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Show THE ZEPHYR AUGUST 1990 PAGE 8 the councils turn a conversation with Dave Sakrison Ken Davey conducted an Interview with Moab City Condlman David Sakrison. The Interview has been edited for clarity and length. Zephyr: You have been on the Moab City Council for 5 years now, la It still enlovable? Dave: It gets a little tedious, obviously. Sometimes you dread going to council meetings, but then you feel relieved when you get out What can I say? Zephyr: How much of It Is boring? Dave: A lot of It It surprises me how much paper Is Involved. I think If federal and local governments could cut back on paperwork, we could save a ton of money. Zephyr: Things In cltv government seem to oo slowly. Why? Dave: There are so many factors and opinions you have to take Into consideration. You think you can walk In and say, Alright, we're making a decision. But when youre dealing with 5,000 voices out there, and each one has a right to be heard, and each one definitely has an opinion... Zephyr: Is It harder with 5.000 voices than with 50.000? Dave: I think so. And that's good. In a big city there Is a degree of anonymity, you represent a bunch of nameless faces. It Isn't like that In Moab. There's active Involvement In everything going on. If you step on someone's toes, youre going to hear about It There's not a hell of a lot you can do by calling Howard Nielson or Jake Gam. Youre Just a lonely voice In the wilderness of Utah. But In this community, you have access, you have the politicians ear, and they want to hear from you. Its one of the most direct forms of government Here, you count And thats neat Zephyr: What have been some of the most difficult Issues In the past year? Dave: Wrestling with the bed and breakfast ordinance was one thing. That was going on for two years. Zephyr: Why? Dave: There were people who wanted to make some money, but didn't want the rules and regulations applied to them. But I maintain that each neighborhood, the residents, have rights, to choose the way their neighborhood Is going to go. We didn't have an outcry from people saying they want bed and breakfasts on their block. On the contrary. At least the people who offered the opinions to me said they were glad to see the restrictions, they didn't necessarily want to be living next door to a hotel In a residential neighborhood. Actually It wasnt that hard of a decision. It was Just loud. Zephyr: The council Is considering an ordinance limiting the size and height of signs. Do you see support for that type of restriction? Dave: I see some support, yes. You're going to have some people who think, Ive done It this way forever, and I don't see why I have to change. And you are going to have people who say, that sign Is offensive to me. I think there Is a happy medium. But there Is going to have to be a lot of community Involvement to arrive at a workable ordinance. Zephyr: With the discovery of Moab bv so many visitors, there has been talk of the city changing, setting Its own direction and agenda. Are we doing that? Dave: I dont know. We've realized, or at least I've realized, that we want to make tourism as profitable as we can. The city derives quite a bit of money, a surprising amount of money, from the tourist dollar. Thats a help to people who live here. But I feel, and Im kind of caught In a quandary, that tourism Is good, on one hand. But we definitely need some "lunchpaH" Jobs, some Industry. Some actual, real, economic development And Ive come to realize that more this year than I ever thought I would. We need that economic base. Tourism Is up and going, Its basically on Its own. I don't think there Is anything the city can do to speed up that growth, or curtail It Its going to happen. But I think Its time to concentrate on real economic stability. And thats going to require growth from within. I dont think Its going to come from outside. Sure, there's a chance someone will come rolling Into town and say, hey this Is a good place to move my business, but don't bet on IL There are still s lot of people who live here, and people who have moved away, who would come back for Jobs that pay more than 6 or 7 or or 9 dollars an hour. I don't know where Its going to come from, and I don't know what the city can do to encourage It, but we need It Zephyr: What about the Idea that Moab Is too Isolated to attract Industry? Aren't we too Isolated, without a transportation system? Dave: Well, I think we need those Jobs, we cant give up. Yes, we are at a disadvantage. But I disagree about transportation. You have businesses In Salt Lake City driving 30 or 40 miles to get to a transportation artery. We are 30 miles from an Interstate, we are somewhat Isolated. But I still think that a lot of Industries are using shipping that can reach In and out of Moab, like UPS. The fact Is, If we can get some Industry here, the transportation companies will be willing to find ways to haul It out We owe It to ourselves to establish something other than tourism. It's a boom or bust Industry. What If gasoline prices go up? We can look at a real downside as far as tourism Is concerned. We still have all our eggs In one basket, and thats not good. Zephyr: Did the cltv dve the Chamber of Commerce economic development program a fair chance? Dave: We were kind of bllndslded on that We decided to fund the program last to year, get an economic development coordinator, and we were hoping for matching funds from the county. But the county opted not to do that But given the situation and No, I don't think we gave It a fair enough chance. circumstances we were faced with In this budgetary year, I don't think we had any alternative other than to do what we did, and that was not to fund It We're looking at a big loss In revenue from the Initiative to get rid of the sales tax on food. We had to be tough on the budget Dave:Wehave Zephyr: Should the cltv fund another program In the future? Grand County Economic Development Last I checked, Moab was still In Grand County. Bette Stanton has an office, and that was one of the reasons the county wouldnt fund the chamber program, they said they already had their program In place. Her efforts can do something. Uke I say, Moab Is still In Grand County, so I hope the county will pick up the ball and try to do something. last year bv a wide margin. Does that mean that Zephyr: You won people agree with vou on most Issues? ion Dave: I felt good about the election, but It wasn't a mandate. I think I was doing a very good Job, and I think people agreed with that But as far as getting programs going or getting things done, I don't know. In this town, It's too easy to be sure of yourself. One person thinks something Is a great Idea, another hates IL The direction here Is so splintered, Its Just amazing. Sometimes It's crazy. Zephyr: If everyone Is always disagreeing, what do vou do? Dave: Sift through It all and try to make the best decision you can. Ive stepped on toes, there's no doubt about that I've made a few of my friends angry on more than one occasion. Sometimes I've astonished my friends. Zephyr: In what wavs? Dave: My environmental friends think my vote to endorse the road to Vernal was I think a lot of other off. way people were angry at my votes on golf course Issues. My friends werent happy with my vote against the hot tubs. Theres always swimming somebody you are not going to please. Its Just one of those things you sit through and take IL Zephyr: What Is the town going to look like In s years? Dave: Thats going to be Interesting to see. I think we are trying to come to grips with a lot of things, like zoning. The bed and breakfast ordinance, the sign ordinance, they MMWWWillllUJUlUBULlI LMMWWM WATERING DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A DRAG TEMPORARY PERSONNEL Simplify your Irrigation system with drippers & mini-sprinkle- rs CALL KEN, and let him design your Irrigation system. Where High-Te- c and Common Sense Meet. Connies Temporaries CONNIE BLAINE 259-812- 0 N. 400 E. MOAB, UT 84532 141 pizzamainhut 265 so. 259-634- 5 FRANCHISE WARS 3 buy first pizza for $9.99 the second for four dollars more Happy Trees Friendly Bushes Castle Canyon Nursery CALL 259-827- 4 ANYTIME YOU, MAY FIRE WHEN READYI |