Latest news with #JennyWilson
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
AARP calls Salt Lake County age-friendly. What does that mean?
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways AARP has added Salt Lake County to its Network of Age-Friendly Communities. That opens the door to technical assistance, funding and other resources from the national organization as the county tackles policy, planning and building to meet the needs of a growing aging population. It's the first community so designated in Utah, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said at a news conference Wednesday at the Millcreek Senior Center, which is co-located with a library and a recreation center. Wilson hailed the county's efforts to help older adults in multiple ways, from the Meals on Wheels program to senior centers that integrate services with recreation programs in one location. When co-location was first considered, she said, there was robust discussion among the county council members, of which she was one at the time. Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, left, receives a certificate from Alan Ormsby, the state director of AARP Utah, right, during a press conference to announce Salt Lake County's designation as an AARP Age-Friendly Community at the Millcreek Community Center in Millcreek on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News The age-friendly puzzle There are a lot of pieces to being age-friendly and a great deal of planning and projecting the future are involved, she and Alan Ormsby, state director of AARP, agreed — including focusing on important aspects like making neighborhoods walkable and ensuring there are affordable housing options, among others. 'Anything that makes life better for older adults makes it better for anyone in a community,' Ormsby said. Ormsby added there have been efforts to get an age-friendly AARP designation in Utah for a long time, so the announcement is exciting. Besides helping to support local organizations that give time and energy to bolstering older adults, the national group can be tapped for expertise with forward-looking planning, he told Deseret News. AARP can provide 'guidance, support and monetary things' to help Salt Lake County's age-friendly efforts. There are roughly 700 AARP-designated age-friendly states and communities in the United States. Amy Oxman hits the ball while playing pickle ball at the Millcreek Community Center in Millcreek on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Salt Lake County is the first community in Utah to be designated an AARP Age-Friendly Community. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News Ryan Anderson, who is the program manager of Municipal Services and Regional Planning, actually oversaw the application. She said her program will work closely with Salt Lake County Aging and Adult Services over the next couple of years to do a needs assessment and create an action plan, which will be implemented in the following two years of a four-year effort. The work will include looking at what's working to allow people to age well while staying in their communities and what services, policies, features or other things need to change or be added. Salt Lake County's Aging and Adult Services — its director, Paul Leggett, emceed the announcement — also has a contract with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah to look at aging issues and services. A community that is age-friendly has to consider how to build a community that provides access to services, meeting transportation needs and has affordable housing, among other factors, Anderson said. The Wednesday morning fiber arts group works on their projects at the Millcreek Community Center in Millcreek on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Salt Lake County is the first community in Utah to be designated an AARP Age-Friendly Community. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News On its website, AARP says the network 'serves as a catalyst to educate local leaders (both elected officials and engaged residents) and encourage them to implement the types of changes that make communities more livable for people of all ages, especially older adults.' To get the designation, a community's elected leaders have to commit to the goal of helping older adults flourish. After earning a place in the network, AARP reports that 'age-friendly initiatives are catalyzing local policy change. And 73% of member communities achieved a change in public policy, most often by integrating an 'age-friendly lens' into community planning.' Ann Mckane, left and Maureen Wilson, right, both work on knitting projects while working with the Wednesday morning fiber arts group at the Millcreek Community Center in Millcreek on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Salt Lake County is the first community in Utah to be designated an AARP Age-Friendly Community. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News The Millcreek center The Millcreek senior center was a natural location for the announcement, given its design, which integrates people of all ages in various activities within the building. Outside the room where the press conference was held, a group of older adult pals were chatting and laughing. It's a regular routine for them after their Monday-Wednesday-Friday enhanced fitness class, they told Deseret News. They all met in the class, but the friendships spill well beyond the senior center door. They said they help each other out and sometimes get together outside of the center. One might drive another to a doctor's appointment. They're an informal referral service, recommending good plumbers and doctors. And when one of them is downsizing, it's the easiest thing in the world to bring a few items you don't want and see if anyone in the group wants them. Seniors play pickleball at the Millcreek Community Center in Millcreek on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Salt Lake County is the first community in Utah to be designated an AARP Age-Friendly Community. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News 'You can come visit your tray,' one of them jokes, while another adds that they celebrate each others' birthdays and that there are some other groups that meet on different days for lunch. The center is a social hub for lots of older adults, who find it easy to make friends who share their interests, given the varied programming. There's easy banter among the women — and it isn't all just women most days — but they agree that a senior center is a great place for someone who's new to the area and older to make friends and stay connected. Plus they look out for each other, noticing when someone is missing from the class and checking up to see that all is well. Sometimes the group has 16 members visiting after class and they come from all over the county, not just the Millcreek neighborhood. Clearly visible above that group gathered in the Evergreen Cafe (the center is located on Evergreen Avenue), older adults could be seen on a walking track. The senior center side hosts activities that range from art classes to exercise classes, meals and a variety of other programs and events. The center is age-friendly — and so is Salt Lake County.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
When will Salt Palace renovations begin? These are some of the next steps
Downtown Salt Lake City is on the verge of a drastic makeover, especially now that Salt Lake County has agreed to sell off a piece of the Salt Palace Convention Center in a deal that should kickstart renovation plans east of the Delta Center. However, that left many in the audience at Tuesday's CountSalty Council vote wondering the same question: What happens next? Those are the types of conversations just beginning as the 'sports, entertainment, culture and convention district' comes together. The next steps are about to get underway. Salt Lake County plans to launch a search for an architectural firm this week to help it map out more detailed plans for the blocks east of the Delta Center that are included in the downtown revitalization district. It hopes to have a firm hired by the end of summer, which will help map out the culture and convention side of the district. Once selected, the winning firm will also handle questions about other key logistics like demolition, site locations, feasibility and programming. Everything will center around the Salt Palace. Tuesday's sale paves the way for parts of the building west of 200 West to be demolished for Smith Entertainment Group's 'mid block' section, which may include mixed-use development on top of a plaza east of the area. It's still unclear how the space will be utilized, but the company's past renderings have suggested that tall buildings could be constructed within some of the spaces currently occupied by the convention center. Building heights of up to 600 feet are permissible within the district, per a rezone of the area Salt Lake City approved last year. Meanwhile, the county plans to build a second ballroom as part of a new convention center. Partial demolition of the existing building could begin as early as 2027, and the new Salt Palace could be completed by 2031, according to preliminary projections. Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said the county wants to make sure that the new convention center is completed before 2034 because it's slated to be the media center and potential curling site when the Winter Olympics return to Salt Lake City. 'I'm excited that the visitor in 2034 is going to have this incredibly fresh, new, invigorated downtown,' she said, adding that the same can be said for residents. Changes are also planned for other county facilities neighboring the Salt Palace. County leaders voted last year to preserve Abravanell Hall, but county officials said Tuesday that the building's 'back of house' will have to be rebuilt to account for the new east-west walkway. They're currently working with the Utah Symphony as they raise funds and plan out updates to the building's other features. They're also working with the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art on planning out a new museum location after it was determined early in planning that the current building would likely be torn down and rebuilt. Of course, 300 West might be the biggest challenge between the Delta Center and the buildings east of it. State lawmakers floated around the idea of transferring 300 West in the area to Salt Lake City earlier this year, but a proposed bill to do that didn't clear the Utah Legislature. Smith Entertainment Group is 'working closely' with the Utah Department of Transportation on plans to discuss process and timeline, said Smith Entertainment Group executive Mike Maughan, in an update to plans on Wednesday. Whether the road is owned by UDOT or Salt Lake City, plans still call on a portion of it to be tunneled underneath the plaza linking the district together. 'We are going to be doing work on 300 West, and hopefully, (it'll be) done in a way that inhibits traffic the least,' Maughan said. More details about the road could be announced 'in the coming months,' he added. The county's land sale doesn't include a garden currently buffering the Salt Palace or the Japanese Church of Christ. County officials say they plan to maintain the garden moving forward. But church leaders and others with close ties to historic 'Japantown' say there are still 'serious concerns' as the project slowly moves from concept to reality. Lynne Ward, a Japanese Church of Christ elder, called for a series of construction mitigation steps before Tuesday's vote. Her congregation would like to see vehicle access for both its and the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple's parking lots during demolition and construction, along with ways to mitigate the dust, debris and potential damage caused when demolition begins. They'd also like to see that future buildings have multiple access points to avoid congestion along 100 South once new buildings are constructed, as well as new security measures to protect the church grounds. Those closest to the churches remain cautious about the future, especially since creating and expanding the convention center wiped out most of what once was a neighborhood with thousands of residents. 'If the two churches end up getting run over, shame on everybody,' said Brent Koga, a member of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple board. Salt Lake City will largely oversee construction approvals within the district section. City leaders have expressed an interest in preserving and enhancing what's left of the neighborhood. Its agreement with Smith Entertainment Group last year included a provision that at least $5 million from a 'public benefits' account — generated from Delta Center ticket sales — go toward Japantown revitalization. Maughan says the company heard the comments. It plans to engage with residents and churchgoers before construction shifts to those parts of the district. 'We want to move as efficiently as possible and disrupt as little as possible,' he said.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Salt Lake County to vote whether to sell Salt Palace portion to Smith Entertainment Group
A portion of the Salt Palace Convention Center could soon belong to the Smith Entertainment Group, as the future of downtown continues to take shape. The Salt Lake County Council will vote Tuesday afternoon on a resolution to sell about 6.5 acres of county-owned land near 55 S. 300 West at an undisclosed price 'within a reasonable range of market value,' which will help the county fund a massive project to remodel and 'modernize' the convention center. Discussions over a key piece of the 'sports, entertainment, culture and convention district' plan occurred earlier this month. County Council members spent over an hour in a closed session tied to the sale a day after Gov. Spencer Cox met with Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, Smith Entertainment Group representatives and state legislators over the 'Mid Block' portion of the district outside of the Delta Center, which could link the arena with the rest of the district. Those conversations picked up after Salt Lake City leaders and the Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone Committee each passed measures created in this year's SB26, setting up a 'funding mechanism' for the projected $1.8 billion project. Projects tied to the county account for about $1.5 billion of the total cost of redevelopment. Smith Entertainment Group founder Ryan Smith unveiled the plans shortly after bringing an NHL team to Utah last year. It sparked a process that ended in Salt Lake City approving a 0.5% citywide sales tax to help repay up to $900 million in bonds Smith was permitted to seek toward construction costs. County officials say selling the land is a 'necessary condition' in plans to improve the Delta Center, which is now undergoing its first remodeling phase. However, it will also provide funding for the remodeling and reconstruction of the Salt Palace, while opening up nearly $5 million in annual county property tax revenue as the land switches over to nonexempt tax status. The sale would also help 'connect' the Delta Center, Salt Palace Convention Center, Abravanel Hall, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and other downtown buildings, county officials add. 'Linking these assets for visitors and businesses prepares the county to host major national and international events more effectively and generate additional revenue from visitors,' the resolution states. When it remodels the convention center, the county plans to build a second Salt Palace ballroom and new convention event spaces. It is unclear when that will happen, but according to county projections, it should generate about $11.5 million in new annual state, county, and city tax revenue. Tuesday's meeting is set to start at 1:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on the County Council's Facebook page. This article will be updated.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Readers' Forum: National Home Visiting Week highlights support for families in need
The inaugural National Home Visiting Week takes place April 21–25 and is an opportunity to celebrate home visitors and the positive impact they make on maternal and child health outcomes. As a mom, I fully understand the challenges of parenting. Home visiting professionals empower and work alongside parents to build confidence and resilience. Utilizing a variety of evidence-based models, home visiting supports healthy birth outcomes, increases family self-sufficiency and helps children enter school fully prepared to succeed, all at no cost to the family. Besides the benefits to families, home visiting programs make sense economically, too — studies have found a return on investment of $1.80 to $5.70 for every dollar spent on home visiting. I'm especially proud of the home visiting programs at the Salt Lake County Health Department and the work they do for our Salt Lake County families. The incredible home visitors on their team make a big impact on our local families. This week and every week I'm thankful for these hardworking and compassionate home visiting professionals. Families in Salt Lake County can learn more about our home visiting programs by visiting or calling 385-468-4100. Mayor Jenny Wilson Salt Lake County
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion: Children shouldn't fund convention centers
If you're a homeowner, and you look at your tax notice, you'll see a designated amount goes to the public school district near you. If you're a renter, you may notice that as your landlord's tax bill grows, so does your rent. What you might not know is just how much of the money on that notice never reaches the school district. Under a practice called tax-increment financing (TIF for short), areas slated for development may, under a variety of state laws, divert property tax growth to fund projects. In lay terms, the property tax designated for public schools goes, in part, to subsidize development. If you are a tax or public finance expert, you'll notice some details about TIF aren't explained here. However, for the average taxpayer, I want to make the implication of this practice clear — in the last academic year, the Salt Lake City School District lost $35 million, 10% of our current budget, to development. This amount would have paid for the equivalent of 277 teachers and could have funded the general operation of 35 elementary schools. In a year when we are operating only 22 elementary schools, after our board voted to close four schools last year, this number matters to the community. Because demographic studies show that gentrification has contributed to our declining enrollment overall, not only does TIF decrease our ability to fund the needs of children, but it also reduces the total number of children we can serve. Last week, a committee voted to allocate $300 million more in tax increment to fund the Convention Center Reinvestment Zone. As a voting member of the committee, I learned just one hour before our vote that the total impact had jumped from $21 million to $300 million. Mayor Jenny Wilson indicated in the meeting that all committee members have a shared vision of a convention center with an additional ballroom. I have to say, as an individual school board member who voted no on funding the zone, my vision is not for convention center ballrooms or hotels. My vision is for the 83 teachers per year, or 14 elementary schools per year, that this diverted tax could fund. Proponents of TIF will tell you that eventually, in 20 to 30 years per project, school districts will have more property tax to fund our work. The problem is, a kindergarten student does not need more property tax revenue for their future children — they need a teacher in their classroom today. I understand that our city and county are growing, and with that growth comes the need for development, but I do not believe Salt Lake City's children can bear the cost.
