City Newsletter: May 2026

Dates and deadlines

• May 1: Registration opens for flag football, fall soccer, fall street hockey, Junior Pickleball, Junior Tennis, S.T.E.M. Camp, and Jump Rope Camp. Register
• May 7: Syracuse Farmers Market opens, Thursdays 5 to 9 PM at the Syracuse Regional Museum through October 1.
• May 8: Paint Night: Summer Gnome, 5:30 PM at the Community Center, $30, ages 14 and up. Sign up
• May 8: Secondary water season begins and runs through September 18.
• May 9: America250 Concert, presented by the Syracuse Arts Council.
• May 12 and May 26: City Council meetings, 6 PM at City Hall. Attend in person, by Zoom, or on YouTube.
• May 12: Quilt Guild, 1 PM (senior activity).
• May 15: Baseball Clinic at Founders Park, $15 for ages 8 to 13.
• May 15 and 16: Great Salt Lake Bird Festival, free events in Davis County.
• May 19: Book Club, 2 PM (senior activity).
• May 24: S.T.E.M. Camp Session 1 registration closes.
• May 25: Memorial Day. City Hall and the Community Center are closed and waste pickup is delayed one day.
• May 27: All-Star Team tryout registration closes. Senior Lunch and Bingo at 12 PM.
• May 30: All-Star Team Tryouts at Founders Park, by grade from 9:30 AM.
• May 31: Camp Syracuse, Junior Pickleball, and Junior Tennis registration closes, or sooner if full.
• June 1: Cemetery Clean Up Day at Syracuse City Memorial Park. Remove all items by 7 AM or they will be discarded.
• June 12: Last day to register for the America250 Youth Brigade, the Freedom Run Relay, and the Pitch, Hit, and Run and Jr. Home Run Derby.
• June 13 to 20: Heritage Days. Full schedule
• June 19: Deadline to finish the Syracuse Regional Museum Scavenger Hunt and the 1776 Challenge.
• June 28: Flag football, fall soccer, and fall street hockey registration closes.
• Through August: 2026 Beautiful Yard Award nominations are open. Nomination form
• October 1: Deadline to go paperless and avoid the $2.00 monthly paper statement fee.

Everything else

Utility billing

• Customers who receive a mailed paper bill will be charged $2.00 a month starting with the November 2026 statement to cover processing, printing, and mailing. Customers on paperless billing are not charged. Go paperless through XPress Bill Pay
• The newsletter gives step-by-step instructions for both existing Xpress Bill Pay accounts (log in, open View Bill, toggle Paperless on) and new accounts (sign up, verify your email, select Syracuse City, then enter your account number and last name and opt in).

Water and drought

• Secondary water runs May 8 to September 18. The city reports reduced supply from drought and says enforcement will be active this summer.
• Watering schedule: pick two of the five available days from May 8 to 24, three of five from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and two of five from September 8 to 18.
• Restrictions: no watering between 10 AM and 6 PM, no watering on Sunday, limited run times, repair known leaks within 15 days of notice, and no excess water pooling onto neighboring property, streets, or storm drains.
• Each quadrant, divided by Antelope Drive and 2000 West, has a second no-watering day: northwest Tuesday, northeast Wednesday, southwest Thursday, southeast Friday.
• Utah’s snowpack is the lowest on record and peaked three weeks early, at 8.4 inches on March 9, about half the normal amount by early April. About 98% of the state is in some form of drought, and roughly 95% of Utah’s water supply comes from snowpack.
• The city points to Tahoma 31 bermudagrass as a drought-tolerant sod option that uses 50 to 70% less water than bluegrass, and suggests checking Weber Basin for incentives before starting a lawn replacement. Free Weber Basin classes and state DIY landscape webinars are listed.
• Keep grass clippings and granular fertilizer out of the street, gutter, and sidewalk. Both are water pollutants, and leaving them there violates city ordinance 4.05.160(B) and could bring a fine.

Roads and construction

• 2000 W six-way roundabout: the Bluff Road canal pipe upgrade is in its final phases, with a deep trench excavation on the southeast side. Crews fill the hole and replace curbing until May 6, the east and southeast legs then close until mid-month, and the full roundabout closes until the end of May for paving. Large vehicles should avoid that section of Bluff Drive.
• 3000 W roundabout near Fire Station 31 and Costco is open southbound only; northbound stays closed until mid-summer. Work includes a multi-use trail, traffic control lights, and natural gas line updates down to 2700 S. Detours use 2700 S and Doral Drive. Project page
• Bluff Drive near Jensen Nature Park has pipe upgrades continuing through the summer.
• 500 W from 2010 S to 2800 S is being widened and should be finished this summer. Drive slowly through the lane shifts.
• Subscribe to the Public Works Notify Me list or view projects in Google Earth for updates.
• Report broken sidewalks, street lamps, and storm drains through the See-Click-Fix form.

Recreation and camps

• Community Center summer hours, May through September: Monday to Friday 6 AM to 8 PM, Saturday 8 AM to 12 PM.
• Fall leagues open for registration May 1 to June 28: flag football (co-ed, 1st/2nd through 10th-12th grade, bring your own team at the high school level), fall soccer (Little Kicks through 7th-9th grade), and fall street hockey (3rd-4th through 7th-9th grade), all by 2026-2027 school year grades.
• Camp Syracuse: $65 residents, $80 non-residents, 1st to 5th grade, Monday to Thursday at the Community Center. Four sessions run June 22 to July 2 and July 6 to 16, mornings 9:30 AM to 12 PM or afternoons 12:30 PM to 3 PM.
• Junior Pickleball Camp: $45 residents, $60 non-residents, ages 8 to 14, at the Founders Park pickleball courts. Sessions start June 8 and July 7, Mondays and Wednesdays, staggered by age from 8:30 AM.
• Junior Tennis Camp: $45 residents, $60 non-residents, ages 5 to 14, at Stoker Park (1150 S 1575 S), starting June 29 on Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday.
• S.T.E.M. Camp: $45, 1st to 6th grade, at the Community Center Monday to Wednesday. Session 1 June 1 to 10, Session 2 July 20 to 29. Grades 1 to 3 meet 11 AM to 12:30 PM, grades 4 to 6 meet 1 to 3 PM.
• Fitness classes at the Community Center continue: Step It Up at 9 AM Mondays and Fridays, Pump It Up at 9 AM Tuesdays. Class details

America250

• The mayor writes that the America250 committee chose a Veterans Memorial in a city park as the city’s lasting contribution, pointing to Syracuse’s large veteran population and the county’s military facility. Read the full message
• Youth Brigade: youth ages 12 to 18 are invited to lead the June 20 Heritage Days Parade, with a goal of 250 participants. Register by June 12.
• Freedom Run Relay: five-person teams for a team relay race at Family Night on June 19. Register by June 12.
• Syracuse Regional Museum Scavenger Hunt: find 13 items tied to American and local history, all ages, museum admission is free, confirm completion with a docent by June 19.
• The 1776 Challenge: memorize part of the Declaration of Independence and recite it to a museum docent by June 19, all ages. America250 page
• Completing these activities earns a commemorative token.

Public safety

• The Syracuse Fire Department earned a Class 2 Public Protection Classification from the Insurance Services Office, a rating about 7% of departments reach or beat. Insurers may use the rating when setting property premiums.
• The Fire Department tests roughly 400 hydrants each year, starting in May and continuing through the warmer months. Flushing can lower water pressure and turn water brown briefly; running the tap for a few minutes clears it. Questions go to the Fire Department.
• Residents are asked to fill out the city’s Home Safety Survey.
• Water safety checklist for summer: hold a safety talk before swimming, teach children how water depth relates to their height, use life jackets, put a barrier around pools, and wear bright swimsuits that are visible underwater.
• The Disaster Preparedness Committee reports on the city emergency drill held April 18, 2026, and on RDAP, the Rapid Disaster Assessment Program used to evaluate community needs after an emergency. Read the article

City government

• The April 14, 2026 business meeting actions are summarized in the City Council update. Agendas and the Council Notify Me list are online.
• This month’s government term is Boards, Committees, and Commissions: groups appointed by the City Council and Mayor that study specific topics in depth and make recommendations to the Council for final decisions. Members include residents and subject-matter experts. The city thanks the Architectural Review Committee, Disaster Preparedness Committee, Planning Commission, Syracuse Arts Council, and Youth Court.
• Syracuse City is hiring; openings are posted on the city job site.
• Employee spotlight: Sarah Prusse, a Building Inspector since August 2023, reviews building plans and inspects residential and commercial projects, and holds a Combination Inspector’s License.
• In memory: former City Administrator J. Michael “Mike” Moyes died April 1, 2026. He was a reserve police officer from 1980 to 1986 and City Administrator from 1985 to 2006, a role that also covered City Manager, City Recorder, Finance Director, and emergency preparedness. The Utah League of Cities and Towns named him Outstanding Appointed City Official in 1988 and 1993. Work during his tenure included the secondary water system, culinary water upgrades, the city office complex and Community Center, the trail system, and Jensen Nature Park. Mike Moyes Trailside Park is named for him.

Seniors and arts

• Senior activities this month: Quilt Guild May 12 at 1 PM, Book Club May 19 at 2 PM, Lunch and Bingo May 27 and June 17 at 12 PM, plus Think Tuesday Games, pickleball, and yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Details from the Community Center at 801-614-9660 or the seniors page.
• Broadway Bootcamp: Stars, Stripes, and Showtunes runs June 9 to 12 and June 16 to 19 for ages 6 to 14. Sign-ups are open through the Arts Council.

County services

• Davis County requires a license for every cat over four months old, along with a current rabies vaccination. License at the shelter, by mail, or online through Animal Care of Davis County, 801-444-2200.
• Davis Links is a county directory of programs and services, many free or low cost.

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