Midway Council reviews FY2026 budget amendment, flags souvenir-shop losses and capital needs

Midway — The Midway City Council reviewed proposed amendments to its FY2026 budget during a Feb. 7 strategic planning meeting, covering the Water Fund, Ice Rink Fund, Souvenir Shop Fund, the General Fund and the CIP Fund. Budget Director Nancy Simons presented the amendment and highlighted several items requiring follow-up and potential policy decisions.

Simons reviewed water-related items including water sales, Water Fund salaries and engineering for upcoming projects; city staff discussed outside engineering and water rates. She told the council the City's checking account balance was temporarily high because of property-tax receipts and that the City was holding funds to cover the Lundin conservation easement. Business license and building-permit revenue were described as low; the planning director was assigned to research the cause.

The council discussed the souvenir shop and ice rink, which the minutes state 'lost money on paper.' Simons suggested raising souvenir-shop prices and running fewer employees per shift; she also described the souvenir shop as intended primarily as a visitors' center to drive customers to other local businesses. Council members discussed reserving two parking spaces for the visitors' center.

Capital and facilities items in the proposed amendment included over-budget improvements to the parking lot at 70 East Main Street, a new Community Center entry sign, sidewalk work and camera installations in city buildings. Council members approved adding cameras to city vehicles including snowplows and dump trucks and discussed improving audiovisual systems in council chambers to achieve ADA compliance.

Action items recorded in the minutes: Planning Director Michael Henke will research low business-license and building-permit revenue; Recorder Brad Wilson will follow up with Wasatch Mountain State Park regarding the return of taxes and with Zions Bank on updating the capital improvement projects plan. The minutes note a copy of the budget amendment is contained in the supplemental file; no final council vote on the amendment is recorded in the minutes.

The council asked for clearer, more accessible budget presentations going forward, including an executive summary that staff and the public can readily understand. Several operational questions (pricing, staffing levels at the souvenir shop, and whether the souvenir shop should compete with private businesses) were left for future action or additional analysis.