Vernal City provided the public with details and gathered input on the potential acquisition of the Lamplighter Inn property and block on Wednesday evening. While many questions were asked, there were no public comments made in complete opposition to the City acquiring the property. A federal grant has been secured to purchase the property and the City qualifies for additional grant funding to pay for costly environmental cleanup of soil contamination affecting the property. If the City does not acquire the property then the current or future property owner will need to address the environmental issues. If acquired, the City will take steps to improve the hotel’s safety for the current tenants, including the Hotel Haunt and 3 local businesses. The intention of the City would be to continue the leases during the planning process over at least a year until new locations for those businesses could be secured if necessary. The City also presented the idea that if acquired, that property would be turned into a public space for community events. In 2021, Vernal City adopted a Downtown Plan after an extensive community-led planning process. Several pages of that plan identifies the concept of a Town Square that could have flexible space for festivals, outdoor recreation, a stage, great lawn, and even a hotel and restaurant. Several commenters brought up concepts for the space with ideas ranging from including a cultural arts center, a splash pad, concert venue, and usable space for food trucks during activities. The Vernal City Council and administration made it clear that any planning for the space would include extensive input and heavy consideration of ongoing operation and maintenance costs. When asked if taxes would be raised to support the space into the future, Vernal City administration explained that as people come downtown it actually boosts the City’s revenue through sales taxes and the current revitalization efforts are proving that to be true so far. In fact, it was stated that the City is currently receiving the highest amount of sales taxes in its history but are in a good long term position even if that decreases. Contact Vernal City for more information or to give input on this potential project.
