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cedarvalleysentinel.com sent a survey to each of the City Council and Mayor Candidates for the 2017 election. The questions included ones about roads, education, city issues, city strengths, as well as a few to get to know the candidates on a more personal level. Over the next few weeks, those answers will be published on cedarvalleysentinel.com. If you have missed any, want to catch up, or just review them again, you can do so by visiting the Cedar Valley Sentinel (formerly i84005) Election Center at http://cedarvalleysentinel.com/elections/. Feel free to share these articles on social media. Lets get the word out and increase voter participation in this election cycle. Eagle Mountain is a great city, and it can be made even greater by our elected officials, but they need input from the residents.
The answers for the candidates have not been modified in anyway. We have also randomized the order that the answers are listed in for each question.
To make it work. We are at a time when Eagle Mountain is growing. Between the growth in City Center, the High School going in, and business beginning to populate the city it is now more important than ever to work together. There is a huge opportunity to work with developers. I am of a firm belief that through open and honest communication and collaborative efforts we will grow and cultivate those relationships to benefit everyone. Now if developers are not holding to agreements then we take a firmer stance. This is where we have agreements in place to hold them accountable. My goals are simple understand when the carrot will work and also be ready to use the stick when necessary.Stephanie Gricius – Part Time Mayor Candidate
This is a complicated question because there are so many specifics involved. To give a high level overview, we need many different types of developments. I’d like to see more single family neighborhoods, some areas preserved for larger lots and agriculture, and commercial development. The goal is to diversify our tax base; I don’t want that burden to be completely on residents. With careful planning, we can diversify and maintain that small town feel that many of us love.Debbie Hooge – Full Time Mayor Candidate
Planned growth. Development is done by the developer not the city. Our job is to help them plan and develop withing the criteria of our code. It is also our job to ensure we have the infrastructure to allow for the growth. If our housing construction out paces our infrastructure, that’s a problem. So, the City either changes the code to slow and control growth, or it let’s developers run wild. I am in the first group. I believe letting builders and developers expand beyond the capacity of our infrastructure is wrong. The quiet enjoyment of the homes and property of current residents must ALWAYS be a priority when implementing any growth. Not even the City’s budget or economic development should supersede the interest of the community itself. Having said that, I have found that with cooperation, communication, negotiating, and planning the cause of the City can and will always be advanced along with the those of the resident and the developer.Drew Curley – City Council Candidate
I have a strong stance on holding developers accountable to their agreements. In the past, developers have abandoned amenities promised to their buyers, completely changed master plans to add in commercial areas, and even failed to fulfill basic requirements as building to code and providing proper waste management. In my opinion, these are often nothing less than bait-and-switch tactics and false marketing. In other scenarios, developers have failed to properly establish HOAs which have resulted in years of contention in their communities. This all starts with holding the developers accountable, and restricting their projects when compliance fails.Jan Preece – City Council Candidate
My biggest goal in handling development is to make sure the new development compliments the area that it is going into. I wouldn’t want a huge apartment complex in the middle of half acre lots for instance. I wouldn’t want a light manufacturing facility smack in the middle of homes. I want parks to be accessible to the public. Growing the city in a way that will benefit and protect it for generations to come.Jonathan Vail – Mayor Candidate
In regards to development, my goal would be to make sure that it done in way that it retains the look and feel of Eagle Mountain. This can be done by working with the City Council, Developers, Current Residents, and the Development Committee to ensure that proper zoning and Master Development Agreements maintain this standard. If a standard does not fit with this vision, then I would recommend that the development be rejected by the City Council. As for the Master Development Agreements, I would push that they be followed through by the Developer and be in the interest of the current residents. This would mean that parks and open areas be finished, before the development is finished, preferably before 50%. If the Developer would want to change his or her agreement, then I would suggest that the entire agreement be open up for negotiation, not just a part of it. As for new MDA’s, I would ensure that they have sunset clauses to ensure that they are done timely, so that they do not become outdated.Melissa Clark – City Council Candidate
The reality of development in a city is we have to have the right blend of industrial, commercial, and residential–within residential we have to have a mix of family farms, single family dwellings, and even high density. The real issue is making sure we have the roads and infrastructure to support each, and, most importantly, that we have each kind of development in the correct place within our city. Development has to happen to increase the tax base and allow us to provide basic infrastructure and the added perks of parks and amenities, but that development has to make sense. When it comes down to it, businesses will come to Eagle Mountain because we are the 3rd largest city in Utah by land mass and within 18 years we are projected to have 120,000 residents; having that kind of potential in location, workforce, and customer base is exactly the incentive to develop that business owners are looking for. We need a mayor and city council that will not get in the way of that growth and development and we need to continue to be looking at the type of businesses EM will need and support like more restaurants, light industrial, but also things like a nursing home and memory care.Jared Gray – City Council Candidate
I’m a great candidate for this question. My background is in construction, and Real Estate. I’ve sold and built developments and understand the process front to back both in constructing and end users. So my goals would be balanced. We need to protect the integrate of existing developments, while allowing property owners to use their land to the highest and best use within the zoning laws and codes. That means we need to be smart and have a plan in place to guide how the future developments come in. I’d love to see more bigger lots and smart buffering.Matt Visser – City Council Candidate
Something I’ve learned from sitting in city council meetings is some of these developers are brilliant at negotiation and finding loopholes to legally get what they want. So when it comes to development, we need to look at what is best for Eagle Mountain. Let’s not sit and watch. Let’s make changes that close the loopholes and protect the best interests of the city.Donna Burnham – City Council Candidate
Development should be carefully considered to ensure that the impact of new developments on current residents is properly considered. Developers should be required to fix problems that new houses and traffic patterns will cause. The city, on the other hand, needs to review problems that already exist and either add them to our impact fee plan or find ways to partner with future developers to fix them outright.
Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.