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In The Middle of Everything
City Hall – 7505 South Holden Street • Midvale, UT 84047
Midvale Monthly with Mayor Gettel
CITY
Working Together to Conserve Water
Like most communities across Utah, Midvale is facing a challenging water year. A record-dry winter and below-normal snowpack have left us with signifcantly less natural water to rely on as we head into the warmer months. Because of these conditions, the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District (JVWCD) and its member agencies, including Midvale, have declared a Water Supply Availability Level 2 (Severe). This means communities across the region must work together to reduce water use by 10% to protect our shared supply and prevent reservoir levels from dropping too low.
This is not just a city issue; it’s a community efort. We’re asking residents, businesses, and government agencies alike to take part, with a particular focus on outdoor watering, which accounts for about 60% of our water use.
What This Means for You
At this time, we are not enforcing mandatory restrictions. However, we are asking everyone in Midvale to make thoughtful adjustments to how and when water is used, especially outdoors.
If needed, trees, perennials, vegetable gardens, and newly planted landscaping (less than two years old) can be watered by hand.
May 15 – September 15: Water Less
Once watering begins, we encourage you to:
• Limit watering to no more than two days per week or reduce your current watering schedule by at least one day
• Prioritize trees, plants, and gardens over lawns
These small changes, when adopted across the community, can signifcantly reduce overall water use.
What the City Is Doing
Midvale City is taking these same conservation steps in our own operations.
• The City will not begin routine watering until May 15; however, sod at the cemetery may be watered as needed.
• Some high-activity or functional turf areas, like sports felds, may receive limited watering to remain safe and usable
As part of this efort, the City has implemented a 25% drought surcharge on tiered water usage, efective May 1, 2026.
This approach is designed to encourage conservation while keeping things fair:
• Your base monthly water charge ($30) remains the same
• The surcharge applies only to water usage, not the base fee
• The more water used, the higher the impact on your bill
In simple terms, using water efciently keeps costs down, while excessive use will cost more. It’s a way to align our shared goal of conservation with everyday choices at home and in business.
Simple Changes That Make a Big Diference
We’re asking residents to start with a few straightforward steps: Now – May 15: Wait to Water
Please delay outdoor watering until May 15. In most cases, early spring watering isn’t necessary. Cooler temperatures and natural moisture are usually enough to support lawns coming out of dormancy.
We’re working to strike a balance, reducing water use while maintaining the public spaces our community relies on.
Why This Matters
Water is one of our most important shared resources. Acting now helps us:
• Stretch limited supplies through the summer
• Protect long-term water reliability
• Avoid stricter restrictions later
This isn’t about perfection, it’s about being mindful. If each of us makes a few small adjustments, the collective impact is signifcant.
Moving Forward Together
Midvale has always been a community that steps up when it matters. This is one of those times.
I’m asking you to be thoughtful in your water use, look for opportunities to conserve, and help us protect this essential resource, not just for today, but for the future.
Learn more at Midvale.Utah.gov/Drought.
In The Middle of Everything
Building a Better, More Efcient Public Works
We’re transforming the Public Works center. The reconstruction isn’t about upgrading, or even about repairs. It’s about creating a space that makes sense and has enough space for equipment and supplies now, and for the next 50 years.
“It’s about being able to perform our work,” Midvale’s Public Works Director Glen Kennedy said.
What you see when you drive by is the newest part of the building. Behind it is a jumble of an old dog pound, a 60-year-old building, a broken wash bay, a crumbling garage and temporary tents.
We may have enough foor space for our trucks, but some of them are so big, the garage doors don’t shut. Why is that a problem? When our trucks are exposed to freezing temperatures, or hot sun, they are damaged and worn down faster. New storage space will prevent damage and save the City costly repair money. And, many of our trucks need to be cleaned after each use. More space will make cleaning faster.
“The new wash bay will have a catwalk so the guys can get above it and wash out their ten-wheelers,” Kennedy said.
Rather than a temporary tent over our salt storage, we’ll have permanent storage. We will have more room for parking for public events. We will have more space
for trucks and supplies. Our city is growing and so are the residents’ needs.
Construction Begins
Making more parking for visitors is our frst task this summer. This fall, we will start work on a new feet shop.
While you might not notice a lot of change in your daily life during construction, what you will notice as we near completion is this: Your snow plows are out earlier. Your street sweepers come by sooner. Your crews respond to water leaks faster.
“They’re going to see an increase in service level and more availability,” Kennedy said. “They’ll see more efciency, because right now we spend a signifcant amount of time maintaining the site and jumping over ourselves here, which takes us away from our real duties.”
Keeping Costs Down
Public Works has been planning this redesign for the last six years, budgeting and making choices that will beneft the employees and the residents.
Part of any city’s planning includes an RFP, a request for proposals. This gives many businesses the opportunity to ofer their services. “We had 18 proposals submitted and we had a committee that reviewed all those,” Jerimie Thorne, Deputy Public Works Director said. “We chose the best one that fts our needs and is most qualifed to be our contractor.”
“While we have the design mapped out, the budget approved by the City Council, the contractor has “design assistance.” “They can help with concepts and diferent building techniques that help save us money,” Thorne said.
Some of the buildings are new and will stay where they are. The plans take the good things about what is already there, and replace what is broken.
“The new Public Works facility is ultimately about better serving the community—faster response times, more efcient operations, and a stronger ability to maintain the infrastructure people rely on every day,” Kennedy said. “By investing in modern equipment, centralized operations, and a space designed for the work we are tasked with, we’re ensuring that our team can deliver higher-quality service, improve safety, and be more responsive to residents’ needs both now and in the future.”
MAY 2026 CITY NEWSLETTER
MIDVALE. UTAH. GOV
Employee Spotlight: Steve Busch
Steve Busch, Midvale’s Engineering Project Manager, treats the city’s infrastructure like his classic cars and custom guitars: he knows where to put the pressure and which chord to strike to keep everything humming. Busch has worked for Midvale for 28 years and 5 months.
He started by digging graves in Midvale City Cemetery. “I started of digging graves,” Busch said. “My boss, the city sexton, said, ‘It’s got to be perfect or you’re digging somebody else up.’”
He then moved on to replacing broken sidewalks, caring for water pipes, cleaning and repairing stormwater drains. For the last 10 years he has managed engineering projects for the city. Even after almost three decades, he says, “I like coming to work. Every day is a new adventure.”
Midvale’s Engineering Department is where stormwater plans, development plans, and capital projects meet. Steve and his coworkers make sure the math is correct and the chemistry is stable when putting in pipes and roads. If engineering doesn’t do its job, the whole city crumbles, literally.
How do Steve and the Engineering team keep the city from crumbling?
They follow APWA (American Public Works Association) guidelines, the gold standard and ofcial rules for public works.
Water needs to fow downhill. Pipes need to be made out of durable materials. Sidewalks need to slope and curve just right for easy walking, for kids on bikes and for wheelchairs.
“Durable materials” means the pipe can handle what is inside and outside it. This also means the right connections and fttings, and from the right company. “We’re just not going to Home Depot and picking up the lowest-priced pipe to put in there,” Branden Anderson, Midvale’s City Engineer, said. “We’re getting the right boxes from certifed suppliers and the right kind of concrete that’s got the right strength that’s coming from a certifed plant.”
When Busch isn’t at work, he’s probably in his garage under the hood of his favorite cars. His collection includes a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL, 1966 Ford Mustang, 1971 Dodge Challenger, 1972 Chevrolet Nova, and 2016 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack.
Or maybe you’ll fnd him at band practice on the guitar or bass. He has recorded fve albums with his band, and has played at the Salt Palace, The Depot, The Metro, Vegas, and our very own Pearl on Main.
Music and city engineering aren’t typical skills you’d fnd in the same person, but for Busch, they are both about people and coordination.
“You just have to be able to coordinate and get along with the other guys in the band,” Busch said. “I think that helps me out in my job here because there’s a million ways to build stuf but there’s only one right way to do it, and that’s what the APWA says.“
Busch has engineered Midvale’s streets with more than dirt and piping. He has built them on a lifetime of steady work. He is a man who knows the grit and grime of the streets, speaks fondly of his muscle cars and enjoys playing heavy metal music. Yet when he talked about his early days and the city’s loyalty to him during hard times, Steve grew quiet and teared up. He didn’t hide his sincere gratitude for the coworkers who have supported him for almost three decades. He wasn’t embarrassed; he was just thankful.
“I was able to raise my kids, be this close to work,” Busch said. “I felt like I had put as much time into this job as the city gave to me. And it’s paid of.”
When he isn’t spending time with his lovely wife, six kids and 16 grandkids, you’ll fnd him plucking strings and making music, under the hood keeping his cars running smoothly, or at Midvale City coordinating projects. He still treats every task like that frst job in the cemetery: No cutting corners and getting the job done right.
“I would trust Steve with anything that I need done,” Anderson said. “If I need somebody, I just call Steve. He takes care of it.”
