Meet the Candidates Event – 22-Oct-2015: Video links and brief summary

We had an excellent turnout. Well over 60 people showed up to listen to the candidates talk about why they were running and respond to questions. I thought all candidates did an excellent job communicating their message and I thought the residents asked excellent questions. Examples include:

• You say you want to encourage additional business to come to Highland. What specifically would you do?
• Do you have a position on Sunday closing?
• Why was nothing done to revise the town center development code after Toscana was built?
• Why aren’t the bad roads being repaired?
• How much debt does the city have?
• Where do you stand on Prop 1 (county 1/4% sales tax increase for transportation)?

Scott Hart recorded this event (applause please).  Here is what I like about each of the candidates along links to their videos:

Is Utah County Prop 1 Good or Bad for Highland?

On November 3rd, 2015 the final votes will be cast on Utah County Proposition 1 which reads:

"Shall Utah County, Utah, be allowed to impose a quarter-of-one-percent (0.25% or the equivalent of 1 cent for every $4 spent) sales use tax for the specific purpose of transportation improvements such as roads, trails, sidewalks, maintenance, bus and rail service, and traffic and pedestrian safety features, with the revenue divided among the county, cities and towns, and the public transit provider within the County."

City Council 6-Oct-2015: Open Space Prop Sale, Mass Notification System, Town Center Work Session

After our last couple of meeting that had very full agendas and went late it was nice to have a limited agenda meeting that ended before 9 pm.

We did hold a short work session (less than 1 hour) prior to the council meeting to discuss potential town center changes. The discussion basically centered on presenting a summary of our discussion from last time and then outlining possible directions for moving forward on Town Center Zoning (click here to see the presentation). The initial conclusion from the 1st meeting is that:

Ponderize: “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom … and abundance of idleness …”

“Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” Ezekiel: 16:49

The prophet Ezekiel in urging Israel to repent compares the sins of Sodom to those of Jerusalem. As I read this, the phrase which popped out for me was “abundance of idleness.” Benjamin Franklin discussed this topic in Poor Richard’s Alamanac, 1758.

“… I will tell thee My Friend, what Poor Richard says, Employ thy Time well if thou meanest to gain Leisure; and, since thou art not sure of a Minute, throw not away an Hour. Leisure is Time for doing something useful; this Leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never; so that, as Poor Richard says, a Life of Leisure and a Life of Laziness are two Things. Do you imagine that Sloth will afford you more Comfort than Labour? No, for as Poor Richard says, Trouble springs from Idleness,and grievous Toil from needless Ease.”

When I consider the time I spend in idle pursuits I certainly have room to improve. As I considered Ezekiel’s call to repentance this week I made an extra effort to spend time on activities that benefit others rather than my own entertainment. As the week closes I can truthfully say I feel spiritually richer.

Just a quick note, I certainly don’t feel that having plenty (a fulness of bread) is bad. It is, however, when it leads to pride and idleness. If we don’t change voluntarily we’ll be encouraged to change by the negative impacts these traits have on society and our economic well being over the long term. We only have to read history to see this.

Worry, the Great American Disease by William George Jordan

There is much in the world to be concerned about. However, worry can paralyze us. We’ve all been there. The weight of the world is on our shoulders and there are so many problems that we just can’t seem to get started on anything. Jordan’s short treatise on “Worry” doesn’t necessarily tell us anything we don’t know but can strengthen our resolve to find peace and take action. I hope you enjoy this. It is a chapter from his book The Kingship of Self-Control. Links to downloadable versions of this book and Jordan’s others can be found in my post Books by William George Jordan.

Ponderize: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?”

At the concluding session of General Conference today Elder Devin Durrant invited us to “ponderize” a scripture on a weekly basis. By “ponderize” he meant to select a scripture each week, place a copy of it somewhere where you can see it and then think about it several times each day. In doing so “words and phrases will be written on your hearts … and mind.”

Suzanne and I agreed to take up the challenge. I was immediately drawn to these verses in Acts (Act 1:10-11) as my first scripture, but resisted as it was not immediately apparent why:

Issues and Information: Meet the Candidates 10-Sep-2015

On September 10, 2015 we held a Meet the Candidates event in the multi-purpose room of city hall. Each candidate met with the audience separately for about 25 minutes each. Audience members made each mini-meeting a totally difference experience by the questions they asked. Audience members all agreed it was a very informative evening.

Below is a quick poll to get your sense of what the key issues are that candidates need to address.

What is the most important issue/question that Highland City Council candidates need to address during the campaign.

Road Maintenance

Zoning and land use planning

Increasing city revenue

Park and trail maintenance

Why the candidate is running

Other

Please Specify:

Poll Maker

Add your own answer by selecting "Other" and then typing in your response. You can see what others have added by looking at the results first.

I will give a brief description of each meeting but you really had to be there to benefit from it. On that note, we are holding one more of these on Thursday October 22nd at 7 PM in the city council room at city hall (5400 Town Center W, Highland, UT 84003).

City Council 15-Sep-2015: Blackstone, Dry Creek Track, Highland Blvd and 11800 N Intersection

This meeting and the lead up to it provided me with a lot of food for thought. It was well attended ~90. The Blackstone town home project and the Highland Blvd / 11800 N intersection were the key issues which brought interested residents to the meeting. Interestingly enough, this is the first time I can remember that Toscana residents have added their voice to the discussion. Below are some of my thoughts on this issue.

City Council 1-Sep-2015: Public Works Heroes, Blackstone, Highland Oaks, Highland Blvd-11800 N Intersection

The council chambers were full again (~100 residents). The Blackstone and Highland Oaks project brought the most attendees. A few very dedicated residents stayed until after midnight to hear the Operational Safety Report regarding the Highland Blvd / 11800 N intersection. The meeting adjourned around 1 AM. What  I was impressed with is that despite the duration of the meeting, the emotions around some of the issues, and the opposing viewpoints held by council members and residents, by and large we were all able to disagree without being disagreeable.

City Council 25-Aug-2015: Town Center Overlay Changes Workshop

The council and planning commission met together for the first of several workshops to discuss what, if any, changes should be made to the Town Center overlay zone. The mayor, 4 members of the city council and 8 members of the planning commission were in attendance. One resident, Devirl Barfuss, attended the meeting.

The 1 hour meeting was facilitated by a well regarded city planning consultant. He asked a series of 5 questions. We were given colored post-it notes to write our responses to each question (in some cases we could only provide one response, in others two or three). The responses were put on the wall and organized into general themes. I thought it was an interesting exercise and the results will provide a foundation for future meetings.

Below are the questions that we asked and as many responses that were given as I can recall. Please feel free to share your thoughts by responding to the poll questions and/or by using the comment section (e.g. if you selected other and want to share what that was).

City Council 04-Aug-2015: Town Center Moratorium

The council chambers were full again (~55 residents). Many attended the meeting to see how the vote on the Town Center Moratorium ended up.

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Soap box alert: I would like to share a personal frustration regarding much of the recent discussion regarding the town center. Now that another town home development is being considered (Blackstone)  I have consistently heard how terrible the Toscana town homes are for the city. The specific complaints include; the internal streets are too narrow and seem confining, parking, and people who walk their dogs and do clean up after them. Other than the narrow internal streets (which I’m not sure how the visual issue impacts anyone other than those living in Toscana) the other issues can be found all over town. Parking is a problem near churches, parks, when neighbors have receptions, homecomings … . Owners not cleaning up after their pets is a problem everywhere. Just ask my neighbors. I’m sure my dogs have left deposits in the neighborhood when they’ve escaped.

City Council 21-Jul-2015: Blackstone townhome project, Dry Creek Phase 3 trail, maintenance of parks …

The council chambers were full, primarily with residents opposed to the Blackstone project. The discussion was very civil and respectful across the board. THANK YOU! A couple of scout groups were also present. Please note, because of the intense public interest in the Blackstone project my summary of this item (#5) is quite lengthy and includes lots of references.

Questions for Candidates that Won't be Asked in a Debate

The 2016 presidential election race has already begun and the 2015 municipal election season is fast approaching in my neighborhood. I have 3 sets of 5 questions I seek answers to when looking at candidates. These are not likely ones that will come up in a debate so I have to dig a little to answer them.

A Question of Character

When we elect someone to public office we are entrusting them to make decisions on our behalf using information to which we don't have time to review and perhaps have access. That being the case I’m more interested in the quality of their character than a specific policy position that may change as an officeholder gets access to additional information.

America the Beautiful

Last Sunday as we sang America the Beautiful at church my heart was pierced by the lyrics and tears began to roll down my cheeks. Singing “God shed His grace on thee” led me to think of all the times in history that His hand rested upon our nation from its founding until today. Below are a couple of examples.

City Council 16-Jun-2015: Certified Tax Rate, 2015-16 Budget, Vacation Accrual & Park Building

The council meeting was attended by 9 residents initially and then as the meeting progressed the initial attendees left and members of staff (14+) came to listen to the vacation accrual discussion. While we did not finish the meeting until midnight this was a good meeting with lots of healthy discussion on multiple important issues.

You will notice several references to the city council agenda in this report. The link is to my marked up version of the council agenda which I thought some might find interesting. By way of background staff uses a Dropbox account to share agendas and other documents with council members. I review these prior to council meetings, make electronic notes and save a version of the document to the Dropbox folder with a “- Rod” added to the filename. My notes include my thoughts questions and I have on issues we’ll be voting on, corrections to minutes, typing errors  … . I think it is better for everyone when staff comes to council meetings aware of what the potential questions will be and other council members understand where I’m at on issues.

City Council 2-Jun-2015: Park Maintenance Building, Highland Blvd and 11800 N Intersection

120+ residents attended the council meeting the majority were there to indicate opposition to the proposed Park Maintenance building located in Town Center South East of the police station. Many of the rest were there to ask for something to be done at the intersection of Highland Blvd and 11800 N where a recent fatal accident occurred. The accident was a result of a driver pulling out from 11800 N to turn left (south) onto Highland Blvd. Unfortunately, the driver pulled out right in front of a north bound vehicle on Highland Blvd which struck the turning vehicle.

Tips on Influencing Local Government

“No individual is so insignificant as to be without influence. The changes in our varying moods are all recorded in the delicate barometers of the lives of others. We should ever let our influence filter through human love and sympathy. We should not be merely an influence,―we should be an inspiration. By our very presence we should be a tower of strength to the hungering human souls around us.”—William George Jordan, The Majesty of Calmness, 1900

As a resident of Highland I’ve tried, both successfully and unsuccessfully, to influence the outcome of council decisions and now as a councilman, I’ve done the same from a different vantage point. Below are my thoughts on how to effectively influence decisions:

City Council 19 May 2015: Tentative Budget–Library, Pageants, and Parks

15 residents attended the council meeting (half were scouts :) which was a bit disappointing since we were discussing the budget. The meeting was productive and I particularly enjoyed how the council was able to disagree without being disagreeable when discussing the budget.

 

City Council 5-May-2015: Dry Creek Trail, Budget Notes

16 residents attended the council meeting.

Note, I’ve updated the online budget data to reflect the most recent input from the finance director. Council members are still sharing ideas on budget changes that will put more money into roads and more appropriately allocate costs. A recent suggestion, which has not been formally discussed in council meeting, is to allocate the following in the library budget:

City Council 21-Apr-2015: Impact Fee Study Report

We received an updated 2015-2016 budget which included current YTD data for 2014-2015. I’ve updated the online budget data to reflect the data. Council members are still sharing ideas on budget changes that will put more money into roads and more appropriately allocate costs.