West Valley City honors 58 homes in Clean and Beautiful Awards; residents urge action on "goat head" weeds

West Valley City recognized recipients of its 2025 Clean and Beautiful Awards at the Sept. 23 council meeting, with Craig Thomas of the Community Engagement and Culture Department saying 58 properties were selected and 22 awardees attended the ceremony.

Thomas told the council the Clean and Beautiful Committee is a 19-seat volunteer body (with vacancies) that focuses on neighborhood stewardship; he thanked sponsors Shiny Shell and Wasatch Properties and invited attendees to join the committee.

Public comment that followed centered on roadside and trail maintenance. An unidentified resident described an infestation of "goat head" weeds along the north side of 4000 South, saying the plants grow in dirt on city-owned land, create flat tires for cyclists and cause injuries to pets. The resident said he had called streets maintenance twice and left contact information without a return call and urged the city to treat the problem before seed heads spread.

Jim Visock urged consistent, nonselective enforcement by the city's code enforcement division and said long-standing violations remain unaddressed; he urged the council to prioritize city-owned property maintenance and structural housing problems rather than relying primarily on water-related landscaping rules.

Other speakers asked the city to recruit younger volunteers for neighborhood efforts and suggested Parks and Recreation be engaged to help address invasive weeds via community-service events.

The council did not take formal action on the comments during the meeting. City staff had earlier noted that some maintenance tasks are routed through streets or Parks and Recreation; funding sources for broader weed-control efforts were not specified during the session.

The meeting closed the public comment period and proceeded to scheduled hearings and action items.