The Sandy City Council withdrew its membership fee from the Central Wasatch Commission on June 16, citing the committee’s failed lobbying efforts to designate areas of the Wasatch Mountains as federally protected land.

Councilmembers Brooke Christensen and Kris Nicholl submitted a budget amendment stripping the $95,000 set aside for the commission in early June. Most of the funds will be transferred toward water mainline replacements.

“For me, this isn't a decision about $95,000; this is a decision about $750,000,” Council chair Cyndi Sharkey said at a June council meeting. “That's how much we've paid in over the years … We haven't achieved the goals. We haven't gotten there.”

The commission — now made up of Summit County and six cities and towns along the Wasatch Front — was established in 2017 to carry out the aims of the Mountain Accord charter. The charter drafted federal legislation turning large swaths of the Wasatch canyons into protected land, but the bill has stalled in Congress.

Sandy lawmakers cited the failure of getting the Central Wasatch National Conservation and Recreation Area Act passed as one of the reasons they pulled out of the CWC.

Lindsay Nielsen, director of the Central Wasatch Committee, told the council that passing the CWNCRA remains one of the commission’s top priorities.

“Legislation like this requires windows of opportunity to be open,” Nielsen said. “It is true that in 2021 that window closed, but it's reopening right now. Stakeholders are back at the negotiation table, and I am imploring you to just stick with us for two more years.”

Councilmember Marci Houseman said she would have supported the city remaining in the commission if funds were released based on outcome benchmarks. But that proposal is a non-starter.

“I really appreciate Lindsay Nielsen. She and I had a very lengthy conversation … [but] she didn't feel like the body could get behind an outcomes-based contract,” said Houseman, who is a former CWC board member.

In addition to lobbying the US Congress, the commission funds environmentally friendly projects that improve transportation networks in Cottonwood canyons, including the ski bus bypass program.

But the initiative’s future is now uncertain after Sandy’s withdrawal from the CWC. Still, council chair Sharkey said it’s still possible for Sandy’s police department to escort buses through the canyon.

“That would be up to the mayor and up to the police department,” Sharkey said. “ I don't know why we still couldn't do that. Now, if you're saying to me, we'll only pay you if you pay us, well, that doesn't sound right to me … but I don't know why we couldn't still do that. So I would suggest that is still, at least for me, on the table.”

The budget measure removing CWC funds passed by a 5-2 vote. Councilmember at-large Aaron Dekeyzer pleaded with his colleagues to reconsider leaving the commission moments before the vote.

“Sandy City wasn't just a founding member of the CWC; it was … right here at Sandy City Hall that we hosted the first meeting,” Dekeyzer said. “… we helped create that organization because the leadership then understood very clearly that the future of those mountains is directly tied to the city of Sandy and that our residents value it big time.“

Residents also spoke in favor of remaining with the CWC.

“I think it's very important to not treat our CWC membership like a basic cash back grant program because that misinterprets what a political shield the CWC is for all of the municipalities who rely on the canyons, not just for our drinking water, but also for myriad ecological services,” Sandy resident Janet Kinneberg said during public comment.