During Millcreek’s first few months as a city, its council occupied a temporary workspace in the Mt. Olympus Improvement District, where leaders held weekly meetings in a small conference room and sat in metal folding chairs that Councilwoman Cheri Jackson had supplied.
When the council moved in January to Millcreek’s new city offices at 3330 S. 1300 East, Cottonwood Heights donated almost “every stick of furniture” in the building, said Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini. To thank its neighboring municipality, the council is now considering approval of a proclamation to name March 26, 2018, Cottonwood Heights Day.
“It really is just to reflect our appreciation for the help that they gave us in starting a city,” Silvestrini said, noting that the donation included desks, chairs, conference tables, cubicles and file cabinets. “It really saved us a lot of money.”
Cottonwood Heights donated the furniture before its move into a new city hall in October 2016, and a Millcreek resident stored the items for several months, Silvestrini said. Overall, the mayor said the furniture donation was a win for both cities, as Cottonwood Heights would have been required to sell the furniture as surplus otherwise.
“We really appreciate the recognition and the thoughtfulness of Millcreek City. It’s definitely not necessary, not something we expected,” said Cottonwood Heights Mayor Michael Peterson. “But being a young city ourselves a few years ago and receiving help from Holladay and other cities around us, we understand the challenges that it takes to get a new city up and running. So we were just glad that we could be there and provide support in many ways.”
Millcreek became Utah’s newest city in the last days of December 2016 and moved into its new city offices last January. For its first six months, the council had $4 million in revenue — a tight starting budget that meant the council had to get creative.
Council members worked without salary for the first seven months of their tenure and agreed not to seek retroactive pay when they set their annual compensation packages last July. The council has also relied on free contact with residents, through email and social media, rather than through more costly mailers.
Millcreek’s Council will vote on the proclamation (which Silvestrini said he expected to pass with full support) at its meeting on Monday evening.
Follow @tstevensmedia