‘We just kept getting squeezed’: Why Spring Lake voted to become Utah County’s newest town
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- A sign in support of Proposition 9 is pictured Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Spring Lake.
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- Spring Lake, with the Wasatch Mountain in the background, is pictured Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Spring Lake.
A new town appears to be coming to southern Utah County.
Residents of Spring Lake, an unincorporated area between Payson and Santaquin, unofficially voted 172 to 83 in favor of Proposition 9 on Election Day, choosing to make the community its own municipality.
Sponsors of the proposition believe getting Spring Lake incorporated was a necessary step to preserve the small-town feel of the community and stave off the encroaching development of the area.
“Being able to allow the residents of Spring Lake to have more direct impact and control over what future development looks like is something that’s been very motivating,” said Proposition 9 sponsor and Spring Lake native Jason Knapp.
Knapp describes his home — an area of 517 people, according to the 2022 census — as a “jewel” of Utah County, with a strong community presence and beautiful scenery. The area has gradually shrunk in past years, though, as Payson to the north and Santaquin to the south have annexed some of its boundaries.
An argument for Proposition 9 on the voter information pamphlet warned voters that if the area did not incorporate, decisions regarding growth, taxes and governance would be left to others, and new development could “swallow up” the Spring Lake community.
“It’s just a cute little community that has Payson on one side and Santaquin on the other side. We just keep getting squeezed,” said Proposition 9 sponsor Wade Menlove. “We could just see that Spring Lake as an area known as Spring Lake was not going to exist very much longer, unless we were able to take it into our own hands and be able to become a town.”
Though several people over the years have expressed interest in incorporating the community, Knapp said the conversation ramped up in recent years and residents began to gauge each other’s interest.
The idea received a lot of support, and sponsors worked with the county and state to get the proposal on the ballot.
One major step was when a feasibility study done by the lieutenant governor’s office to determine if Spring Lake could be self-sufficient brought back positive returns, determining community members would not have to pay more in taxes.
“In fact, (the study) suggested that, based on the current tax base that would be shifted to Spring Lake, we would likely have a surplus of 13% on those taxes that we could utilize as we need,” Knapp said.
There was some opposition to the move. Menlove said some community members “wanted to be left the way they are.” But no official argument against the proposal was placed in the voter information pamphlet.
In fact, little campaigning was done by those in favor of Proposition 9 leading up to the election, because sponsors felt confident in the proposition’s support.
“Two or three weeks ago, as it got closer to the vote, we put up a few yard signs that just said, ‘Support Spring Lake. Vote YES on Prop 9,'” Menlove said. “That’s about all we did.
“It just seemed like it was the thing to do, and most people agreed.”
Moving forward, all of Spring Lake’s utilities and public services are expected to remain the same, according to Knapp. Certain county services, such as law enforcement, will remain contracted through the county, water access will go unchanged and a private garbage service will be continued.
However, work does begin to determine what the new town will look like — beginning with a meeting.
“We need to provide feedback as to the timing of the terms for the next town councilman,” Knapp said. “So we need to meet with the residents in order to get their input, and then we’ll get that back to the Utah County commissioners to let them know the timing of when the initial town councilman will serve.”
“I don’t know if there’s a book out there called ‘How to Create a City for Dummies,'” Menlove joked. “I hope there’s something.”
