Tooele Valley leaders hear plan to join Wasatch Front Regional Council planning area

Staff of the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) asked the Tooele County Council of Governments on Oct. 15 to support moving Tooele Valley into the WFRC's metropolitan planning area, a change that would let the county and valley cities compete for more transportation funding. The agenda lists the presentation by Wayne Bennion. Council member Scott Wardle chaired the meeting. ^[1][2][3]

A WFRC presenter said the valley is not now inside the WFRC's metropolitan planning organization boundaries, so the agency has not been able to award it funds or fully include it in regional plans and travel modeling. The proposal covers Tooele Valley, not the whole county, and the presenters said it is an opportunity rather than a mandate. ^[2][3]

Presenters said Community Development Block Grant support, Transportation and Land Use Connection help, the Community Impact Board and the local administrative advisor would continue unchanged for the entire county. Valley governments would take part in the region-wide transportation plan, a four-year cycle that starts next summer and is to be adopted in 2031, with a chance to apply for WFRC capital funding the following fall. ^[2][3]

A WFRC presenter said federal law requires the governor to approve a change in the planning boundary. The presenter said staff had discussed it with the Utah Department of Transportation and the governor's office and that the first question from both was how Tooele County governments felt. A handout had listed WFRC action on Oct. 22. The presenter said that step would move to January, with the governor's approval to follow in January or February. ^[2][3]

Wardle said the move could open doors as competition for money grows ahead of the Olympics. Members who spoke welcomed the proposal, and no vote was taken on it. The presenter also said the Tooele Valley draft long-range transportation plan would go out for public comment the following week and is likely the last under the rural planning organization. ^[2][3]

Jay Fox, executive director of the Utah Transit Authority, also briefed the group on how the agency's governance changed after this year's legislation. He said UTA now has a seven-member part-time commission with two members named by the House speaker, two by the Senate president and three chosen by the governor from nominees of county councils of governments, and that he reports to the governor. He said 72% of UTA's capital budget goes to keeping existing assets in good repair, and that the valley's on-demand service carries about 55,000 customers a year. ^[1][2][3]

The group approved the June minutes, recommended two reappointments and discussed moving to bimonthly meetings in 2027. ^[1][3]