Mapleton council hears nonprofit pitch for PPP ice rink, debates whether foundation should fund libraries and seniors

Mapleton City Council members on Thursday heard a proposal from a local nonprofit to build an indoor ice rink and an indoor turf arena that could be converted into a second ice sheet, with the nonprofit seeking a memorandum of understanding so it can pursue grants and private donations.

Logan, who led the presentation, said the city owns a parcel suitable for a multiuse facility but lacks capital funding. He described a facility with locker rooms, meeting rooms and a skate shop and said the turf arena could later be converted to an additional ice sheet if demand grows. "We have a piece of property. We don't have any funding to build anything on that," Logan said, urging council direction to let staff work with the group.

Eddie Ellis, who identified himself as representing the Work Ethic Foundation, told the council that a nonprofit foundation can raise donor funds and pursue grants to build and program the facility. "These are highly successful when done right, and it's a great solution for governments to be able to navigate the difficulties of funding such expensive capital projects," Ellis said. He asked the council for approval to continue pursuing funders and to allow staff and legal to draft an MOU tying the foundation to the rink project.

Presenters argued there is regional demand: Logan noted Peaks Ice Arena is currently the only ice sheet in Utah County and cited a study suggesting the area would need seven to nine sheets to reach parity with other counties. They also pointed to examples of PPPs in the state, including the Olympic Oval and the Maverik Center, as structures where a private foundation or entity helped attract capital and manage programming.

Council discussion centered on two procedural items: whether the council should authorize a narrowly scoped MOU focused only on the rink parcel and facilities, and whether the foundation's fundraising scope should explicitly include other civic needs such as a library or senior center. One councilmember said she was supportive of the rink but asked "that the foundation is broad enough to include library and senior funding" because Mapleton's census profile limits direct access to some federal and community block grants. Ellis and Logan replied that the foundation's immediate priority is the rink (phase one) but that nothing in principle stops later phases or separate agreements addressing seniors or libraries.

Another councilmember opposed broadening a private foundation's fundraising scope, warning that the foundation is a private entity and that the city should not treat it as if it were the city's own fundraising arm. "This is a private foundation. Their foundation, they control," the councilmember said, adding concerns that a city‑created or city‑run foundation can be perceived as a "shadow government." That councilmember recommended the MOU be narrowly tailored to the specific subject property and ice rink so donor dollars and any MOU expectations remain clear.

Councilmembers asked for concrete next steps: a narrow MOU drafted with legal review, a pro‑forma showing projected capital and operating costs, and a timeline for fundraising and design. Presenters said they have identified interested foundations and donors and that there are "over 15 or more grants" that might fit the project; they suggested an ideal target for groundbreaking of January 1 if fundraising proceeds and a focused MOU is in place.

No formal vote was taken at the work session. Presenters and staff will continue meeting biweekly, prepare a pro‑forma and a draft MOU for the council to review at a future meeting.

The work session closed without taking formal action on an MOU.