TREMONTON, Utah — After plans to renovate a town square in Tremonton caused concerns among residents, the city has decided to take a step back and restart that process.
At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, the council voted to repeal the final concept plan approved in January, turning Midland Square into a place for events and gatherings with a stage, shade covering and spaces for Farmers’ Markets.
In February, FOX13 spoke to veterans and residents concerned about these plans for redesigning Midland Square, because it would take away from the reverence of the Veteran’s Memorial in the area. It has the names of those who have served and is a landmark in the city.
City officials explained that they want to move forward with plans to revitalize Downtown but with more public input early on.
"With the idea that we wanted to step back, and we wanted to involve the community a little more, get some buy-in from the veterans, get some buy-in from the merchants on Main Street, and other citizens,” said Lyle Holmgren, Mayor of Tremonton.
He created a citizens’ committee of people with different interests and areas, to help develop these plans. And wants to share them in town halls to get input from a wide range of people.
But, some residents say this is not enough. They worried that those plans would move forward, even after public discussions.
"The public has a right to be heard, and it’s not just the people that show up at city council. This affects everybody, everybody's walk of life,” said Kristie Bowcutt who lives in Tremonton.
Some want a survey asking every resident what they want to see at Midland Square. Jami Poppleton said many people want the war memorial to grow in that area. "Do the war memorial, expand on it. do what needs to be done, and that will bring people in and maybe somebody will open a business people will use.”
The renovation funding comes from a grant from the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, so Mayor Holmgren says the money has to be used to create economic incentives. They also received an extension from the state to take more time in the planning phase.
"I want to watch over the veterans, and I want the very best for them and I want the very best for downtown and I want the very best for our citizens,” added Mayor Holmgren.
