Eagle Mountain Planning Commission Appointments

On December 1, 2020 the City Council voted on the appointment of Jeremy Bergener to the Eagle Mountain Planning Commission. The City Council also extended the terms for Matt Everett and Chris Pengra (former Eagle Mountain Mayor). All three will serve for a Three-year Term. Bergener will be filling the seat currently held by Rich Wood, who also ran for City Council in 2019. Bergener was appointed by Mayor Westmoreland and approved by the City Council. Jeremy is not a new name to Cedar Valley Sentinel (formerly i84005) or Eagle Mountian politics. He for City Council during the 2019 Municipal election. During that election cycle, he filled out a questionnaire that we sent to all the candidates. If you are interested in his responses during the election cycle you can view them here: #EM2019 – Jeremy Bergener – City Council Answers. That set of questions included, “How long have you resided in Eagle Mountain, and why do you call Eagle Mountain your home?” In 2019 Bergener answered, “We will have lived in Eagle Mountain for two years this coming August. I have always liked Eagle Mountain since delivering irrigation parts to some of the only homes in the area at the time, 2002. In 2017 Jenna encouraged me to start looking for a house instead of renting. We each did our independent searches and the very first house we each found is the house we ended up in. We love the area and the people that we live around. ” I sent an email to Jeremy asking him a series of questions. Here are the questions and his responses to those questions. Q: What are some of the things you would like to see happen while you are on the PC? I would like to see some of the vision of those that established the city and helped it move along come to fruition. It takes a lot of planning and effort to build a successful city. One of those visions is in balancing residential, commercial, and parks/open spaces. For the city to provide more to the citizens there needs to be spaces for all three of these things, but mainly to balance the revenue with some commercial business and remove some of the burden from residential taxes. Q: What background do you bring to the table that will help with your position in the PC? For the past ten years I have worked in State government. The majority of my experience has been in management. Everything we do in government is guided and dictated in code and rule. Since 2012 I have been in positions that have required me to read code and become familiar with the language and interpretation of code. Q: What was the process for getting appointed to the PC? A few months ago the city posted on the website and via social media that there would be some vacancies on various commissions and boards. To apply I had to fill out an application and submit my resume. About a month or more later I received a phone call from Mayor Westmoreland and he conducted an informal interview with me. Mayor Westmoreland told me it would be a few weeks before I was notified. A few weeks later I received a call back from Mayor Westmoreland and he offered me the position. Q: What is the biggest/most urgent issue you see facing Eagle Mountain? Eagle Mountain is going through a pretty fast paced growth. If it is not planned for with thought there are many ways that it could go “wrong.” We face issues of traffic, types of housing, being an inviting place for businesses to come, conserving the nature that brought many of us here in the first place, and having commercial revenue to help the city provide services that the community want without it being solely reliant on the housing taxes. In this regard I think the issues that is most urgent is finding the most effective way to achieve each of these things as the city continues to grow. Q: What made you want to be active in city government? It is hard to exactly point to one thing. When I was a kid I was involved in scouting. Some of this involved going to city meetings and writing to representatives and city officials. It was very rewarding to see a letter back from the mayor of my city explaining what was going on with a specific issue. Another reason is I want to be involved in what is going on and to help with growth, change, and conservation. What right do I have to sit on the sidelines and question what is going on if I am not involved. That also means I am accountable for the responsibility. Q: Anything else you would like to add? I would like to thank Commissioner Wood and all the service he has put in. I am certainly no replacement to him as I still have much to learn. I look forward to working with the other commissioners and all of their experience. I thank everyone for the opportunities to serve and look forward to all of the relationships that I will be able to make and learn from.