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Show I'Jl jJ Vol. 19, No. 15 Wednesday, April 16, 1997 50 cents a single copy To subscribe call 756-766- 9 Meetings to air upcoming budget By RUSS DALY City Editor Lehi residents are invited to attend meetings to give input about the city's upcoming fiscal budget. City administrator Ed Collins said that the City Council is hoping to get feedback from citizens to see if the priorities for city projects is in line with what citizens believe should be the focus of government. Meetings will be held tonight (Wednesday) and Thursday, April 17 at 7 p.m. in the city council chambers, 153 N. 100 East. To accommodate the maximum number of citizens at the meeting, citizens have been asked to attend a specific meeting according to the day their garbage is collected, although any citizen is welcome to attend either session. Citizens whose garbage is collected on Wednesdays are invited to attend tonight, and citizens whose garbage is collected Thursday and Friday are invited to attend tomorrow night. "One thing we can agree on is that we don't have enough revenue to address all of the needs," said Collins. "There's such an opportunity for citizens to have an impact." Citizens who attend the meeting will be presented with a "budget in brief" that will show proposed funding for city departments. Citizens may present their viewpoints on what departments or projects should receive more or less funding. According to Collins, the administration has identified streets and sidewalks, parks, the library and expansion of the city cemetery as priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. While Collins said he realizes that not every need will be met, he hopes to provide the administration with information the council can use to make decisions based on what citizens perceive as needs. "What we're really trying to accomplish with the process is a more thoughtful approach to the way the city's budget is prepared and a format to evaluate whether or not we were successful in establishing priorities," he said. City reinstates legals in pages of Free Press By RUSS DALY City Editor The administration of Lehi City took official action last week to restore the publication of its legal notices, such as the agendas of upcoming meetings, in the Lehi Free Press. The agenda for the April 22 meeting can be found on page 6 of today's newspaper. City administrator Ed Collins read a statement on behalf of the City Council and administration which said they were "prepared to acknowledge that we have erred in this matter." The statement went on to say that while the city is "still frustrated by our relationship with the Lehi Free Press, we are willing to admit that we were wrong." None of the councilmembers made any remarks in connection with Collins' action; the audience, however, responded with applause. in Later the meeting, Councilmember Rod Olsen made a motion to restore the citizen input time that had once been a part of the regular biweekly agenda, saying that the city administrator had made it possible for the council to take less time in their meetings. Councilmember Robert Fox gave a second to the motion, although he expressed a preference for the quarterly input meeting format. The councilmembers debated over the pros and cons of having the input time, as well as the different ways the time might be facilitated; councilmembers expressed concern that citizens might use the time to bring up items that were already on the agenda instead of focusing on items. After Olsen's motion failed, councilmembers made a new motion to try restoring the input time for what they indicated would be at lean "a couple of months," as long as input a items. was restricted to The voting on the second motion was unanimous in the affirmative. non-agen- Lehi Main Street soon to sport three traffic lights An interlocal agreement that will lead to the installation of two traffic lights in Lehi was given the green light according to city engineer Blaine Comer. Comer reported to the city council that Alan Mecham of the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) had agreed to sign the interlocal agreement with Lehi City, subject to review by the city provide the engineering. An additional light, with work to be done by UDOT, will also be installed at 500 E. Main Street. Comer also reminded the council that they had previously approved a request for special sensors to be installed on the lights that can be activated by emergency vehicles. Cost for the sensors on the two lights will be approximate- attorney. ly $8,700. A motion to approve the request was made by Councilmember Rod seconded Olsen and by Councilmember Frances Comer. to approve having Both motion the mayor sign the agreement and to authorize the expenditure for were unanimously the sensors approved by the council. According to city administrator Ed Collins, the agreement had been signed as of Monday, April 14. Work is expected to start on the project sometime in the spring. UDOT approved the two lights one at 850 E. Main, and one at at of the northbound p Main Street if Lehi City would :r. T m m r mil i f n ii JH i -- iiriimiiii Photo by Russ Daly Gary Lewis, center, representing the Lehi Civic Improvement Association, presents a check for $1,000 to Scott the Lehi Silver Bandwagon. At left is buggy craftsman Mel Anderson, Sampson, chairman of the project to who shows the two the wagon's wheels. The wagon will make its debut in the 1997 Lehi Round-ucelebration. te p Groups band together to help restore Bandwagon The Lehi Silver Bandwagon is on its way back in. Under the direction of Scott Sampson, several local citizens and organizations have banded the famous together to bandwagon for use in parades and other special events. Civic The Improvement Association presented Sampson with a check for $1,000 and the Lehi Arts Council pledged $2,500 to kick off the pro ject, which craftsman Melvin Anderson esti mated would cost between $6,500 and $7,000, not includ- intr trio vnliintoor Citizens are encouraged to participate in this pro f OF ject, which is especially mmm V. labor. Donations for the project are now beine accepted at the Lehi City offices, 153 N. 100 East. pertinent during this sesquicentennial celof ebration the Pioneers' entrance into the Salt Lake Valley. The new wagon hold 18 band members in its six seats, 111 will with two more in the drivers seat. Thanksgiving Point has pledged the use of its Clydesdale horses to pull the wagon and to offer storage space when it is not in use. Sampson said that several summer events have already been secured, with the wagon to debut in the stock parade on Thursday, June 26 to open the 1997 Lehi Round-u- Rudeo. City hears objections, okays 2 developments By RUSS DALY City Editor Citizens from several unincorporated areas of Lehi attended the recent meeting of the city council to present input on several annexations and developments under consideration. as Russ Felt, serving spokesman for the Southwest Lehi Homeowners Association, told the council of his group's concerns about the FrandsenPowers annexzonation of 77.68 acres to ing at approximately 700 S. 100 West. "We moved and built here primarily because we enjoyed the rural lifestyle in the area," said Felt. "We would hope that the city council would have a vested interest in maintaining that lifestyle." He referred to the Lehi City General Plan, from which he cited that "new housing.. .is required to be compatible with existing housing." He said the group was formally requesting that the property be annexed at zoning, with no park or Planned Residential Development (PRD) overlay to be introduced at a later date. Felt also explained that the group has met with developer Mel Frandsen in hopes that a compromise could be reached. 5 "It became evident that Mr. Frandsen's primary concern was money," he said. "However, we feel that this maximizing should not be done at neighboring property owner's expense." In response, property owner Ralph Powers told the council and audience that he was "not a artist" and that the property had been in his family over 50 years, longer, he said, than any of the owners in the homeowners association. He claimed that one family had purchased property from his family because the city had filled up and people were trying to "expand out into the farm area." He went on to refer to Highland City, which had tried to develop all lots. He felt that that concept no longer worked, especially families. because of one-acr- e e City turns down two requests for annexations By RUSS DALY City Editor Two petitioners walked away from a recent city council meeting without receiving approvals for their requests. "I think it's in the best interest of the city not to annex in that area for another housing complex," said Councilmember Dee Ray Russon, who made a motion to deny Larry Baum's request for annexation of approximately 10.822 acres located at about 2100 N. 300 West to a zone. proposed Due to what Russon said was "tremendous growth on the North Bench, the city has been looking for a centralized location to create an additional ball field." Reed Councilmember second Sunderland Russon's motion and all councilmembers voted unanimously to deny the request. Citizen Ron Nuttall said that he had talked to Russon about a piece of ground that was "much more suitable" because it was flatter and See DENY on Page 13 "We feel like what we are proposing would enhance the property values," said Powers. "I would say that every home tlu't we would put in would be equal to or superior to the homes that are there now." "We're not saying 'no develop- ment,'" said area resident Steve Davis. "That's not really an issue. We're trying to encourage families to come to our neighborhood who are going to stay." Davis said that his house backs up against a neighboring subdivision, where several of the homes have already been bought and sold, which lie said makes the people "never really develop a sense of community." Dave Klock. a developer who has plans for 40 acres north of Frandsen's proposed piece, said that his group would be coming to the council for annexation within the next few months and suggested that the council consider the price of larger lots. "If it's only a difference of 3,000 square feet, it would seem that you would want to err on the side of affordability," he told the council. "The value of a property is not determined by the size of a lot." Councilmember Frances Comer, See DEVELOP on Page 13 Music specialist hopes to bring opportunities to Lehi youth By RUSS DALY City Editor Ladies and gentlemen, Peter, Paul and Bev. The first you know better as Tchaikovsky, the second is part of the famous folk trio, but the latter is the force the hopes to bring them all together for the betterment of the community. Bev Wilson, who serves as the music specialist on the Lehi Arts Council, would like the youth of today to enjoy some of the opportunities she had to participate in the arts as a child in Raymond, Alberta, Canada. The middle of five children who were born to musical parents, she and her family would often sing together, naturally creating four part harmony. Bev's mother taught piano lessons and her father sand in a barbershop quartet as well as a men's choir called the Cavalier Chorus. Although her mother taught piano lessons, she was instructed by her aunt Kay, who had studied with the Royal Conservatory of Toronto; her mother and her aunt traded children when it came time for piano instruction. A great-aun- t was the music teacher in the elementary school that Bev attended. Not only did she have the opportunity to sing with the school chorus, but in sixth grade, she was asked by her great-aun- t to accompany the choir when they participated in the annual music festival in Lethbridge, 20 miles away. In junior high school and high school, however, there was no music program available, and Bev had to improvise. She joined the Ann Campbell Singers, a private group that earned international many awards, and traveled with them when they performed at the 1970 World's Fair in Osaka, Japan. The group also cut a record on their return to Canada. In addition, she continued her piano studies under the Royal and Conservatory program arranged her high school schedule so that she could use a study hall period at home to practice in order to take the annual examinations. "I grew up in a small town where the key word for everyone was 'participation,'" she said. "We did things. We were always presenting programs." But not all of her activities centered on music. She was a cheerleader for three years, served on the LDS seminary council and V- V" 1 ' - v tsk :t - tj Brigham Young University, where she majored in elementary education with a minor in music; she also served an LDS mission to Oakland, Calif, during which time she wrote to an acquaintance, Mark Wilson of Lehi, whom she had met in a Family Home Evening group :n Provo, while he was serving a mission in Australia. Music continued to play a role in Bev's life as she taught piano lessons while Mark was attending the University of Utah. After about six years, the family moved to Lehi because of the quality of life for rearing children. In 1987, Bev picked up her e as she took on the baton job of music specialist at Sego Lily Elementary, teaching music classes to all seven grade levels. "I didn't realize how big it was until they assembled in the gym full-tim- Bev Wilson taught swimming lessons for two summers. After high school, she attended one day." she said. "You have to know their names and care about them individually" One of her first big projects at Sego Lily was an patriotic program that was held in the auditorium at Lehi High School, where each class sand a number. She also took classes to Symphony Hall, worked with the fourth and fifth grades on school plays, and helped prepare the children for Christmas programs. In 1993, she worked one final year as a fifth grade teacher, then returned home to be a full-tim- e mom. Through the years, she has felt that music is important and that youth ought to have the opportunities to participate and to learn. To that end, she approached Lehi City Councilmember Robert Fox and See WILSON on Page 13 |