Victor Approves $2M Evans Land Purchase for Wastewater

The Victor City Council voted 3-1 Tuesday night to approve a $2 million Evans land purchase for the city's planned wastewater treatment facility and, in a separate vote, ratified the city's pending lawsuit against the City of Driggs on the same margin.

The land vote followed a public hearing on Budget Amendment O651, which increases FY2026 appropriations by $2,625,366 across four funds. Council then authorized City Treasurer Jasmine Griffin to disburse $1,984,035.25 to Flying S Title and Escrow to close on the 40-acre Evans parcel at Highway 33 and 7000 South. Settlement is scheduled for April 24. The city's purchase contract required closing by April 30.

Councilwoman Amy Ross was the sole no vote on both actions.

How the city is paying

The Evans land purchase is funded 50% from Local Option Tax revenue and 50% from General Fund reserves, according to the April 14 staff report. The funding split is a departure from the earlier framing, which had the city drawing on sewer fund reserves. The $400,000 Utility Fund increase in O651 is a separate appropriation unrelated to the land purchase.

The broader budget amendment also adds $802,931 to Impact Fees, including $320,150 for the Victor skatepark, $300,000 for fire impact fee pass-throughs, and $400,000 to Utility Funds.

A memo from Sunrise Engineering's Robert Worley, dated April 10, projected that a one-year delay in the wastewater project could cost Victor more than $2 million at a 6% annual construction inflation rate. Worley applied that rate to the construction portion of the project, implying a base of roughly $33 million. Victor has estimated the total facility at about $35 million. The judicial confirmation hearing on the city's borrowing authority is set for September 9-11.

Council ratifies Driggs complaint

On a separate action item, the council ratified the civil complaint in City of Victor v. City of Driggs, Case No. CV41-26-0062, which the city's litigation counsel filed on March 5.

The staff report described the ratification as affirming "in open session, an action already initiated on behalf of the City," and noted the vote does not modify the scope or strategy of the litigation. The suit concerns contractual, operational, and financial obligations under the 2011 Inter-City Agreement governing the treatment of Victor's wastewater at the Driggs facility.

The ratification was the first public roll-call vote the full council took on the lawsuit. Written comments submitted for Tuesday's budget hearing questioned whether the filing had been authorized in open session. Councilwoman Sue Muncaster, responding by email to one such comment in March, defended the use of executive session for litigation strategy and described the Driggs suit as "a direct investment in reducing the cost to the citizens of Victor."

What's ahead

Closing on the Evans land purchase removes one source of legal uncertainty for the city. The annexation of the parcel, approved by the council on January 14, faces a separate court challenge in CV41-26-0091. Closing on the western 40 acres before that case is resolved makes the annexation harder to unwind in practice, even as the litigation continues. A recall petition against Mayor Will Frohlich, filed in March, remains active.

The larger question of how Victor pays for the facility remains open. The three-day judicial confirmation hearing is set for September 9-11 before Judge Boyce. A status conference in Victor v. Driggs is scheduled for June 2.

What to watch: The April 24 closing. The September 9-11 judicial confirmation hearing. The June 2 status conference in Victor v. Driggs.

Sources: City of Victor council packet (Items II.e, V.a, VII.c, and the April 20 staff report ratifying CV41-26-0062); Settlement Statement #1201676-T (Flying S Title and Escrow); Ordinance O651; Sunrise Engineering memo (April 10, 2026). Related coverage: The Wastewater Numbers Behind Victor's $35 Million Bet and Victor v. Driggs: Inside Teton Valley's $65 Million Wastewater Breakdown.