Grantsville City residents had little to say about Tooele County’s request for disconnection of the property containing Deseret Peak Complex and Utah Motorsports Campus during Wednesday night’s city council meeting.
Drew Allen, a member of the Grantsville City Planning and Zoning Commission, spoke out against the proposed disconnection, which would take UMC off the city’s tax rolls and return the properties to unincorporated Tooele County. He said the only change since the city annexed the property is the sale and future development of UMC and the resulting property tax revenue.
“I don’t see any reason the county is wanting this change other than them wanting that revenue,” Allen said. “To me it’s just a simple money and power grab by the county.”
Edwin Barnes, an attorney representing Tooele County, said he was at the meeting to answer any questions, but the county’s opinion was stated in the petition filed for the disconnection.
Grantsville City Council is expected to revisit the issue of the disconnection during one of its meetings in December.
The county commission supported the annexation of property by Grantsville in 2014 but the current commission reversed course earlier this year, stating the management of county-owned property should remain with the county. The request for disconnection was submitted to Grantsville City on Sept. 2.
When Grantsville City annexed the property, it entered an interlocal agreement with Tooele County for water and future sewer service to Deseret Peak. Grantsville was already providing water to the county’s recreation facility as far back as 2003, according to Grantsville City Attorney Joel Linares.
Back in September, Linares said Grantsville City expects the county to continue to honor the 2014 agreement between the entities that called for the city to turn over water and sewer infrastructure and water rights.
After the public hearing, Grantsville City now has 45 days to make a decision on the disconnection request. If the city doesn’t agree to the disconnection request, the county could challenge the city’s decision in district court.