More signal heads are coming on 800 North

Hooray!

This is part of an email I received from Dave Nazare, UDOT Region 3 Director. Thank you, UDOT for working to make 800 North safer.

"The Department gave direction to the contractor to install additional signal heads at Main St. and State St. on Tuesday. We will work with the contractor to make sure that for the balance of the project there are signal heads as close to being in line with traffic as possible."

Neighborhood meeting next Thursday!

From Orem City:


A message from your
Cascade
Scera Park North
Scera Park South
Sharon
Neighborhoods in Action
Dear Neighbor,

You are invited to attend a special ‘Town Meeting’ for the citizens of your neighborhoods.
The meeting is designed for you to learn more about your Neighborhoods in Action organization, Neighborhood Preservation Officers and their program, Emergency Preparedness, CERT Training and what we are doing in the City to coordinate all of these programs to better help you in your neighborhoods.

We will have a panel, which will include Mayor Washburn, City Council Members, set up to address your questions. The meeting will be much more productive if you submit your questions in advance to your Neighborhood Chair.

When: Thurs, October 18th
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 PM
Where: Orem Senior Center


Cascade Chair - David Cherrington - 224-2811
Scera Park North - Monta Rae Jeppson - 225-1516
Scera Park South - Paul Overson - 223-9981
Sharon - Anne Kendall - 225-5174

Not on my list but,

being in politics, I wonder if I may end up with something from here for Christmas. . .

Premade Decisions? Not!

We councilmembers get along pretty well. Our meetings run smoothly and many times, decisions are unanimous. However, some have taken our peace and tranquility to mean we premake our decisions prior to the meeting, and the public hearing and public decisionmaking are mere formalites.

Thankfully, that isn't how business is done in Orem. We don't work behind the scenes trying to get four votes on issues before it comes to the Council. Generally, I may discuss an issue with one other councilmember, but how the Council will vote on an issue is a mystery to me until the vote is taken.

If you feel decisions are premade, you should have been at the first public hearing on last night's city council agenda. It was and still is an innocuous topic-flagpoles. It was put on the agenda because the current ordinance allows a conditional use to be granted so a flagpole can go up to 120 feet. I am very patriotic, don't mind flagpoles, but I don't like conditional uses. I was interested in establishing a permitted height and not have a conditional use process. Utah law has changed to the point where cities must approve conditional uses unless very rigorous findings are made. There was a long discussion about the issue and the city council voted to not make any changes.

I thought "I bet there are people in the audience who think this is a HUGE non-issue." It isn't a pressing issue with the City Council, there aren't a plethora of 120 foot flagpoles waiting to be approved, but the City has had bad experiences with conditional uses. In fact, most have been eliminated from the city code. But the City Council needed to discuss it. The discussion was healthy. I was so glad to learn how my colleagues felt and I respect their opinions.

The public process is-public! It may be boring, it may not be the shortest way of handling city business, it may not be the most stress-free way of handling city business, but it is the right way of handling city business and it is a way I will continue to support and defend.

Bumper Sticker Wisdom