South Salt Lake is poised to boost its police presence near a homeless shelter.
Salt Lake County Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to transfer two parcels totaling 1.4 acres to the suburban city. The decision paves the way for South Salt Lake to build a police station near 3500 South 1000 West.
“We are appreciative of the county recognizing the regional facilities in South Salt Lake and the need for a public safety substation near the Pamela Atkinson Resource Center. Maintaining the Jordan River Trail as a safe and active amenity remains a priority for South Salt Lake,” South Salt Lake Mayor Cherie Wood said in a statement. “This property will enable quick response times from our homeless resource officers serving those experiencing homelessness near the [center].”
The station will sit next door to the men’s homeless shelter on 1000 West and near the Jordan River. The neighborhood already hosts two county jails and a juvenile detention center. Wood asked the county to transfer the land to the city for the new building.
The county is transferring the parcels to South Salt Lake for a mere $10. The properties’ assessed value totals $1.3 million. South Salt Lake will have to build a law enforcement facility on the lots or else the land will revert back to the county.
County Council members also requested that the city break ground on the station within the next five years.
“The way I would word the language is that you need to break ground on it within five years,” said council member Sheldon Stewart, who represents a southwest portion of the county. “I’m not saying it has to be built, but I want to see the land being used.”
At-large council member Natalie Pinkney urged her fellow members to vote for the transfer.
“I still live in South Salt Lake in that neighborhood and walk the trails,” said Pinkney, who formerly served on the South Salt Lake City Council. “And a lot of people in that neighborhood would really benefit from more police presence.”
Homelessness and illegal camping have been persistent features along the Jordan River and its trail in recent years, especially in Salt Lake City.
Wood, in comments at Tuesday’s meeting, said the new station would host the city’s homeless resource police officers who specialize in providing safety in and around South Salt Lake’s two shelters. She added that 45% of the Police Department’s calls for service occur within half a mile of the properties.
South Salt Lake is already home to a handful of county law enforcement, homeless and jail facilities. Officials said those buildings strain the suburb’s budget due to their nontaxable status.
State homelessness officials had been eyeing one of the two jails in the neighborhood, the county’s aging Oxbow Jail, as a possible site for a new, large homeless campus. Wood voiced significant opposition to that idea. Since then, state officials have stayed quiet on the Oxbow plan, and residents voted against a bond measure in November that would have seen the county close the facility and sell the property.