Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi discusses what her plans would be if elected for a third term
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- Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi is shown.
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- Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi poses with Freedom Festival pins from throughout the years on Thursday, May 1, 2025.
Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi believes the political world is all about building relationships, and that meeting people on their level and sitting down with them is the best way to get things done.
“It’s kind of one of my little secret sauces — relationships — because that’s what’s important to me, and it has served me well,” she said.
As she seeks a third term in office, Kaufusi said she intends to continue working with people to maintain the “momentum” she believes is in Provo right now.
Kaufusi sat down for an interview with the Daily Herald before the upcoming Municipal General Election on Nov. 4 to discuss a variety of city issues. This is the first of two stories recapping the conversation.
Building out west side projects
Kaufusi said her mind “never turns off,” and that it’s led to some ambitious ideas she wants to pursue in a third term — and some that would build upon things the city did during her second term.
She first mentioned building out the Epic Sports Park and said that in the next four years the city will grow it from 15 to 20 fields while placing businesses near the complex.
“We also have an RFP out for some type of business out there … for either a hotel or a Maverik,” Kaufusi said. “We need all these things out there. We need some fast food, all the things that will feed into our airport and our Epic Sports Park.”
Immediately west of the Epic Sports Park is the Provo Airport, which opened a new terminal in 2022.
Kaufusi said when she became mayor, there was a 30-year plan to build a new airport terminal, and that she decided to speed up the process by generating funds from the FAA, the state and other sources.
“If there was a dollar, I was going to find it, and we cut that ribbon with zero debt,” she said.
According to Kaufusi, the economic success of the airport and its four existing gates prompted Utah County to reach out to help with further expansion.
“This never happens in government, but the county, with my great relationships, came to me and said, ‘Mayor, it is having such an economic impact on our whole county. How much do you need to build out to your 10 gates?'”
Utah County committed $78 million to the project and broke ground on the three-year expansion in April, a project that would extend into a potential third term for Kaufusi.
She also said it’s time to “engage with the (Provo) River” and envisions building restaurants and parks by the river and other recreational options.
“I’ve got this great idea for this tubing section, that we make our own little waves. So buckle up,” she said.
Addressing housing
Kaufusi said the biggest challenge facing Provo right now is owner-occupied, single-family housing.
“No one can get that right now in Provo because it’s so expensive. It’s unbelievable how expensive it is,” she said.
Kaufusi said the city is at 60% rentals and 40% owner-occupied housing, and that demand has driven the market up.
One solution the mayor’s team has to tackle the issue is to build standalone, owner-occupied, single-family homes for public safety workers.
Kaufusi said she found a plot of city land labeled “Spider Swamp” and got in contact with a developer about building workforce housing homes on the land. The developer proposed building 34 market-rate homes and 34 workforce housing homes for police officers and firefighters.
“We donate the land, so they stay in the home for, I don’t know, seven years, and whatever they paid when they came in at the home, anything on top of that, they get to take when they leave,” Kaufusi said. “But the mortgage title stays with the Utah Housing Authority, and it goes to another public safety individual.”
Another focus, Kaufusi said, is to build denser housing around transportation hubs, such as bus stops and the FrontRunner station.
She said she is also trying to work with Brigham Young University to build new student housing close to campus.
“The next four years, you’re going to see a massive uptick with the (City Council) exercising their power with development agreements and land use, and me exercising my power of relationships and getting people to come down and help us,” Kaufusi said.
Addressing the health of local business
Kaufusi said in her eight years in office, the city has delivered eight balanced budgets without a recommendation for a tax increase.
She said that Provo is “open for business,” and that sales tax revenue has grown since she’s been in office.
She attributed Provo Airport, the new south Provo Target and the Epic Sports Park to the recent growth.
“It’s been huge,” Kaufusi said of the sports park. “We sold out every hotel in Utah County, every restaurant, because you come in with a team and you’re here for four days. You’ve got to feed the; you’ve got to house them.”
She said she is working to get the Walmart Supercenter built in south Provo and that she is in meetings with Chick-fil-A and In-N-Out Burger.
“I just had my finance department up here talking us through everything,” Kaufusi said. “Our numbers look great. Our rainy day fund is at an all-time high. With our sales tax so high, that’s how you take the temperature of businesses.”
