Growth seemed to be a recurring theme in Heber City in 2025, whether it be in media coverage or casual conversation between citizens. From the city’s efforts to create a walkable, bustling Main Street to the construction of the valley’s second-ever high school, Heber City is bracing for an ongoing boom in population.

In November, residents chose the mayor and two city councilors they thought were best-suited to lead the city through the next four years of proposed developments, affordable housing struggles and, most pressingly, the approaching announcement of a route for the Heber Valley bypass.

Five stories highlight just how much the once-tiny pioneer town has continued to change in 2025.

5. No Kings protests

About 62% of Wasatch County residents voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, but not all are happy with the current administration. Heber City residents joined the nationwide “No Kings” protests in June and October, with more than 1,000 people attending the latter.

The protests attracted costumed unicorns and bald eagles, people holding signs reading “Make America Kind Again” and even Midway mayor Celeste Johnson wearing a homemade protest dress.

There were also some counter-protesters, such as James Ross, who wore a MAGA hat and waved an American flag at the protest in June. 

As we come up on the one year milestone of Trump’s inauguration, majority-red communities like Heber City will continue to find ways to respond to developments from the White House over the remainder of the president’s second term.

4. School nearly in session

An only child since 1908, Wasatch High School is expecting a little sibling next year in the new Deer Creek High School, which is under construction.

Some would argue that a second high school is long overdue. When former superintendent Paul Sweat was the high school’s principal in 2006, there were 1,350 students. Now, that number has doubled to nearly 2,700.

This year, Deer Creek High School made further strides toward its August 2026 opening. 

In January, the school board chose the high school name and mascot, the Riverhawks.

The district finalized school boundaries in November after an over six-month process of surveys, data collection and public feedback. The district wanted to be thorough in order to ensure transportation safety, even enrollment numbers and keeping peers together though middle and high school.

School choice has begun for those who don’t want to attend their boundary school, with the final open enrollment period beginning in late February or early March.

Now, only one thing remains to be seen: whether the Wasps’ sports teams have enough of a sting to fend off birds of prey.

3. Ranked-choice veto

Although Heber City used ranked-choice voting in its 2021 and 2023 municipal elections, the City Council voted unanimously in April to drop the practice for this year’s election. 

Detractors, like Mayor Heidi Franco, argued that confusion around how to fill out a ranked-choice voting ballot could lead to lower voter turnout. 

Meanwhile, Heber City recorder Trina Cooke said that a ranked-choice ballot provided 50% cost savings to the city and promoted “camaraderie and politeness” among candidates.

The city put out a community survey in March that found that nearly 80% of Heber City residents spoke in opposition to ranked choice voting. This led even councilors favorable to the system, like Scott Phillips and Aaron Cheatwood, to vote against continuing the controversial voting practice.

2. Bypass becomes even more polarizing

Longtime Heber City residents will say the legend of the Heber Valley bypass goes back decades, but only as a fleeting concept. That concept became real — and all the more controversial — in 2019 when UDOT conducted a study to determine the best ways to divert traffic from Highway 40 off of Heber City’s bustling Main Street. 

A whopping 23 concepts were whittled down to five in 2022, then two in March. Alternative A keeps traffic on Highway 40 between Potters Lane and 900 North, while Alternative B cuts through the North Fields.

Proponents of Alternative B have argued for its lower cost and fewer required property acquisitions. Meanwhile, Alternative A’s supporters have decried its impacts to wetlands and open space. 

With only two options remaining, discussion around the bypass has never been so polarized. During the 2025 municipal election, which route each candidate supported was a key point of debate, despite the fact that Heber City officials will have no say in the decision.

With UDOT set to announce its preferred route on Jan. 7, there’s no doubt the bypass will remain the talk of the town in 2026, with many residents set to be disappointed either way.

1. Mayor re-elected

This year’s mayoral election proved anything but mundane. Three candidates — incumbent Heidi Franco, City Councilor Scott Phillips and health insurance salesman Mike Hewlett — declared candidacy in June. 

Franco had served 12 years in public office, eight as city councilor and four as mayor. She ran on a platform of protecting open space while tackling downtown revitalization and traffic issues. 

Phillips, who had served on the city council for the past four years, ran due to dissatisfaction with Franco’s leadership. He ran on a platform of downtown revitalization and infrastructure improvements, as well collaboration and communication, whether that be with city staff, UDOT or developers. 

Hewlett aimed to put checks on growth and give the mayor more executive power. He ran while in the midst of legal trouble, as did his wife, Jami, who ran an unsuccessful bid for the City Council. In June, Jami was charged with misdemeanor child abuse, and Mike was charged with alleged retaliation against a witness of said abuse. 

Hewlett was eliminated from the race after he received about 7% of votes in the early primary election. Phillips received about 43%, and Franco received almost 50%.

Tensions grew between Phillips and Franco in debates and city council meetings. After Franco was re-elected with 53% of the vote, Phillips introduced the drafting of a city communications policy as an agenda item for the City Council, which led to conflict through Phillips’ final meeting.

Election turnout was high this year at 48%, as opposed to the typical 30%. City public information officer Ryan Bunnell attributed the turnout to increased spending by candidates and “incendiary” campaigning variables in the mayoral race.

The post Top 5 Heber City headlines in 2025 appeared first on Park Record.

Park City will alter the mechanics of the City Hall election in November, opting to use ranked-choice voting rather than the traditional method that has been in place for generations.

The Park City Council recently endorsed the alteration for the 2025 election, months after leaders began considering whether to implement the change as part of a pilot program in the state.

Ranked-choice voting has voters rank the candidates in the order of their preference. If a candidate receives greater than 50% of the first-place votes, they win the seat. Should none of the candidates receive greater than 50%, the person who finished last in first-place votes is dropped and the second-place votes on that candidate’s ballots are redistributed to the remaining contenders, effectively as first-place votes. The process continues until a candidate tops 50%. Another round is conducted to determine a second-place winner in an election with more than one seat on the ballot. Ranked-choice voting eliminates the need for a primary election.

The City Council made the decision in the months before a municipal election starts. The mayor’s office and two seats on the City Council — those currently held by Tana Toly and Jeremy Rubell — are on the ballot in November.

The elected officials covered a range of issues prior to opting for ranked-choice voting this year, including the impact on the campaign calendar with the removal of a primary election. A primary would have been held to reduce the field under the traditional system had there been more than two candidates for mayor or more than four candidates for the City Council.

Toly said the lack of a primary election will reduce the barriers for candidates considering a campaign and will reduce costs.

“It doesn’t turn every single project and every single initiative that this council has into an election issue, into a campaign issue,” she said.

Rubell agreed.

“I do like the pro that for a small city we don’t have a yearlong election and can, to Tana’s point, probably get more done during these years,” he said.

City Councilor Ryan Dickey indicated a study has shown voters understand the method and costs of elections will be reduced over time.

The mayor and City Council received split input prior to the decision.

Katie Wright, a Park City resident, encouraged the City Council to institute ranked-choice voting, predicting it will be “really popular with voters” and saying the system “gives people an ability to more fully express themselves.”

“It’s been used successfully. It’s obviously had some very partisan headwinds. But I think these changes to our fundamental structures to ensure that we truly do have good representation, and the people who lead us aren’t out of step with the populace are really important. And ranked-choice voting is a tool in that direction,” Wright said.

Hillary Jessup, who provided a ZIP code covering the Snyderville Basin, though, argued against ranked-choice voting. She said the system is expensive at first and “very confusing for people.”

“I have done ranked-choice voting a couple of times. And you drop someone off … It doesn’t even seem like it’s, that there’s transparency in it,” she said.

Jessup questioned the workings of the system as she talked about voters.

“They hear about one person and they hear about another, so they might put those one and two. And then those people drop off. Then they won’t have any of the people that they were wanting,” she said.

The elected officials on Thursday are scheduled to consider a resolution requesting Park City be included in the pilot.

The post Park City alters mechanics of municipal election with ranked-choice voting appeared first on Park Record.