Focus on fun
3-26-08

FAIRVIEW—With Fairview’s reputation as Sanpete’s outdoor-recreation hot-spot, it’s little wonder that preserving that reputation in the face of future growth is a priority for city leaders.
And a plan currently under consideration by the Fairview City Council is intended to do just that.
“I think if you put that as a little higher priority, then it doesn’t get forgotten about,” says council member Jeff Cox. “We’re looking at growth, serious growth, in the near future. If you don’t take care of these open spaces up front, you lose them, and it’s really hard to get them back.”
Cox is the council member who sits on the city’s Parks and Recreation Committee, which this month presented a Parks, Recreation and Trails Master Plan to the council.
The plan, if adopted by the council following public review and input, would guide “recreational improvements that will benefit current residents and preserve recreational opportunities before they disappear or are permanently out of our reach,” states the 39-page document.
Those improvements include, among other things, a sports complex adjacent to the rodeo grounds, complete with baseball and soccer fields and courts for basketball and tennis; a proposed Veterans Park at the site of the city’s current ball park; and a system of walking and bike trails.
Other long-term projects proposed in the plan might include a municipal recreation center, a skate park and a winter-sports park.
Such facilities would enhance Fairview’s image as an “attractive place to live as well as a playground for visitors and residents alike,” the plan states.
Finding funding for such things can be difficult; but that’s one thing the plan is meant to address, says the Parks and Recreation Committee’s chairman, Greg Galecki.
“Things like this are expensive,” Galecki says. “Without a plan, it’s pretty hard to generate any funding or excitement from funding agencies. If you have a well-thought-out comprehensive plan, you have a better chance of getting something accomplished.”
Fairview’s position—stated in the city’s motto—as the “Gateway to Skyline Drive” was firmly in the minds of the plan’s developers, and by providing recreational facilities in town, the city hopes to attract visitors to stop for while, rather than just pass through on their way to mountain cabins or snowmobile trails.
“Part of it is to let people know there is more to the city,” Galecki says. “I don’t think anybody’s envisioning the next Park City, but it would be nice to support the local businesses.”
Councilman Cox explains the importance of recreational tourism to the city, and agrees that consideration went into the plan.
“Visitors and tourism definitely has something to do with it,” he says. “Our biggest industry for Fairview is tourism. It’s been a long time that we’ve claimed we’re the gateway to Skyline Drive. Part of the purpose of the plan is to make Fairview a destination; a stopping point.
Galecki says that building venues that could handle a few major events each year, like the Pioneer Days celebration or the Winter Festival, could be a boon to the local economy throughout the year.
But, both he and Cox say, the tourism and economic benefits of the plan are secondary.
“It’s not the total focus of the plan. More, the plan is to make Fairview more livable for the people who live here, make life a little more interesting for all who live here.”
That was the kind of thinking that was behind trying to provide something for everyone in the plan.
“We tried to think about all age groups in the city,” Galecki says. “People too often think of parks and rec as having to do with only young kids. We tried to look at the whole makeup of the city from kids, to young adults, to seniors.”
And at different kinds of recreation, from sports, to equestrian events, to walking or just relaxing, to the winter sports that Fairview is famous for.
Including the community was an important component of the plan, Galecki says, noting the citywide survey taken as the plan was being put together.
But both Galecki and Cox hope the community’s involvement doesn’t end there. In coming weeks, there will be an open house and a public hearing that focus on the Parks, Recreation and Trails Master Plan.
“We want to make sure we have people show up for that,” says Cox. “The committee truly feels this needs to be our community’s plan, not just the plan of a few select people. We want it to be accepted by the whole community, we want input from everybody. It’s a big stepping stone for Fairview to have a good recreation system.”
A copy of the plan is available at Fairview’s city hall for review. Residents can also call the city with an email address, and an electronic copy of the plan can be forwarded to them.
The open house is tentatively scheduled for April 15, with a public hearing to be held in tandem with a rescheduled city-council meeting the following week.