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Wheat grows beside Mountain View Road in northwestern Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, June 23, 2020.

Isaac Hale, Daily Herald file photo

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Jim Miller

Courtesy photo

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Saratoga Springs celebrates 25 years as a city in 2022. As our community begins our silver jubilee we look to our past to guide our exploration of the possibilities before us. In 1997, when the city incorporated, Saratoga Springs consisted of a few neighborhoods. Twenty-five years later we are a burgeoning city surrounded by natural recreation opportunities such as Utah Lake, the Jordan River and Lake Mountains mountain range. Saratoga Springs continues to have an exciting future to look towards as our population grows over forty thousand.

The Saratoga Springs strategic masterplan was updated at the end of 2020. In creating this plan, the city selected a process that would be driven by citizens rather than elected officials or city staff. We created a citizen strategic planning advisory committee to assist in this process. The committee worked with city staff to gather citizen surveys and hold open houses. Residents shared their thoughts about the future of our community and where to best focus our efforts as a city. Citizens from all areas of the city collectively contributed thousands of hours to the creation of this plan.

The first iteration of the strategic plan identified access to recreational opportunities as a need within our community. The two non-motorized watercraft drop-ins completed this last spring help fulfill part of our strategic plan. The drop-ins are located along the Jordan River Trail at Inlet Park and RC Park, to allow easier access to the Jordan River. Additionally, next year we will begin construction on the next phase of Marina Park located at the south end of the city. The marina currently has a boat launch, bathrooms, multiple smaller pavilions for day use and a larger pavilion available for reservation. This next phase will add a sand beach along with an additional jetty for swimming and non-motorized boats as well as to assist in preventing shoreline erosion of the beach area.

In accordance with the updated plan, the city is conducting various feasibility studies for future amenities in the community. The Library received a grant to conduct a needs assessment to identify elements needed in a future facility. That study, which began in June is nearing completion and will be presented to the City Council by the end of the year.

In October the city began a feasibility study for a possible indoor recreation facility. The study will consist of community meetings with stakeholders and resident surveys. The purpose of the study is to identify potential needs within such a facility and to see if building an indoor recreation center would be viable at this time.

Another exciting study currently underway honors our roots as a hot springs resort. The study will look at the viability of using the natural hot springs in the area of Inlet Park to construct a public hot spring amenity. The study is still in the preliminary stages and additional opportunities for public input will be available as the study progresses.

This is an exciting time for our community. The City Council and staff are dedicated to helping our community grow in a fiscally responsible way, to provide opportunities to work, play, learn and grow, and to ensure that “Life’s just better here.”

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