City Council 01-Dec-2015: Family Cemeteries, Blackstone, and Murdoch Connector

I was out of town for this meeting. I would normally have participated via phone but in this case I elected not to do so. I knew there would be a lot of discussion on two items (cemeteries and Blackstone) and thought that it would be best if those voting were full participants. I have participated twice via phone but found it difficult to provide input to discussions over the phone. This was Jessie Schoenfeld’s last council meeting. She has been an great asset to the city and has made many positive contributions to the city, especially in serving on the beautification, economic development and Highland Fling committees. She is a get it done person who puts in the time to make things happen. We often shared treats during long council meetings to prolong our tipping point. I will miss serving with you.

Council Meeting AGENDA / MINUTES

Little Compromises for Happiness by William George Jordan

This is a chapter from William George Jordan’s book Little Problems of Married Life. A book he wrote in 1910 at the age of 46. He did not marry until 1922. His insights on marriage are perhaps a function of having a close relationship to his family and being someone who truly cared about others. Once again his words demonstrate a keen insight to human nature.

---

Little Compromises for Happiness

This life of ours is a constant series of compromises, of concessions, of surrenders of what we hold dearest, and acceptances of what seems second best. That for which we have nobly struggled may fail us and we find what consolation we can among the wreckage of our hope. We make sacrifices of our desires on the altar of expediency; we pocket our pride in the interest of our purse; we smile over present loss in the hope of possible future gain. We travel along the line of ambition by slow freight when we had fondly dreamed of whizzing through on the “limited.” We surrender at the Waterloo of a hope and bravely look to regaining at the next battle. We bow to custom while we inwardly rebel at the obeisance. We play at battledore (a game, from which badminton was developed) between fear of the world on the one hand and approval of conscience on the other.

Hire JJ? Notes from a conversation with gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Johnson.

I recently had a one hour conversation with Jonathan Johnson who is running against Governor Gary Herbert to be the 2016 Republican nominee for Governor. I was invited to ask him anything regarding his run for office. Before I get into details I want to note that I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. He was gracious, candid, and very likeable. I enjoyed getting to know him. As I thought about what I would ask him I reviewed two posts I’ve written on selecting candidates for office: “Questions for Candidates that Won't be Asked in a Debate” and “Selecting Candidates for Political Office.”

City Council 17-Nov-2015: Family Cemeteries, Park Bond Refinance, Final Election Result Certification

We had over 40 scouts from various units plus 12 interested residents attend the meeting. We had healthy discussions about most items but concluded with unanimous votes on the final outcomes. The next council meeting (Dec 1)should be interesting. We will make a final decision on whether or not to allow family cemeteries on private land. This issue was discussed in an article in the Provo Herald and in two news segments on ABC4 (this was the top news story – it must have been as slow news day) and Fox13. Since then the city has had some calls from residents on this issue. The responses have been split. My experience has been an initial negative response but after talking about it a little most people say yes, I wouldn’t do it, but if someone else wants to I don’t really care.

Council Meeting AGENDA / MINUTES