Jade Holmes w/ Wasatch County Politics helped gather community questions and each of the candidates had a chance to answer them. Not all of them did, but here are my replies and a link to the entire collection
My Replies:
Questions for Candidates of Heber City Council 2023
What is your understanding of the airport expansion issue and what approach do you believe Heber City should take to resolve it?
The airport expansion is one of the best examples of under-communication I can think of. The reality is that the expansion needed is all safety-driven and is more about the width of the runway and necessary buffer zones on the side of the runway. These are safety decisions that are mandated by the FAA in order to maintain the funding levels that we've enjoyed. If we choose not to do them, we would end up having to source the budget from taxes, which does not make anyone happy.
I am not in favor of increasing the runway length, as that could potentially change the type of jets that are landing here. Any pilot will tell you that the length of the runway is the primary decision point for what type of jets can land, not the width of the runway or buffer/safety area. This is an issue I had firm and incorrect opinions on even as recently as 2 years ago. I understand this now significantly better than I did before because I was able to meet with Travis Biggs while I was in the Heber leadership academy. Given the chance to answer our questions, and without heated debate in the meeting, I came away with a much better understanding of what we have to do in order to maintain compliance (or rather to get back into compliance). In order to accomplish the runway move, hangers will need to be demolished and rebuilt on another part of the land, but the total count of hangers according to Mr. Biggs will not increase beyond the number that is already approved.
I firmly believe that the airport manager and city could do a better job explaining the situation, what is needed, and what is happening with a recorded video or other planned communication. I don’t think that the ad-hoc Q&A of past meetings has made the information easy to locate, consume or understand. I think this is a great example of where planned communication could do a lot to allay concerns of the public.
Main Street traffic is a hot topic, with many feeling that a bypass is the necessary solution, that Main should be a walking/shopping type of street with a historic feel. Others feel a bypass is a very bad idea that will divert revenue away from Main St business owners and ruin the neighborhoods the bypass will run through, and that truck traffic isn’t a relevant enough portion of the traffic for a bypass to be an improvement. What are your thoughts on traffic and the bypass, what role should the city have, knowing some of it is in UDOT’s hands?
Let me start by stating my compassion for the citizens that live close to Main st. The noise and traffic must be frustrating and are surely examples of how quickly things have changed in Heber’s recent history. I realize that there are many projects on the UDOT roadmap, but I feel like UDOT has done a poor job to ensure safety and access to small businesses on the portion of HWY 40 that is Heber’s Main Street.
In regards to the question, not all of the traffic issue is large tanker style trucks, but a lot of it is. With a small business right on Main Street, I can tell you that just in the last 10 years I've gone from being able to have the door open for a breeze, to needing to have it closed every day because of the traffic noise. The large truck traffic is simply a lot louder than the remaining passenger vehicle traffic. As Heber grows and more lights are needed, the viability of Main Street as an actual highway comes into question and just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Several times recently I have been caught waiting through multiple lights trying to turn left (Northbound) from highway 189 onto highway 40 at 1200 South. The traffic coming up Provo canyon and headed to Park City or North to I-80 is a much bigger problem than I hear people talking about.
I know that my primary demographic is within this valley, and my customers are willing to seek me out even if the bypass did not route highway traffic down in front of my storefront. However, my business is not driven primarily by walk-in traffic, so my opinion may be different from other business owners. I know that for some restaurants, hotels, and other types of businesses that rely on new customer exposure, the bypass is going to be a potential impact on their new customer growth. That said, I think the current state of the traffic is hindering these types of businesses more than it's helping them. Access to parking and congestion, coupled with speed and traffic light flow is already making it hard to get to some of these businesses.
Much of the bypass decision-making will be between UDOT and Wasatch county, but Heber City has a responsibility to make the voice of the citizens heard. In my opinion, I think the bypass is a good idea, and I hope that one can be built with as little of the remaining open space as is possible. I don’t think we can just wait and hope that tanker and heavy truck traffic will slow down, that is not a solution. That said, if UDOT comes back with a recommendation which goes through the North fields, I am committed to finding any and all state or federal money grants in order to help purchase surrounding acreage for conservation. If this is the path chosen by UDOT, I would want an undeveloped buffer around the highway to ensure that we don't end up with other development directly against the bypass road. If the construction was done intentionally, we could end up with a beautiful buffer zone around the highway that will help preserve the feel of open space. I encourage every citizen to contact UDOT directly and voice your opinion and thoughts. I am not sure how much UDOT is committed to listening to our residents, but we all need to try our best to be heard regardless.
What has you motivated to run for this position knowing the way many people feel about elected officials? How will you balance boundaries for yourself and make sure being in an elected position doesn’t become too toxic for you and your family?
I really appreciate this question. The reality is, there is a lot of adversity and tension between Heber residents and some of our elected officials. In my experience, sometimes the frustration is simply unwarranted. One of the trickiest parts of public service is that failures are remembered far longer than successes; and it is genuinely hard to forget differences of opinion, even when there are many agreements. As I have gotten to know the council members by interacting in the community and during my time in the Heber leadership academy, I have been reminded that they are human too! Each person can be reasoned with, and they generally want what is best for our city. That said, after several hours in meetings, I know that tempers can run hot and otherwise cool and collected people are not at their best. I encourage Heber citizens to try to remember that our elected officials want to hear from the residents, but in a respectful way. While we may not agree with current or past officials, we need to do our part in being collaborative, kind, and respectful.
I am confident that through clear communication, respectful discourse, and collaborative interaction with other council members; and by being willing to take on hard projects now versus waiting for some future date, we will be able to regain some of the public trust that has been lost in prior years.
Personally, I expect to have to set clear boundaries on when I will be able to respond to email or public comments, in order to maintain a balance with my family. I also anticipate putting some guardrails on communication with my spouse to make sure that she doesn't feel “lost to the position”, and so that I can continue to spend meaningful time with my family.
Most of the toxic comments I've seen so far have not been directed at me, but I do anticipate there will be some who don't understand my way of thinking or simply don't agree. That is healthy, we are not all going to agree about every issue! I hope that with clear communication on why I do things, what decisions I make, and why I vote a certain way, I can help the public understand my actions and we might be able to agree to disagree and then collaborate anyway.
Do you have experience in development? If so, is this experience going to help you be a better candidate or will it interfere with your ability to be neutral and unbiased? Have you/will you recuse yourself for certain types of decisions, describe?
I have no experience with development at all. I am not an investor in any development companies etc either. The only type of decision I may need to stay out of would be ones that directly relate to my business. For instance, I intend to put together a bid the next time the city opens an RFP for IT services, and it would not be appropriate for my vote to be the deciding one on whether my company wins the contract. That said, even in that situation, I still feel that I can add value in helping the city officials to discuss alternatives, coverage, and support for city staff as needed and would expect to recuse myself only from any voting.
Why do you think you would be a good voice of the people on the city council?
By nature of the rules of the campaign and the position, we are all “of the people”. However, as someone who's lived here most of my life, who has seen the city grow from where it was 30 years ago until now, and as someone who owns a small business in town, I feel that I get a unique opportunity to work with and understand many individuals that make up our city.
Beyond that, my personality and character are such that I am able to put aside my own thoughts while listening, and I always try to learn objectively about issues. I am not afraid to be wrong, to be corrected or to change my mind or position after learning more about an issue. I am also able to maintain decorum despite disagreement, and to collaborate even during differences of opinion.
I am hopeful for the future of Heber City and am invested in our combined success. I have small children in local schools, who I hope to have stay in the valley with me. I also owe a good part of my personal and business success to local leaders, mentors, teachers, and community support and so want to give back to the community. I did not inherit a business, or wealth so I know what it's like to build from nothing. I do business locally, live, work, shop, and recreate locally, and so know what it takes to listen with empathy to those that also do.
How long have you been a full-time resident of Heber City?
I've lived in the valley since I was in first grade, but it was in Midway through high school. I moved to Heber when I got married in 2005, and with the exception of an 18-month stint away for a job opportunity, I have lived here with my family since then. So, 18 years full-time in Heber, but I learned to read in the Heber Valley and have been here basically ever since.
Whatever your background and beliefs, three of you will end up serving together and with the other members of the current council and the mayor. How do you plan to work through differences to build civility on the council and work cooperatively with one another for the benefit of Heber City and its residents?
Recently, there have been a lot of contentious interactions between the council members and the mayor. I haven't seen quite as much between the other members of the council and each other, but that has existed in the past as well. The more diverse our backgrounds and beliefs, the more able we are to see things from different angles, to come up with solutions that work for more of the residency population, and to appreciate each other's differences of opinion.
But for that to happen, we have to consciously maintain civility. We must value each other's opinions, we must do the extra work to communicate with each other about upcoming issues, and with the public, and the mayor so that there aren't surprises (where they can be prevented). We also need to remember that we all have the same challenge, to do what is best for the city, to be a voice for the citizens, and to bring our own strengths to play in decision making.
If we are not willing to listen to each other and value the input of our colleagues, we are handicapping what could be a very powerful team. The council has to operate on principles of trust and respect. Individuals have to be able to speak up without censure or ridicule. We must consciously keep these ideals in mind, and proactively work to maintain a healthy discussion and a cohesive council. If we can't do that, we lose the trust of the citizens of this city, and we lose our influence and the power to help drive change.
My adult and professional life has often been centered on work through influence, success through collaboration, and doing what is right, even if it's not my favorite path. I am slow to anger, respectful of the real individuality of the people I work with, and incredibly appreciative of the service rendered by our public officials.
What is your plan to help Heber grow responsibly? How can we balance bringing in tourism and high-paying jobs, with overcrowding, constantly needing new schools, not having enough staff for lower paid jobs because housing is not affordable, etc.? What role does the city play in smart growth, and how do you balance policies with developers while not violating property rights or giving some people the perk of rezoning/annexing and not others, and how do you make sure that development benefits the residents without taking more of their tax money? Do you see a way to keep Heber a “small town” or is it too late?
As Heber grows, I do not want to always push businesses elsewhere just for the sake of staying small. I want to be intentional about what types of growth we want and then work to keep the jobs, revenue, and workers local. We also have to be intentional about how we deal with the impact of traffic on our health, safety, and community feel. I am pleased to see additional safety measures recently, but I wish that accidents weren't needed to drive awareness.
I don’t think that bringing in tourism is what has caused the overcrowding in the schools and the need for additional buildings. Largely the high-paying jobs haven’t landed here in Heber either. The reality is that the post-COVID work-from-anywhere has further increased the number of households that commute outside the valley. Where kids are a part of the home, schools should be able to be funded from the increased tax revenues that can come even when the school board lowers the tax rate. This said, I think the city has focused too much on tourism and not enough on building local businesses that can meet the needs of our population.
I think the city council and mayor must hold developers to density rules and push for more affordable housing options like rental assistance grants, ADU allowances and USDA grant programs. The city must not give in to developers which attempt to bypass affordable housing units, no matter what they are bringing in trade. We must also maintain the same rules for any annexations, we cannot play favorites or give preferential treatment for one development over another. Ultimately our lawmakers must uphold property rights and get creative if we want additional concessions from developers.
What incentives will you pursue to maintain open space and preserve our agricultural heritage? How will you balance that with not overtaxing people to pay for something they may not value or stepping outside of the role of necessary government function?
I think the right path to preservation must be kept in the scope of legal rights of property holders. Generally this is going to be easiest when landowners are properly incentivized to use things like agricultural programs or conservation easements. However, the sticking point is in the incentivization. Many times the programs available and decisions for the future land use are just not aligned with the real values of the property in question. I am glad to see organizations like the Summit Land Conservancy that are helping to procure and find grants and donations and then connect them with willing property owners. There are other organizations looking for open space preservation, but I feel like some efforts get too mired in politics where more good may be done from education.
I think the city should seek ways to help limit development, such as the Density Reduction Subdivision efforts Midway has recently been utilizing. By helping to make conservation and open-space “make sense” to developers, we will see more success.
I challenge the organizations with the means to do so to help find federal and state grants, private donors, fundraising opportunities and legal developer incentives to limit development, and then to seek to educate landowners and the public about those opportunities. I do not want to see open space funding expire because of political roadblocks in this valley. All of that said, if the majority of the voting public wants to pass legislation or bonds etc. to preserve agriculture and open space, I encourage that. The question asked about balancing overtaxing and asking people to pay for something they may not value. The reality is that except in the rare case of unanimous voting, there will be some for whom the majority vote or decision doesn’t make sense. As a council member, I realize my commitment is to do what is right and listen to the citizens. This means the majority most of the time, even if my personal opinion differs. If I could waive a magic wand and purchase the remaining open space in this valley, at rates that make sense for land-owners, and then limit the types of growth and activities on that land, I would. I can’t, and I don’t think it is right for anyone to use an office to force that sort of thing.
Do you think that this community is headed in the right direction and if not, what are the top three things that you would do in order to change course a bit?
I think the community is generally headed in the right direction, but I worry that we are fracturing the "feel" of the city a little bit. I don't think that all hope is lost, or that we've gone too far down the wrong path though. I think with increased public involvement, awareness, and collaborative action between the city officials, we can continue to make Heber a place we all want to be.
I think primary concerns that must be addressed soon are how we communicate with the public, and with each other. Next, the growth is coming, but are we being intentional about the types of growth we want and the areas of town we want them in? Beyond that, are we ensuring that the various utilities and infrastructure are aware of what is being approved and being held accountable for their readiness?
How do you feel about the recent city tax increase passed by the current city council?
I feel like the recent increase was to cover truly mandatory spending in the form of salary increases and other retention efforts. I listened to the presentation and the findings of the staff, and I appreciate their time and effort in their recommendation. During the council meeting, I asked a question to the mayor and city council and was told that without the tax increase the city would still be able to make the funding happen, but would be dipping into a reserve fund to do so. I appreciate the need for the additional groundskeeper, and the reality of needing to raise wages in this inflation environment to ensure that we have critical roles filled and stem the efficiency losses caused by turnover. I was in favor of what I feel was a needed increase. This does not mean that I don’t think we need to find other areas to save money, but given the need this time, it made sense to me. There have been tax increases in the past that seem to be frivolous in nature, or where funding was used on items that are not as necessary as maintaining an appropriate workforce, but this wasn't one of them.
Please note however, that the city increase is small dollars versus the much larger issue of the school district increase which dominated much of the news this summer. It's important to not confuse the two since the entire budget of the city is close to that of just the school district’s increase. (I was vocal about the school district increase being too much, primarily the part that was “ear-marked” without a clear purpose and use. I am always against putting money in un-named buckets which too often turn into a slush fund)
What method(s) of communication will you utilize as a candidate to keep the community informed of issues, votes, and other things we should be aware of? Which sources of community communication will you commit to using as feedback from your constituents to consider before making a decision on something?
I think there have been some model communication methods used by past council members, particularly recently. Because of how my business is connected with social media, I anticipate needing to stay connected on Facebook or similar channels, as well as providing a newsletter. Whether it's personal or a team effort, I think it would be beneficial for some sort of recap to be provided to the Wasatch Wave. Further, I'm committed to answering questions honestly and openly from news organizations like KPCW and the Park Record. Additionally, I think going on the radio to talk about solutions and issues, which has been done successfully recently, is an avenue that could be used by future council members. I don't intend to leave any email, post, or letter unanswered as long as it is real and respectful communication and not just badgering.
Many areas of "Heber" are just outside of city lines and are considered county residents. These residents often utilize many of the same services but don't pay local Heber taxes. They likewise don't get some of the Heber resident benefits such as city rates for the cemetery. Are there any areas of the county that you feel should be annexed into the city, or do you believe it is more important to minimize the city population itself, do you worry that annexing into the city may cause some areas to incorporate and create their own city? Should certain areas be incorporated?
I think the question meant to ask if I worried that not annexing into the city may cause some areas to incorporate and create their own city. It’s obvious that many of the amenities of Heber City are enjoyed by the greater Wasatch county, be that Midway, Daniel, Charleston, or further out of this valley. The reality is that the scope of the city oversight, resources, and services, must of necessity be distance-limited. Where geographically close subdivisions desire to be annexed, in order to take advantage of city infrastructure, I am willing to consider those petitions with an open mind. I think there is an opportunity to annex in a way that preserves a cohesive vision for the city, and which helps to provide for the increased need for city services through things like impact fees.
I am not okay with giving reductions in fees or impact assessments to solicit developments into joining the city, unless those developments are making real attempts to better support the desire of the city residents, through things like open space, preservation, trails and community development. There is a concern that outlying areas could incorporate, but I understand why people would want to be a part of the city since I want to be a part of the city, and I'm committed to listening to those applications with an open mind and discussing pros and cons without any bias.
How do you feel about the CRA?
In general, I'm in favor of the CRA, with limitations, but there are a few things that make me nervous about it. The city council don’t seem to be equally in favor of the community reinvestment agency. I sense some hesitation when the topic comes up for discussion, and I am not sure where the hesitation is coming from. It’s apparent from how Mr. Brower talks to the council that he is feeling the need to push them to do more in their communication and engagement efforts. I know some entities (e.g. School district) have stated they want to wait to see what happens with the election, but I feel this is all unnecessarily vague. Council members, where is your hesitation coming from? Affected entities, where are the concerns and what are you wanting to see (or not see) in the election? If these issues get out into the open, perhaps we will all realize some fundamental flaw in the CRA as planned and/or some limits which, if put into place, would ease the concerns of many?
For me, I worry about entities like the school district, which are facing ever increasing costs, being further limited because of the loss of the tax increase revenues. Additionally, I am never a fan of increasing the pool of money without knowing how that money will be spent. Theoretically, CRAs have been used in the past to fund specific types of development, but I'm not sure we are very clear on what we will do with that money once it's raised. I feel like whenever any group or person has access to more money, their ability to spend it increases. I would feel better about knowing exactly how funds are going to be spent, and structuring the CRA in such a way that once those funds have been raised, there is some way to start to pass through the incremental funds back to the affected parties.
Worded differently, I would feel more comfortable with a CRA that is limited to a specific budget, and which has provisions for ending the tax increment financing early in order to return whatever funds are part of the incremental values to the impacted organizations. For instance, I would like to understand where the “underutilized” property is, and specifically what types of core infrastructure the funds would be spent on. I would want to use the money for those types or things before providing loans and reimbursements to encourage private investment, since the private investment behind the loans and reimbursement may be temporary or limited in impact , while utilities, street lighting, sidewalks and things like that would continue to enhance the city and be a benefit to future residents for a long time to come.
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