Candidate Answers – Donna Burnham

Question 1: Roads. Roads will be a big issue during this election cycle. With the new High School and the development in City Center, what do you feel would be the best way to alleviate the road problems facing Eagle Mountain? With the new high school and continued development in City Center, we have a serious transportation problem. I would like to propose both short-term and long term-solutions to the problem. First, we need to add a long center turning lane on Pony Express so that those turning left into or out of the school will hold up thru traffic as little as possible. Then I propose we build a secondary access road to the school from Eagle Mountain Boulevard. In the long term, we need to widen Pony Express all the way to City Hall. SITLA has fought the expansion of the road from the beginning, but even with other road options in our long-term plan, this road needs to be widened to help meet the city’s transportation demands. Question 2: Property Rights. What are your views on property rights, and how do you plan on balancing the property rights of current residents with the property rights of prospective developers? Balancing property rights of current residents with the rights of developers is one of the most important yet difficult tasks a council faces. Everyone is a fan of property rights until their neighbor wants to build an ugly garage or a developer plans a new subdivision that will destroy their view. I am a strong proponent of property rights for all and will work within the legal parameters the council has to protect existing residents. Confrontational diplomacy doesn’t work. Finding the proper balance of rights, listening to input from residents, developers, and city staff, and working together will always produce a better result. Question 3: Founding Fathers. Do you have a favorite founding father? If so, who is it, and what is a favorite quote, or ideal that founding father had that you try to emulate? (Notice I did not define founding father, I am leaving that up to your interpretation.) I am going out on a limb with this one by choosing Abraham Lincoln, who is not in the traditional sense, a founding father. But he did take a nation that was being destroyed from within and set it on a path to reunification. Lincoln understood how to work with people from diverse backgrounds—who often vehemently disagreed with him—by validating their concerns and coming together to find solutions to often overwhelming problems. I try to follow his example in my dealings with others. One of my favorite quotes is “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them friends?” Question 4: Schools. Do you feel the education system is adequate in Eagle Mountain? If so, what are we doing well, if not, what needs to be changed. Yes and no. We have many talented, committed teachers working in our city, but too often the government gets in their way. The state legislature and the federal government have micromanaged our schools and classrooms to such an extent that many teachers spend far too much precious time teaching to the test. Add to that the pressures of increased class sizes and low pay and it isn’t surprising that we have a shortage of teachers. These problems cannot be fixed on the local level, however Representative Jefferson Moss is already working to help government get out of the way of districts and teachers, and I will continue to encourage him in these efforts. Question 5: Family. Can you give me a brief description of your family, and what it means to you? Much of my life is centered around my family. My husband, Lincoln, and I have been married for 28 years and we have 3 grown children. We love our children dearly but are pleased that they are all properly launched, contributing members of society—taxpayers, in fact. We are expecting our first grandchild in five weeks and are beyond excited. Family is everything. Question 6: Why Run. Can you tell me why you are running for your position? Running for city council was a difficult decision for me. As many of you know, I previously served on the council and when I completed my term, I felt I was done. However, with Mayor Pengra and Adam Bradley not seeking reelection and Stephanie Gricius and Tom Westmoreland running for mayor, the city is left with an experience deficit. I am uniquely qualified to fill that deficit. Question 7: Biggest Issue: What do you see as the biggest issue in Eagle Mountain, and what do you plan on doing to help solve the issue? Transportation and economic development go hand in hand, and they are the two biggest issues facing Eagle Mountain. I will work to move the timeline forward on many crucial connector road projects to alleviate the traffic issues that only continue to worsen. This solution will require advocating on all levels of government, including UDOT, the county, and our own city council, and I have that experience. We also need to continue to advocate for economic development that will provide quality jobs for our residents without polluting or detracting from our sense of community. We need to work as a council with staff and with other stakeholders to determine what is working with our approach and what we can improve. Question 8: Biggest Good: What do you see as the best thing that Eagle Mountain has going for it, and how do you plan on protecting it for future generations? The best thing Eagle Mountain has going for it is the people who live here. We have an incredible sense of community, which we don’t want to lose. We need to continue city efforts to involve citizens in the community, such as community cleanup projects, city planning and visioning, and family-friendly city events and parks. But government can’t and shouldn’t shoulder this responsibility alone. We have many great civic groups in our community that the city can highlight and give more visibility. Question 9: Open Space: Many residents like the open feel of Eagle Mountain. Do you feel we have enough open space, to much open space, or to little open space? What policies will you try to implement to support that view? While I served on the council, the city completely revitalized our parks and open spaces plan, making park and open space a priority and better defining park amenities and their value. I welcomed the changes but would also like to take another look at our policy of allowing developers to pay a fee in lieu of paying for parks. In other words, instead of building a park in their development, they dedicate money toward other parks, either nearby or regional parks. Sometimes, if the development is very small, this action makes sense, but I believe that families should be able to walk to a park in their neighborhood. Question 10: Development: What are your goals for the City in regards to Development? 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. Question 11: Cory Wride Memorial Park: What are your views on Cory Wride Memorial Park, and the city’s current plan for the park? I love the plans for Cory Wride Memorial Park, and I am happy that we were able to dedicate a portion of the utility sale proceeds to this park. One detail that I would like to see in the park, that has yet to be clearly stated in the plans, is an all abilities area that is fenced in to help parents with children who are runners but still allow visibility into the area from outside. Question 12: Master Plan: The City is currently in the process of updating its master plan. What do you think the master plan should look like, and what do you think of the current changes being made. My favorite part of the master plan update has been the process. Residents have been involved and their input solicited. It makes sense to include current residents in decisions that will determine the future of our city. The process isn’t complete, so it is difficult to state how I feel about the changes, but I sincerely hope they reflect the will of the people. Question 13: Programs: What is the best program, that you know of in Eagle Mountain? How does that program make Eagle Mountain better, and how do you plan on making the program stronger? Our city library offers some of the best programs available to all residents in the city. They have summer reading, story time, Kids on the Move, bilingual storytime, STEAM activities, food sense classes, and author readings, just to name a few. These programs are largely targeted to children, our largest demographic, but the library offers programs for all ages. These programs are offered for free and have great educational value to our community. We can make these programs stronger by participating in them where we can,continuing to fund the library in the manner we have been doing for the past several years, and volunteering our time so they can offer additional programs. Question 14: Literature: Name one work of literature that has had an impact on you, and why you think it is important for a guide during this election cycle? That’s a cruel question to ask someone who loves books! Using the above criteria, I would say that two books which helped me while serving on the council and will continue to be a guide are The Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute and Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The Anatomy of Peace deals directly with conflict resolution, in particular recognizing our part in conflict. Team of Rivals is a biography about Abraham Lincoln that highlights his ability to work with those who disagreed and even hated him. Question 15: Down Time: What do you do with your down time, what leisure activities do you like to participate in? Spending time with my husband is my favorite hobby. I enjoy reading, spending time with my immediate and extended family, traveling, and playing board and card games. My children prefer experiences to gifts, so we focus on family trips and other experiences to bring us together as a family. Question 16: Why Eagle Mountain: Why have you chosen Eagle Mountain as your place of residence? Believe it or not, my husband and I initially did not want to move to Eagle Mountain—it was simply too far from everything. We were struggling to decide where to relocate, made a spreadsheet with categories that were important to us, weighted the categories, and evaluated several communities. To our surprise, Eagle Mountain won hands down. I don’t remember all the categories, but I know we wanted a child-friendly community where we could stay for many years, raise our children in a safe community, and be close to a library. Since then, we have enjoyed many other wonderful aspects of eagle mountain, including open space, night skies, and a real sense of community. We have lived here over 16 years and still love it.