Meeting attendance
Bigger room, city council style. The meeting officially started at 9:12
Present from the board:
Sam Braegger, ULA Program Manager
Caroline Lundberg, Mayor of Lindon
John Mackey, Division of Water Quality director
Terry Peterson, Orem City Council
Kamron Dalton, Director of Operations, GO Utah
Marty Larson, Genola Mayor
Julie Fullmer, Chair, Vineyard Mayor
Isaac Paxman, Deputy Mayor Provo (Mayor Kaufusi is missing)
Curtis Blair, Utah Chamber of Commerce
Hillary Hungerford, Utah Valley University
Ben Stireman, Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands
Brady Brammer, Utah House of Representatives
Mark Johnson, Lehi Mayor (joining online)
Missing: Chris Carn, Saratoga Springs; Mike McKell, Utah Senate; 16 visitors
Staff and committee report
Report from Addy Valdez, conservation biologist from ULA
Utah Lake Resource Management Symposium
Pollinator habitat program
Report from Jenna Ahern, Outreach Coordinator
Revamped the website, it looks a LOT better.
Been working with the BYU on-campus interns.
Report from Sam Braegger, Programs Manager
Utah Lake Symposium Recap Part 2.
Small Grants Program
Access enhancements
Curtis moved to accept consent items.
Mayor Lundberg seconded.
All in favor.
Presentation from Soren Simonsen, Executive Director from Jordan River Commission
Utah Lake Commission used to be a part of the Jordan River Commission’s governing body.
Important connection between Utah Lake and Jordan River Commission.
Invitation to the ULA to be a part of the JRC as a part of the partnership initiative.
Jordan River flows through several counties and then enters Farmington bay.
Regulatory Jurisdiction
History and background of JRC
Governing board
Jordan River Watershed Council
They also have a technical advisory committee
Event Advisory Committee
They put out a best practices guidebook in 2013
The Jordan River commission was designed to support the Jordan River management plan created by the state.
Refreshed the Jordan River Blueprint plan in 2022
Saw a 400% increase in trail usage between 2018 and 2020.
Open space and wildlife habitat were the two primary goals that people wanted to see enhanced around the Jordan River.
River developments
Added 20 new access points and portages in the past year.
Added lots of wayfinding and signage.
Lots of volunteer coordination for cleanups, restoration, education, etc.
Mitigating impacts of homelessness along the river.
Improving beneficial water flows.
Invitation to have a strong connection with the Utah Lake Authority
Mayor Johnson has a question
Action items
Discussion for appointing a new executive director
This wasn’t discussed in the meeting, but several weeks prior, Eric Ellis, the former Executive Director of the Utah Lake Authority resigned and almost immediately got hired by Vineyard City. This happened soon after several documents were released to the public that revealed Eric’s unauthorized engagement with Lake Restoration Solutions, a company that was trying to build islands on Utah Lake.
The recommendation is that Sam Braegger be appointed as Interim Executive Director.
Kamron Dalton asked a clarifying question if salary will be increased from program director up the midpoint between ED and PD Answer is yes.
Kamron Dalton motioned to accept the appointment, and Mayor Larson seconded.
All in favor.
Review and approve the executive director hiring packet.
Approved from first-ever Policies and procedures
Much of this was pulled from existing policies and procedures.
Approved unanimously.
Public comments
Teri Harman, Conserve Utah Valley
Kaye Nelson, Conserve Utah Valley
Summary
Simon Sorensen gave a presentation about the Jordan River Commission and invited the Utah Lake Authority to consider joining the Commission in an interlocal agreement.
Sam Braegger was appointed as the interim Executive Director of the Utah Lake Authority until a replacement is hired.
The executive director job position will be posted on November 18th, open for three weeks, and then the ULA will determine whether to extend the application period until after Christmas. Final interviews will be held by January 17th (the next ULA board meeting).
Follow-up Questions
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