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Show THE ZEPHYR MAY 1990 PAGE 12 the mayor speaks an interview with Tom Stocks An Interview with Mayor Thomas Stocks was conducted by reporter, Ken Davey. The Interview has been edited for length and clarity. Zephyr: At a recent CHv Council meeting the council voted 3- -2 to approve a conditional use license for two Moab youngsters to set up a move-o- n building for a snow cone business. One of the youngsters Is vour daughter. The Council also voted to waive a bond required bv transient businesses. Tom: You're talking about waiving the $1,000 bond. The price of a bond Is now to $100. My recommendation to the Council was to start collecting a $25 quarterly up license fee rather than have local people buy a bond. Youre talking about my daughter and Sandy Izatt If kids go Into business, I dont see the purpose behind the bond. Its supposed to be for the protection of the public. The waiver Just means administrative costs, It Isn't revenue producing. Zephyr: But It Is an ordinance. Shouldnt ordinances be applied across the board? Tom: Yes, absolutely. But the ordinance has to do with transient business. Is this a transient business? That's one of the problems with the ordinance. And even with some of the transient businesses, some of them are Invited to come In, for the rock show, or the eep safari. I think we have to Identify what we mean by transient If a transient business comes In to paint a roof or lay down a cheap blacktop Job, those are the things the Council Is trying to protect the public from. No, I dont think locals who try to sell a little merchandise are transients. Thats why the waiver was requested, and thats why, I assume, those Council members who voted for the waiver did so. Zephyr: The Idea has been circulated that because vour daughter was Involved you manipulated the situation. Tom: No, It's pretty evident Two of the Council members voted against It Did I manipulate them? Council members have to be strong people. If Its right It's right and If Its wrong, Its wrong. The girls could get $1,000. They could have bought a CD. A quarterly license would bring money Into the city. A bond wont Zephyr: A recent City Council meeting held a discussion about police activity, specifically around the case of a Moab teenager who was hit bv a car driven bv a tourist while the girl was In a crosswalk on Main Street The tourist was not Issued a citation. The Incident has caused some controversy In town. What role should the Council play In monitoring administrative decisions of the police? Tom: The only thing the governing body has to do Is make the laws, and hire competent people to administer them. I am not a law enforcement officer. I selected Alan West as Chief of Police. He has a department to run. I think It's foolish for me to tell the chief that police decisions are right or wrong. Its second guessing. I could be great sitting In the stands and helping the football coach do his Job, give him great advice after the game Is over. But before the game starts, It's tough. Making decisions after the fact Is easy. That applies to dealing with law enforcement There was an accident There was a complaint, and that complaint was In a letter to the editor April 19 The police policy Is to hold an Internal to determine whether Investigation procedure was followed. Right now, police officers have the discretion to make Judgment decisions. It was done and we cant erase It The perception of the public was that It was an error. Whether It was or wasnt, I cant say. Zephyr: One of the reasons given at the Council meeting for letting the citation slide was that the weekend, with the Jeep Safari In town, was so busy. Tom: Thats not an excuse, thats not a reason. There Is no reason to let something slide. Thats a misstatement by someone. It doesnt take very long to write a ticket, what are we talking about 3 to 5 minutes? It may have been said, but It was wrong. Tlmes-lndepende- COMPUTER SERVICES Service Zephyr: Grand Countv Is setting up a drug and alcohol abuse council. Should the Cltv participate? Tom: Yes, and we have been. The more education on drugs, the better. But a lot of that education has to be In the home. Morality Is rubbed off on children at home. part-tiZephyr: The Chamber of Commerce, funded bv the Cltv. has hired a economic development coordinator. As Mayor, do you think the Cltv needs Its own economic development program? Tom: Well, southeast Utah certainly needs an economic development program. We have allocated money to the Chamber because we think thats the place for It There are many, many people working for economic development, and a lot of things happen because of those efforts. I dont think bicycling would have been near what It Is today If It hadnt been for a number of Individuals who got enthusiastic about It and made It happen. It doesnt take many people to make an Idea flourish. The Jeep Safari keeps growing. I dont know exactly how many people they had, but I think It doubled In the last two years. One thing we've been slack on Is user fees. Right now, I see they are trying to get a donation at the Slick Rock Trail. It could almost warrant some type of business up there to collect the fee, develop It, set up rest rooms along the trail. Some day that may happen. All areas need to consider those user fees. The Film Commission Is one. It has looked to the City and County for funding. I have no objection to that funding, but the Film Commission should also look for user fees. When people come here and start filming, they should be paying for the Commission offices. The Film Commission has been upset with me In the past because I continued to tell them they should work for a user fee to maintain that office. Zephyr: The Chamber of Commerce has prepared another budget reguest for next Is the program worth continued funding? year. Tom: Absolutely. I think Cedar Citys budget for their Chamber of Commerce Is about $125,000, with $65,000 to go toward economic development And Cedar City has been very successful. If you tried to promote bicycles here 20 years ago, people would have laughed at you. Now, Its the right time. Zephyr: The Cltv Council also voted. 2. to go ahead with plana to build hot tubs at the Swim Center, even though the estimated costs have gone from about $22.000 to about me 3-- S28.000. ntl. PETRA J' don't believe any Incident should be overlooked because of time. The Chief didn't say tt was a question of time. He said It was a Judgment at the discretion of the officer. There will be an Internal Investigation, and It will be reported to me. If It was wrong, there win be a change In the policy In the future. Zephyr: Should the results remain Internal? Tom: In my opinion, yes. There Is a police report available, for anyone who wants to pursue It The girl was hit thats a fact She was In a crosswalk, thats a fact Therefore, she was not at fault thats a fact I Supplies Sales 259-625- 2 Upgrades Tom: Closer to $30,000. Zephyr: Was It a good Idea to continue pursuing the plans? Tom: I dont know, but Its also after the fact If you dont do something wrong once In a while, you don't do anything. The woman running the swimming pool, Toni Adamson, Is constantly looking to Improve the program. Its good to have people on board like that Im always encouraged to see City employees do that The vote was spilt There were different perceptions, and thats good. The Council Is supposed to represent the community. All five Council members voted In favor of bidding the Job. Was It good at $22,000? At 25? At $27? I dont think the original Judgment of the Council was based on that price. I think they all voted for It because they thought Is was a good Idea. If It was a good Idea In the first place and the costs are higher, Increase the user fees and Its still good. If It wasnt a good Idea, we shouldnt have put It out to bid. You have to be ready to take It on the chin when you go after new revenues. Or else, you have to terminate employees. Or tell them to work for the same salaries even when Inflation eats away their money. Since I became Mayor, we reduced the staff 50, and are much as or more I work. are they doing think the They producing for the community. employees deserve a raise. i ne v,ny Manning ooorainaior nas Begun gathering Information for an ordinance to limit and restrict commercial signs In town. Should we have a sign ordinance? Tom: If you took all the signs down tomorrow, It wouldnt affect me personally. You could have big flashing signs, and It wouldnt affect me. But some people In the like would to see some semblance of order and aesthetics. Its Important to community them, and thats why we should hold some public hearings, decide what we want, and Implement It If you want a Park City look, I dont have any objections. But I also dont have any to the are who objections people trying to get a little business by putting up the signs along the street It doesnt offend me, but It does offend some others. But whatever we do, we ought to do It In an orderly manner. me What do people in . Orange County, California Vail and Grand Junction, Colorado Boseman, Montana St. George, Price and Bemidji, Minnesota Salt Lake City, Utah have in common? They all bought their computers from us! Stop by or give us a call and we'll show you why! Y R V .COMPUTER SERVICES JIM DAVIS TREE AND LANDSCAPING CO. COMPLETE: tree service large trees lawn maintenance 59 South Main evergreens & bonsai yard and lot clean-up- s Western Plaza tilling 259-625- 2 we also do tree spraying. 259-784- 2 making Moab beautiful |