#EM2019 – Jeremy Bergener – City Council Answers

Jeremy Bergener – City Council Candidate

Give us a brief biographical sketch of yourself and your family. I live in Eagle Mountain with my wife, Jenna, and our Daughter, Remy. Jenna and I married in 2014 and Jenna gave birth to Remy in 2016. We live in City Center. I have lived in Utah my entire life. For the past nine years I have worked for the State of Utah at the Department of Public Safety’s Driver License Division. Before this I worked at a supply house that sold plumbing, waterworks, and irrigation products. I love Utah and our home in Eagle Mountain. When I am not working I spend most of my time with my family. I enjoy technology, video games, and woodworking, but reserve my time for my family. How long have you resided in Eagle Mountain, and why do you call Eagle Mountain your home? 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. 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 impacts? I believe that having experience and knowledge is important to making decisions that may impact the local wildlife and habitats. I think that a combined mixture of my own independent research as well as information gathered by citizens in a public format as well as any research done by local groups should be considered. What do you think is the role of non-disclosure agreements and economic growth? And how does it affect government transparency? In general I believe that a government should be transparent. If there is a lack of transparency it does not allow for public input and hinders the people from being informed or being involved in the decision making process. I do understand that there are certain times when that cannot happen, but I would prefer openness and transparency. What specific things do you feel that the city is doing exceptionally well? I think the city does exceptionally well in organizing/promoting community programs and events. These offer the public at large a place to come together and gain a sense of community. Some of these programs are designed to benefit the community in some way or another. Examples of this are the holiday events such as Easter/Halloween, Pony Express Days, and movies in the park. These seem like small things, but they make a difference to those that attend. I think the city has ultimately been listening to the day to day concerns through social media. An example is the light being out where Cory B. Wride Memorial Highway intersects with Eagle Mountain Boulevard. While it was not an easy fix the city posted updates about where that was in along the process as more people asked for it to be fixed. What specific things in the city do you feel need substantial improvements? One of my areas of concern has to do with future infrastructure and the planning for homes and businesses. Most of us have seen the backlog of traffic due to the construction and growth. The city needs to have revenue in order to provide services. Two of the biggest sources of revenue come from the housing and businesses that establish in those communities. Property tax and sales tax help add to the budget. As a commuter community we have been giving a large portion of those business revenues to the surrounding cities. From groceries to home improvement we have to go to neighboring cities when looking for choices. I believe we are at a critical juncture in deciding what the makeup of our city will be in the future and the resources we will have in the future. We need to start looking at what we need to bring back into our own pockets. 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? I do think the rural culture is important. I think it is what has brought many of us to Eagle Mountain. As I have heard discussions within the community I know there is a divide between those that want to have some businesses and services closer to home and those that like the rural feeling. There are probably a few that want a bit of both, that is really where I find myself. I believe that planning is key in allowing for the growth while keeping that rural feeling alive. Conserving certain areas of the city is important to maintaining a balance. If you look at the long range plan there are attempts to do this, but we should be ever vigilant in this as we update planning. Are there things city government should not provide for the people that it currently is? Why or why not? I am fairly satisfied with what the city provides at the moment. We are still growing and what the government does should change as our community does. If you are running but are not currently elected, what specific agenda’s would you like to champion though the office of city council and why? The specific agendas that I would like to champion are infrastructure, development, and public opinion. I have been to cities and countries that have been planned poorly or not at all. That is not a place I would like to live. Planning where roads and services need to be is important. It could require a lot of undoing if a major mistake occurred. That is a waste of time and money and something that I personally don’t want to see. I am concerned the way that the city develops with housing and the businesses that are coming in and how those will impact our way of life. I am in favor of businesses coming in as they will add to the city revenue and put fewer burdens on property tax to provide what the citizens want and/or need. I care what the citizens have to say. Ultimately it is their government. While the legislative body cannot ever please everyone they should strive to listen and provide for the majority of the residents. I would like to find ways to involve the public more in council meetings and keep everyone informed of issues that may be important to them. Tell us something that sets you apart from the rest of the group of candidates? This is a tough question. I believe that we have ten great candidates. We each offer our unique perspectives and experience. I encourage each of you to do your research and give us all a call or an email so you can decide for yourself on whom to vote for. So without trying to take away from them I will try and give you some of the reasons why I believe I would do a good job. I really want to serve the public. I think their opinions need to matter and be heard. My experience has left me familiar with reading and understanding statute. I want Eagle Mountain to be a great place for my daughter and any future children to live. I care what happens and will express myself when I believe a matter is in conflict with what the public wants. What are your personal, political, and professional long term goals in regards to Eagle Mountain? My personal goals have to do with growing my family just a little bit more. Our house has some space that we could fill with another little one. We plan on being here for the foreseeable future and would like our kids to grow up here. As to the political goals the first is to run for an office, check. I don’t currently have any long-term goals politically, but I would like to serve up to two-terms in the city council. I think that is enough time to learn and be effective in what you can do on a council. It gives you time to become more experienced and help newer generations to then become experienced. Professionally I see my career with the State of Utah being my job until I retire. I would like to open a small business in woodworking. I would love to make small wood crafts and furniture on the side. What founding father (signer of 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? I have a great respect for the founding fathers and all they have done to establish our country’s foundations. There are a handful of founding fathers that command a lot of respect and admiration from me. Alexander Hamilton was passionate about what he believed in and worked tirelessly to accomplish his vision. Thomas Jefferson was brilliant and was able to achieve much through his vision and by working with others. Benjamin Franklin is admirable for his influence and mind. My favorite founding father is George Washington. Washington showed composure and control in a time that our country could have easily fallen apart. While the politicians were working through the theoretical and social issues of the time Washington was tasked with keeping the morale of a fighting public up long enough for the strategies come to fruit. Washington was elected president and set the tone for all those to come after. He led the country in one of its most fragile times and was able to do it with dignity. One of my favorite quotes from Washington is: “It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn.” I think this quote sums up how mindful anyone should be when considering legislation, policy, and the example we set. The city has numerous boards and commissions that it uses to help the City Council with decision making and to assist City Staff. What is your impression of these boards their effectiveness? I think it is a great idea to have these different groups. Making an informed decision is the responsible thing to do. Being given input from various boards as it relates to these specific groups and their interests make sense. As to how they are effective I guess depends on each group and their purpose. The Military and Veterans Advisory Board has a purpose in giving support of sponsored programs for local military personnel. In the last year alone you have seen some of the great efforts given to the military personnel such as the welcome home processions. The city council relies on the Planning Commission for their research and proposals when related to land use and development. With Eagle Mountain growing it is important to have input from people who have the sole purpose of focusing on these individual areas. With this all being said I think the goal of every government entity, city council and these boards and commissions, should be to improve how effective they are. What service have you given to the residents of Eagle Mountain? Sadly, this is an area that I have lacked. We have lived here for about two years and the things I have done directly relating to service of the residents here has been minimal. One of the reasons I am running for city council is that I believe this is one of the best ways I can serve the residents. While there are other capacities that many of the residents currently serve I believe my motivations, experience, and mindset are what make this type of service a good starting point for me. 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 not 100% familiar with this term; however I think I understand somewhat what density vesting is referring to. As I understand it this is about the vested rights of landowners vs the city and how they see a certain project moving forward. In this case we are talking about the vested right of the landowner and how they see to develop a parcel of land into high density housing and what control the city would have throughout that process. I am opposed to super high density housing. I know Utah faces issues with housing being affordable, but the burden and change that this can have is high. When we look at having 24.2 units per acre I think it needs to be limited at some point. I think proposals need to be thoroughly vetted first and foremost. We need to be aware and ask questions of those who have some answers. We need to do this day one. I need to become more familiar with this issue and how it applies to our city currently. What city code do you problematic, and how do you plan on addressing it? I do not currently have anything that I can think of that I find really problematic right now. With code, however I think it needs constant review because it can be hard to understand and sometimes it leaves room for interpretation. I think as a citizen of this city, county, state, and nation we should all become more familiar with code. This protects us and allows us to have control over the way our government is run at these levels. As the legislative body it would be my duty to submit proposed changes to code with firm research supporting the change. Then when it came to vote having had the research and public discussion to vote the way that I think would benefit the majority.