City Newsletter: January 2026

Dates and deadlines

• January 7: Last day to register for the free CERT Academy. Call 801-614-9614.
• January 12, 1 PM: Quilt Guild, senior activities at the Community Center.
• January 13, 6 PM: City Council meeting at City Hall, in person, by Zoom, or on YouTube.
• January 14, 6 PM: CERT Academy orientation.
• January 19: City offices closed for Martin Luther King Day.
• January 20, 2 PM: Book Club, senior activities at the Community Center.
• January 20, 6 PM: Circle of Security Parenting class begins, free weekly class for parents of children four months to six years old, through March 10. Register.
• January 22, 6 PM: Strengthening Families class begins, free Thursday night class for parents of youth ages 10 to 14, through March 5. Register.
• January 27, 6 PM: City Council meeting at City Hall.
• January 28, 12 PM: Lunch and Bingo, senior activities at the Community Center.
• January 31: Adult pickleball league registration closes, or sooner if it fills. Skill level 3.0 to 3.5.
• February 11, 6 PM: CERT Academy hands-on learning.
• February 16: Spring soccer registration closes.
• February 21, 8 AM: CERT Academy practical disaster drill.
• March 29: Baseball and softball registration closes.

Everything else

Mayor’s message

• The mayor writes that 2025 changed the city’s landscape: an LDS temple hosted the public in June and is now a permanent part of the city, the second fire station opened, and the Happy Tails Dog Park opened east of Fremont Park. Read the full message.
• Per the mayor’s message, Fire Station 32 sits off Bluff Drive near Jensen Nature Park east of the freeway, and city first responders passed 2,300 calls in 2025.

City Council

• Mayor Dave Maughan was sworn in for another term, and Andrea Brown and Abraham Pollard were sworn in for their first terms on the City Council.
• The city posted a summary of actions taken at the December 9, 2025 business meeting. Read the council update.
• You can subscribe to the council’s Notify Me list for meeting notices and agendas.

Parks and recreation

• Spring soccer registration runs January 1 to February 16, with leagues from Little Kicks and Pre-K through 7th to 9th grade co-ed. Register.
• Baseball and softball registration runs January 1 to March 29, from T-Ball through Jr. High baseball and softball.
• Fitness classes at the Community Center: Step It Up! at 9 AM Mondays and Fridays, and Pump it Up! at 9 AM Tuesdays. Both are $3 drop-in or $20 for a 10-time punch pass. Bring your own mat for Pump it Up!. Class details.
• Founders Park is being upgraded by April 2026, weather permitting: the northeast field becomes a softball and baseball combination field, the southeast field gets retrofitted lighting, and new lighting goes in on the northeast and south multipurpose fields. Backstops, dugouts, sidewalks, and the four-plex tower are also being updated. Total estimated cost is $1,805,500, paid from the Parks Maintenance Fee, the General/Capital Fund, RAP Tax project funds, and the Park Impact Fund. Residents are asked to stay out of construction areas.

Seniors

• Dated January activities are the Quilt Guild, Book Club, and Lunch and Bingo. Think Tuesday Games, pickleball, and yoga continue on their usual days. Senior activities, or call the Community Center at 801-614-9660.

Public Works

• The Public Works director’s year-end message reports upgraded pipes and roads in the 1970s-era Krystalyn Gardens neighborhood, sidewalk ramps brought up to standard, safety and reliability work on water tanks, reservoirs, and pump stations, secondary water meter installation at 67 percent complete, and some road widenings. Crews also responded to snowstorms and record rainfall on October 4. Read the full message.
• Sidewalks and ramps around your property must be cleared within 24 hours after each snowstorm or you risk a fine.
• Pile shoveled snow on your own property, not in the road. City Code 4-05-160C prohibits casting any substance, including snow, into city streets. See the municipal code.
• Clear snow within three feet of fire hydrants and make a path to the street so firefighters are not delayed.

Safety and preparedness

• The CERT Academy is a free course on responding to disasters and helping neighbors, with three sessions in January and February. Program page.
• The city is collecting responses to a short Home Safety Survey. Take the survey.
• A Disaster Preparedness Committee article revisits the “Preparedness Starts at Home” theme with basic household preparedness tips. Read the article.
• Residents can sign up for Davis County Everbridge emergency alerts and Syracuse City Notify Me lists for events, the newsletter, and road construction notices.

City Hall

• The employee spotlight is Finance Manager Brooke Gerfen, with the city since October 2018 and 12 years of local government experience. She handles financial reporting, budgeting, reconciliations, accounts payable, and asset management.
• The city is hiring. See job postings.
• This month’s city government term is “municipal code,” the city’s full set of adopted laws and regulations covering zoning, building standards, public safety, licensing, and use of public spaces.

Around town

• The city thanked donors to the City Hall Toy Drive and the Fire Department Giving Tree, which provided Christmas gifts to children in Syracuse elementary schools and the community.
• Two Cook Elementary students were named Students of the Month for character, citizenship, and accomplishments in and out of the classroom.
• Animal Care of Davis County is featuring an adoptable corgi mix. Contact Animal Care of Davis County at 801-444-2200 for services.

Unofficial digest of a city newsletter. The official version is linked below.