Miss Pleasant Grove director requests $5,000 increase, suggests ending parade float to boost scholarships

Kim Wilson, who identified herself as representing the Miss Pleasant Grove Scholarship Competition, told the City during the March 18 work session that Pleasant Grove currently contributes $30,000 a year to the program, roughly $13,000 of which funds scholarships. She asked the City to add $5,000 to that contribution so the program could increase scholarship awards and better support finalists and non-finalists.

Wilson said the deployed float is costly: city support covers about $12,000–$14,000 per year for the float and roughly $2,000 per parade, and she noted a chassis replacement for the float would be approximately $25,000. She proposed eliminating or repurposing the float (participating only in the Strawberry Days and Lindon parades by using a vehicle instead of a float) and using the roughly $15,000 earmarked for parade float costs to seed a teen program and increased scholarships. Administrator Scott Darrington confirmed that removing the float would eliminate the $25,000 capital line for a chassis from the draft budget and would leave the City's $30,000 contribution unchanged, making the proposal budget-neutral if the float funds were reallocated.

Council members asked about participation and community benefit: Wilson said Miss Pleasant Grove typically fields 12–16 participants per year and highlighted program service activities — school presentations, community service projects, partnerships with Choose Kindness and Hope Squads — as benefits to the City. Council Member Jensen thanked Wilson for her work, Council Member LeMone said she preferred funds go toward education rather than capital purchases, and Council Member Rogers warned the Council should consider public perception of changing long-standing parade presentation.

No formal budget change or vote occurred during the meeting; staff recommended further discussion of float replacement and program funding in future budget reviews.