A
LOOK AT YEAR PAST 2014
LOOKING TO
THE FUTURE 2015
My friends and neighbors I truly hope
you enjoyed the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ as much as I did with
my family. We can all be grateful for the bounty that our country and city
provides and can honestly expect the year 2015 to be even better.
Next city council meeting was extended
to January 8th due to the holidays. As this year draws to a close we
can look back and appreciate the decline of the unemployment rate which hovered
about 4.6 percent and saw an increase in new and returning Industrial Business
in St. George City. The City is enjoying an upward climb in the issuance of
building permits……We can hope to see improvement in the time lag experienced in
getting permits and inspections processed. Completion of roads and
transportation corridors has occurred with more on the horizon…..Three needed
signal lights are scheduled to be placed at the most needed locations thus
making travel more enjoyable with an
increase in safety.( At River Road & St. James and River Road & Brigham
Road. Mall Drive & 3000 where St.
George and Washington City expect to see commercial development.) The
concerns of Little Valley residence continue to be addressed and with the
widening of bridge on River Road north of Brigham Road.
(This
should make Councilman Hughes look really good for this upcoming election year
as he continues to tout and express his personal interest for Little Valley
residents where he lives and owns property.)
Speaking of looking good it appears that
the OLD BOYS who make up the Lions Club that put on the Sun Bowl Rodeo are sure
to get the votes of the Council Members who they supported at the last
election. (It only takes 3 votes to prevail and
the Lions Club seems to have them in their pocket regardless of the cost.)
We can expect a new and vibrant Sun Bowl right next door to a new Elementary
School thus making it possible for the Old Boys to walk across the street from
their office to the Sun Bowl site. (The Lions
members may be old but they sure know how to count votes and how to influence
desired results. To be fair the Lions Club contributes greatly to the community
with the continued support of City Government.) Still…..wouldn’t
it be nice to have public input on an expenditure that may cost tax payers
millions of dollars…..Especially those that reside in close proximity to Sun
Bowl and have the joy of hearing the magnificent speaker system modern
technology has brought to us…..Not to mention the shutting down of a major
intersection for 3 days……And let us not forget the beautiful aroma of horse and
cow droppings accompanied by flies…..All of which local homeowners get to
enjoy. Please forgive
my feeble attempt at humor at the expense of a bunch of Old Men. Heck, I am old
too even older that Councilman Bowcutt, who appears never to tire of reminding
us he is a long time member and supporter of the Lions Club. Where else but in American can a simple
citizen such as I have the freedom to speak with such candor?
As this year comes to a close ending
Mayor Pike’s first year in office I find it timely to list his Key Campaign
Promises. As I move about the community folks often approach me with the
question…….How is our new Mayor doing? I
will attempt to list HIS accomplishments in the manner and order Mayor Pike
listed his promises to voters.
1.
Establish Long Term
Strategic Plan to help formalize city leader’s goals for future. Follow other
cities plans. Outline basic values and vision. Do quickly- start working on plans
first few months. Folks there is no
question but that Mayor Pike has taken immediate action…..Having publicly
addressed areas of greatest need. As mentioned progress has been made on roads
etc. However, I have yet to see a
written outline of defined long term plans. You and I can continue to monitor
progress as mayor continues to work on this promise.
2.
Request City Mgr. and Dept.
Heads to present their forecast of plans …..What they are and pull them
together so we can visualize what city is going to look like in next five
years. The mayor has done this and verbal input has been provided and received
by the mayor. You and I can look forward to seeing the written responses which
we can reasonably conclude that by now have been provided.
3.
Recruit Help…..Improve
communications with public/citizens. Folks there can be no doubt that the mayor
has kept his promise. In fact I believe this has become a Hallmark of his
administration…..It stands out as a major accomplishment distinguishing him
from his predecessor.
4.
Improve/Regain lack of
trust. There is ample proof that the mayor has acted on this promise as evident
by the Animal Shelter accomplishments. Follow up methods to improve lack of
awareness of problems have been addressed and this is expected to be an ongoing
process. I continued to look forward with great anticipation as to when and how
the City Manager will be held accountable in forwarding concerns of Dept. Heads
and solutions to issues and concerns in public forum.
5.
Address Property Rights
advocacy group issues, lawsuits, code enforcement policies, 4th
Amendment rights- entering private property to search for infractions.
Folks this continues to
be the Big Gorilla in the room that no one in city government wishes to
publicly address. There has been some important movement in this area and I
have reason to believe the mayor is working on it and will continue to do so.
The irony of this issue is that we the public will not have/see a clear level
of accomplishment on this matter until the 5 City Council members decide to
keep their word to reform Code Enforcement and to set in place a way for the
public to see how the City Manager and City Attorney are to be held accountable
for job performance and the doing away with Selective Enforcement that favors those
of their choosing.
6.
Promise to Create New
Boards: Animal Shelter Advisory Board-Done.
Veterans Board-Done. Airport Board-Done.
Human Relations Commission-Yet to be done. Energy and Water Board-Yet to be
done. Committee to analyze/review city’s code enforcement ordinances-Yet to be
done.
Thank You and Happy New Year ED BACA
No comments:
Post a Comment