The Salt Lake City Council heard from west side residents about the recent partial closure of the Jordan River Trail, and the criminal and environmental problems that led to it, during its meeting Tuesday night. Afterward, Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Councilmembers Victoria Petro and Alejandro Puy addressed the comments and explained their hopes for a new Public Safety Plan, recently launched by the administration.

The Council also recognized the first Wednesday of April as Start by Believing Day, and representatives of Wasatch Community Gardens made their case for community grant funding.

JRT Closure
Following the closure of a section of the Jordan River Trail earlier this week, several west side residents spoke to the council about unintended consequences and what they perceived as a lack of notice and transparency.

“I think the majority of the people in the west side communities know what the problems are and are very supportive of any efforts to address that,” Westside Coalition vice president Jason Wessel said. “However, the way that has happened in the last 24 hours was a bit disappointing.”

He pointed to the closure of part of the trail in Fairpark last year, which he said involved extensive community engagement. But, Wessel said, “there was no community information provided” on this recent closure, leading to speculation and misinformation among regular trail users.

“I appreciate the recent efforts of the police department and closing down part of the trail. It is certainly a start, but it is little more than a Band-Aid approach,” Kevin Parke, chair of the Rose Park Community Council, said. “Residents of the West Side deserve the same respect and consideration that those in more affluent areas of the city and state receive.”

Other residents said that, while the closure of the trail is a step in the right direction, it has ultimately just shifted problems with drugs and criminal activity to different places.

“Our neighborhoods deserve long-term solutions from our city leaders,” Angela Morgan said.

Following the public comments, Councilmembers Alejandro Puy and Victoria Petro took a moment to speak. Mayor Erin Mendenhall also discussed her plans for addressing concerns along the river.

Puy thanked Mendenhall for her work on the Public Safety Plan in his comments and acknowledged the frustration of west side residents.

“The actions taken on the Jordan River are part of the solution. And again, that's not the ideal solution, right?” Puy said. “No one wants the parkway to be closed. But we need to act strongly to remove the problems that are entrenched in there, and our neighbors are very frustrated—and rightly so.”

Petro said that addressing Salt Lake’s homelessness problem requires participation from all levels of government, which hasn’t been realized as of late.

“We have a state that paid more attention to pride flags and bike lanes than to the homelessness crisis,” she said.

But, Petro also emphasized the strength and resilience of her west side neighbors and gave space for their anger.

“We're the first to experience what happens when other levels of government say ‘we're no longer investing in the social safety net’,” she said. “The only thing I know more than that your anger is well-earned is that your resilience and compassion are well-documented.”

After Petro’s comment, Mendenhall explained the city’s plans for addressing the problems along the Jordan River and North Temple.

“The Public Safety Plan focuses on exactly the population that is the epidemic, epicentric focus of the problem on North temple and Jordan River Trail, which is not necessarily a homelessness issue,” she said. “What is happening right now on the trail involves people who are housed in many, many cases, who have repeat misdemeanor cases, which the jail is not holding on most of the time.”

But, she also said that this lack of accountability is only part of what’s ultimately a systemic problem.

“It is not a broken system—it was built this way,” Mendenhall said. “It was built to leave out the people who are creating the biggest impact on our communities. And it is not okay.”

All three city officials also alluded to behind-the-scenes conversations on upcoming ways the city plans to address the problem.

“We'll let you in as soon as we can, I swear to you,” Petro said.

Start by Believing Day
The Council started Tuesday’s meeting by adopting a joint ceremonial resolution that recognized April 2—along with the first Wednesday of April in future years—as Start by Believing Day.

“Sexual assault, rape, child sexual abuse and domestic violence are of epidemic proportions,” Councilmember Sarah Young read from the resolution. “One in three Utah women experience sexual assault and/or domestic violence in their lifetimes, and one in seven Utah children experience child sexual abuse.”

Start by Believing is a public awareness campaign developed by End Violence Against Women International. It’s designed to improve the responses of friends and family if a victim of sexual assault confides in them.

“Research documents that victims are far more likely to disclose their sexual assault to a friend or family member,” Young read, “and when these loved ones respond with doubt, shame or blame, victims suffer additional negative effects on their physical and psychological well-being.”

Following the resolution’s adoption, Julie Valentine, a professor at the University of Utah’s College of Nursing, accepted the resolution.

“I want to thank you for this resolution,” she said. “Start by Believing Day represents a culture shift that Utah desperately needs.”

Representatives from the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault also spoke.

“We're supporting this just because we've seen the difference it makes in survivors' lives and in victims' lives to have people respond with that belief,” Bethany Crisp, systems director at UCASA, said.

Wasatch Community Gardens’ Green Team
Several representatives of the Wasatch Community Gardens and participants in their Green Team program also spoke to the Council on Tuesday night to campaign for funds from grants awarded to the city for community needs.

These grants are allocated to community programs on an annual basis and operate similar to the city’s Capital Improvement Plan. Local organizations request funding, and then the Community Development and Capital Improvement Program Advisory Board (CDCIP) and Mayor recommend how much funding applicants should get.

Wasatch Community Gardens was not recommended for funding for their Green Team program this year, but the Council has not finalized funding allocations from the grants yet. The program was awarded $30,000 the last two years and requested $40,000 this year.

“Grocery store prices are increasing, while federal funding for local food is being canceled,” Katie Dwyer, the executive director of the gardens, said. “Without the food supply generated by WCG's Green Team, Salt Lake City will lose a critical source for healthy food.”

The Green Team is a job training program that provides farm-based employment for women facing or experiencing homelessness. Several participants of the program also spoke at the meeting.

“Being there for this job training program was not only teaching me job skills, but it really brought me kind of back to reality, and was able to start functioning in society like I was supposed to,” one program participant said.

The Council is tentatively expected to finalize funding from the grants April 15.