Heber City Council annexes Riverhawk Road and advances 1200 South roundabout plans

The Heber City Council voted 5-0 on Oct. 6 to approve Ordinance 2026-20, annexing about 3.38 acres for Riverhawk Road, the road that serves the new high school near 1000 West and State Road 113 (100 South). City Engineer Russ Funk said the road has always been intended to belong to the city, and annexing it avoids agreements with Wasatch County over design, construction and maintenance. No one spoke at the public hearing, and City Attorney Jeremy Cook said the county had been notified and raised no concerns. ^[1][2][3]

Later, after 10 p.m., the council voted 5-0 on a motion by Council Member Mike Johnston to move forward with at least getting plans for a roundabout at 1200 South and Mill Road. The aim is to show what property is needed and how all four corners would be affected. Funk said the roundabout is in the city's Transportation Master Plan and would be paid almost entirely with impact fees. A traffic memo from Horrocks Engineers had been updated to look at free-right movements and the share of traffic from inside and outside the city. ^[1][3]

Several residents spoke against it. One property owner whose family has held land at the corner since the 1960s said a roundabout would take part of the front lawn and affect two licensed businesses. Another resident asked whether it could sit farther northeast to avoid developed land. Police Chief Parker Sever said a student count did not meet the criteria for a crossing guard at the intersection. ^[1][3]

Council Member Yvonne Barney said she did not support a roundabout and suggested flashing lights or green stop signs. Mayor Heidi Franco asked whether it could be shifted to limit effects on owners, and Funk said shifting it would move the impact to other owners. ^[1]

The council also voted 5-0 to adopt Ordinance 2026-21, updating the telecommunications ordinance. Under an amendment by Council Member Aaron Cheatwood, one section reads that facilities "shall be stealth or painted in a neutral color," according to the minutes. The consent agenda passed 5-0 with a change adding Wasatch County government entities to the deed-restriction language in the Finch Creek development agreement amendment. It also covered the 2027 holiday schedule and a wildland-urban interface map update. ^[1][2]

The Central Heber Overlay Zone utility requirement and a discussion of city-owned property in the community reinvestment area were moved to Oct. 20, and the traffic calming and communications policy items were not reached. The council also gave staff accountant Lynsee Sulser the Mayor's Award for tracking down an IRS error. The nomination read at the meeting said she saved the city more than $11,000 in erroneous penalties. ^[1][3]