Snyderville Basin recreation officials brief council on Silver Creek strategic planning and survey plans

Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District officials told Council on April 12 they are just over halfway through a strategic planning process that included staff interviews, stakeholder meetings, youth focus groups, a virtual brown‑bag and a community open house focused on preliminary concepts for the Silver Creek site.

Dana Jones, district director, and Annika Egan of SE Group summarized recurring themes from engagement: the importance of interagency partnerships to avoid duplicating services, a shortage of winter indoor recreation space, demand for youth programming and camp space, and concerns about equitable access for residents displaced by housing costs. The draft concepts presented emphasize facility character, flexible indoor play and multipurpose courts, shared agreements with other providers, and staff development needs.

Egan said a statistically valid public survey planned for the summer will test public appetite for facility cost and distribution across the district; the findings will inform whether future bonding is reasonable and which large 'moves' to prioritize for Silver Creek. She described the next steps as refining 'big moves' that speak to site and district functionality and continuing stakeholder workshops.

Council members asked about partnerships for popular court sports and access. A councilmember who described himself as a pickleball player asked whether staff had coordinated with Park City Recreation. Officials said they were actively coordinating to avoid duplication and to target flexibility in design (for example roll‑out turf and scheduling) so multiple user groups can be accommodated. Staff noted the value of presenting bonding options that explain who pays versus who benefits.

What’s next: Staff will return with another update later in the summer after the statistically valid survey and additional stakeholder workgroup sessions; they invited council members to reach out for interim briefings.

Quotes and attribution: 'We're just over halfway through and this is a really great point,' said Annika Egan, SE Group project manager. 'We'll be hosting a statistically valid survey... that'll be a good test for us for any future bonding effort,' she said.

Context: The presentation is part of an ongoing strategic planning process; council discussion focused on partnerships, flexible indoor space and equitable access across the Snyderville Basin.