Salt Lake City Council recognizes Italian-American and Hispanic heritage months. 

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The Salt Lake City Council recognized two heritage months during their meeting on Tuesday. They also held a public hearing on a property tax increase for the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District and on a grant application for eviction assistance. They also adjusted the boundary area for the North Temple Renewal Project.

Heritage Months
The Council passed two ceremonial resolutions with Mayor Erin Mendenhall on Tuesday. The first recognized October as Italian-American Heritage Month, and the second recognized the period between September 15 and October 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month.

“Italian-Americans have made notable contributions to various fields, including business, music, education, government, cuisine, arts and sports,” Council chairperson Victoria Petro read from the first resolution, “enriching the cultural tapestry of our city through their traditions and values and leaving a lasting impact for future generations.”

Following the resolution’s adoption, Nick Fouco, treasurer for the Italian American Civic League, spoke to the Council.

“Today, we stand before you with immense gratitude as we celebrate a significant milestone in our community: the recognition of Italian Heritage Month in Salt Lake City,” Fouco said. “On behalf of the Italian-American community and to all those who cherish the rich tapestry of our shared culture, thank you for this thoughtful vote in support of this initiative.”

After Fouco spoke, Petro also took a minute to discuss her Italian heritage and the history of Italian Americans in Salt Lake.

“Going forward, I'm hoping that as this growth trajectory continues, it can be leveraged into telling complete stories,” Petro said. “Italians did not just stop at Chicago and New York City, they came all the way here.”

Later, Councilmember Alejandro Puy read the second resolution recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month.

“Salt Lake City celebrates the strength and resilience of the Hispanic community, recognizing its significant role in shaping our city’s present and future through leadership, entrepreneurship, civic engagement and public service,” Puy read.

After the resolution’s adoption, Puy also took a moment to speak.

“I wanted to recognize that we live in a moment right now where, in politics, it's easy to single out people of color—many of them immigrants, many of them escaping places of war or other challenges,” Puy said. “I would like all of us to remember that we are here together, fighting for a common goal, which is living together in peace and harmony and striving for our own families’ well-being.”

Petro commented on her Hispanic heritage and also echoed Puy’s sentiments.

“We cannot let the place where someone is born, or the language that they pray to their god in, determine what they can do in this country,” she said. “Every time we have opened our doors as a country, every time we have had a reasonable immigration policy that results in people coming here to pursue their American dream, we have been made better.”

Angela Puertas, director of development for Latinos in Action, spoke after the resolution’s adoption. She discussed Latinos in Action’s work to help Latino students become future leaders and realize “that they can do anything that they put their minds to.”

Councilmember Eva Lopez Chavez also spoke and thanked both Puy and Petro for their service on the Council.

Mosquito Abatement Tax
A public hearing on a proposed property tax increase for the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District (SLCMAD) was also held on Tuesday. SLCMAD specializes in the surveillance and control of mosquitoes in the Salt Lake City Area.

The increase would cost taxpayers an estimated $9.95 annually and is expected to generate over $1.3 million in additional revenue for the district.

However, the Council does not have the power to officially approve or deny the property tax increase. Information is shared with the Council because they are elected officials. The Council is responsible for appointing people to the SLCMAD Board, but they do not have any voting power over the operations or proposals of the board itself.

As part of their work, SLCMAD occasionally uses aircraft, like airplanes and helicopters, to treat large areas for mosquitoes. These aircraft spray low-volume insecticide over an area of about 5,000 acres and are most often used over wetlands. The aerosolized spray contains about 0.75 ounces of insecticide per acre they spray.

The only commenter on this item, Matt Larson, expressed how he’d only recently learned of SLCMAD’s use of aircraft for mosquito control. He described seeing a plethora of concerns about this technique from other Salt Lake residents, as well, on the NextDoor app.

“There seems to be a lot of concerns about the safety of the insecticides, and people asking, are there notifications of when the spraying is happening?” Larson said.

SLCMAD typically sprays areas after sunset to reduce exposure of pesticides to pollinators like bees. According to SLCMAD, this technique does not pose health concerns for humans.

“We do integrated pest management and try to provide the services that all of our citizens need, it's basically a public health issue,” Dr. Shireen Mooers, SLCMAD Board chair, said at a Council work session earlier in the day. “We've also had much lower cases of West Nile virus in Utah than in surrounding states, and we're proud of that.”

The revenue generated by this tax increase will be used to offset higher operational costs caused by inflation and will be used to enhance SLCMAD’s facilities. SLCMAD will hold a second public hearing on the increase on Dec. 19 at 6:00 p.m. at their facilities on 2215 N. 2200 West. More information on SLCMAD can be found at SLCMAD.org.

Other Items
The Council also held a public hearing on a grant application for eviction protection. If this grant is approved, it would “provide landlord-tenant mediation and expansion of post-eviction services for low-income residential tenants at risk of eviction,” Sylvia Richards, Council policy analyst, explained before the hearing.

The grant requested $1.14 million and would be projected to help 5,665 households.

No one spoke at this public hearing, and the Council voted to move the item to a future meeting.

The Council also adopted an area boundary amendment for the North Temple Urban Renewal Project. This amendment was required by the state because part of the project’s boundary area overlaps with the recently-created Utah Fairpark Area Investment and Restoration District, which includes redevelopment of the Rocky Mountain Power campus.

The state required the Council to remove the overlapping properties, resulting in the total North Temple Renewal Project area being cut by about half. Most of the property removed by the amendment is located to the west of 1000 West. This project aims to transform the area into a walkable and transit-oriented corridor.