Lehi City News
Lehi City Council decides PARC tax allocations
Nichole Coombs | Lehi Free Press
In a move that will keep funding consistent for some of Lehi’s oldest nonprofits, the Lehi City Council made the decision to spend a portion of the PARC tax reserve funds. During the work session on April 13, 2026, the council voted to spend $861,997. The PARC tax collects around $600,000 per year. However, there is an existing surplus of $570,000 that can be used to bridge the shortfall.
“Last year I was looking at the budget, and $493,000 was going out of the [general] budget towards nonprofits after we’d just allocated $600,000 from the PARC tax,” said council member Heather Newall. “We were basically double-funding some things.”
Previously, at the June 10, 2025, council meeting, members proposed removing nonprofit funding from the general budget and redirecting those funds to city needs. Newall explained that funding nonprofits through the general fund is unusual, especially given the intent of the PARC tax.
In the past, the Hutchings Museum, Lehi Area Music Association, Lehi Historical Society and Archives, and the Thanksgiving Point Institute have collectively received about $490,000 from the general fund. This year, those organizations were asked to apply for those funds through the PARC tax application process. Several also applied for a portion of the PARC tax to fund specific projects.
In the past, the general fund has budgeted approximately $260,000 to support the Hutchings Museum’s operating costs. This year, the museum also requested $4,500 in PARC tax to help cover storage costs for artifacts. The Lehi Area Arts Council has received about $50,000 in general budget funding and requested $4,998 from the PARC tax to buy a new upright piano.
“We want to make sure everybody is funded,” said Newall. “But we need to get to the point where we’re using PARC tax, not general fund money.”
Lindsay Gehman, the chair of the volunteer PARC Tax arts and culture grant review committee, told the city council in March that the committee had received more applications this year than in previous years.
“We recommend funding $541,000,” said Gehman. “Leaving about $59,000 in an allocated fund.”
The council disagreed with the committee’s initial recommendation, preferring to use reserve funds to meet general fund-supported requests. If the committee had prioritized these requests, only $120,000 would be available for other nonprofits.
“It would have wiped us out,” said Gehman. “Ultimately, we make recommendations to the council; that’s it.”
During the work session, the council reviewed the committee’s recommendations and agreed to fund all but two of the applications, with varying amounts. The Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company’s request for $12,000 was denied, as was a $87,000 request from Wrap the World with Quilts, Inc.
“My position is, let’s stick to the language in Utah law,” said council member Michell Stallings. “Let’s look at organizations whose primary purpose meets the definition of a cultural organization. Wrapping the World in Quilts ask is a humanitarian effort, which is wonderful. But this PARC grant wasn’t intended for those kinds of purposes.”
Utah state code (59-12-702, 6a) lists a cultural organization as “a private nonprofit organization…whose primary purpose is the advancement and preservation of: natural history, art, music, theater, dance or cultural arts including literature, a motion picture or storytelling.”
Stallings pointed out that some of the nonprofits that have received money in the past don’t fit the definition in state code, while others do.
“My issue is what’s a qualifying organization?” said Stallings. “Is it the intent of the other members of the council to fund just various organizations, even if they are questionable as to whether or not they meet the state definition?”
The council agreed that clarity is needed on which organizations qualify for the grants moving forward, but tabled that discussion until later in the year.
This year, the council decided to fund several of the newer cultural events, including Chabad of Utah County. The Lehi Chanukah Festival was awarded $10,000 to host a large festival where residents experience the Jewish culture primarily through food and music.
“We are so excited to bring Chanukah back to Lehi for another year,” said Lehi resident Rabbi Chian Zipple. “It really gives people of all walks of life an opportunity to celebrate and learn about Hanukkah.”
Rabbi Zipple said last year’s celebration was the largest Hanukkah festival Lehi has ever held.
“We host a celebration in Provo every year, but the one we held in Lehi last year was double the size,” said Zipple. “Hanukkah is the main time each year that we focus on culture. Last year, we brought in kosher donuts and other foods. We bought a Jewish singer-songwriter from New Jersey. We make it all about the culture.”
The Harrington Center for the Arts received funding for its Chalk it Up event held at the Adobe Lehi Campus in conjunction with the Lehi Round Up Rodeo. The organization requested $36,000 for the festival, the PARC tax committee agreed, but the council trimmed that request to $20,000.
“It’s a free event for the public, and it’s a great way for people of all ages and different appreciations of the visual arts to come together,” said Spencer Stevens, vice president of the Harrington Center for the Arts. “Last year, somewhere around 12,000 people came to see the art. We expect even higher numbers this year.”
Additional funding went to the Grassroots Shakespeare festival, Just for Kids Utah Co, Lehi Area Music Association, Lehi Arts Council, Lehi Historical Society and Archives, and a new musical event called Nashville in the Rockies. A complete list can be found on the city’s website under the April 13 work session notes.
“This year is unusual,” said council member James Harrison. “We have the benefit of a reserve fund. We are dipping into that pretty significantly this year. There may be one more year where we can do that, then we’re back to $600,000. It’s my personal goal to make sure that each organization has a fair shot.”
The council agreed that this was a unique year and that effort will be needed to help many of these nonprofits find additional revenue streams.
“The intent is to have the general fund be for the purpose of the general fund and the PARC tax to be for its purposes,” said council member Newall. “It’s going to be a little bit tough to make those changes right away, so we are lucky we have those reserves as we continue to help those nonprofits find alternatives.”
The council will officially vote on the grant allocations at its next city council meeting.
