#EM2019 – Carolyn Love – City Council Answers

Carolyn Love City Council Candidate

Give us a brief biographical sketch of yourself and your family I grew up in Lehi. I am the oldest of eight children, and have lived in Utah County most of my life. I have 4 children and 7 grandchildren. All, but one grandson, live in Eagle Mountain, so I have a personal motivation to make Eagle Mountain a great place for my children and grandchildren. I have worked at the same company for 29 years. It is now seven times the size it was when I started. As a member of the leadership team, I have developed systems and reporting to facilitate that growth. I have the key role of analyzing data to guide company decisions and direction. I believe that these skills would be beneficial on the city council. I am majoring in political science and was able to work as an intern with the state legislature in 2019. 574 bills were passed in 45 days, all intended to have positive effects for Utahns. This experience inspired me to get involved now and be part of positive changes that can be made here in Eagle Mountain. How long have you resided in Eagle Mountain, and why do you call Eagle Mountain your home? I have lived in Eagle Mountain for six years. Before that I lived in six other cities so I can compare Eagle Mountain to my favorite parts of those cities. I love that Eagle Mountain is close to Lehi where I grew up. That proximity makes it feel like home. It has a wonderful system of walking trails like those that I loved in Cedar Hills. It also has great parks and landscaping like Portland, Oregon. But it has every other place beat for beautiful views and wide, open spaces. I chose Eagle Mountain because it combines all my favorite things in one place. Decisions are made by the city council that you may or may not have knowledge of the ecology of the area and the possible repercussions of those decisions. What resources would you use to complete your due diligence regarding habitat and wildlife impact? Environmental assessments can be used to determine impact on habitat and wildlife when evaluating a project. Developers that are proposing a project can be required to pay for these studies. For a city proposed project, the city can decide to commission a study. I have been told that the city has worked with universities in the past which may reduce the costs. These studies are usually limited to only the direct and immediate on-site effects of a project. A study is not binding but provides useful knowledge of potential impacts before decisions are made. What do you think is the role of non-disclosure agreements and economic growth? And how does it affect government transparency? I would like to understand why companies request non-disclosure agreements when negotiating with a city they are interested in locating to. I don’t see the need for this and it reduces government transparency around those negotiations. When the public doesn’t know the name or nature of the business, they are unable to express their opposition or support. The level of support or opposition that the company has should affect the incentives that are offered by the city. The city misses out on public input when non-disclosure agreements are allowed and the residents are left in the dark until it is too late to object. What specific things do you feel that the city is doing exceptionally well? My favorite things about Eagle Mountain are the parks and trails. They encourage individuals and families to get outside and that can foster a sense of community as neighbors meet each other. I currently have an unfenced yard with a walking trail and green space directly behind my house. I was concerned about the lack of privacy this would give me but instead I have enjoyed visiting with my neighbors as they walk by. I have seen families that come to use the green space be joined by others and create an impromptu neighborhood activity. With the trend towards ever decreasing lot sizes, this extra recreation space becomes increasingly important. What specific things in the city do you feel need substantial improvements? With few retail establishments in Eagle Mountain, many residents make their purchases in Saratoga Springs and other nearby cities. I would like to see Eagle Mountain be able to attract and sustain more retail establishments. We need grocery stores, restaurants, and other shopping. We also spend our money on entertainment elsewhere and that money should be brought back to Eagle Mountain as well. I like how Eagle Mountain designates communities within the city – -Silverlake, Cedar Pass Ranch City Center, etc. It is easy to know where these communities are by the welcome signs. Currently there is a sign designating the entrance to Eagle Mountain at Eagle Mountain Blvd and SR-73. Most people enter the city at the eastern border with Saratoga Springs on SR-73 or Pony Express Parkway. I would like to see welcome signs for Eagle Mountain in those locations that are equivalent to or more prominent than the signs marking our communities. I would hope that these signs would be a physical reminder that we are a part of Eagle Mountain as a whole first and then our individual communities second. Is the rural culture and feel of Eagle Mountain important to you? Eagle Mountain has a rural culture and feel, how do you think we can have growth and keep that feeling? The rural feel of Eagle Mountain is important to me. I enjoy the open space, the quiet, and the occasional wildlife that I see. The landscaping along the parkways, the walking paths, and the designated open space will help Eagle Mountain maintain this rural feel as it grows. The undeveloped areas along the ridges will also support this. The transportation master plan routes the majority of traffic along the borders of the city and should reduce the traffic through the town to local travel. If Eagle Mountain grows in accordance with the future land use map, the mix of rural density and single-family neighborhoods will not be overwhelmed by the occasional areas of properly developed, higher-density housing. Are there things city government should not provide for the people that it currently is? Why or why not? A city should not provide anything that can be provided equally as well by private business. I don’t believe that Eagle Mountain is providing anything for residents that it shouldn’t. Some other cities provide recreation centers and swimming pools. These amenities could be evaluated for Eagle Mountain contingent upon public support and population levels that could supported them. What specific agendas would you like to champion through the office of city council and why? I would champion welcome signs along the east border of Eagle Mountain on Pony Express Parkway and SR-73. Most people enter the city on these roads and a welcome sign is already in place at Eagle Mountain Blvd and SR-73. I think this would promote pride and unity within the city and let visitors know that Eagle Mountain begins long before city center. I would promote bringing more retail establishments to Eagle Mountain. I would like to see more purchases stay within the city. This would increase city revenue and reduce the distance that residents have to drive for everyday items and entertainment. I would support expansion of Pony Express Days. These activities can promote unity and become family traditions that bring grown children back home and unite generations. Tell us something that sets you apart from the rest of the group of candidates One of my best recommendations is my 29 years of experience on the leadership team of a mid-sized Utah-owned company. We are in the construction industry and have seen hard-to-manage growth interspersed with rapid downturns. We have had to create systems and procedures to grow quickly and make hard decisions to stay profitable during a slowdown. Our product offering, systems, and structure have all changed regularly as we have grown to seven times the size that we were in 1990. I have been a valuable member of this leadership team. I have created the systems that have allowed me to extract and analyze data that we have used extensively in our decision making. I have been a proponent for rational, incremental changes that have helped us accomplish our goals. I enjoy the investigation to get to the heart of a problem and proposing solutions that make sense for the short-term and long-term. I am an advocate for the things that I believe in but also find it important to explore other perspectives. I believe that the best solutions are created when we find common ground. I majored in political science and completed an internship with the state legislature so I am aware that the management of a company and the governance of a city are not the same. However, both need to remain financially stable and have a clear direction to be successful. Both need individuals who will make rational, data-driven decisions and stay true to core values. My experience and leadership skills have prepared me to be a valuable, contributing member of the city council. What are your personal, political, and professional long-term goals in regards to Eagle Mountain? Professionally, I have a rewarding career at a company where I have made a positive impact on its growth and success. I have been employed there for many years and I am proud of my part in its development and the legacy that I have there. My personal and political goals are to be able to have a positive impact on the growth and success of Eagle Mountain. I would like to be able to look at Eagle Mountain in twenty years and see a community with pleasant, not overcrowded, neighborhoods and an ever-expanding system of walking trails and parks. I would want to see a city with an efficient network of roads that has kept its rural feel and beautiful views. I would want to see more commercial and retail enterprises to expand our tax base and encourage more local purchases. My goal is to add a legacy of civic service to my professional accomplishments and a measure of pride that I had an influence on Eagle Mountain’s growth and development. What founding father (signer or the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution) has impacted your political philosophy the most and why? Do you have a favorite quote from a founding father? Alexander Hamilton is the founding father that has most influenced my political philosophy. He has been described as pragmatic and promoted “taking a balanced and objective approach”. Some of his greatest accomplishments were financial. He funded the federal debt from the Revolutionary war, created the First Bank of the United States, and supported commercial and industrial development. In the Federalist Papers, Hamilton wrote, “Happy will it be if our choice should be directed by a judicious estimate of our true interests, unperplexed and unbiased by considerations not connected with the public good.” I am also very pragmatic and balanced. I can usually see merit on both sides of an argument and work hard to find a solution that will be fair and benefit all. I believe that financial stability is paramount and that all our decisions should be based on what will contribute most to the public good. What is density vesting and how do you plan on dealing with it when it grants higher density than you are comfortable with? I am in support of a city development plan that provides for a wide range of housing densities. With less expensive land than our neighbors and rural financing, Eagle Mountain is in a position to provide housing solutions to those who are buying their first home, those who want to get the most for their money, and those that want to own large lots with animal rights. I feel that the current city guidelines for high-density housing already provide the density necessary for affordable housing solutions. Theses guidelines should not be increased but instead should be accompanied with usable, strategically-located open space and amenities to enhance the aesthetics and livability of a high-density development. The density should be consistently distributed throughout all phases of the development. These higher-density housing projects should only be allowed in the areas currently zoned to accommodate them. This ensures that high-density developments are not adjacent to the rurally zoned areas. What city code do you find problematic, and how do you plan on addressing it? I am not aware at this time of any city code that I would propose changing. However, I worked as an intern with the state legislature and learned the necessity of changing problematic code. I was involved with many bills that created new code, or modified existing code. Some of the changes were uncontested and others sparked heated debates. It was rewarding to work toward a consensus with the parties involved. I found great satisfaction in passing bills that made the code better or clearer and I would not hesitate to work to improve the Eagle Mountain city codes as needed.