OCR Text |
Show A8 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 Sentinel Guardian of Your Community News Mapleton council meets Salem council considers Harvest Ridge concerns Judith Everett STAFF WRITER tivation for developing the property, especially with its history of contamination. The annexation of the Councilman Mike Cobia Ensign-Bickford property pointed out that taxes keep remains a point of debate rising in Mapleton. in Mapleton. At the Maple"The motivation is to ton city council meeting on get some commercial base Sept. 2, long-time resident inside of Mapleton," he John Roylance cited the said. history of contamination Roylance contended and density issues among that most of Mapleton's the concerns he and a residents were against the group of Mapleton citizens annexation and expressed have concerning the an- doubts that the city council nexation. would be acting in behalf "That does not fit into of those residents if they the plan we would want voted to annex the propfor Mapleton. The people erty. of Mapleton do not want Several council memthis to happen," Roylance bers voiced their dedicasaid. tion to represent all of MaThe debate centered pleton and mentioned that around possible liabilities there were many residents for the city if future resi- who welcomed the idea of dents of the site were af- annexation. fected by any residual con"We have to make our tamination. The state has best judgment based on the declared the site clean of information," said Councontaminants, but worries cilman Ben Christensen. remain. Roylance has organized Councilwoman Ann a group whose purpose is Tolley said, "There is ab- to distribute information solutely no way the city about the property and can be liable for past con- its possible annexation to tamination. The land will Mapleton residents. The be developed. The ques- group is prepared to put tion is do we want it to be out flyers and petitions and under Mapleton's jurisdic- start websites in order to tion or Spanish Fork's?" have their voices heard. Roylance asked the Mayor Laurel Brady ofcouncil to consider the mo- fered the city's help in this undertaking. "We want to be a resource to you. We want the correct information to be out there," she said. Another concern Roylance voiced several times was that the vote would take place without the knowledge of Mapleton's citizens. This kind of "secret vote" is against the law, as several council members pointed out. Mayor Brady told Roylance that the vote could not take place until the state hearings on the contamination clean up close and the developer has made some decisions. But when that time comes, Mayor Brady assured Roylance that the people will know. The state of road repairs on 2000 North was discussed briefly, then the council adjourned for a closed session to discuss possible litigation regarding a car injury insurance claim. Upon resuming the public meeting, the council voted to move forward with action recommended by risk manager Lyle Kunz. The city council also approved the plat agreement for Phase 1 of the Whisper Rock Subdivision. Jen Allen STAFF WRITER The Salem City Council meeting started off with arequest from Mark Ogden on Wednesday, Sept. 2. Ogden, a resident of Salem, was requesting that the council approve a lot split. The lot, a non-conforming lot, did not meeting the necessary frontage requirements, but did meet the square footage requirements. Ogden's neighbor, Jared Ferguson, came before the council asking them to deny Ogden's request, because he wanted to see if he could work out a purchase deal with Ogden himself. Ferguson has made offers to buy the property from Ogden and would like to continue to finalize that process. After learning of the costs that Ogden would have to pay in order for the lot to be updated so that it could then become a separate lot, Ogden withdrew his request and opted instead to think a little longer about what he really wanted to do with the property. City Attorney Junior Baker then discussed some of the contract agreements that have been made in regards to Salem Park. The council approved and signed the document and allowed for the second- ary party to sign the document as well. After this, the council approved the contract with Century Equiptment to lease a new backhoe. At $233 a month, this new lease would be half the cost of the one other backhoe that is currently being leased by the city. This then allows for a total of three backhoes to be used by city staff for all kinds of projects the city may undertake including work done at the cemetery. The Salem City Youth Council then gave a presentation on their activities for the past few months. The council announced that this was the first year they had been sworn in as officers. The council has a clean up activity planned as well as attending Camp Williams, helping with the Fall Festival and a Halloween trickor-treat project. The council thanked the youth council for their hard work and contributions to the community. During the open discussion portion of the meeting, many residents turned out to discuss some of the issues they are having in the Harvest Ridge Development. They noted three major grievances, which include a rock screening company working in the area, the lack of street lights and the development not being finished due to bonding issues. Bill Young and Roger Brinkerhoff, partners in the development, came to address the council with their side of the story, noting that they have done everything they can fiscally do to keep the project alive during these stressful economic times. They further explained that the screening taking place was to finish the retention pond. Since they don't have the money to pay for such work to be done, a deal has been worked out with the company that as they screen the dirt, rocks will be contributed to the pond and nine out of 10 loads of top soil harvested will be sent off the project in exchange for the work being done. The residents' concern is for the safety of their children who ride bikes past the work place on their way to school. Mayor Henderson addressed the issue, citing that he didn't want the gain from the screening to happen at the expense of the kids and home owners. The screening has been shut down until the project can be fully bonded and finished. "We should not throw stones at one another, but we should help pick up the stones [together]," Henderson said. Brent Black Charles Wixom Innovative park planned for Woodland Hills Candidates: Hilarie Orman STAFF WRITER Imagine a space-age playground combined with a video game. That's the beginning of the vision that Marianne Iverson has for the children of Woodland Hills. The city has a park and a soccer field, but no playground. Iverson is working to bring grants to the city to finance a play area that combines all the fun of a traditional playground with interactive electronic controls. The interactive playground concept has the usual climbing and sliding activities, but modules include spinning and twirling vanes and geared swing- like devices. The electronics keep track of the assembly, and when the children get things aligned just right, they score points. A playgroud like this would put Woodland Hills on the leading edge of play technology, but it would not be the first city in Utah to install one. Layton has a playground using modules from the Danish company Kompan. More than 100 residents of Woodland Hills have signed onto the playground idea, pledging donations or labor to install the equipment. Iverson has already submitted grant applications that would cover the majority of the cost, but she will need more money to build the "dream playground." "If a local business donates the money for a play module," said Iverson, "we'll put a plaque next to it acknowledging the gift." If Iverson is successful in fundraising, the city's Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee will support the effort by leveling the play area and doing other work to prepare the site for installation. "It's good to know that the city government is supportive of our effort," Iverson said. Anyone interested in the park can contact Iverson at 423-6542 or at mariannei verson @ yahoo .com. ful force in Washington. The computers crunch the numbers, measure the plan and tell how much any given program will cost. The computers came up with 1.7 trillion dollars over 10 years to be the cost to finance the proposed health care plan. Furthermore, 10 years after the first decade the costs are projected to go up not down." In regard to the Healthy Americans Act, Bennett gave what he called a shameless plug to his website, bennett.senate.gov. He said the Healthy Americans Act is being touted as the first bipartisan health care reform in over a decade, that will save $13 trillion by the year 2020, cutting health care costs by more than $1.48 trillion. With all the rhetoric going on about the health care plan and the division between the Republicans and the Democrats, Bennett said, 'The Health Care Bill looks to be dead," which brought immediate applausefromthe audience. The last question in the meeting came from Lee Richen, who stated his concerns about company layoffs, downsizing and businesses closing their doors. He then asked, "How do we stop Mr. Obama and his czars?" The senator's response addressed what he felt the President needs to do. "President Obama needs to stop campaigning and pay attention to what is going on. It's time he spent more time with his feet under his desk and less time out campaigning," Bennett said. Before saying goodbye, Senator Bennett shared both his humorous and serious insights into Washington politics. "We the American people get tired of the incumbent every eight years. Now I will never be President because I don't have enough hair. Hair is a major criteria to be elected President; however, the opposite was true with John Kerry — he lost the election because he has too much hair," quipped Senator Bennett. Ending his visit on a serious note Bennett said, tThis is the year of opposition for Republicans; next year is a year of solutions. We need to start over. It's more important to do health care right rather than fast." Bennett: From CHAMBER • A l lawmaker who has long been involved in the financial political arena in our nation's capital. Due to a late start, Senator Bennett decided to forego his prepared remarks and open the floor up for questions. With that invitation business owner Steve Wilson shared a prepared statement, and concluded by saying, "I feel like the leaders in Washington are determined to destroy the Constitution. Senator Bennett, what are you going to "Well that's a nice softball to start with," Bennett joked. He then addressed what seems to be the number one issue in our country at the present time — health care. "Our health care system needs to be reformed," he said. "If we don't turn down the cost of health care, our nation will be bankrupt. To solve the health care problem we need to let market forces work it out." Senator Bennett further stated, "The computers at the Congressional Budget Office are the most power- From SALEM • A l neighborhoods, while helping Salem grow in the business sector to keep close access to shopping for the residents. Black said his honesty, hard work and family values will be an asset to the city. David Grant Christy Hardman STAFF WRITER David P. Grant is running for Salem city council in the upcoming primary election. He said the city "just needs a lift up." He said that with the downturn in the economy he'd like to take a hard look at different programs. "I want to get the streets up to par and to improve our storm system before it's so far behind it costs tax payers a fortune to fix it." He said he'd like to find ways to help the elderly out more, those who are on fixed incomes. "I'd like to see the city run inside a budget range. It's run efficiently, but I think there are some areas we can work on," he said. Grant has lived in Salem most of his life. He is married with three children and four grandchildren. Grant has owned an excavation company for about 26 years, During that time he's seen many highs and lows, and he has experience sticking through hard times. He said his experience having employees and equipment has helped him understand how to run things in the most efficient manner to minimize replacement and waste. "My goal is to help the community in any way I can. This community has been good to me. I want to return the favor," he said. city as well as the citizens. Speaking of his credentials he said, "I understand and am in touch with people and the community they're moving into." He also noted that in addition to his MBA, broker license and agent license, he has served in leadership positions before, working with the Utah County Association of Realtors as a board member in several capacities. Jen Allen Wixom wants to see a STAFF WRITER commercial base grow in Salem, but also wants the Charles Wixom has lived town to keep its small-town in Salem for the past 13 feel. He said that he was apyears. He has eight children proached by many residents and four grandchildren. to run and would like to He works in Spanish Fork, help run the city as a busiwhere he owns his own real ness not a government. estate brokerage where he He believes his experihas been practicing real es- ence with zoning issues tate for the past 18 years, on within the city would lend top of having his MBA. great wisdom to the position. Wixom wants to run for But ultimately he would like Salem City Council because to see an orderly growth prohe's a strong proponent of cess in Salem, with the abilproperty owners' rights. He ity to generate revenue withwants what is right for the out burdening the citizens. Charles Wixom Harvest Moon Hurrah: a non-commercialized, family-friendly event," Pendleton said. "You can come and stay Hayrides and a melodra- the whole time if you want, ma are some other popular and get a good affordable features that will be return- dinner and some great entering this year, and Pendleton tainment. It's a good tinie for said there will also be food people old or young." The Harvest Moon Hurvendors selling meals for rah will also feature a full $3 or less. "We really try to make this lineup of performers and From HARVEST • A l musicians, . culminating with popular Utah singer/' songwriter Peter Breinholt, who will begin his performance at 7:30 p.m. The event will take place "rain or shine," Pendleton said, and is free for the entire community. For more information, go to www. spanishfofk.org. |