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Show lehi Free Press New Utah! - Wednesday, October 27, 1999 - Page 3 Election News Lehi candidates state views on agricultural land and other issues iou; do you propose preserving Lehi's natural resources, the agricultural lands and the wetlands? Frances Comer "By using the plans and ordinances already in place. We have little control over the wetlands as the Corp of Engineers oversees the wetland use." James Dixon "Agricultural lands can be preserved with a cooperative effort between land their adjacent owners, neighbor, and the city. This is a critical issue to plan-ning. I would propose removing the A--5 and A--l zoning from the Low Density Residential designation so that they are considered differently than zones. Also, it is higher density, ver critical that the owners of such properties combine their efforts to keep and maintain their properties as agricultural and not sell to large residential developers who will push for the highest density possible. We must also realize that there are some areas in town that are not suited for development because of high water tables, natural streams, etc., as well as lifestyles lived there." Robert Fox "Wetlands take care of themselves because they are under control of the Army Corp of Engineers as is much of the Dry Creek area because it qualifies as a flood plain. As for our agricultural lands, my proposal has been to provide an agricultural zone that would provide protection for the agricultural operations but more importantly some sort of tax relief to help farming remain profitable for the farmer this is the only way to help preserve the agricultural lands, the owners must see benefit to off set the money that could be missed from development." Mark Johnson "The protection of agricultural lands per se is a very difficult issue. Bills have been introduced into the state legislature in an attempt to retain farm lands in another county in this state. These bills have been impossible to defend. I feel the best way to protect Lehi and its agricultural Rod Olsen James Dixon iiiiiiiirfti'iriiiiiTi nrtiir-- the laws already existing that protect our wetlands and agricultural lands. What we need to start protecting is our up and coming "I support WATER problems." the Cedar Fort's Candidates Night on Tuesday, Oct. 12, only partially fulfilled its intended purposes since two w of the three Town Council canf didates were unable to attend. Mayor Jeanine Cook called the ., IS meeting to order and expressed 1 the town's thanks for the service of Town Council members i Bob Messersmith and Spencer Chamberlain who are not run Bart Berry She then ning for excused candidates Bart Berry and Tom Groff who were both out of town on business trips. Candidate Lynnette Groff gave a brief platform speech and afterwards fielded questions from townspeople. She said that the important issues she hoped to address were appropriate management of growth in the community, water manage'AWMeet If $ 1 J ft iii , Ik - - i ment and maintaining the rural environmental Cedar Fort has to offer. happy, healthy n "There has been some IWWWIIHJ question as to my ability to hold office since I am handicapped. In four years, I have missed only two meetings ' none of the other candif dates, be they council or on appointed boards, can make o that statement. My brains are in my head not mv knees! I believe if someone runs for this position, they should be willing to make an effort to attend all meetings and address the responsibility of the job. One wonders why non of the three potential council candidates has not attended,! city council meeting since announc- ..HWIHI.J She pledged that, if elected, she would listen to the concerns of town residents equally and fairly. Groff Lynnette Mrs. Groff expressed her concern that the children of the town have a good, safe environment in which to grow up. She supports the ball park and picnic area project currently planned for the BLM land. She also suggested a Neighborhood Watch program to help reduce crime. She cited her professional experience as a business consultant to show that she can bring extensive information-gatherin- g expertise to public service. She has also had experience in negotiations and diplomatically handling sensitive issues. When asked a question about a possible pressurized irrigation water agreement between the irrigation company and the Town of Cedar Fort, Groff replied that she would have to do some research on the situation before forming an opinion. Another concern from the floor was that her Mrs. Graff's travel schedule would permit regular attendance at Town Council meetings. She answered that she does- V n't accompany her husband as frequently as she had in the Tom Groff past. She also said that her husband, Tom, also a Town Council candidate, now travels mostly at the end of the week, which would permit him to attend most council meetings. A final comment from the floor came from a towns person -'- COPY "- n "Yes! We need to breath , renewed life into our historic down town Main Street. To do this we will need to change our thinking about growth. Bigger is not always better. We need to work on what we have now. Runaway Xj't .1 rc i growxn cases iramc problems, pollution, over crowd ed schools. We must face these problems now. We need to start saving what we have now. lf Harry Draper previously term' on the served a Cedar Fort Town Council. He is the present head of the Zoning Committee and also serves on the Board of Adjustments. Drapers experience on these committees has, in part, prompted his write-i-n bid for election to the town council. If elected he would like to "encourage ft review of our current zoning ordinance to allow the' owners of older structures in town to upgrade and beautify their homes." He also said that he supports a "review of our zoning east of Highway 73 to direct future growth in that direction Draper voiced his commitment to "use all my influence to preserve and secure our current supply of culinary w ater. 1 will also encourage a continued upgrade of our public services such as fire protection, emergency medical services, law enforcement, and parks and recreation." Draper has lived in Cedar Fort for 25 years. He and his wife, Vickie! have five children. He is employed as the vice president of sales and operations for Rhinehart Oil. His leadership in IDS church capacities includes Scoutmaster, bishop, and high councilman. "Our rural style of life is a value, irreplaceable should we allow it to go away says Draper. "I want to help preserve the pioneer heritage that founded this community. Tradition is a value that we should encourage and embrace. U gives our residents a sense of identification and pride." r a "With the growth that Lehi has experienced and most importantly what we will face in the future, it is in the interest of our community to look very closely at the individuals chosen to represent them. Do you know the capabilities iJ Li Election 99 For information on all the local candidates go to: m ff www.n ewutaticon, You'll also find news from all five New Utah! local editions. What people are saying: "We are so glad you have an online edition! We are interested in the news in PG, AF and Lehi, as well as in the Lone Peak til Edition. Especially the Arts info. My husband likes the sports news. We have lived in Highland for 19 years and have made many friends in AF also. We like to hear about their activities, too." "What a neat thing you life-lon- four-ye- Richard Smith Mark Johnson write-ins..- .. bpencer Chamberlain currently fills a seat on the Cedar Fort Town Council. He originalbut ly did not seek he his mind changed says because of encouragement from other town residents. He also has a desire to see the town's current projects through to completion. His motive in running a write-i- campaign is simply to "keep doing the town's business." Chamberlain grew up in Cedar Fort, and has g been a resident. He and his wife, Shauna, have two cluldren. He is a Vietnam veteran and is currently employed as equipment specialist over ordnance and machinery at the Tooele Army Depot Chamberlain has an impressive record of public service. He has served on the town council several times for a total of eight years. He also served for one and years as the Mayor of Cedar Fort. Harry Draper power." "I really feel that the issues have already been addressed and discussed in detail. One concern I have however, remains. I want more resources allocated toward drug prevention programs and a drug task force to fight the drug element that is becoming more prevalent in our Spencer Chamberlain one-ha- "I was awarded in August the elected official of the year by UAMPS or Utah Associated Municipal Power System which has 31 member cities. I feel that we have made a lot of progress with our power company. Just recently we have put in a new sub station to handle the growth of this community and we are putting in new street fights along Main Street that has been funded with our public power dollars. We need to protect and preserve and take care of our power department because it is a great benefit to the community to own our own city." Frances Comer And last minute By CHARLYNN ANDERSON Rod Olsen Robert Fox Richard Smith who said that Mrs. Groff has shown her dependability through her service to the school and town in the past. the candidate... and your posterity. Please take time to study the candidates. Do you know their abilities or simply the name? Will your vote be cast for a real betterment of Lehi? We have the opportunity to increase our quality of life by selecting who we believe to be responsible, ethical, and knowledgeable about the issues that will face Lehi. Please investigate and participate concerning the election on November 2." g. Cedar Fort town candidates Cedar Fort meets and experience of the candidate you are voting for? Would you hire a plumber to represent you in a legal case? A carpet cleaner to do your dental work? In a very real sense when you cast ;your vote, you are controlling the future for yourself resources is to incorporate creative planning. ing their candidacy. It would behoove them to Where for example large lot developments of become familiar with the present concerns perhaps two to five acres are required for the before the council. If you don't attend city council meetings to express use of family gardening and farming." find out the real issues, why are we talking about perceived issues?" "I was given some good advice concerning public office, and that is 'Don't say 1 will work diligently for the protection of our history and the morals of our past But, in anything that you can't addition to that, I want this city to be progresdefend.' Even though it may We need to use all not be a p6pular response, I sive and forward-thinkinour resources as well as keep up with technodon't knovrthat I can really do anything to preserve the logical advances that allow us to gather and use more information than ever before in the histoagricultural lands surrounding Lehi. Farming in this r ry of the world. The mayor and all city leaders should be accessible via the Internet so that any area began to change sever al years ago. The dairy farm citizen, at any time, can be in contact with their and surrounding area that I worked on as a boy city leaders, and that they (the city leaders) in was taken more than 20 years ago by one to five turn have another means of communication to acre Tiobby farms.' Now it seems the hobby prove their responsibility to the citizen. This should by no means be considered a farms are being threatened by development, and it is a very complex issue. I believe a replacement to other forms of communication, landowner has a constitutional right to sell his but should be used to expand the opportunities property if he so desires. Real estate prices in to share information. The more information Lehi are too high for anyone 10 purchase and try shared, the better this community will be. The to make a living farming. implications to the safety and well being of our At election time, it seems to be a big issue to community are huge. For example, when the preserve agriculture in this area. I believe if any City had problems with safe drinking water, the candidate tells you they can change the way notification would have been received within a things are regarding land prices, farming, and matter of minutes of a boil order to a significant development, its probably just the warm number of our citizens, rather than hours or fuzzys, and I'm not sure they can do a whole lot days." about it." on iff! ww.newutah.com . " done by putting the different papers on the world wide web. I k have lived in AF for 26 years now, but have gotten tired of going over to my parents' home in Lehi to catch up on all of their local news. This way, I can just access the info with the the click of my mouse! Keep up the good work. I really enjoy getting the info I need from my PC." have - Y ar "Your new web site is an excellent way to keep up to date on current events. My Mother and I both enjoy the ability to click on specific sites and read only what we're interested in, instead of flipping through pages of newspaper articles that do not particularly interest us. Thank you for doing such a wonderful job." "I really like your online edition. It is so easy! I have been to sites, the Salt Lake Tribune, and you have to go through a lot of screens before you get to where you want to be, but with yours, it's just a couple of clicks and you're there. I also like the fact that I can find out what exactly is Mom and I like to going on in my neck of the woods. I am a I find out the activities going on around my area so can take my small children. Thanks for such a great paper." such as stay-at-hom- e WmmM to More LOCAL news any other source! www.newutah.com |