned in the next fiscal year (together about $1.5 million) to cover the project and related purchases.

Council members questioned whether the cemetery project was the best near-term use of funds, given other capital needs such as roads. Staff and other council members said the cemetery expansion (including a cremation garden and columbarium-style features) is a long-term, multi-phase project intended to provide higher-density interment options; staff also said cremation offerings use less land and may provide faster cost recovery per square foot than traditional plots.

Finance staff presented a public hearing and a set of proposed fee-schedule changes and amendments to the current fiscal-year budget. The changes include cleanup of obsolete fees, updates to business license fee calculations based on a previously approved fee study, new fees for activities such as hockey programs, and revised rules and exhibit maps for acceptance of certain water shares for development in specific areas. The council adopted Resolution 2025-6-R to amend the fiscal 2025 budget and fee schedule as presented.

City finance staff then presented the tentative fiscal 2026 budget, which staff described as approximately $57 million and as an inclusive draft that will be refined in the coming weeks. The tentative budget incorporates department requests, preliminary bonding assumptions for water and sewer projects, a proposed 5% base rate increase for water and smaller percentage increases for usage and groundwater in limited areas, and a proposed transfer from the general fund to the facilities CIP to fund the cemetery expansion. The council adopted the tentative budget by resolution; staff will return with a refined proposed budget and more detailed discussion in April.

In the meeting’s redevelopment-agency portion, the Linden City Redevelopment Agency approved minor budget adjustments for RDA districts and adopted its tentative RDA budget. The council recessed into the RDA and reconvened before adjourning to closed session.

Votes at a glance — - Approval of minutes from March 3, 2025: motion carried (mover: Lincoln Jacobs; second: Jake Hoyt); vote recorded as 3 ayes. - Award 2000 West Reconstruction contract to Staker and Parsons, $411,720.60 (contract_award): motion carried (mover: Jake Hoyt; second: Lincoln Jacobs); vote recorded as 3 ayes. - Award Cemetery Phase 2 construction to Terra Works, $924,527 (contract_award): motion carried (mover: Jake Hoyt; second: Lincoln Jacobs); vote recorded as 3 ayes. - Adopt Resolution 2025-6-R (amend fiscal 2025 budget and fee schedule): motion carried (mover: Jake Hoyt; second: Lincoln Jacobs); vote recorded as 3 ayes. - Adopt Resolution 2025-7-R (tentative fiscal 2026 budget, ~ $57 million): motion carried (mover: Jake Hoyt; second: Lincoln Jacobs); vote recorded as 3 ayes. - Lindon City RDA: approval of RDA budget amendment (Resolution 2025-1-RDA) and adoption of tentative RDA budget: motions carried; votes recorded as unanimous among present members.

Council members said they will continue refining the tentative budget in work sessions, with a deeper line-by-line review scheduled in April. Staff noted that some larger water and sewer bonding proposals in the tentative budget may be scaled back as staff and department heads prioritize projects and consider staffing capacity for delivery.

The council closed the meeting to a scheduled closed session to discuss the potential purchase or sale of real property and pending or possible litigation, per Utah Code 52-4-205.