Council hears renewed push to operationalize Snyderville Basin Cemetery District

County legal staff and community advocates renewed a request that the Summit County Council move forward to operationalize the Snyderville Basin Cemetery District, an entity created by voter approval in 2012 but not yet funded or staffed.

Ryan Stack reviewed the legal history: the district was set up after a 2012 council resolution and voter action and formally incorporated in 2013, but no board of trustees has been appointed and no governing ordinance has been adopted. Stack said the council must adopt a governing ordinance and appoint a five‑member board before the district could set funding, levy amounts (subject to statutory caps and voter approval) or issue bonds.

Krista Cassidy, a land‑use planner working with Park City residents, told the council “there are no burial options available for folks in the greater Park City area” beyond very limited in‑town plots. Cassidy presented demographic research showing a high proportion of seniors live in the Snyderville Basin, site‑selection criteria (topography, water table, access), and operational cost drivers (staffing, maintenance). She described municipal examples of funding structures — some municipal cemeteries operate from general funds while others use mill levies — and urged the council to authorize staff to prepare a draft ordinance and to direct the board, once appointed, to evaluate sites and funding options.

Council members asked staff for ballpark operating budgets from other cemetery districts, raised oversight questions for land acquisition and asked that any ordinance include purchasing and oversight policies. Several councillors expressed support for placing the ordinance on a near‑term agenda and appointing trustees so the district can examine sites and the feasibility of a ballot measure only after a plan is in place.

No formal vote was taken; staff was instructed to return with a draft governing ordinance and options for trustee recruitment and funding scenarios.