Boards and Commissions

[print-me/] Eagle Mountain has several boards and commissions that residents can be appointed to. These boards and commissions are used to help the City Staff and City Elected officials with various tasks in Eagle Mountain. These boards are open to Eagle Mountain residents, and membership to the board is appointed by the Mayor and then approved by a majority vote of the City Council. Fionnuala Koefoed, the Eagle Mountain City Recorder, in an email, explains the appointment process for these boards and commissions. “Occasionally we have residents contact us and express interest in serving on a board. Individuals are appointed if there are vacancies and if they are suited to the position. Sometimes recommendations are presented to fill a position. It’s the Mayor’s appointment with the consent of the Council. In the event there are no recommendations, we will notify the public regarding the vacancy. We typically get bios when we don’t know those that express an interest in filling a vacancy.” Matt Visser a resident of Eagle Mountain who is currently running for City Council, has worked on one of these boards in the past. “Working with youth council was the most rewarding position any one could ask for. These young people are future leaders. A couple meetings a month turns into multiple service opportunities, that they had a hand in organizing and helping with. I would get involved again in a heartbeat.” Eagle mountain has several boards and commissions to choose from. The Economic Development Board, a 5 member board, is designed to give the City Council recommendations about economic development. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, a 7 member board, gives recommendations for policies and programs for parks and recreation. The Library Advisory Board, a 5 member board, that gives advice and recommendations about the Eagle Mountain’s library operations and materials. The Recreation Sports Board, a 6 person board, gives advice on the Sports programs offered by Eagle Mountain. Youth Council has two ways people can get involved. You can become a member of the Youth Council, if you are with in the age range, or you can become a member of the Youth Council Committee of Advisors. The Youth Council advisors consists of two ore more residents to help the Youth Council with its agenda and programs. Employee Appeal Board, consists of one member of the Utah State Bar, and will hear employee complaints as described by Utah State Code. The Cemetery Advisory Board, a 5 member board, that report on all aspects of cemetery issues. The Military and Veterans Board, a 7 member board, that is responsible for issues involving active military and veterans. The Planning Commission, a 5 member commission, has the duties of development applications, monitor development activity, make decisions on land use. Every city in Utah is required to have a functioning Planning Commission. All of these boards require the approval of the City Council to implement policies or programs within the city. The only exception is the Planning Commission, they do have some authority to authorize land uses that do not require approval of the City Council. Melissa Clark, an Eagle Mountain resident and member of the Parks and Recreation Board, expounds on her service. “I always try to be involved in city affairs and events and attend many City Council meetings and planning commission meetings. I suppose it was at one of those many meetings that I was noticed as a possible P&R board member. Serving on the P&R board has been such an honor and fun! I was appointed to the P&R board by the Mayor with the recommendation of council member Ben Reeves, then approved by the entire city council. It was special to bring my 4 daughters to the city council meeting to be sworn in. Promising to uphold the Constitution got me choked up, because I am so grateful for that document.” She continues to explain why she picked the Parks and Recreation Board. “Parks have such a profound way of bringing families, neighborhoods, and communities together. In a lot of ways parks are the anchors of the city. I know we have work to do, but we have the best residents and city staff working on the issues that come up, we are bound to resolve any issues with a positive outcome.” Jerry Chizmadia, also a member of the Parks and Recreation board, talks about how he was appointed to the board. “I have been fortunate in my career to be able to give back to my community, and wanted to do so through some sort of public service. I asked our current Mayor for any opportunity to do so, and much to my surprise was asked to become part of the Parks and Recreation advisory board. I went into this with much excitement because I have extensive construction industry knowledge. I wanted to be able to help the city organize and re-evaluate projects or contracts with my experience.” Looking back on his service, he continues, “To summarize my experience with the board in our first year, I would have to say, It is the best unexpected challenge I have had with community service. It is a good experience to be able to give back to my community. Because, I am by nature a very dollar conscious person, I enjoy the challenge of making good economic decisions with the money we are stewards over. I also feel the board could be tasked with greater duties as well. I think we could be entrusted with some items to help the city develop more programs or improving existing ones.” The Parks and Recreation Board has currently been working on several programs, Jerry continues, “The Matching Grant Program is money set aside from the sale of the utilities for the improvement of ALL of the neighborhoods in Eagle Mountain. I enjoy this project, even though it is not what I thought I had signed up for. It makes me happy to see citizens of our fair city wanting to organize to beautify our city.” The Parks and Recreation Board is only one of the many boards that an Eagle Mountain resident can serve on. If you would like to serve on one of these boards, you should contact the Mayor and let them know of your interest. Jared Grey, Eagle Mountain Resident and running for City Council talks about his experience working on several of the Cities Boards. “It has been a pleasure serving on multiple boards in Eagle Mountain. I have been on the Parks and recreation board for 2 years, the cemetery board for 3 years, and the president of the Pony Express Events for 4 years, and I help with youth council whenever I can although I’m not officially in an appointed position. Each of these boards give me lots of experience and opportunity to work with and serve members of this great community. As a member of the Parks and recreation board we completed a full round of the match Grant program, and seen a lot of Parks get much needed improvements. The cemetery has grown from only a couple graves, to a couple dozen graves, and had successful memorial day events each year. It has became a place of reflection and solace for those who attend. Youth council has given me the opportunity to work with the youth in our community to plan and attend many great and fun activities including visiting the state capital, and having our first annual dirt dance after the Rodeo. The Pony Express Events has been the most challenging yet very rewarding. We have gone from a panel arena and not much more, to a Grand stand that seats 3,000 visitors, with many other improvements, a nearly sold out Derby, a great Moto Cross, and a Rodeo that grew over 25% in 2017. Total attendance of all most 10,000 people at the events in 2017. Now I ask myself, why do I get involved in all this, and even run for city council on top of that? It is only out of a deep desire to give back, and serve those around me. I love being in the service of my fellow man! I have no alternative motive, and I stand to gain nothing. But I do it willingly, and gain as much out of it as I give. Thanks for allowing me to serve.”