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Show -Thursday, January 22, 2004- Page 2 - r,,;0,i; Vpw Utah Pleasant Grove ReviewLinaon .v, Opinion It's time for a decision The North Pointe Solid Waste District board is still trying to decide what to do with a $3.8 million prototype megabaler that was intended to be financially self-sufficient and has failed miserably. Peterson Engineering of Farr West, the vendor, has yet to make the system work as promised in the spring of 2002. The only one of its kind in the Intermountain region, the megabaler was initially hailed as a system that could radically radical-ly change the solid waste industry. Most of the district's original board members remain, and after nearly two years have to make a decision regarding the item, but it is a complicated issue. Several landfills were interested inter-ested in the baler as a mechanism mecha-nism to cut costs during its debut. However, the megabaler not only does not process waste at the capacity promised of 18 bales an hour or 900 tons a day, there are problems of size (too large), density (too loosely packed) and acceptable material materi-al (it is unable to process construction con-struction material). The machine process was supposed to compact trash into shrink-wrapped bales, making the trash easier to transport, less messy and smelly, and more cost effective. North Pointe, serving Orem and north Utah County cities, expected the baler would pay for itself if it processed 60 percent per-cent of the production as prom ised by the engineering company. compa-ny. The vendors have yet to fix the baler so it can wrap the minimum requirement of 12 bales an hour. The district has even had trouble keeping the baler operating. The loan to finance the purchase pur-chase of the baler extended the payments for the North Pointe District to reduce its quarterly cost. Some of the 15 board members mem-bers wish to continue working with the vendor. Another unlikely option would be returning it, with possible litigation liti-gation costs. Privatizing the district was a viable option the board opted out of, because it could adversely affect the employees' security and benefits. bene-fits. Board members hired a consultant con-sultant last fall to see if other efficiency measures could cut costs and bypass the baler issue. The board should consider privatizing or returning the baler. Its members have spent days, if not weeks, researching the dilemma in an effort to resolve the issue. They probably proba-bly wish they had researched the purchase of the mega-lemon mega-lemon as thoroughly as they are trying to resolve the problem prob-lem now. On Jan. 26, the board will look at all the old data and the information provided by the consultant, and hopefully come to a decision. It's about time they did. Unfairness happens There are times when it's really real-ly hard to be Elizabeth's dad. I mean, look at her. She's adorable. She's talented. She's a great student. She has a fun, bubbly personality. She never gets into any trouble more heinous than not making her bed or being a little unkind to her brother. And when there is work to be done, she's the first - and usually the only - one to offer to help, or to do it herself. See what I mean? Hard! Especially when the time comes to make a parental decision deci-sion that you know is going to disappoint her. How do you say "no" to such a girl when you know how much she deserves to hear "yes"? With Amy and Joe, our first two children, saying "no" was never all that difficult. Getting them to understand what "no" meant was the hard part. Our third child, Andrea, was a lot like Elizabeth as a teenager. But as an adult she's so busy she's never around long enough for us to say "no" - not that it would matter if we did. And while Jon is two years younger than Elizabeth, he's . . . well, you know . . . male. So "no" comes pretty naturally for him. But Elizabeth, for one reason or another, is the model 14-year-old. So when she wanted to participate par-ticipate in Something Very Important, our natural inclination inclina-tion was to do everything we could to make it happen for her. After all, she deserved it. So Anita and I worked on it for a couple of weeks. We looked at it from every angle. We talked about it late into the night. We prayed about it - hard. But in the end it became clear that it just wasn't going to work out, no matter how much Elizabeth deserved it. Life can be that way, you know? The hardest working team doesn't always win the game. The most qualified applicant doesn't always get the job. Sometimes nice guys finish last, virtue isn't rewarded, cheaters prosper and the worm beats the heck out of the early bird. Life isn't fair, no matter how hard we try to legislate, litigate liti-gate and negotiate otherwise. Unfairness happens. We can't control that. The only thing we can control is how we will respond to unfairness when it happens, as it inevitably will. For Anita and me, that meant putting off telling Elizabeth "no" for as long as we could. Neither one of us wanted to face it. But finally last night we sat with her and tried to explain why Something Some-thing Very Important wasn't going to happen. She cried. I couldn't blame her. I cried too. But she didn't complain. She didn't did-n't whine. She didn't wail about how unfair it was. She didn't even remind us that she deserved better,, even though we all knew perfectly well that she did. "I know you guys tried," she said through her tears. "That's all I can ask." Later that night, long after she had gone to sleep, I snuck into Elizabeth's room to kiss her forehead and stroke her hair and whisper one more time how sorry I was that things didn't work out. I could see that her eyes were puffy from all the crying. They were still a little red this morning morn-ing when she came downstairs for breakfast. But there were no more tears. Instead, her face was dominated by her characteristic happy smile. She didn't say a word about her disappointm6nt. All she could talk about was how excited she was for the activities and opportunities of the new day. Do you have any idea how hard it is to deal with a kid like that? Marketing the city as a business- rw the interesting develop- UUC . ments in America during the past decade or two is the growing trend for cities to market themselves as though they were businesses or products. In Utah, several cities have visibly vis-ibly promoted themselves in the marketplace to the point of actually actu-ally branding themselves as "Sandy: The New Downtown," "St. George: Where the Summer Sun Spends the Winter" and Orem "Family City U.S.A." Some cities, such as West Valley Val-ley City, have even created marketing mar-keting departments while others such as Ogden purchase billboard space. It's all part of the effort to respond to the increasing competition compe-tition between cities for commercial commer-cial development and tourist dollars. dol-lars. Marketing a city as though it were a business represents the 'modern realization that, in reality, reali-ty, a city is a business - with revenues, rev-enues, expenses, assets, liabilities, employees and all the other earmarks ear-marks of a commercial corporation. corpora-tion. The revenues flowing to the citybusiness are of course taxes -sales tax, property tax and others; while the expenses stem from providing pro-viding services, employees and facilities to benefit the community-Like any other business, there are two ways to increase profitability: prof-itability: reduce expenses or increase revenues. For a rapidly-growing city like Pleasant Grove, there are usually few ways to reduce expenses, therefore economic development -the process of increasing tax revenues rev-enues - becomes a necessity. Nationally-famous marketing consultant Eric Schulz (who is also a Pleasant Grove business owner) has defined marketing as communicating commu-nicating to your customer what is "different, better and special" about your product or company. In economic development marketing mar-keting this translates to simply reaching the people you want to reach with the information you want them to know about your community. It's not unusual for a communi- ty to want to n, ,p-fii quality of life, cj'ade scenic beauty, fthe along the Was e d; all communities ,g, s larities of pioneer j?atio: friendly lifestyles' l Th( nity arts prograi'.an lar mountain sceneace But the compel in uals who make,;ldit which bring je,.:-ovo prosperity to gr tivi ties are usually sith tion not related tr .cts" of-life issues. " Fo1 Decision maV one ic developments information Sto 1 upon a fe rge demographics, relth availability, cost of-": workforce and ' a few. " In the coming j, umn will take a Pleasant Grove is municate this vita! -' help others know know - that Pie? J ly is "different, bet-n Next week: 'ft, i running Grove." rings or-; ALPINE Hata Purira, Kimberly Bryant and Kent Hastings became Alpine's newest City Council members as they took the oath of office on Jan. 13. ALPINE PTSA representatives met with the Alpine City Council to request a stop sign or a "children crossing" sign at 600 East and 300 North for students at Alpine Elementary School. The council is considering putting cones to alert motorists to the pedestrians. ALPINE The City Council is considering whether to require a lot owner to pipe an irrigation ditch at 823 W. Meadow Lane. A portion of the ditch has already been piped and irrigation irriga-tion company officials expressed the opinion that it should either all be piped or none of it be piped. The council voted on Jan. 13 to leave the decision up to city staff. AMERICAN FORK Neighbors in Action, a group dedicated to improve communication communica-tion in the community and help with volunteer efforts, will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 28, in the American Fork City administration building, 51 E. Main. Members will consider setting up a foundation for residents to make contributions and appointing representatives for city parks. AMERICAN FORK The community has openings on many of its boards and committees. The City Council is taking applications applica-tions from residents who wish to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission, Board of Adjustments, Recreation Committee, Library Board, Golf Course Committee, Beautification and Shade Tree Committee, Arts and Humanities Council, Senior Citizen Board, Historical His-torical Preservation Commission, Steel Days Committee, Cemetery Committee, Rodeo and Racing Committee, Neighbors in Action and Nuisance Abatement Committee: Commit-tee: Applications should submit a letter of interest and resume to city administration offices, 51 E. Main, or e-mail them to council member Shirl LeBaron at lebaron4771msn.com. They should arrive prior to the Jan. 27 council meeting at which the appointments will be made. CEDAR HILLS Konrad Hildebrandt was appointed appoint-ed as city treasurer at the Jan. 6 City Council meeting. He will fill this position in addition to his role as citv manager. CEDAR HILLS The City Council will decide the fate of the Renaissance subdivision at. ts City Council meeting on Jan. v at 7 p.m. The council will review proposed amendments to the site plan, and take action on the changes. Interested residents are welcome to attend. CEDAR HILLS The Planning Commission continued con-tinued discussion Jan. 15 on creating creat-ing a "Blue Law" resolution. This refers to the desire of the community communi-ty to have future offices and retail stores closed on Sundays, and adhere to certain hours of operation. opera-tion. Commission members reviewed legal cases where these types of laws were upheld. CEDAR HILLS The City of Cedar Hills is seeking input in a city-wide survey called "Decisions 2004." This gives residents resi-dents the chance to share their opinion and prioritize city services and activities. The process will include a random survey, five neighborhood meetings, and a public pub-lic City Council work session, with results completed by April 2004. CEDAR HILLS The Planning Commission has changed its meeting schedule for 2004. They will meet on the last Thursday of each month. Their next meeting will be Feb. 26. HIGHLAND A new public utility zone was reviewed by the Highland Planning Commission on Jan. 13 in anticipation anticipa-tion of a new water tower being constructed con-structed on the foothills in the northwest north-west area. Cell phone towers would be exempt. The proposed zone specified the majority of the services servic-es from utilities in the zone must be available to Highland residents. The commission added two items to the proposal. One was no signs except those required by law or for the health and safety of citizens would be allowed. The second item would' exclude hazardous materials from being stored on site. The item with the additions was recommended to the City Council by unanimous vote. HIGHLAND A proposal to add an updated definition of a country club to the development code was discussed by the Highland Planning Commission Commis-sion on Jan. 13. Landscaping would be limited to 15 percent non-living material. The panel made sure a country club would be limited to members and their guests The present code limits membership to Highland residents but that was stricken in the new update "Tho new code will not apply to the Alpine Country Club because its use is grand fathered in" noted chair Steve Draper. The item was recommended to the City Council by unanimous vote. HIGHLAND The sign ordinance was reviewed by the Highland Plannm, Commission of jl1n. 13. -Tho CJ rent sign ordinaxe; enforce," said Lc-Assistant Lc-Assistant Director a':. Zoning. A permit is t sign over 16 squar-there squar-there is no way tr L. Crowell proposed 2 on every sign gV-.;ffjC number of the pe-0un indicator would ha,-:: the tag cannot Ik another sign," s.: I Brian Braithwa'le. was concerned ra don't get an ade:.r rj advertise grand oprj grand opening ec, ordinance but it ir Qz signs should be ity 1 for erecting s'gis t. q are calculated a; tt"Ven of the sign. The re. ;ten was recommend: iTs0 Council by unaiK".: fn de; LEHI The BYU De:a; is restaging a pes IT' concert called fys ' Evans, a Lehi i graphed for the years ago. The co 29, 30, 31 attheDs'Y Hall. Nightly pet'f A 7:30 p.m. and ttie":s matinee at 2 p.m. available at the F:; p1( 'shoi ece :ott Th ie . Office, 373-43 www.byu.eduhfac LEHI She is the inte cover girl for 2003 J"1 I., w onnj The iO' old struts her stuff o' lth Street and seiveseal community-the Lovi, ter. A product of Lek; Cr in north Lehi, thec'iugl center was selected j entries for the co leas Besser calendar aihoi ture displaying its H st colored and textu' a beautiful builds 1 ;3ycl cy Center w3S Jft!,riti: Wilson Architects Ch Ellsworth-Poulso" ;ad ' Besser Machine ,. plants through sent 4,500 calen-Legacy calen-Legacy Center- its customers m-1 SARATOGA SPR'n On Sat. Jan. 2 Hawkwatch Intef ', Or Marina Park at F;se 10 a.m. tol2Prov would learn atJ "GH, hawks. owls)and;.ow migration and cojs An educational nirovi tor will be prent asked to dis ,Vroi; learn about the , neighbors. For Jr .- moie wildlife activities, along ;, l which isschod . event, soon to b ' |