Brighton council approves $140,000 to finish Silver Lake boardwalk

The Brighton Town Council voted Aug. 13 to allocate $140,000 to Trails Utah for completion of a boardwalk at Silver Lake.

At a public hearing required by state law, John Modlock, board chair of Trails Utah, described a multi-year project done in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service. Modlock said the Forest Service had planned the boardwalk but identified a swampy section that required helical piers and a boardwalk rather than gravel. "So we said, sure. We'll do this. We hired the contractor to do it, and the project is complete, and it's beautiful. But we need a hundred $20,000," Modlock said, summarizing the shortfall and previous grants from Salt Lake County and the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation.

Council member Jeff Bosser moved to allocate $140,000 to Trails Utah "for the purpose of completing the Silver Lake boardwalk." The motion was seconded and passed after an aye vote by the members present. Council members and multiple public commenters praised Trails Utah's work and emphasized the trail project's importance to Brighton's recreation and accessibility goals.

Modlock said the requested funds would cover the boardwalk segment from the main loop to the picnic and restroom area; he clarified that separate natural-surface trail work remains and will continue for several weeks. The contractor for the natural-surface portion was identified as Nehemia Construction.

The council closed the hearing after public comments and congratulated Modlock and Trails Utah on the completed work. No opposition to the allocation was recorded in the meeting transcript.

The council did not specify an exact payment schedule in the public record; staff follow-up was implied.

The council will include the funding allocation in its accounts and follow up administratively with Trails Utah and contract staff.