OCR Text |
Show .i ni m n i in pi i w i i -- i i ii 1 -i- n -i r v i ri ii i i i i i i i ii i - I - ii "iy "(kt page A4 Tuesday, December 5, 1995 Davis County Clipper wes4 Editorial: Ig ' ' housing V ' " ' j$)sp HINIC AWVWfefisRA s $ vAt Gpjitfwr ';Vm x PONT YcU TtllMJt? new state coordinator for the US Department of Homing and Urban Development, I relocated my family from Michigan to dm Salt Lake area. While searching for a rental to meet our immediate needs and a home to purchase for our permanent residence, I became acutely aware of the potential for ' Jfae ffi fKii Omo ItS offArrlfiktA KniiemO ' s ' ' ' .,v l. Home prices have continued on a sustained significant rise over a several year period. And, it is likely that the attention and , income cant come close to buying the average home, ; There are more reasons than the substantial growth and economic development in Utah, Many of the causes are In the name of protecting property values in our own eom-- i mamttes, we have ignored the fact that we are making it nearly impossible for our children and grandchildren to own a home in ;Our neighborhood. With each action that we take to ban apartments, Increase lot sizes and demand fancy additions to newly constructed homes, we make it harder and harder to own a self-inflicte- d, '''home.; f ; , There was a time when our children lived down the street and our cousins on the next block. Our next door neighbor was the local cop or a firefighter or a school teacher. Aim, these were communities that cared about each other and looked out for each other. No more? The cop and the teacher cannot afford the house next door and so they five in another community and commute to work. Is it any wonder that so many of what was once die backbone of our community seem to care so much less today. Its not their community anymore. Worst of all, its going to get much worse unless we start to do something about if; Every home owner (and local official) should ask themselves this one . question and ponder the honest an$wer...Wiil my children or ; be able to afford a home In my iteighborbood? fronts. First, the Departments programs are targeted to those not Indian monikers has set back the cause While Kevin Costners Dances enhanced the image of the American Indian in the early 1990s, the Native American cause take the field or Jane Fonda goes into a tomahawk chop at an Atlanta Braves game... has lost ground in recent months due to the silly controversy over the use of Indian monikers for University of Utah is considering caving into pressure and erasing its sports teams. Indian mascot... With Wolves Rumors Sent, ; . ' ' If we in Utah are going to adequately address this growing to blem, mayors, city managers, city planners, etc, must begin work with each other to find solutions to these problems. ' John Milchick, Jr. , ' ' ' ' State Coordinator US Department of Housing and Urban Development - - Today's - Youve heard the bantering.' A Utah woman purchases a personalized license plate (REDSKIN) to show support for a NFL team, and a busybody Salt Lake attorney starts wailing to the Utah Supreme Court. Some American Indian leaders sob that their heritage is demeaned whenever the Cleveland Indians - M Your From .WheretYou Wed like to hear from you. What is YOUR opinion on this subject? Mail your comments to: 1370 So. 500 W. Bountiful, Utah 84010 Clipper Publishing Published y by: Clipper Publishing Co., inc 1370 South 500 West P.0. Box 267 Bountiful, Utah 8401 $25 00 per year. Mailed: $35.00 per year SutsaumoN hate 50 per copy. on 2 2 3. Publication No. (USPS published ISSN: "l 06 the week of Christmas and New Years at Bountiful, Tuesday and Friday except Utah Second class postage paid at Bountiful, Utah. Address all correspondence to p O Box 267, Bountiful, Utah 8401 semi-weekl- y contest. Native Americans have a right to be frustrated with their suicidal plight. No group of Americans have been as slighted and abused. But the way out of the predicament will come through education, busi- ness development and successful role models, not carping at people who shop at the Pro Image! Four years ago, a University of Utah official was quoted as saying, We dont know what well do if our fans continue to dismiss the Indian complaints? Well, the answer is easy. Do absolutely nothing.! - , Let the handfrlUof American Indian leaders and their supporters squawk. Few taxpayers are sympa- thetic. They know a molehill when they spot one. And if some squirrely university professor or attorney starts moaning, suggest that things would be much worse: Rice Stadium could be located on Gen. Custer Drive! pmon i Btfl. Blvd. let personal situations cloud their sense of reason and good judgment extension will be expensive Daves Top 10 campaign issues Bill Sutton Editor, This letter is yet another in response to the latest Bountiful Blvd. issue. Being a resident of Bountiful Blvd. I obviously have a bias, but I believe I also have good common sense. I have taken the time to read and study the report issued by the Wasatch Front Regional Council and the consulting firm DMJM regarding proposed feasibility of constructing the Bountiful Blvd. extension as currently proposed. I feel it is important, if not essential, that the general public be made aware of the nature of this report. I wish to share two quotes directly from the Conclusions section of the report, although the whole report is none too flattering about the idea: 149-18- religious ceremony. Shes merely making a spirited reflex motion designed to spur David Justice into smacking a little ball over a tall fence. The chop is a chiropractors dream, but its not a slap in the face to the American Indian any more stop? Should the Ben Lomond Scots than the wearing of a wig or a hairpiece is a slap at a British magischange their name to defer criticism by anyone who has ever trate. As for names, one cant complayed a bagpipe? Should the Woods Cross pare terms like Braves or Redskin Wildcats eliminate their mascot to offensive references for Black due to pressure fromilderness-- j , Americans. The latter words were V i used primarily to besmirch African'1; type animal rights groups? Americans. In contrast the term Should the Jordan Jetdiggers change their name in deference to ' Redskin carries no such connotation by those mouthing it. Team rural Utahns? The Davis Darts are fairly safe mascots are chosen for emulation. from criticism but the Bountiful A Bountiful High student is proud Braves and the Weber Warriors are to be a Brave just as Kansas City right in the type of the eye of the football fans revere a chief. Even storm. though some terms may have originated in the vocabulary of the pale The controversy is frivolous. When Jane Fonda performs the face settlers, theres no demeaning Where does the foolishness program, family can purchase a home with less than five percent down Neat, the Department forms partnerships with private organizations at the national and local levels to effect changes which will ultimately make housing more affordable for, everyone. The National Home Ownership Strategy for example or home (, that the long tradition of an American ; 5 abound tomahawk chop, for instance, shes not envisioning the desecration of an Apache shrine or a Shoshone Measures of effectiveness using the model network were reviewed to determine if there were any identifiable traffic benefits produced by the alternatives. Review of the model network vehicle miles and vehicle hours traveled showed no significant difference between any of the alternatives, including the no build option (not building the road). Emphasis added, page 13, paragraph 4. If any of the alternatives are constructed, because of the steep grades involved, it will be very difficult to maintain the road in good condition during snow events. In any event, construction of the Bountiful Boulevard extension will be costly Page 13, paragraph 7. I completely agree with people who say that Bountiful has problems with eastwest traffic flow. I understand the problems of the residents who live on the eastwest arteries of Bountiful and feel that this problem needs to be solved. However, I simply can not favor any solution when there must be a smart solution to the problem. I urge the citizens of this community to work together to solve the problem and not Editor, A recent article in the Deseret News stated that the candidates for city council had no burning issues to debate in this election and yearned for days when I, as a candidate, got some good scuffles going. I should resent this mockery. I find my efforts to be a an exercise in futility, but I take solace in the fact that Bountiful is a great place to live; that we have an abundance of good people who serve and could serve as candidates; and that we can afford the big spending of a benevolent administration. ' Since I apparently have the name, let me play the game and list Daves Top Ten Pick of burning issues candidates do not want to talk about 1. The city has in excess of $35 mil- lion in cash reserves compared to Layton, a larger city, with $12 million. The city receives less than six per cent on the investment of these reserves but taxpayers pay in excess of nine percent to replace the funds taken. 2. Why does the council not agree with the State Auditor when he tells 1 them that they interpret Section 15 (5), Utah Code, regarding accumulated cash reserves, differently. 3. Why does the council not reduce die property tax or franchise tax when it consistently has a budget surplus in excess of $1 million each year. 10-6-- 4. The council boasts of the city having no debt, and that it pays as it goes, but it requires that the taxpayers pay in advance with excess taxes. Die city can borrow at a tax free rate much less than can the taxpayers. Bonding is a legitimate procedure for large pur- denced by the removal of trees on chases. Bountiful Boulevard; the new commer- 5. When the city and its Redevelopment Agency sold property cial development on Orchard Drive; the extension of Bountiful Boulevard; and the absence of public hearings and to the post office it received $850 thousand. Why has it not paid off the bond debt with the proceeds? The city is getting less than six per cent interest on investments, but is paying 7.75 per cent interest on the bond. They report that the money is being used as a revolving loan fund for local business, but this is not a program pro- posed under the bond offering, and money lending should be left to the financial institutions. Taxpayers would be dismayed if they knew the beneficiaries of this unnecessary program. 6. The council approved the purchase of an interest in a power plant for $5.8 million without a hearing for citizen viewpoints. Is the city speculating on the future cost of electric power? Was it needed? The power plant provides a substantial amount of power to a commercial account at a rate less than the citys cost for the power. This contract should be brought in line or terminated. Why did it pay cash when it could have participated in a bond that was in place with an interest rate at least three per cent less than the taxpayers have to pay for their replacement money? 8. The council approved the construction of a law enforcement complex at a reported cost of $6.5 million, again without a public hearing because die city had cash in its pocket This is a monument beyond our needs. The cap- ital costs for such an investment exceeds $500 thousand each year. Would such a sum not be mem beneficial in programs directed to keeping individuals out of the system? 9. The council is interested in annexing property more properly located in the City of North Salt Lake . Traffic, water, and water, run-oproblems will be imposed on North Salt Lake. This and other annexations have an ego trip for the expansion of Bountiful which has no commercial or industrial base to support it 10. The city is administered by a bureaucracy which is impervious to citizen protestations as has been evi ff POOR COPY bond elections. David C. Piggott Bountiful Thanks for the help with food drive Editor, The Trapper Trails Council, Boy scouts of America, raised over 160 tons food items for 16 of thanks to the wonderagencies recently ful response from the public, particu- larly the businesses and community groups that supplied the large trucks to transport the food to the food banks. Thanks go to the Hill Air Force 729th Radar Unit, the US Army 96th Regional Support Command and the 854 QM Company Reserves, Smiths Super Markets, Interstate Barricades, General Store Transportation, Meadow Gold Dairies, Anderson Lumber, England Trucking, OgdenWeber County Applied Technology Center, Transport Designs and Pride Transportation. Thanks also go to Commissioner Spencer F. Stokes, Mayor Glen J. Mecham, Barney Chapman of America First Credit Union, the IDS Church, and the Hill Air Force 419th Reserves who provided back-u- p support in event of any unforeseen situations. The food drive covered a tri-sta- te arel of Northern Utah, Idaho and Wyoming and included 13 counties. Sincerely, Ray McNeely, Council Vice President over Programs A1 Sonnenburg, Program Director t' ; |