Snyderville Basin Cemetery District board members on Wednesday submitted a report to the Summit County Council on their intent to levy a property tax in 2025 to carry out their mission.
The tax would generate $495,000 to establish and operate public cemeteries in unincorporated areas. The annual tax bill is $25.70 for a principal residence with an average assessed value of $2,032,000 and $46.74 for a business with the same assessed value.
Currently, there are no property taxes levied in the cemetery district.
Snyderville Basin residents voted to create the district in 2012 because Park City Cemetery restrictions prevent most people who live outside city limits from being buried in the cemetery. The effort stalled until last year when the Summit County Council voted to appoint a board member.
The district envisions the future cemetery as a beautiful memorial park that incorporates burial grounds into its natural environment.
“This is a peaceful retreat that provides opportunities for community gathering, public art, and passive recreation for our citizens and guests, while also encouraging people to live here and help make our community great.” It will serve as a place of respectful visitation that honors and remembers the citizens who served as a community.” The district’s vision statement reads.
As part of the “Tax the Truth” process, all five cemetery district board members (Pete Gilwald, Max Greenhalgh, William Osinski, Will Seggos, and Daniel Whitehurst) announced Wednesday that Attended the meeting and presented the report.
According to the report, the board spent the past year setting goals, surveying local residents, attending cemetery meetings, visiting several cemeteries, evaluating various potential sites and developing geotechnical engineering plans for desirable locations. An evaluation has been carried out.
Gilwald said the site selection process began by looking at county-owned parcels to avoid having to purchase land on the private market.
The board’s preferred choice is a parcel on the Olympic Parkway side that is jointly owned by Basin Recreation and Summit County. A 10-acre portion of the plot will be used as a cemetery.
The commission’s report said the site was chosen because a cemetery is already licensed there, is free to taxpayers, and is easily accessible and in a quiet location. The plan aims to create a cemetery that is in harmony with the natural environment, with low gravestones and winding paths, by setting the burial ground within existing terrain and vegetation.
Lawmakers visited the site before Wednesday’s meeting.
Potential elements include pavilions, gazebos and trails, Gilwald said. He estimated that the cemetery would host 25 to 30 burials a year.
Depending on conditions, Greenhalgh said Snyderville Cemetery could be ready as early as fall 2025, noting that Park City’s cemeteries are nearly full.
“It’s very possible that this cemetery will eventually become a larger cemetery in the Park City area,” Greenhalgh said.
Councilor Chris Robinson said he was in favor of moving forward with a “modest levy” to create a funding source.
“I believe it’s a great need for everyone in the basin, including Park City,” he said.
Under the “Truth in Taxation” process, the Summit County Council will hold a public hearing on Nov. 13 to decide whether to approve the tax increase.
If City Council members vote in favor of the increase, the Cemetery District Commission will hold a public hearing on the 2025 budget on Dec. 5. The board can set a budget up to the amount of revenue approved by the county council.
Public comments will be solicited at public hearings on Nov. 13 and Dec. 5.
