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Virgin council backs application for state recreation grant to upgrade BMX track; neighbors raise lighting and water concerns
Summary
Council agreed to proceed with a state Outdoor Recreation grant application to fund BMX-track improvements — including power, a starting gate, timing system and dark-sky lighting — while residents urged careful planning on lighting, water and traffic impacts.
Virgin Town Councilors on Feb. 18 authorized staff to pursue a Utah Outdoor Recreation grant to fund upgrades at the town’s BMX track, after hearing an economic analysis and comments from the track operators and nearby residents.
Council members and staff described the improvements under consideration as: running electrical service to the track (Rocky Mountain Power estimated a single-party cost of about $48,000 for service extension), installing a new starting gate (estimated $25,177), adding a timing system (about $10,000) and replacing lighting with dark-sky-compliant fixtures (estimated $15,000). Meeting materials and a resident-prepared economic analysis presented to the council estimated combined scope costs in the roughly $100,000–$125,000 range depending on final design and bids.
Town staff asked whether the council wanted to include the power run in the grant request. The council discussed timing and grant rules: expenses paid before grant award generally cannot be counted as the local match, so spending money now on electricity would not necessarily count toward the grant’s required town share. After discussion the council directed staff to apply for the full grant opportunity and to include the BMX improvements in the application while continuing planning work on utilities and community impacts.
Track operator Michael (track operator) told the council he and his wife had increased the facility’s activity since taking over in 2023. “Since my wife and I took it over in March, we raced over 50 times. We did more races than anybody else in Utah,” he said, describing growing rider counts and the potential to host larger state and regional events if infrastructure is upgraded.
Trevor (resident and economist), who prepared an economic-impact analysis for the town, told the council that current conservative estimates of visitor spending tied to the track could be roughly $850,000 per year in town spending (hotels, food, gas), although he described the estimate as conservative and dependent on additional businesses and services opening in town.
Nearby residents raised concerns about lighting, generator noise and water usage. One resident said the track’s lighting was “the worst offender” in the vicinity and urged dark-sky-compliant fixtures and time-limited lighting. Another resident asked for clarity on water sources; staff and the operator said the track has been using generators and can consider non-culinary water, trucked irrigation, or BLM coordination for any future irrigation needs.
Council members said the BMX track upgrades fit the town’s broader recreation and economic goals but asked staff to integrate residents’ concerns into design plans. The council directed staff and the track operators to proceed with the grant application and to return with more detailed project and utility plans (including proposed water sources and a lighting plan) for review.
Ending: Staff will prepare the grant application on the timeline required by the Outdoor Recreation grant cycle and bring a detailed implementation plan and budget back to the council for review; councilors asked that community impacts — lighting, noise, traffic and water — be addressed in the next briefing.
