August Mayor's Message
8/12/2026
Mayor’s Message
While the dog days of summer are winding down, it’s hard to believe that Christmas—and hopefully plenty of snow and a beautiful ice rink—are only about 140 days away.
Our wonderful Independence Day celebration is now in the rearview mirror, and I would like to thank everyone who worked so hard to make it such a special day. From the volunteers and town staff to those who participated and attended, your efforts helped make it another memorable Fourth of July in Huntsville.
Water Updates
Good news on our water line upgrades.
As many of you will recall, the town received favorable funding to replace a section of water line near the Monastery that has experienced repeated leaks over the years. We recently put the project out to bid and are happy to report that a contractor has been selected. Construction should begin within the next few weeks.
Even better, the bids came in substantially lower than anticipated. We are now working with our engineers and state funding agencies to determine whether we can use some of the remaining funds to replace another section of aging pipeline that has also experienced problems. If approved, that second phase would likely take place next spring.
We are hopeful these improvements will significantly increase the reliability of our water system. When we turn on the faucet or step into the shower, we all expect clean, reliable water and rarely think about everything that happens behind the scenes to make that possible.
We are fortunate to have an outstanding water team, led by our own resident, Ron Gault, whose experience and dedication have helped us navigate several challenging water issues over the past few years.
Cemetery Point Traffic
This summer has been particularly challenging for many of our residents. With Port Ramp closed all season, Cemetery Point became the primary boat launch on the west end of Pineview Reservoir, resulting in significantly more traffic through town.
To help address these issues, the town formed a First Street Focus Group made up of residents and neighbors who live along the heavily traveled corridor. Together, we have been discussing both short-term and long-term solutions.
One of our first efforts was to station a town employee at the intersection of 6800 East and First Street on a busy Saturday to direct traffic away from Cemetery Point once the parking areas were full. While we learned some valuable lessons, it became clear that approach wasn’t the best long-term solution.
Since then, we have rented an electronic message board on Highway 39 south of the roundabout to warn visitors of lengthy delays. We also had “Boat Parking Full” and “Beach Parking Full” signs made. With the help of Focus Group members, those signs have been deployed on weekends whenever the parking areas reach capacity.
We continue to explore additional ideas and hope to collaborate with the U.S. Forest Service, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office, and the Weber Fire District to improve safety while reducing congestion.
The good news is that, with Pineview Reservoir continuing to drop, boat launching at Cemetery Point will likely no longer be possible by mid-August. Looking ahead to next summer, we are optimistic that the improvements at Port Ramp will help return traffic patterns to something much closer to normal.
We recognize the growing impact this has had on our residents. Since Pineview Dam was raised in the early 1960s, the west end of town has become an increasingly popular recreation destination. While living in such a beautiful place comes with challenges, please know we are committed to doing everything we reasonably can to lessen the impact on our community.
Stay Connected
Be sure you’re signed up to receive town email and text notifications so you can stay informed about important announcements, road closures, water updates, and community events.
Visit huntsvilleutah.gov/subscribe to sign up.
That’s all for now. Thank you for being such great neighbors and for helping make Huntsville a wonderful place to live.
Richard Sorensen Mayor