Raging Waters has been a topic of intense interest for many of you. We asked Councilman Andrew Johnston to provide an update on the status of the park.
Here is what he provided: "The park was originally built between 1977-1980 using federal funds with the agreement that it would only be used for outdoor recreation going forward. The 20+ acres is zoned as open space restricting any other non-recreational development on the site. In 2019, a new operator was under contract to reopen the park but after further review of the facilities it was determined that the buildings, and other facilities, were in much worse condition than previously known and it would need at least $20 million to repair and make it operable. That agreement was voided as no funding was identified. As of May 2020, the former waterpark is still empty and there has been no operator identified to reopen the park. Over the past several months, we have had several fires in the park, and most recently, a high volume of people have broken into the premises. Salt Lake City Parks, Real Estate and the Mayor’s office have stated that they intend to request funding from the city council, within the next several weeks, to provide 24hr security at the park and we will need to fund further weed control. Moving forward, I would strongly advocate for a regional park with amenities that we do not have in other parks in the city. And keep it free, or deeply affordable for all local residents. I would love to keep a waterpark. However, a waterpark is very expensive, and I fear pricing local residents out of it if we were to go to a private operator who would need to recoup an investment. We could approach Salt Lake County, who already runs many regional parks across the county. The next round of county ZAP tax funding would not be voted on until 2024 and available in 2026 (I believe) if that funding were to be used for such a park. The Mayor’s office reports that they would like to get neighborhood feedback regarding what to do with the park going forward and I encouraged them to do so as soon as possible."
15 Comments
Nichole
5/29/2020 08:42:35 am
Could we suggest a great splash pad/park like there used to be at the “Seven Canyons” at Liberty Park? There is a really great splash park that is like this at the Sandy Amphitheater. It would be really cool to have a nice park like this in our neighborhood.
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Turner Bitton
5/29/2020 12:38:46 pm
Hi Nichole,
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Shasta Lawton
5/30/2020 03:50:34 pm
Some permaculture food forestry would be nice to see here too...
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Turner Bitton
5/29/2020 12:39:30 pm
Hi Keith,
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Kerri Pavlica
6/3/2020 12:43:31 am
I live on Emery st and Lexington Avenue I propose that you put in street humps on our road PLEASE?? You wouldn't believe how fast people go on our street we have had 3 accident's right out front of our house people hitting parked cars going so fast. It's in real and children play close to that street it's a bad deal waiting to happen.. Please consider putting road humps in. 5/29/2020 07:22:46 pm
Back when I was younger it was just the wave pool. Maybe we could take down all of those neck breaking slides, do a splash pad/lunch Pavillion’s for the community to gather in. Maybe making it a year round thing that goes into a ice rink. Outside the community would have access to it but community would get first dibs
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Lance Hemmert
5/30/2020 07:24:02 am
Can Andrew of the Glendale Chair get the numbers from the utilities department regarding water costs during the park's operational years? It might be helpful if residents can see what some basic operational costs are in order to determine a best practices use moving forward.
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Dyani Wood
5/30/2020 03:14:29 pm
I LOVE the idea of making it a conservation garden park. If you've ever been to this one https://conservationgardenpark.org/ and taken any of their free/low cost classes, you know they are a really cool community asset!! And there are rebate programs for making use of the low-water methods taught at that garden that SLC residents cannot qualify for because the Salt Lake public water system won't agree to participate.
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Lance Hemmert
5/30/2020 04:10:23 pm
I can’t see an edit feature for comments. I meant to say, “Can Andrew OR the Glendale Chair...”
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Janette Gonzales
5/31/2020 06:33:54 am
I’m in a agreement with Lance Hemmert, a nice conversational garden park where families could meet for lunch/dinner maybe have food trucks, or small food vendors! We could also get ideas for beautifying our own yards, maybe we could have classes where a Horticulturist could help some of us who love working in our yards, or anyone in our community who knows a lot about flowers and plants! Maybe add in a small water pad, but I can see where the water idea could run into problems and extra costs!
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Gina Hiatt
5/31/2020 09:25:13 am
What about a simple out door pool and splash pad for younger children. A nice park with some pavilions for gatherings. Provide a smaller parking area to promote local use.
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Lauren Cetlin
5/31/2020 10:06:04 pm
I with the Westside of SLC had an Olympic size outdoor pool!
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Lashell
6/1/2020 01:30:09 pm
With the hills that are already there, it would make a good area to rock climb or mt bike as well as splash pads ect.
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Tracy Woodard
6/24/2020 01:35:52 pm
What good is having a private security company there. I drove by could not see the guard in his car so I turned around and drove through the parking lot. The guard had the driver seat reclined and he was asleep in his car. Another waste of tax dollars!!!!
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Glendale
You may submit updates for publication to our Chair Turner Bitton at chair@glendaleutah.org. Archives
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