News for
April 22, 2026

 

By Myrna Trauntvein
TN Correspondent

Matthew Strong, acting as spokesperson for the 22 families who purchased homes in the Winn Ridge Subdivision in Nephi, stood during the public comment period of the Nephi City Council meeting to request help from the council.

The homes they purchased were all new construction, built between November 2022 and December 2023.

Recently the homeowners in the subdivision filed a lawsuit against the construction company that built the homes, the real estate company, agents who helped sell them the homes, and the geotechnical engineering company that surveyed the land the homes were built on.

“Chelsie Rios, who is present, has been out of her home since November first,” said Strong. “We have been looking for help from the city. The city is the one who can condemn property.”

Strong is a PE, he said. A meeting had been set up with the homeowners and the structural engineer for the subdivision but it was cancelled just three hours before it was to take place. The homeowners, who are having to leave their homes, still pay for the damaged homes and, now, also pay rent to live some other place. They would like the city to put into place a condemnation process.

“We are developing rules,” said Justin Seely, mayor. “Your request has not fallen on deaf ears.”

He said developing a process of city condemnation was not a simple thing to do. The council had to look at the whole community and develop a process that would fit everyone, including those who did not want their property condemned.

Shari Cowan, council member, said she had driven through the subdivision and had observed the damage to homes.

Tate Douglas, council member, said he had seen the article in the newspapers and on the news in February. He had looked at the homes and the council had been working on a process.

Travis Worwood, council member, said that the structural engineer’s report on the soil conditions had held misleading information and since that was the reason for the meeting, it was not usable, and the meeting was canceled.

Brandie Wing asked if they could get a copy of the letter that had been sent to the structural engineer.

Seth Atkinson, city administrator, said that the report held many spurious comments against the city and information that was not accurate. Therefore, the city had responded and asked for a factual report. At that point, there was no need for a meeting until an accurate and factual report was made by the structural engineer.

Strong said that he did have the copy of the structural report and the city response.

Dallas Doane, one of the hardest hit, was not present because he was out of town, but he has been working with the city. Therefore, said Atkinson, communication with him was not public but was protected under privacy laws.

“If he shares that information with you, that is fine, but we cannot,” said Atkinson.

Ryan Meyring, one of the affected homeowners, said that the number one goal of the affected families was to have the homes made livable. He had planned on living in his home until he died.

Earlier, he had decided to put in a 10-foot long, three quarter inch diameter rod into his soil by his house and found the soil to be unstable.

“I pushed it in,” he said.

However, it was not just an epidemic at Winn Ridge, he said. The requirements for collapsible soil needed to be strengthened. He would like to work with the city and wanted the council to know he did not have a selfish nature but would like to cooperate.

“Our home is having piers put in and will be lifted tomorrow,” said Rios. “Our baby is also due tomorrow.”

She said that her home had sunk 18-feet. Rafters in the roof were hanging down and a tarp had been placed over the roof. The garage had received the largest amount of roof damage.

“We want to work with you,” said Strong. “We did not name the city in the lawsuit.”

Seely said that the city had formed a council of condemnation and he had a seat on that council. None of the city council members were on the condemnation council.

Wing said that homeowners were paying $3,500 monthly on their mortgage and were now having to pay rent to live someplace else.

“We have never had a condemnation policy,” said Seely. “It has never been done before. Shauna Talbot, our city planner, has been working on it. It will be a new process for the city.”

John Harris, home owner, asked what sort of statements had been made against the city.

Builders, said Atkinson, relied heavily on structural engineering reports. However, rather than addressing the soil conditions, the report rendered had been filled with wild accusations against the city. That represented threats against the whole city and its residents.

JD Parady, council member, said that each home should have its own soil structure report.

Worwood said that soil compaction reports could vary on just one lot. He had discovered that working with Bar W Beef. On the same lot, it could be 5-feet in one spot before hitting rock and 30-feet in another area before hitting rock.

“If you have an engineering report, we have no problem,” Worwood said.

In the past, a subdivision could submit a report for the subdivision but the city had decided it needed to be done lot by lot, said Atkinson.

Wing said that each home had its own engineering report and could provide those.

“It is not right that I will have to pay $300,000 to fix my house,” she said.

Meyring said there had been a failure to over-excavate. The church building constructed in the area had mitigated their soil problem with piers.

Wing said the city could fall back on the state condemnation code.

Atkinson said that was a different code. When the state condemns private property for a public use, it is called eminent domain or a condemnation action and is a legal process. It was not a city condemning a property because of structural problems.

Seely said that the homeowners should each communicate with Talbot on an individual basis and not wait for the domino effect.

“Each of you reach out on your specific structure,” said Seely. “We need a report for each home.”

Worwood said that the council members were not the kind of politicians who made promises. They wanted to see a conclusion and hoped to find resolutions. The city staff was made up of professional people.

“I was a mortgage officer at one time,” he said. “You may not want to sue the city but the mortgage company will. We need a report where the structural engineer sticks to the facts.”

Parady said that the homeowners should contact Talbot individually.

“Submit your property and then let us know what is happening,” he said.

Meanwhile, said Seely, the city will continue to work on a condemnation process for the city but that may take some time.