Nate Shipp, aka Oquirrh Mountain Ranch, LLC, one of the developers in Eagle Mountain, was given a water purchase agreement from the City Council on 1/25/2023. The City Council voted 2 for and 2 against the agreement. It was then in the hands of Mayor Westmoreland to decide the fate of the water deal.
The Mayor presided over a special session for the City Council on 25 January 2023 to bring an item back that was tabled by the City Council the week prior, “Public Water Supply Agreement Between Eagle
Mountain City, Utah and Oquirrh Wood Ranch, LLC.”
Nate Shipp, the developer of Pole Canyon, which has now been rebranded as the Firefly development, is requesting a change to the original Pole Canyon MDA. The approved meeting minutes for the November 15, 2022, meeting state the following. “Mr. Shipp said they have purchased water rights for their property through an independent water company, but the amount is insufficient to meet the needs of the Pole Canyon master development plan. Additionally, the City has requested they build water tanks. They began to examine if they have adequate water rights to benefit from the infrastructure expense where only half of the water tank capacity will be benefiting their project. They desire to secure additional water rights from the Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD) to feel secure in their master infrastructure investments. A part of that agreement includes transferring a well to the District to allow them to develop water rights in Cedar Valley. The City raised concerns about having another government entity owning watering rights and dictating water right development within the City. Due to those concerns, Mr. Shipp said they are requesting to purchase water rights directly from the City. Negotiations with CUWCD were for 7,000 to 8,000-acre feet of water. He asked for the item to be tabled to allow for negotiations and a closed session discussion of the item.”
The City Council then tabled the item at the request of the developer for a “closed session discussion”, according to the November 2022 meeting minutes. The water agreement was brought back to the City Council for discussion and vote on 17 January 2023. “BACKGROUND: (Presented by City Administrator Paul Jerome) The developers of Firefly (aka Pole Canyon) are seeking a long-term agreement to purchase 4,000 acre feet of water for their development through the City’s contract with the Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD). The proposed agreement allows Oquirrh Mountain Ranch, LLC to purchase 1,000 acre feet under the City’s existing contract with CUWCD, and would entail the City being able to contract with CUWCD for an additional 3,000 acre feet under a new contract. This item was tabled at the November 15, 2022, City Council meeting” The Item was tabled at the request of the City Council but was revisted in this special session.
This session was not called just for the Water Agreement action item but was originally scheduled to address the FY23-24 fiscal budget. Fionnuala B Kofoed, the City Recorder, explains. “The meeting was already scheduled with the Council to address the FY23-24 fiscal budget. Adding the water agreement was discussed at the last City Council meeting and the item was scheduled. The meeting was noticed according to the statute and the meeting went forward.” When I asked if the meeting was going to take public input Finn responded, “It’s not a public hearing and there isn’t public comment scheduled. However, this is the second time the item will appear on an agenda. There was no public comment or concerns raised, regarding this item, at our last meeting.”
This is not the first time a special session has been called while Westmoreland has been Mayor. A special session of the City Council was set up for developers in January 2021. Westmoreland facilitated a special session for the Utah Valley Home Builders Association to discuss Impact Fees. UVHB represented several developers in the area.
Mayor Westmoreland was given $8,000 by the developer, in the form of a campaign contribution, during his re-election cycle. This developer has donated $23,000 to elected officials campaign coffers over the years. This developer has also given money to Councilmember Burnham, who also voted in favor of the water agreement.
The City Council, in a vote, resulted in a tied with a 2 against and 2 opposed to the water agreement. The Mayor is supposed to vote to break the tie in the event of a tie. Mayor Westmoreland voted in favor of the agreement, which removed a significant hurdle for the Developer of Firefly. This agreement then allowed the Planning Commission to continue their discussion after the special meeting on the Firefly development.
The Planning Commission then voted to have the Firefly development move forward to the city council for their vote. The initial motion to approve failed but was then amended, brought up again for a vote, and passed with a 5 for and 0 against the recommendation to approve. The approval was made after several conditions were added to it and a recommendation to the City Council for approval.
This is also the same developer that gave the utilities for the White Hills development to Eagle Mountain. Which required a $1.5 Million dollar bond later to fix the sewer.
Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.