Here is a snapshot of some of the projects I have been a part of in my last four years on the Recreation Board.
WOODLAND PARK
ALL-ABILITIES PLAYGROUND
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When I first ran for office, I was committed to opening an all-abilities park in Stansbury so children with physical disabilities could play alongside everyone else. This goal was achieved with Woodland Park playground which opened in October 2025. I’m thrilled at this accomplishment and hope all families and children of Stansbury enjoy this playground for years to come.
SWIMMING POOL IMPROVEMENTS
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For many years, our pool has suffered from inadequate maintenance. Since serving on the Board, I have physically helped to replace the boilers, improved bike parking at the pool, replaced and repaired railings, sealed deck cracks, improved electrical service to be safer, provided proper breakers for better service, and replaced the flooring of the lifeguard and snack bar. This fall, the Board plans to reinstall a new diving board at the pool.
SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS TO PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE
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Over the years, the pedestrian bridge near Clubhouse Park had fallen into disrepair. The safety issues had gotten so bad that Tooele County was going to close it. I worked with the Stansbury General Manager to build a new safety rail and tighten the walking planks so that the safety issues were eliminated. There still is work to be done on the bridge including applying a stain and sealer to the railing, but it is in a much safer state. I have also helped to develop a design for a new bridge structure that we hope to implement as funds are available.
MAINTENANCE IMPROVEMENTS OF SAGERS BASEBALL FIELDS​
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When I was first elected, the ballfields at Sagers park were in sore disrepair. I utilized my knowledge of managing the Tooele County Baseball program for 20 years to teach the staff how to properly care for ball fields so that they are safe for players to use.
I also personally redesigned the snack bar electrical service and worked with an electrician to improve the electrical service that was in an unsafe condition.
The Board also voted to begin charging teams to rent the various athletic fields. While I struggled with this decision, bringing in rental revenue allows us to pay for the continued maintenance of the ball fields.
WATER CONSERVATION & SPRINKLER REPAIR​
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It’s no secret that Utah continues to be in a drought and we all need to do our part, including in our parks and green space. Over the past four years, I’ve worked with the staff to purchase a van specifically dedicated to our sprinkler repair and hired crews whose sole focus is sprinkler maintenance. Having dedicated tools and personnel makes us much more efficient on sprinkler repair which ultimately keeps our green spaces properly watered while at the same time minimizing water waste. We continue to train our crews on using the proper irrigation heads to get the most of our water use.
MAINTENANCE BUILDING ROOF REPAIRS
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The maintenance building located near the Sagers ballpark previously had severe leaks and holes in the roof. This not only made working conditions difficult for our employees, but also was causing damage to our equipment and wasting money as we tried to heat the building. I worked with the board to allocate funds to hire a roofer to fix these issues and now the building is in much better condition.
IMPROVEMENTS TO THE CLUBHOUSE​
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The Stansbury Clubhouse has been a great amenity for years for our residents. In recent years, I’ve worked with the Board on some updates to the clubhouse to give the outside an update and improve the inside. We’ve added flowers, and mulch to the beds at the main entryway as well as added a water feature. Finally, we’ve replaced many single paned windows in the building with thermal insulated windows to make it more comfortable in winter and summer and reduce utility costs.
SOLOMON PARK MAINTENANCE DOCKS & FISHING IMPROVEMENTS
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We all love Stansbury Lake. What some may not realize is that it’s critical to “mow” the phragmites and other weeds down in the lake to keep it useable for non-motorized boats, fishing, and general recreation activities. In order to improve the efficiency of the maintenance I worked with the staff to add maintenance docks to load the weed cuttings onto during the mowing season.
We also improved the area to provide better fishing access for our residents so that the Clubhouse Park can be preserved for swimming and other water recreation.
GOLF COURSE IMPROVEMENTS
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When I was elected, the golf course was in need of attention. Together with the Board, we have hired a new golf pro and superintendents who have done a fantastic job improving the course. We’ve put in new irrigation wiring systems in many areas, repaired three greens, and replaced leaking windows in the pro shop. We have improved the equipment to maintain the course and increased the staff to do the work. Golfers have noticed all the improvements which has led to an increase in the number of players and revenue for the course.
COMMUNICATING TO RESIDENTS
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When I was elected, I wanted to be sure the Service Area communicated better with our Stansbury residents. In the last two years, we have started a monthly newsletter we share on our social media pages. In addition, the Board has held many Open Houses on topics such as the need for increased tax revenue and weed control within the lake to gain input from residents.
IMPROVEMENTS TO LAKE MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT
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​Recently we have rebuilt one lake mower. By doing so, we saved $150,000 that a new mower would have cost. Still, we need to work on control of phragmites and lake weeds through mowing and proper spraying. A second mower is needed to keep the lake weeds under control.
CREATED OPERATIONS POLICY
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When I was elected, I realized that our service area was lacking operations policies for running the service area. I've worked on improving the administrative policy manual including a non-monetary compensation policy and a policy for the procedure to fill mid-term vacancies on the Board.
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
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When I was elected and really dug into the budget, I realized that our ongoing revenue just wasn’t enough to keep up with the maintenance of all of our parks and facilities. While no one likes doing a tax increase, the Board and I decided that it was time for one and in 2024, we increased the property tax rate. Please know this was only done after careful consideration and many hours of study. Per state law, government entities don’t get more property tax money with inflation. The only real increase in revenue comes from growth or when an entity does an increase. So over time, it just becomes necessary to increase taxes to keep up with inflation. The alternative is to do less and less maintenance on what we have and continue to let facilities fall into disrepair.
With the added money from the property tax increase, the Board and I have been able to properly staff recreation operations, improve Stansbury Days, improve our irrigation systems, do some major improvements to the golf course, make improvements to Clubhouse Park with the swimming and boat dock, add bark mulch and make repairs to a number of playgrounds, and more. While there is more to do, it will ultimately take more time to catch up with all of our facilities, but we now have greater staff and maintenance funds in order to provide greater recreation facilities for Stansbury.
I am committed to continuing to use Stansbury tax dollars efficiently and transparently. To be a good steward of funds our staff provides monthly financial reports to the Board and we now strive to follow the State’s Procurement Policy including getting multiple bids on work, when possible, to be sure we’re getting the best price and quality work on projects.