Randy Simmons

Questions
Use this box to ask Randy Simmons a question:

Randy's Answers

Green Waste

6/3/2008

One of the services Providence City provides is the green waste bins by the city public works facility. We have two bins and some days there is as much left on the ground as there is in the bins. Sometimes a city employee spends half a day cleaning up. We called Logan City to see if we can get more bins but they say we cannot have them. They want people to haul their green waste to the landfill.

What to do? If we do not have the bins then people will dump their waste on vacant lots, in the canyon, or even on the streets. The bins serve a real public purpose. Does anyone have some suggestions for what to do? Is there a compost facility in the valley who would take our green waste so we are not at Logan's mercy? How might we police the bin area without taking city resources from other needed activities?

Property Rights issues

5/31/2008

I have been thinking about ways that cities interfere with property rights, in part because of Logan's flap over parking in the park strips. Did you know that the city owns from the curb to one foot beyond your sidewalk; that the trees in the park strip belong to the city, not to you; and that you cannot put a shed next to your property line? I find all these things disturbing and want to think of ways for city ordinances to be more property rights friendly. Please send your comments on thses and other property issues to me.

Property Rights Ombudsman

5/29/2008

The Property Rights Ombudsman is an institution unique to Utah. The Ombudsman provides non-binding advisory opinions on property rights when a property owner and a government entity have a conflict. The opinion is non-binding but if it is ignored and upheld in court the loser pays all of the winner's attorney fees.

The attorney who was the original Ombudsman wrote a great book on land use issues and conflicts. You can find the online version at http://www.utahlanduse.org/pages/Citizens_Guide_Links.html. Read it. Then read it again. Then if you feel your property rights are being violated by city, sounty, or state government contact the Property Rights Ombudsman. The service is free and saves time and court costs.

UPdate on Highway 165	5/29/2008
Some members of the city staff and I met with a representative of UDOT about getting a traffic light at 300 South and Highway 165. We made very little progres regarding the light, but UDOT is going to do a speed study to see if they are able to reduce the speed from 55 mph to 45 mph.

New City Council Member

5/29/2008

City Council member Trent Rasmussen resigned from the council because he and his family are moving to Lincoln, Nebraska so he can start a PhD program. It is a great opportunity and I wish him well. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages of having a houseful of children while working on a PhD. I think it was an advantage for me because it forced me to really focus on my program.

Four people applied to be considered as Trent's replacement--Dale Astle, Don Calderwood, Lance Campbell and Wendy Wimmer. Astle, Campbell, and Wimmer are currently on the planning commission and Calderwood was the fourth place finisher in the last election. The council voted to select Dale Astle to finish out Trent's term.

Dale served on the planning commission and city council during the 1990s and. He retired last year after more than 30 years in commercial banking. As we move forward with commercial development in the city his expertise and experience will be a great strength.

We now need to replace him on the planning commission. Please send me your recommendations.

Clarissa Packer Garden

5/20/2008

Yesterday I was talking with one of my favorite people in Cache Valley, Will Pitkin. Among other things, the Pitkins raise chickens and heritage tomatoes. They do not allow hybrid tomatoes in their garden because they are trying to keep their seedlines pure.

You can purchase tomato plants and eggs from the Pitkins at the Cache Valley Gardeners Market in Logan (100 South 200 East, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m every Saturday). Will told me that for several years a young girl from Providence has been at the market selling produce and jelly. Her name is Clarissa Packer and is terribly ill. Will is giving away plants to any child who wants to plant a garden in Clarissa's honor.

This Saturday you might want to take your children or grandchildren under 10 to the Saturday market and find the Pitkins. Get a few plants and help make a Clarissa garden. Pray for Clarissa and be grateful for people with big hearts, like the Pitkins.

Stop Light at 300 South and Hwy 165?

5/20/2008

Several months ago I asked UDOT to put a traffic light at 300 South and Highway 165. They studied the intersection and denied the request. We will appeal that decision as well as ask that the 45 mph speed limit be extended south past that intersection. Of course, changing the speed limit does not mean that people will drive more slowly but they appear to drive at about 45 mph through Nibley. Stay tuned...

Tomatoes

5/14/2008

We planted the last of the tomatoes on Saturday and they made it through yesterday's hard frost. Here are the varieties:

Green Zebra -- a striped, green tomato. Looks great on the plate and pleases the palate. Widipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Zebra
Kellogg Breakfast -- a beefsteak-size yellow cariety.
Stupice -- A early (54) day variety that I have never tried before. If we do not experiment we never learn, right?
Moscow -- tried, true, great canning tomato. Jaune Flammee -- about the size and color of a large, ripe apricot. Very juicy and sweet. It is my Mom's favorite for dehydrating.
Sungold -- simply the best cherry tomato in the world, IMHO. Gold color, high sugar and acid content. The taste explodes in your mouth.
Big Beef -- large red, excellent table tomato. Comes on as early as Early Girl and has a better taste without the tough skin.
Lemon Boy -- Yellow, baseball size, tasty.
Brandyboy -- a Brandywine hybrid that comes on earlier without any loss in taste.
Cherokee Purple -- beefsteak style, so purple they are considered part of the "black" tomatoes. Very tasty. Here is the wikipedia article on them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_Purple

Great Ideas

5/14/2008

Yesterday a letter came filled with excellent ideas for the city's 150-year celebration and a citizen stopped by with ideas for water conservation.

The celebration ideas included reorganizing the horseback ride through the mountains above Providence that used to happen every year. There are many horse owners in town and I even know where to borrow a horse. Let's do it. Another idea is to organize a jeep or ATV ride up the canyon, possibly to the top of Mount Logan. Experts on the flora and fauna and the history of the canyon could ride along. Another idea is to organize a vintage car show. All excellent ideas. More ideas anyone? Anyone?

The water conservation ideas include a town seminar on water wise landscapes and watering practices. Experts from USU can explain how we really ought to water turf grass and how to design yards to be less water intensive. City staff just did an analysis of one of the city's oldest subdivisions and found that summer water use increases 80% over winter use. That amount could be cut dramatically without harming how the lawns look with better conservation practices. Watch for an announcement of a seminar. Maybe in order to get a crowd to attend we could call it a "wet water" seminar.

Planning Commission and City Council Vacancies

5/14/2008

We have two vacancies in Providence City government. Planning Commission Chair John Mock is leaving to spend some time in Costa Rica and City Council member Trent Rasmussen is leaving to attend a PhD program.

If you know someone willing to serve on the planning commission, please ask that person to contact me. The process is that I recommend a person to the city council members and they vote to accept or reject.

Replacing a member of the city council requires candidates to file an application at the city office. The city council interviews all candidates in an open public meeting and then selects one of them. As with any council decision, I only vote in case of a tie. Four people have applied so far.

Property Tax Breakdown	5/8/2008
More from my students: The median home value in Providence was $175,900 in 1995, the last year for which we have data. The current taxes on that home are as follows: Property tax paid to Providence City: $99.64 (11%) Property tax paid to Cache County: $216.41 (23%) Property tax paid to school district: $605.62 (65%) Property tax paid to special districts:$7.64 (1%) Total: $929.31

Property Tax Rate

5/8/2008

As part of my students' research on local cities and towns they collected the property tax rate data. Here are the tax rates from lowest to highest in Cache Valley:

Trenton 0.000815
Paradise 0.000982
Providence 0.001030
Richmond 0.001043
Wellsville 0.001108
Clarkston 0.001182
Newton 0.001363
River Heights 0.001398
Smithfield 0.001454
Nibley 0.001497
Hyrum City 0.001525
North Logan 0.001678
Cornish 0.002060
Lewiston 0.002115
Logan 0.002220

Remember that this rate is just the city's portion of the property tax, the county and school district taxes are in addition to the city tax. In Utah, cities are allowed to tax 1/2 the value of a residence and the full value of commercial property. To determine the tax rate on your home, divide the value of the home in half and multiply that amount by the tax rate. For example, a $300,000 home in Providence pays the city ($300,000/2)* 0.001030, or $154. The same home in Logan would pay ($300,000/2)*.002220, or $333.

ATVs on City Streets?

5/8/2008

The state legislature passed SB181 this last session. It allows "street-legal all terrain vehicles" to use city streets if they do not exceed 45 miles per hour. The important phrase is "street-legal," which means that the ATV must meet registration, taxation, licensing and equipment (lighting, mirrors, instrumentation) requirements like those met by street-legal motorcycles. Anyone driving an ATV on city streets and not meeting those requirements will be ticketed. Even if the ATV is street legal the driver must have a valid driver license, so you cannot just send your unlicensed teens out to drive up the canyon.

The bottom line is that you can drive your ATV on city streets if you go through the process to make it street-legal. Those of you driving golf carts around might see if the legislature will pass a similar law for you.

Price of government in Providence

5/7/2008

A widely used measure of the cost of government is to measure the amount of purchasing power a community commits to its government. The standard method for determining that price is the sum of all taxes, fees, and charges, divided by the city's total economic resources. Total economic resources means the sum of all income that members of the community receive.That information is obtained from the U.S. census data.

I had a class of student do a project this semester in which they determined the cost of government for all cities and towns in Cache County. The national average cost of government is 6.5 cents per dollar of purchasing power and the Utah state average is 6.1 cents. Here are results for some of Cache County:

Hyde Park 2.2 cents
Wellsville 2.6 cents
North Logan 3.2 cents
Lewiston 2.5 cents
Richmond 4.1 cents
Smithfield 3 cents
Nibley 4.4 cents
Logan City 5.4 cents

And Providence? 1.8 cents

In another post I will explain why the price of government in Providence is so low.

Is government evil?

5/7/2008

LaVarr Webb at Utahpolicy.com asked his readers if government is evil. Here is my response to him:

I do not argue that government is evil, it just creates situations where people can take evil actions. By evil I mean theft of people�s life, liberty, property, or happiness. I asked a newly elected Providence Council Member what he had learned in his first four months in office. He replied, �People are selfish.� Self interest and even selfishness (not the same things) in markets are good things. In politics they can produce evil outcomes�using zoning laws to rob your neighbor of the development value of his land, stopping the widow (or anyone else)from converting part of her home into an apartment, trying to stop traffic from using �our� road. I sometimes claim that being Mayor is worse than being an LDS bishop or Catholic Priest. In each position you learn things about your neighbors you wish you did not know. The people a bishop or priest works with are often trying to become better people. But the people a mayor works with are often trying to use government to take advantage of others. I am thankful that the vast majority of citizens are too busy living their lives to worry about messing with other people�s lives. And many, many of them live lives of quiet service that the mayor only discovers by accident.�

League of Cities and Towns Meetings re water rights

4/10/2008

I am at the Utah League of Cities and Towns midyear meetings in St George. The meetings are a chance for planning commission and city council members and other city officials to get instruction and to exchange ideas. One of the most significant discussions is about water rights. About 85% of the developed water in the state is still used by agriculture and cities use the rest. The legislature passed House Bill 51 last session that better protects farmers' and cities' water rights. Cities can now plan 40 years into the future and purchase water rights for that planning horizon. Until this bill, cities could only hold enough water to plan for five years and if the water rights were not used in five years, the cities could be forced to forfeit their rights. That happened in the Uintah Basin and elsewhere. Representative Painter sponsored the bill, and all the Cache Valley legislators voted for the bill. If you get a chance, thank them.

New Subdivision Questions

3/14/2008

A new subdivision is planned for property north of the Fox Ridge development and east of 400 east. A citizen who lives on 400 East sent me the following questions.

i have reviewed the Providence City Council Agenda, and would like to offer the following comment on the proposed SageCrest Subdivision.

1. Yesterday, there were 25 elk and 30 deer grazing on this property. Cache Valley has almost no winter range left for these animals, which is becoming a critical concern. As Zoning and the Council analyzes the impact of this development, please consider strategies that mitigate impact on winter range. For example, Estes Park, Colorado, has development that clusters houses with open space to keep winter range accessible.

2. Access. One of the proposed accesses in via 400 East at 300 North. As a resident of this narrow street, i would like to know plans for widening the street in ways that don't negatively impact the current residents. We already have steep driveways and widening the road will make access for some impossible. It will also require moving power poles.

3. Water. This is a large proposed subdivision, and i hope Council will ensure appropriate water provisions.

many thanks,

My responses follow:

thanks for your email and for coming to city council meeting last night. Here are some, probably unsatisfactory, responses to your queries. 1. Our current city code and master plan do not require consideration of wildlife habitat. It would be worthwhile for you to contact the planning commission to discuss adding them. Jon Mock is the chair person. I have not been able to make much headway with real clustering ideas such as in Estes park with the city council. If the Council would make a minor tweak to the Single Family Large ordinance, we could get that kind of clustering. Using the current ordinance, Sagecrest will heave 19 acres open out of 125. With an Estes Park type ordinance, they would leave 40-60 acres open. Getting the Planning Commission and City Council to accept that approach will require lots of citizens getting on board and promoting the idea.

2. The main access to this subdivision will be to continue 200 North east past 400 east into their property. They have purchased the property for the road and it will align perfectly with the existing 200 North. We probably need to improve 200 North between 300 and 400 east to account for increased traffic and safety, such as having a sidewalk. The offset intersection at 300 East and 200 North will be improved. We have purchased property on the NE corner of that intersection so we can make it safer and have traffic flow more easily. Along 400 East north of 200 North the city right-of-way is large enough to take care of an improved road. You are right, many of the landowners on the east side have landscaped onto the right of way and built steep driveways that will make that improvement difficult. I do not believe we have much of a right of way where 400 East turns to the east and that road can only be widened to handle more traffic by obtaining more land for the right of way. I do not advocate widening the asphalt on 400 East north of 200 North, but it may be necessary sometime.

3. This subdivision has applied for and is awaiting approval of a transfer of water rights to Providence that will be sufficient to meet indoor and outdoor watering needs of this subdivision. They cannot begin to build unless and until Providence City has clear right to that water. That is our procedure with any annexation--they have to bring water rights.

City v. State

3/8/2008

Someone asked me last week why we do not refuse to follow state law regarding development and instead do what we think is "best" for the city. It may be nice to believe that citizens can make all the rules for their city, but it is pure fiction. Cities are corporations chartered by the state and are controlled to a great extent by state law. But, the person asked, why not just do what the people want and see if we get sued? Sometimes defiance is appropriate, but in this case it is criminal. If a city council member knowingly votes to violate state law, he or she is subject to criminal prosecution. When we take our oath of office we swear to uphold the constitution and laws of the state, regardless of what some citizens claim about "what the people want." State law trumps city ordinances and often local wishes.

Planning for Sewer

3/8/2008

City staff and I met with representatives from Logan City representatives last week to make sure they and we are adequately planning for for increases in sewer flows that will result from new homes. Our system is designed to handle all future flows. There could be a bottleneck in Logan, however. They have plans to correct that problem soon, but we will stay in contact and require them to sign off on future subdivisions in Providence so we can be sure Logan can provide the necessary service.

Snow Removal	3/8/2008
We have had a snow storm nearly every weekend this winter with several others within a few days of each other. Many people have called or come by to thank the Public Works Department for their fine work. I agree, they have done an excellent job, often in very difficult conditions.

Reckless development?

3/8/2008

Some people worry that I and the city staff promote reckless development. If you have such questions it is far more effective to come and talk and we can show you the process we use. Three people did that this past week and I, the city administrator, public works director and engineer met to discuss concerns. I thought is was a fruitful discussion and invite others to follow their lead.

You may have heard claims like we do not consider the possibility of flooding, have not studied the number of cars a new development will create, or safety. Flooding in other cities along the Wasatch Front add to those concerns.

I do not know what other cities do but we do the following. We have an ongoing program of counting traffic on critical roads and are planning how to move traffic effectively. Our subdivisions must be engineered (by the developer's engineer and signed off by our engineer) to withstand a 100-year flood. That is , they are designed to handle normal runoff and the worst flood we expect in 100 years. We have rules about building on steep slopes and other critical lands. Those rules are, however, limited by state laws that restrict the kinds of limits cities can impose. All subdivision proposals are reviewed by the Logan City Fire Department and must be approved by them before any development happens.

If you want to know more about this process and the checklist we use (based on state law and city ordinances) please come and ask. I or city staff will arrange to meet with you and respond to your questions.

Sorry for the silence	3/8/2008
We moved this site to a new server and lost the ability to make new posts for awhile. Things are now back to normal. I am going to revamp this site in a few weeks so expect some changes.

Logan 100 East Update

1/3/2008

Logan's 100 East is being extended across the Logan River and will enter Providence on North Gateway Drive. Some changes will be made in Providence as Gateway Drive will be extended to meet Spring Creek Parkway. This is a project that has been planned for several years and will be completed during the next two years. It will make it possible for us to get to the University or to the north end of Logan without having to travel on Main Street. IT is being designed as a major street that will handle 35 mph traffic. Providence and Logan each pay about 7 percent of the costs in our separate cities and the rest is federal funds.

Where to get help

1/3/2008

Question: Randy.where can I get help, my city has ordinances in place, but is not enforcing them.

Answer: Start with your mayor. Make an appointment. Sit down and talk. Tell him or her your concerns. Ask for explanations. Listen to the answers. Make sure that the two of you understand the ordinance you are concerned about. The mayor may direct you to city staff to answer specific questions. Go ask those questions. Ask the mayor if you can speak to the city attorney about the issue.

If you do not get satisfaction from the city administration, go to the city council. City council meetings are not a good place to start because they already have a full agenda and cannot act on your request in that meeting anyway. Seek out a sympathetic member of the council. Explain the problem as you see it. Explain why the city administration's response was not satisfactory. Ask the council member if he or she agrees that you have a valid concern. Let the council member follow up and get back to you. Talk to another member of the council. If you want to be effective, do not stand up in city council meeting and make accusations without having already talked to more than one member of the council.

Remember that mayors generally are in charge of administering policy, not making it.

Utah Political blogs

1/3/2008

If you are a political junkie you need to read the following blogs:

KVNU For the People: http://www.kvnuforthepeople.com/

Utah Amicus: http://www.utahamicus.blogspot.com/

Representative Steve Urquhart: http://steveu.com/blog/

The Utah Republican Senate blog: http://www.senatesite.com/blog/

The Utah Democratic Senate blog: http://www.utahsenatedemocrats.org/

And if you want an excellent summary of Utah politics in the news emailed to you every morning go to http://www.utahpolicy.com/. You can check their website every day or click on "subscribe" and it will be emailed to you.

Property Tax podcast

1/3/2008

Tax analyst Roger Tew and Senator Howard Stephenson spar about whether Utah should cap property taxes at http://www.kcpw.org/article/4850.

This and other tax questions are being talked about at the legislature this year. The three legs of Utah city tax policy in Utah are property tax, sales tax, and all other fees like the gasoline tax. Notice that cities receive no income tax revenue. State government is running huge surpluses. Cities have to dip into the property and sales taxes to pay for roads because the gasoline tax does not come close to funding road costs.

Answering Joshua Jackson

12/4/2007

"My name is Joshua Jackson I am 12 years old and I live in Providence. I am working on my �Citizenship of the Community� merit badge. I do have a question for you that has been on my mind. I was wondering when we were going to get a stop light by Edwards furniture. Someone has already died there. I am worried that someone else is going to die. The traffic is very bad and I have seen lots of people almost get hit again. Can we please get a light in there to save lives?"

Joshua, if Providence could put a stop light there it would be done tomorrow. Because Highway 165 is a Utah State Highway, only the Utah State Department of Transportation can install a light there. Before doing that, they have to conduct an analysis of the intersection.I have made verbal requests to them to do the saudy and am sending a letter to them today.

Thanks for your suggestion.

Water Ordinance Question

12/4/2007

"How long have you had in mind the new water ordinance presented by Craig Smith last night? Why did you prepare and present the current water ordinance to be voted on by the council if you had in mind that Craig would do another one? It looks to me as if you needed some way to defeat the wet water candidates and saw the criticism of their initiative as a way to do that. I have asked several questions on this web site, and they have not been answered. Would you do me the courtesy of answering this correspondence."

After reviewing the ballot initiative and the ordinance the city passed, Mr Smith, who is our water attorney, identified some problems and proposed making changes. The five-year study, for example, he suggested needed to be changed to be a thirty-year study, updated at least every five years. He also thought we needed to clarify procedures for transferring water rights and shares to the city.

Political Science

11/14/2007

The recent election demonstrates some fundamental lessons about politics:

1) Names on a petition do not translate to votes on a ballot. This observation holds true for elections everywhere. People sign petitions for a variety of reasons, but that does not mean they will vote in favor of the initiative.

2)The only petition that really provides guidance to elected officials is an election ballot (See number 1). There is no way for an elected official to tell why people signed a petition--because they believe in the issue, because they were asked multiple times, because they automatically sign any petition, because they are confused on the issue? Citizens and their elected officials should not, therefore, believe that a petition represents "what the people want." An election tells you what a majority of the people want and this election was very clear--63% voted against the "wet water" initiative.

3) Primary support does not always indicate final election support. Many voters who vote in final elections do not vote in primary elections. As a result, there can be striking differences between the the two elections. In the Providence election, for example, the two leading vote getters in the primary gained less than 180 more votes in the final election than they received in the primary. The winning candidates obtained enough new votes to defeat the primary winners by as much as 300 votes.

Election Results	11/14/2007
Election Results: Don W. Calderwood 1006 (16.4%) Sharell Eames 871 (14.2%) Linda Goetze 818 (13.3%) Ronald S. Liechty 1134 (18.5%) David Gordon Low 1174 (19.1%) John P. Russell 1126 (18.3%) Total Votes: 6129 Water Initiative FOR 792 (36.9%) AGAINST 1352 63.0% Total Votes: 2144

November Mayor's message

11/6/2007

On November 6, Providence voters will select three members of the City Council, and vote on a water initiative, school vouchers, a road tax increase, and a transit tax increase. Please study the candidates and issues carefully. The Cache Mayor’s association chose to not make a recommendation regarding the two proposed tax increases. The Cache County Council and County Attorney recommend voting against the transit tax and voting for the road tax. The Providence City Council did not make a recommendation about the taxes. The Providence City Council voted 4-1 against the water initiative. In its place they adopted a new ordinance that they believe better meets the city’s present and future needs and protects the irrigation companies. If you agree with the City Council and want to keep their ordinance in place, vote against the water initiative. If you want the ballot initiative to replace the Council’s ordinance, then vote for the initiative.

During the last two years your City Council has carefully studied city water issues and accomplished the following: 1) Resolved long-standing disputes and misunderstandings with Spring Creek Water Company, 2) Found Providence City has adequate water to meet peak demand of current and future residents, 3) Made it possible to serve all city water reservoirs from more than one source, 4) Identified a site for a new well and applied for the well drilling permits. If you have questions about our water system please contact me or a member of the City Council.

You may have noticed an increase in your property tax bill—mine increased a lot. That increase is caused by a reevaluation by the County Assessor of your property’s value. The law is rather complicated but one portion is rather simple and that is that Providence City receives none of the increase. Please do not blame your City Council for an increase in your property taxes. They had nothing to do with it. You may want to contact your state legislators (Curt Webb or Lyle Hillyard) as there will be some efforts in the state legislator to change the assessment system.

Tomatoes

11/2/2007

"Where do you buy your tomato plants or do you plant from seed?"

We buy from seed catalogs like Totally Tomatoes and give the seeds to Fonnesbeck Nursery in Mendon. When the plants get large enough to transplant we then buy them from Fonnesbecks. They now regularly stock several of my favorite varieties. Brent Madsen had a great tomato garden this year, in some ways superior to ours. You might want to see where he got his plants.

More Providence Canyon questions

10/30/2007

"Mayor Simmons, The deer fence road is owned by the DWR? or the deer fence road south to millville is? Who owns the deer fence road north to Logan? And the posts that are there to keep people out did the City put them there, or DWR, or forest service or home owner ? And who do I contact about being on the "canyon watch group" you or Ken ?"

From Providence Canyon to Millville, the Providence City limits are the deer fence. Going north, a portion of the fence is in Providence and a portion is in the County. Providence City has no jurisdiction over or rights to the road in either direction. Some of the fence is on private land and some is on public land. The plats do not show a right-of-way across either the public land of private land, although I believe DWR has a right-of-way so they can repair the deer fence.

I checked on the fence and gate restricting access from Providence to Millville and was told it was built by the Cattlemen's association, with the cooperation and oversight of the DWR. As I mentioned in an earlier post, DWR allowed the snowmobile association to create the parking lot in Providence Canyon when they closed access from Providence to Millville for motorized vehicles. I believe the property owners put up the posts estricting access to the north side, but do not know for sure.

An underlying question you appear to have is whether the public can assert a right to use that road. I believe the answer is no because it was never a public road, but you would need to ask the County Attorney--his office is opening closed roads through the RS2477 process and you can ask if these roads can be part of that process.

Are you willing to contact Ken and possibly others to put together a plan to bring to the city for how citizens and the city can cooperate to keep the canyon clean? Call me at 881-0111 if you want me to be part of your meetings. Things like this work far better if they come from the citizens to the city rather than the other way around. Thanks for your interest.

Providence Canyon

10/28/2007

From a concerned citizen: "Hasn't Providence symbolically adopted Providence canyon? If this is the case, why is it so trashed with garbage, carcasses and diapers and rutted year-round by speeding motor vehicles? If the DWR is responsible for its care, why isn't the city and the DWR sharing in the canyon's care? If the citizens can't even care for its adopted canyon, why should one believe that would bother to take care and respect the deer fence road, which is also precious to walkers and hikers? Compare Green Canyon to Providence Canyon, which is good condition for all users to enjoy. What do you think?"

There was a cleanup done in Providence Canyon 6 weeks ago and another will happen in the next two weeks. The garbage at the mouth of the canyon will be cleaned up this week. I have asked the Sheriff's office to increase patrols because you are right--it is being trashed. Ken Hamilton has asked about organizing a canyon watch group of volunteers to patrol and report vandalism and dumping. Please let me know if you and others are interested.

More re roads

10/27/2007

Randy thanks for answering my question about the deer fence road I am wondering if this is anything like what went on in Juab over 3 roads. http://www.attygen.state.ut.us/PrRel/praugust25.htm Here is a link as to what happen down there. Is this a City thing or a Cache county thing? I would really like to use the road on a atv or a snowmobile ( when there is enough snow ). I am not trying to cause a problem just wondering how to go about getting it reopened.

The deer fence road isn't either city or county. It was closed by the DWR. They claim snowmobile traffic disturbs the deer wintering on the face of the mountains. I believe they make that claim without having any data to justify it.

Deer Fence Road?

10/26/2007

From a resident: "Why is the deer fence road not open? Even though it is a road and not a trail. As far as I can tell it is on maps as far back as the 50's. Why hasn't the city reopened?"

The deer fence road is controlled by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the Forest Service. It is their property and their road. Parts of the road cross private land and the DWR has an easement that allows them to use the road to access and repair the fence.

I do not know if Cache County is going to try to assert ownership as part of the RS2477 Road process it is going through right now. I believe the county is claiming the Providence Canyon road from the Forest Service from the mouth to the top of the canyon. That is the reason the road is in such bad shape now, no one is willing to do anything until jurisdiction is clear. Our public works director is asking for permission to fill and grade part of it but we do not have permission.

DWR closed the Providence to Millville section in the late 1990s and Providence City negotiated with them to allow volunteers to create the snowmobile parking lot further up the canyon. The lot is on DWR property and was created by members of the Cache Snowmobile Association.

Email is back...	10/26/2007
The glitch with my email system was repaired last night. Remember that if you want a private response you need to include your email address because your comments show up in this system anonymously. You can also email me directly at randy.simmons@usu.edu.

Sauerkraut Dinner	10/24/2007
Today's Deseret news has a long article in the food section about Providence and Sauerkraut. It has lengthy quotes from Ivan Christensen and several recipes. Here are the opening lines: "Boston has its baked beans. Buffalo is famous for chicken wings. And Providence, Utah, has sauerkraut." The link to the post is http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695220936,00.html

Easy subdivision approval?

10/23/2007

Just how easy is it to get a subdivision approved in Providence? You must follow every code and ordinance and the process takes time.

The first stop is with the Development Review Committee, which is composed of the city administrator, public works director, engineer, attorney, a member of the city council and a representative from the fire department. They review all proposals and only forward them to the planning commission if they meet all city requirements, including fire codes.

Under new state law the city council designated the planning commission as the body that approves subdivisions. The planning commission reviews the findings of the Development Review Committee and hold hearings. Under state law, they must approve the subdivision if it meets state and city codes. In order to reject a proposed subdivision, it must be for identifiable violations. Rejection cannot be based on feelings or opinions--just the law.

This process is very legalistic and restricts the powers that many believe planning commissions and city councils ought to have. For example, when the Macey's development was being proposed, the developers proposed a gas island. At public hearings on the development some Providence residents objected and the city council received a letter asking the gas island be denied. The letter was from an owner of Bell's Chevron. City Council candidate Eames was upset because the gas island was not on the original plans and she said, "Shame, shame, shame on you" to the developer. What Bell and Eames failed to note, however, was that a gas island is a permitted use in the commercial zone and because it is permitted it cannot be rejected. The City Council had to follow the law and approve the gas island, regardless of the complaints by Bell, Eames, and others. The law is the law

As an aside, I should note that I am very pleased to have inexpensive gas available in Providence and I also do not believe city officials should use government power to protect someone's business from competition.

Civility

10/19/2007

Milton Thompson is an Indianapolis lawyer, negotiator and agent. He sent me the following today.

Civility takes a back seat to bad manners. The truth, though, is that persuasion is not a hammer on a nail. Even if you feel passionate about something, don�t forget to be passionate about caring for others.

Some believe threats, intimidation and browbeating work in getting what they want. But they don't take into account the cost of the transaction. Just talking loud or using your imposing size to try to influence people doesn�t add substance to the conversation, and usually doesn�t work. It creates resistance, which you want to minimize. The motto "A little sugar is easier to swallow than vinegar has worked for me."

The Names of Those who Sued Providence City	10/16/2007
The suit against Providence City that the Utah Supreme Court decided in the City's favor was brought by: Candidates for City Council Linda Goetze and Sharell Eames The following citizens: Bob Bissland Laura Fisher Margaret Recker Neil Larsen Roger Dahle Mary Ellen Klomps Ralph Call

Providence wins in court--AGAIN

10/16/2007

I sent this press release today: The Utah Supreme Court ruled on October 15 that Providence City correctly followed state law when it refused to put an initiative on the November 6 ballot. The initiative would have challenged an annexation passed by the city council. Because the initiative�s proponents failed to meet state mandated deadlines, city attorney Scott Wyatt, advised the city to reject the request. The Utah First District Court and the Utah Supreme Court have now agreed with that advice.

A suit against Providence City was filed by members of People for Wet Water, including city council candidates Sharell Eames and Linda Goetze, to force the city to put the initiative on the ballot. The city won the case in state district court and the sponsors appealed to the Utah Supreme Court, who heard oral arguments on October 11.

�It is gratifying to have the Supreme Court agree that we followed the law,� said Providence Mayor Randy Simmons. He also noted that this is the third time in the past year that judges have agreed with Providence City. �Defending ourselves for following the law gets a bit frustrating and expensive,� said Simmons. �We would much rather spend those thousands of dollars improving streets and sidewalks. Maybe those suing the city will now allow the city to go about its business of serving the citizens.�

Judging others...

10/7/2007

On this conference Sunday and as political campaigning picks up, the following words from Stephen L. Richards in 1956 are worth remembering:

The Lord has said, "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men" (D&C 64:10). If we were more liberal in our forgiveness, we would be more encouraging to repentance. Someone has said that the supreme charity of the world is in obedience to the divine injunction, "Judge not." When the Savior gave that injunction, he was well aware of the limitations of human understanding and sympathy. We can see overt acts but we cannot see inner feelings nor can we read intentions. An all-wise Providence in making judgment sees and knows all the phases of human conduct. We know but few of the phases, and none very well. To be considerate and kind in judgment is a Christlike attribute. [Stephen L. Richards, April Conference, 8 April 1956]

The expected effects of wells	10/4/2007
The Water Engineer's office informed me that their studies of existing and potential future wells in Providence estimate that if the wells were pumped at full capacity 24/7 for 30 years, there would be just a two foot drawdown of the aquifer around the wells. And since we do not run them 24/7 year round, there will be less effect than that.

Do away with the title of mayor?

10/4/2007

The following is from http://www.ulctlegislative.blogspot.com/, a blog maintained by the Utah League of Cities and Towns (ULCT):

Many of you may have read or heard the recent news story regarding a minor legislative attempt to "eliminate" the Mayor position as we now know it -- at least in title, the story certainly down-played the overwhelming negative reaction that the proposal received as well as the 6-3 "NO" vote on the proposal.

While it cannot be denied that Sen. Howard Stephenson promoted an idea to do way with the title "mayor" for nearly 230 mayors in the State of Utah, it should also be mentioned that the vast majority of the committee supported the Utah League of Cities and Towns as they recommended to the committee that such a proposal would be ill-conceived and would likely be the "poison pill" to a more rational proposal that the committee may wish to contemplate regarding transitions between forms of government. In the end, the committee sided with the ULCT and decided to pursue more productive proposals.

Spring Creek Flow Rate

10/4/2007

The Spring Creek Water Company measured the flow at the mouth of Providence Canyon all summer and found the following.
At the beginning of May, the flow rate was 6.1 cubic feet per second(cfs) (3.9 million gallons per day).
The peak reading was May 23 at 10 cfs ((6.4 million gallons per day.
On July 1, there were about 6.9 cfs (4.5 million gallons per day).
By the end of August there were still about 5 cfs (3.2 million gallons per day.
On September 24, there were 4.9 cfs(3.2 million galons per day)

Another million gallons per day were used in the city's culinary system from May 1 to now.

In a conversation with folks at the Cache County office of the Utah State Division of Water Rights, I discovered that Spring Creek is considered an intermittent stream and its contribution to the valley's water system is so insignificant it is not even included in the Engineer's model of the Cache County water system. It did pretty well for being classified as intermittent.

Building permits in late 1970s	10/4/2007
When a Herald Journal reporter interviewed me a month ago I told him I thought only 2 building permits were issued during one of the years in the late nineties. That was rebutted in a letter to the editor claiming that 25 per year had been issued. Here are the actual numbers taken from city records: 1977 23 1978 41 1979 4 1980 14 1981 9

Tomato report

10/3/2007

Here is a list of the tomatoes we grew and my evaluation of them:

Evergreen: a green-when-ripe tomato. S0-so taste, gets mushy easily. We will not grow them again.

Green Zebra: Medium size, green striped tomato. Excellent taste. Quite acidic. You need these in your garden. Or, at least I need them in mine.

Kellogg Breakfast: Large, late, lumpy yellow tomato. Superior taste. My favorite late season tomato this year.

Brandywine: Large, late, lumpy red tomato. Superior taste. One of my friends claims that BrandyBoys come on much earlier and taste as good.

Mortgage Lifter: Large, symmetrical, mid-season, red tomato. Average taste. I will try something else next year.

Hungarian Heart: Wow! Large, late, heart-shaped tomato. Very meaty. Excellent taste. A winner.

Sweet Million: A red cherry with excellent taste. Some tasters preferred it to SunGold. I don't but I like a more acidic taste than the Sweet Million. We will plant it again.

SunGold: Yellow cherry tomato. High sugar and high acid. My favorite tomato. I eat them like candy.

Who uses Cache Valley Water?

9/27/2007

Herb Fullerton, former director of the United States office of Water Policy, spoke to the city council about water. He noted that Cache Valley has such an abundance of water that each year 60,000 acre feet of water enters Cutler Dam from unknown sources. That is, the estimates of groundwater and surface water entering the reservoir are 60,000 acre feet short of what actually enters. To put that in perspective, total municipal and industrial use in the Utah and Idaho is just 30,000 acre feet per year.

Fullerton was asked if he thought there is any danger of depleting the aquifer in Cache Valley. His answer was, "not in the foreseeable future."

Another citizen asked if Providence's attempt to transfer water rights from Richmond to Providence set a dangerous precedent. Fullerton explained that water right transfers have been a part of water law for a long time. There is no precedent to set. He could have noted that Hyrum transferred 800 acre feet (1 1/2 times what Providence seeks to transfer) from Richmond just last year.

Fullerton also pointed out that water transfers allow water rights to be transferred from a less important use to a more important use. In that way we are all made better off.

Fullerton explained that the aquifer is made better off by transferring water rights from farming to a city. With farming, only 50% of the water used returns into streams or groundwater. By contrast, 90% of city water returns to the natural water system.

Paper water/wet water

9/27/2007

At the city council meeting this week Trevor Hughes, former director of the Utah Water Lab at Utah State University, explained about paper water and wet water. Here are his words:

"Letters related to the recent election criticized the idea that Providence is buying only paper water. Note, however, that because of the state water policy, paper water is much more valuable than wet water. Anyone can drill a well and get wet water in the Providence area but would not be allowed to pump it without acquiring the related transferred (paper) water."

An analogy is an irrigation stream that flows through your property. The water in the stream is wet. it is on your property. But, unless you own a stock certificate (paper water) you own nothing. You have no right to use the water flowing through your property.

Constitution Day

9/18/2007

From Lavar Webb at utahpolicy.com:

Happy Birthday, Constitution!

Today is Constitution Day, commemorating the 220th anniversary of the day the U.S. Constitution was signed after a hot summer of debate in Philadelphia.

�After being signed in September of 1787, Congress sent printed copies of the Constitution to the state legislatures for ratification. In the months that followed, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay would write the Federalist Papers in support, while Patrick Henry, Elbridge Gerry, and George Mason would organize the opposition to the new Constitution. By June 21, 1788, nine states had approved the Constitution, finally forming "a more perfect Union."

�No matter how much we argue about the details of its meaning today, in the opinion of many, the Constitution signed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787 represents the greatest expression of statesmanship and compromise ever written. In just four hand-written pages, the Constitution gives us no less than the owners' manual to the greatest form of government the world has ever known.

Utah land Use Institute

9/18/2007

The best training available on Utah Land Use law is found at the Utah land Use Institutes's fall conference, Oct 2-3 at the SLC Red Lion. The webpage is http://www.utahlanduse.org/. There are other useful links on that page, including the full text of the Citizens Guide to Utah Land Use Regulation

The conference is co-sponsored by the Utah State Bar, the Utah Department of Commerce, and the Office of the Property Rights Ombudsman. If you want to understand Utah land use law, attend this conference.

ANOTHER WIN IN COURT!

9/18/2007

Today Utah First District Court Judge Judkins agreed with Providence City that the suit by Laura Fisher et. al regarding two property rezones has no merit. Despite the statement in the Utah State Code that single property rezones are not subject to referendum, the plaintiffs presented the city with two referendum petitions demanding the rezones be put on the ballot. Providence City declined, citing state statutes. Judge Judkins agreed with the City's position. As soon as I get a copy of the decision I will make it available.

Water Rights in Utah

9/11/2007

The Water Atlas of Utah (http://www.engineering.usu.edu/uwrl/atlas/introduction/intindex.html) contains great information about water and water rights. Here are a couple useful points:

"WHAT IS A WATER RIGHT? All waters in the state are declared to be public. A water right is the right to the use of water based upon quantity, priority date, source, point of diversion, nature of use, and the beneficial uses made of the water."

Thus, cities do not own water, they only own a water right, something some people in Providence call just paper water.

The Water Atlas contains an excellent discussion of water history and water policy, including a listing of how transfers of water rights take place.

This page is still spammed	9/11/2007
You still cannot submit questions on this site because someone has spammed it. Send questions to randytsimmons@gmail.com.

Wetwaterites?

9/11/2007

Today Providence citizens received a letter from something called People for Wet Water. I notice that there is no list of who the wetwaterites are. The address is a Post Office Box. There is no phone number. It does make you wonder... A letter, without a signature, on the day before the election. Are they ashamed to put their names on the letter? This is apparently the same group of people who do not want the press to record their comments at a meet the candidates night and do not want to have to answer impromptu questions. Or is it? There is no way for you to know before you vote.

I also notice that they, whomever they are, believe "we have a very great need for informed city council members." Wow, who doesn't? But apparently, by "informed" they mean someone who will vote the way they dictate since the current city council, after examining the law and the facts, do not agree with Wet Water's conclusions.

There are at least two blatant lies in the letter. Maybe that is why there is no signature, phone number, or street address.

The People for Wet Water did you one favor. They listed their preferred candidates so you will know you should not vote for them.

Open Space

9/10/2007

Everyone wants open space, but where, how much, and who should pay for it? One of the conclusions from the Envision Utah process that Governor Mike Leavitt started is that unless a city is willing to purchase land for open space, the most effective way is to allow higher density development. In exchange for higher densities, the developer then sets aside open space.

Here is how it works. Under large lot zoning, at least 1/2 acre lots, the developer of 120 acres could put in around 160 homes and leave very little open. Under the new P Zone our planning commission proposed and the council approved, the developer can be granted a "density bonus" that would allow as many as 240 homes but leave 60 of the 120 acres open.

Is open space the "space between the houses" as some argue, or is it a large open space suitable for parks, recreation, and trails?

Impact Fees

9/6/2007

A question I often get is whether we are running the city on impact fees and , if so, what will happen when there are no more impact fees to collect because there is no new development.

Under state law we cannot use impact fees for anything other than the purpose for which they were gathered. Road impact fees, for example, can only be spent on growth-related road expenses. The same for the other fees we collect--parks, water, sewer.

In Providence we hold impact fees in individual accounts. Once the city council approves an impact fee expenditure, the required amount is transferred into the general fund and expenses are charged against that amount. Some cities are getting into trouble because they mingle the impact fee money with other funds. We keep them strictly separated.

Here is Utah League of Cities and Towns attorney Dave Church on impact fees: " Impact fees are now a very special case. Because of the actual and perceived abuses of these fees by cities and towns, the legislature has severely controlled them. See Utah Code sections 11-36-101 et seq. The fees you can assess, the way you go about establishing them, the way you account for them, and the time period in which you have to use them are now all set out in state law. You must comply with this law.

An impact fee includes any payment of money you require as a condition of development activity with the exception of the building permit fee, hook up fees, taxes, special assessments, and reasonable application and permit fees. The building permit fee is limited to the amount authorized by the building code adopted by the state as the uniform building code, and the hookup fee must be only the actual cost of the utility connection. Utah Code section 11-36-102 If you are collecting money from builders and developers, you need to make sure that it is either an exception to the impact fee definition or that the impact fee was legally enacted."

Requiring Water for Development

9/6/2007

For years Providence City has required that anyone developing property already annexed to Providence City do one of three things regarding water. 1) Provide 1 share of Blacksmith Fork Irrigation Company or of Spring Creek Water Company for each acre developed, (2) pay the city the amount the city would have to pay to purchase one share per acre, or (3)provide other water shares or rights. As we have researched this practice during the last several months, we have not been able to find any studies that were done to justify the need or the amount. Because of that, we will need to stop the practice of requiring water shares for development in the existing city boundaries until we do the studies and go through the proper procedure for creating a new ordinance. (Because requiring water rights to accompany annexed land is legally different than for land already in the city boundaries, we can continue to require water rights to accompany the annexation)

David Church, attorney for the Utah League of Cities and Towns has written a nice explanation of the legal requirements cities must meet in order to require water rights as a condition for development. His explanation can be found at http://ulct.org/ULCTLeg.nsf/vmultilevellookup/BCAA9BBA9BE87526872570BB005F0E24?OpenDocument. Here are his last few paragraphs:

"It is clear that a city or town can, if the standards of this statute and the court decisions are met, require a developer to dedicate any property including water rights or irrigation shares as a condition of development. There are some obvious preconditions. The following example using water rights apply to any property exaction.

First, the city or town must have an ordinance that requires the dedication of the water right (or other property). The ordinance would be very similar in form and adoption to an impact fee ordinance. There must be a study or other fact finding process done to justify the need for and the amount of the required water, and the proper procedures -- public hearings etc. -- must be completed.

In addition to having a good study and ordinance, a city or town must then properly apply its ordinance. The city or town must be prepared to show that there is a nexus between the required dedication and the permit requested. This should be easy when it is new development that will add either additional population or additional territory to the city. It will be impossible if the proposed new development does not place any additional burden on the city's water requirements.

If this nexus exists the city or town must still be prepared to show that the amount of the required water right has some relationship to the needs created by the new development. While this does not have to be an exact calculation it must be roughly accurate. More importantly a city or town must be prepared to examine the requirement for each individual development. It is not enough to say that since there is an ordinance everyone has to comply. Each developer has the right to argue that his development creates a lesser or differing water need."

I've been spammed	9/6/2007
My email account for this page has been spammed and is now not working. Until I get it working, please send any questions to randytsimmons@gmail.com

Do we follow

9/1/2007

At the meet the candidates night Sharell Eames accused the City Council (and me) of not following process. In fact, she said that Scott Wyatt, our city attorney, told us we do not need to follow process.

Her concern is that the City Council voted to deny a rezone and then in the next meeting, reconsidered that vote and granted the rezone. Councilmember Deon Johnson voted against the rezone in the first meeting and then asked that we reconsider at the next meeting. In Council meetings, Eames has repeatedly complained that she cannot find any way to reconsider a vote in Roberts Rules of Order, the rules by which we run our meetings. So, she keeps asking why we do not follow the correct process.

The answer is that we do follow process. If you Google Roberts Rules of Order and open any of the webpages I have found you can search for "reconsider." Reconsidering a vote is perfectly legal. The following humerous explanation ls from http://www.insidepulse.com/article_v3.php?contentid=45823&rssAuthor=1 expl

Something went wrong, very very wrong. Suddenly there was a room of people without pants! NO PANTS! But we followed the rules! Everyone voted to take off their pants. But sometimes you need pants, like when it's January in Minnesota. So can you undo it? Sure, you just grab your pants and walk out and whack yourself with a mallet for ever joining a group that would vote for pant removal in the first place. But lets go with we are just using this as a mildly amusing example. So can Robert make you put your pants back on? This will talk about the motion to reconsider which is one method of putting the pants on.

You can only reconsider something within a very small and set period of time. But the most important thing about Reconsidering is that the person who makes the motion has to have voted on the 'winning' side in the original vote. If the motion passes and you want to reconsider it you have to have someone who voted yes make the motion to reconsider it. This is something that is supposed to be used to alter a decision when suddenly new and important information comes to light. This is often used to go back to a motion that failed.

You cannot reconsider when it is a yes vote to do something and the something has started to happen:

Person A: I move that we all take off our pants and run outside. Person B: Second! Chairperson: Is there any discussion on the motion to remove our pants and run outside. there is much cheering for pantslessness but no one takes the floor All in favor of the motion say "Aye" nearly everyone including our hero underwearlessperson says AYE!, all those opposed A couple people, but not nearly half say NAY! *everyone takes off their pants; someone who voted to take off pants and run outside thinks "Holy sh*t! What are we doing! I forgot underwear!"* Underwearlessperson (who voted yes): Chairperson, I move to reconsider the vote regarding the removal of pants and running outside. Chairperson: HAHAHA! You aren't wearing any underwear! [or alternately] Such a motion is currently out of order because the first provision has been partly carried out.

You cannot reconsider when it is an affirmative vote to contract some party for something and the party has been notified:

Person A: I move that we hire company A to remove the pants of everyone in this room. *Company A representatives cheer from the back of the room* Person B: Second! Chairperson: Is there any discussion on the motion to contract Company A? there is much cheering for pantslessness but no one takes the floor All in favor of the motion say "Aye" nearly everyone including our hero underwearlessperson says AYE!, all those opposed A couple people, but not nearly half say NAY! Chairperson to Company A representative:Congratulations you've been contracted to remove the pants of everyone in the room. Underwearlessperson: Chairperson, I move to reconsider the vote! Chairperson: Since Company A has already been informed we cannot reconsider the vote.

Other times you can't use the motion to reconsider (without the ultra swanky pantless example) are:

- on motions to reconsider, no reconsidering the reconsideration
- when it isn't within a "reasonable time": if the session is a one day thing then it must be made that day, if it is a multiday session then you must make the motion the same day or the next day only
- when the action is impossible to undo [you can't reconsider a motion to take off the pants and burn them after they've been burned because well, the laws of physics haven't been alterable as of the writing of this column]

A motion to reconsider must be seconded, but it doesn't have to be seconded by someone who was on the winning side of the first vote. Basically you only have to have one person switch their vote. You do, however, have to have a majority to win the vote to reconsider, and only a majority if you have an original motion that needs 2/3rds or any other supermajority, the reconsideration only needs a simple majority. It's a fun game.

If you move to reconsider you can lay the motion on the table. This way you can have the reconsider motion dealt with at another point in time, and you'll actually be able to reconsider, other than using another method of overturning, but you won't have to do it on that day.

When a motion to reconsider is made (and seconded) all actions on the original motion are suspended.
Motion to remove pants and BURN THEM! Motion passed. Motion to reconsider is made and laid on the table. There is no removal of pants or burning of aforementioned pants.

Here's where it gets a little tricky. If your group meets more than 4 times a year you have until the next meeting to reconsider, if it meets less than 4 times you have until the end of the meeting you are currently in. If you don't wrap up the reconsider motion, it ceases to exist. We just pretend like it never happened and whip off the pants and burn them.

And you know what I have to say to that? PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS PANTS!

An infection of absurdities	8/30/2007
Hearing once again about "wet water" at the Meet the Candidates night I was reminded of a line from Charles Dickens in Our Mutual Friend: "...having an infection of absurdity about her that communicated itself to everyone and everything about her."

Providence Canyon

8/30/2007

A concerned citizen sent me some pictures of some messes left in Providence Canyon and the following text.

"In addition to the lumber, they left tires, bottles, cans and just a mess in general. I'd be happy to put a letter together for the paper, help post signs at these campsite telling people they are welcome to use the canyon responsibly and to not leave a mess for others. That the canyon is patrolled and anyone leaving a mess and littering up their campsite will be held responsible for it.

The days of people leaving messes like this after they have had their fun need to over with. I'll do whatever I can do help stop this."

What we can all do is keep our eyes open in Providence Canyon. If you see someone making a mess, call the Sheriff's Office. Do not confront the problem makers. People could even organize to patrol the canyon looking for problems, especially on weekends. Please contact me if you want to be part of such an effort.

Housing, Growth, Planning

8/30/2007

Another of the "wet water" candidates, Linda Goetze, said she supported development in small chunks, rather than over several acres at once. That is such an appealing thought. It sounds like a city can control and manage growth that way. A different perspective, however, is to use the Daybreak strategy where they are planning the development of several thousand acres at once. By planning over such a large area, they are able to build in open space, coordinate streets, and identify long-term infrastructure needs.

Small piece development is piecemeal development. It defies rational planning. It creates checkerboards of house lots and streets

For example, a standard, piece-by-piece development on 120 acres results in roughly 170 homes and a few acres left as open space. A planned, flexible development (of the sort now possible under the P-Zone proposed by the Planning Commission and adopted by the City Council) would result in 240 homes and 60 acres left open. I would really like to know which you prefer.

Although there are many reasons to criticize much of what is known as Smart Growth, there are tools that a community can make available to improve their city's future. You can read about many of these tools at http://www.envisionutah.org/toolbox_pdf/Chapter_2.pdf and http://www.envisionutah.org/infrastructure.phtml. Watch a video about Daybreak at http://www.kennecottland.com/.

Notice that allowing the kind of development that will guarantee large amounts of open space requires changing our thinking about kinds of housing types and lot sizes to allow.

Afraid of the Press?

8/30/2007

Two of the "wet water" candidates, Sharell Eames and Don Calderwood, complained that the press would record their comments at the Meet the Candidates night. Calderwood even sent his attorney to the city office to complain about being recorded and to threaten to sue the city if the candidates had to answer any extemporaneous questions. Eames called a reporter to tell him she was upset that he would be recording the event.

Why would any candidate in America be afraid of having comments at a public meeting recorded? If they want to hold private meetings away from the press, that is what they should do. But to send a lawyer to complain about freedom of the press? If that is how they act before getting elected, how would they act in office?

Civics lesson: 1)In the United States we have a constitution. 2) The first ten amendments are known as the "Bill of Rights." 3) The very first amendment guarantees freedom of the press.

The press did attend. They did record the meeting. On KVNU's webpage they will make the recording available to anyone who wants to listen. You might want to listen for the claim by Eames that she cried when Lyndon Johnson defeated John Kennedy for the US Presidency. The last time I checked, Kennedy won the presidency and Johnson was his Vice President.

Do you want to vote for candidates who are opposed to publicly answering questions or to having their statements recorded by the press?

Do they have Pepto Bismol on a stick?	8/30/2007
That was the question asked by John Kessler, dining critic for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, among some 60 members of the Association of Food Journalists sampling the culinary offerings at the Minnesota State Fair, which is famous for serving almost anything deep-fried and typically on a stick. Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

Candidate Questionnaire

8/29/2007

The "People for Wet Water" (will someone please send that name to Jay Leno?) circulated a questionnaire to candidates for city council. The questionnaire is somewhat informative and also entertaining. For example, one question asks how much candidates agree with the following question," The City Council should not approve any residential or commercial developments which do not meet the Providence City Ordinances." WELL OF COURSE THEY SHOULD NOT, IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL.

I do applaud their efforts to learn something about the candidates and to make that information generally available. Informing voters is always a good thing. They might, however, have paid a little more attention to how they worded their questions.

Here is another asking how much candidates disagree or disagree: "The City Council and the Planning Commission or Land Use Authority should give the developer more time to come into compliance when the development plans fail to meet Providence City Ordinances? Notice that the question says "development plans." Under state law, anyone can continue to bring plans to the city until they meet city ordinances. Here is how the process works in Providence--plans are brought to a committee composed of the city attorney, a member of the city council, and city staff. The plans are compared to a checklist drawn from city ordinances. Any deficiencies are identified and the plans are sent back. Once corrections are made, the plans are again reviewed. The process continues until the plans meet the city's requirements. Then the plans go to the planning commission. The question sounds important enough, but given our process, it is meaningless.

BTW, The Land Use Authority mentioned in the above question only has the authority to make sure the process is followed. They do not have the authority to review plans.

Full text of water ordinance

8/28/2007

Many are confused about the water ordinance that will be on the ballot as a result of an initiative petition. I will try to explain.

1. A citizen petition resulted in a water ordinance being put on the ballot.

2. If the City Council accepted the petition as written, it would have become law without a citizen vote.

3. The Council rejected the proposed ordinance and adopted their own, which draws extensively on the one that will be on the ballot. Their version is now law.

4. If a majority of citizens vote for the version on the ballot, it will replace the one the City Council adopted. If a majority votes against, the Council's version remains in effect.

I believe the Council's version better meets our needs than the one on the ballot and urge everyone to vote against the ballot measure. But, you ought to make up your own mind. I have not yet learned how to post the full text here so I posted it at another website that I manage. The struckout text is what the Council deleted and the bold text is what they inserted. Read it at http://ps4820.blogspot.com/

Zoning changes

8/28/2007

During the last six months the City Council has adopted two new zoning ordinances. One of them is a creative way to control overall density while allowing lots to vay in size, something that is especially important on uneven terrain like the east benches. The other is even more creative and flexible. It is called a "Planned District" and will allow the city to grow while maintaining significant open space. For example, one plan I have seen would set aside 60 acres of a 120 acre subdivision as park, walking trail, and natural areas. By contrast, a more traditional zoning district would produce uniform lot sizes more roads, and five acres of open space. You might want to thank the planning commission and city council for thinking so seriously and creatively about the city's future.

Why do we spend sheriff deputy time giving speeding tickets?

8/27/2007

I received a letter from someone who was cited for illegal parking in Providence and asked if we were so desperate for money that we had police officers lurking around to give $20 fines. Notice the assumption that we give tickets in order to raise revenue.

David Friedman in his book Laws Order suggests something entirely different: "�A legal rule has two consequences. The most immediate is to determine who pays what penalty to whom if the rule is broken. Thus, one might describe a law against speeding as a rule providing that anyone caught driving more than fifty‐five miles an hour on the Dan Ryan Expressway must pay fifty dollars to the city of Chicago. Viewed this way, a speeding law is simply a way of raising revenue and a speeding ticket a rather peculiar sort of tax bill.

But that is not why we have most speeding laws. Their purpose is not to tax speeding, but to prevent it. We pass such laws because we believe that a driver is less likely to drive fast if one probable consequence of doing so is a fine.

The economic analysis of law deals with legal rules, whether made by legislatures or by courts, from this second viewpoint�not as a way of handing out rewards and punishments to those who deserve them, but as a system of incentives intended to affect behavior."

So my answer to the question about the parking ticket is that we are not trying to punish her for parking illegally, we are trying to encourage her and others to not do it in the future.

Rule of Law

8/25/2007

From Widipedia under "rule of law:" The rule of law is the principle that governmental authority is legitimately exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws adopted and enforced in accordance with established procedure. The principle is intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary governance.

We discussed the rule of law in the planning commission meeting last Wednesday. A planning commission's actions are strictly established under the Utah Code. If you come before the planning commission with a plan to do something on your land that is allowed by state law and city ordinance, the planning commission must approve it! They might be opposed personally to your plan, but if it meets the ordinances it must be approved. They might ask if you are willing to make some changes, but cannot force you to.

One citizen asked me, "Why don't you just do what the citizens want?" The answer is that if the citizens want something that is consistent with the law, the city can do it. If it is not consistent, we cannot do it. And the reason is to protect us all from arbitrary demands from majorities or minorities.

Providence City Wins in Court

8/22/2007

On October 24, 2006, the Providence City Council approved a request to annex 42 acres that are bounded on the west, north, and south by Providence City and on the east by National Forest. Laura Fisher and Bob Bissland organized a citizen petition to put the issue on the ballot. There is a constitutionally guaranteed right to use the petition process to challenge a legislative decision.

State law requires that the petition must be filed within 45 days of passage of the law the petition wishes to challenge. They filed their petition on January 2, 2007. The legal deadline was December 8, 2006.

Providence City refused to put the annexation on the ballot because it did not meet the legal requirements. Fisher and Bissland sued to ask the court to force us to put the annexation on the ballot and listed several reasons.

Judge Willmore ot Utah's First District Court, dismissed all counts of the suit. Both Providence City and Fisher and Bissland's attorney had agreed prior to trial that they would not appeal Judge Willmore's decision. Providence City intended to honor that agreement, regardless of the outcome. We will see if Fisher and Bissland honor it.

I'm Back	8/22/2007
I decided to reactivate my blog in order to provide better information to Providence citizens. I will try to stay current and to respond to your email questions.

Recycling questions

6/15/2006

I received the following excellent questions about recycling:

The county council voted to institute mandatory recycling in a program that included Providence, now there is discussion about the City of Providence pulling out of this agreement. How can we continue to manage environmental concerns and growth issues on a piecemeal city by city basis. Isn't it time to join together for a county-wide approach to the issues we face?

Because of our concerns for the very issues you raise, the mayors in the south end of Cache Valley are looking at ways to band together to explore whether or not there are better solutions than the approach forced on us by the County Council.

Will you still remove the waste recycling bins by the end of the month if Providence pulls out of the county plan?

We (meaning Providence City) are not removing the bins. The County Council is removing them. They have never talked with anyone in Providence City about removing them, they just decided to do it.

How secure is the future of the cost of waste disposal when our trash would be shipped out of county? Doesn't shipping trash further just add to truck traffic and our valley's air pollution problems.

The distance is not significantly more than the distance to the proposed new landfill near Clarkston. Although there are no data, it may well be that running a garbage truck and then a recycling truck over the same route through our city will actually increase air pollution.

It seems a small price to pay to haver a local county wide system with a strategy for recycling at least part of our waste stream. Will you reconsider and stay with the county plan?

Some recycling plans make economic and environmental sense. Other recycling plans do not. My analysis shows that the plan adopted by the County Council makes neither economic or environmental sense. Even under the overly optimistic assumptions provided to the Council, just 10% of the total waste stream currently going to the landfill will be sorted for recycling. And some, possibly much, of that will not be recyclable.

Unlike the County Council, the south valley Mayors are evaluating other options to see if there is an environmentally and economically better approach. No decisions will be made until that evaluation is complete.

Recycling

6/15/2006

At 7:30 this morning I received a call telling me that the blue recycling bins will be distributed in Providence today. Our garbage collection contract with Cache County requires a one-year notification before we can end the contract, therefore we must accept the Couty Council's forced recycling plan for a year while other, potentially better options are explored. The County Council took this action without consulting me or any of your representatives on the Providence City Council

The County Council has also decided to remove the large recycle bins from Zollinger Park.

If you have concerns or wish to express an opinion on this act by the County Council, please call Cache County Executive Lynn Lemon (716-7171).

My own analysis is that forced recycling will cost far more than it saves and extend the life of the existing landfill by 1 1/2 years at the most. Environmentally, there is very little effect. Economically, there is a negative effect.

Do we have enough water?

5/7/2006

The question I hear most often from citizens is, "do we have enough water?" That questions turns out to be difficult to answer because of assumptions that must be made about water use, future development, and water supplies. I have invited a few citizens, city council members, planning commission members, and city staff to help develop an answer. Here are some considerations we must consider. Please let me know what else we should consider.

1. The most recent water study showed that (a) if all the lots in the (then) existing Providence city limits were developed at an average of 2.24 homes per acre (which by the time you take out roads and other infrastructure is about 1/3 acre lots); (b) if we only could access the equivalent of 80% of our historical water use; c) if everyone used as much water as we did on August 12, 2004 (our biggest demand day ever); and (d) if the 200+ water shares of Spring Creek Water Company owned by the city are not added to the culinary system; that there would still be capacity for more homes to be added to the system. But are a, b, c, and d the right assumptions?

2. In general, Utahns are water hogs. We live in the second driest state in the nation and, depending on the year, Utahns have the first or second highest per capita water consumption in the nation. Per capita, Utahns use about 300 gallons per day, which are 80 gallons more per day than Arizonans. Utah's goal is to reduce per capita use to 245 gallons per day, or by about 15%.

Estimates vary but up to 70% of the culinary water we use during the summer months is used on lawns. We live in a desert and have created what one writer called a "Cadillac Desert." Our lawns are greener, thicker, more lush than nearly anywhere else in the country. What is more, many of us put 50 inches of water on our lawns during the watering season when all we need are 24 inches.

What assumptions should the city make about water use? Do existing citizens have a "right" to 50 inches of water on our lawns per year?

2. Every study I have read about water use shows that the only effective long run conservation strategy is to increase prices. Providence uses a stepped system where the first 20,000 gallons per month are priced at the lowest rate and as use increases so does price. Do we need to increase the rates for large users? Should we decrease the rates for small users?

Salt Lake City instituted a summer "conservation rate" several years ago that is double the rate for the rest of the year. The rates worked so well they added 7000 new connections and total water use stayed constant.

See how that makes it difficult to answer the question of whether or not we have enough water to allow more building? Salt Lake City added 7000 more connections without increasing total consumption. Probably the better question to ask is, "Do we have enough water if we continue to charge today's prices?"

Oddly, encouraging conservation by allowing every-other day watering causes water use to increase. Apparently, the user says, "If I can only water on odd-numbered days I better water a lot on those days."

3. The largest consumers of culinary water are city parks and churches. If those users switched from culinary water to Blacksmith Fork or Spring Creek irrigation water it would be the equivalent of adding a new well to the city system. As we try to answer the question "do we have enough water" question what assumptions should we make about parks and church properties?

4. A 1996 study showed that if a pressurized irrigation system were installed for even a small portion of the city it would greatly extend our existing culinary water supply. Should we build such a system? At whose cost?

As you can see, there are not easy answers. Here is what your city council is currently doing to try to develop answers:
1. Re do the study mentioned in #1 above.
2. Begin to switch city parks from culinary water to irrigation water.
3. Research a secondary water system--contact Council member Ron Liechty for more information.
4. Examine the city water rate structure to determine how well it works to cover costs and encourage conservation--contact Council member Deon Johnson for more information.

By June 1 we should know if the state water engineer has authorized Providence City to transfer rights to more than 200 acre feet of water from Richmond to a new well site in Providence. If that transfer happens, then most of the above questions are much less important. What is being transferred is the right to access water. No one assumes that the actual water is being transferred.

Finally a few facts about the Providence water system:
1. We have more water storage than Logan City has.
2. The system wins awards from the state for its purity and maintenance.
3. Over the past ten years the city council has invested so much in the system that if we lose one source for whatever reason, the other sources can replace it. Redundancy is built into the system in ways that previous councils only dreamed about.

Removing your name from a petition

5/2/2006

People who signed one of the two petitions asking to put zoning decisions on the ballot are now asking to have their names removed. To do that, you need to bring a notarized letter making that request to the city office. A member of the city staff is a notary public and can notarize your letter if you need her to.

Those who have already had their names removed did so because they believe they were misled by the petition organizers.

Petition

4/30/2006

The people opposed to the city's Master Plan and zoning regulations succeeded in getting more than 700 signatures on petitions to put two city council decisions on the ballot in 2007. Although these petition requests fail the legal requirements to put something on the ballot, they do say something about the passion and intensity of the organizers. Congratulations to them for gathering so many signatures so quickly.

Please see my post below on the petitions for my specific responses to their claims.

Changing City Government?

4/30/2006

Laura Fisher made a statement to the Providence City Council about "the Mayor's de facto illegal change of the form of government (from City-Manager -By-Ordinance to Mayor-Council)." It is always useful to check facts before making such claims. Here they are:
1. About 4 years ago the Providence City Council passed an ordinance allowing Providence to hire a city manager.
2. During 2005 the city manager resigned and the City Council chose to not hire a new manager. Instead, they appointed Skarlet Bankhead to be City Administrator--a position much more limited in scope than a city manager position.
3. Once the Council appointed Bankhead, Mayor Alma Leonhardt returned to his traditional role in Providence government.
4. When I took office in 2006, I continued in that role.

Mayor approves subdivisions?

4/30/2006

Laura Fisher's statement to the City Council last Tuesday made a claim about "the Mayor's numerous zoning changes and subdivision approvals." The facts:
1. Both zoning changes made since I took office were made by the City Council--it takes a majority of the council to change property from one zone to another.
2. All subdivision approvals made since I took office were made by the City Council--it takes a majority of the council to approve a subdivision. I was the deciding vote on the preliminary plat for one subdivision because there was a tie vote among the council. But note that this vote approved a preliminary subdivision plan, not the final plan (or plat).

FYI, Providence has a "weak mayor" form of government in which the City Council holds the power to direct the city's activities. A "weak mayor" only votes in the case of a tie vote and that only happens if a member of the Council is absent or recuses him or herself from voting.

Open House with council and mayor	4/28/2006
Each Thursday evening I and a member of the City Council will be at the city offices