Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Boring, but important...


I wanted to report on a couple of items that have taken a tedious amount of work over an extended period of time and are now complete or nearly complete. The first one is the successful completion of Fiscal Year 2008 Citywide Audit. Over a number of years West Valley City has contracted with the firm of Jensen & Keddington to preform a complete financial audit. This year the City went a step further with the creation of an Audit Review Committee. This committee was made assembled with some outside financial experts as well as community members. I served as one of the City Council appointees to this committee, and in doing so participated in extensive review of West Valley City's financial practices and received detailed answers to my specific inquires. West Valley has been recognized often for the integrity and manner of the annual audit and this year was able to quickly remedy the few minor deficiencies exposed by the audit process. This places West Valley City on firm ground as we proceed into the new fiscal year.

The second noteworthy item is that it appears we have come to consensus as to the hard surface parking ordinance. After sorting through the various staff recommendations and considering community input it looks as though well maintained additional gravel parking will be allowed and the original ordinance from years back will be amended. West Valley City staff has been charged with rewriting the ordinance and it should be available for final adoption in the coming weeks.

Finally, I am shocked that during these first initial months of my website featuring the United States Government Quiz only two entries have posted a 100% score. Additionally, one of those perfect scores was submitted by my father who was a Social Studies teacher for many years and thus probably shouldn't count. Maybe when the summer is over and school is back in session I will see the scores start to rise as well. Give it a try if you haven't already.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Pioneer Day


This was a very eventful and memorable Pioneer Day for West Valley City and for myself. In the morning I joined with the Mayor and Councilmembers on the 'Catch the Vision' West Valley Float in the Days of '47 Parade in Salt Lake City to commemorate the pioneers reaching the Salt Lake Valley. The float featured a wagon train as well as a trax train to highlight the City's progress over the generations. It was especially meaningful to me as it made me reflect on my Rushton ancestors whom were among the last to leave Nauvoo because they were directed by Brigham Young to "See that all of the sick and the poor got across the river." Later Edward Rushton was amongst the first settlers to cross over the Jordan River and establish a homestead in what is now West Valley City. The parade was enjoyable and it was exciting when we came across the various pockets of West Valley City residents along the route cheering and proud of the float and of their community. Many people should be thanked for the excellent manner that our City was represented in this parade, but none more than the versatile Kevin Conde who wears many hats for the City and excels at making events go off without a hitch.

Later that evening Emily and I attended the Days of '47 Rodeo. This is the inaugural year for the Rodeo at its new home, the E Center. I was pleased at the attendance and the great response received from the Rodeo participants as they expressed their approval of the the venue, area, and City partnerships. In attendance at the Rodeo that evening was Thomas Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He seemed to really enjoy the antics of Whiplash the Rodeo Monkey. Whiplash later presented President Monson with an autographed photo of himself. I was curious as to how a cowboy monkey signs autographs, but overall the show was great. I was thrilled at every instance as it seemed as though the City was well represented and did a stellar job a participating in our State Holiday.







Thursday, July 23, 2009

Project Updates

Recently as a City Councilmember I have been asked a lot of questions in relation to the specifics of any number of construction and/or redevelopment projects within the city. I would like to give a brief update on the status of a couple projects today.


The first project is the remodeling and redevelopment at the Valley Fair Mall. The first aspect of this large project was the successful introduction of Costco to the mall campus a few years ago. This addition has helped to increase the overall profile and shopping traffic of the mall. The first phase on the mall itself is nearing completion with the noted addition of a few well known restaurants and some additional retail space around the perimeter of the site. Interest in these restaurants have been high and I expect the mall to continue to grow as a dining destination. The second phase of the mall redevelopment which will soon be underway will consist of over 50,000 square feet, with the main feature being a spacious plaza and gateway to the mall complex. The plaza will be landscaped with trees, flowers, and water features and will be a great gathering place and focal point to our city center. The posted picture is an artists rendition of what the completed plaza should consist of.







I am also happy to announce that the improvements to 5200 West are now underway and I am looking forward to watching the progress on this project as it will add some safety to this street. To this point it has been a very complicated process, as almost every property on the street had some special circumstances that needed to be factored in. 5200 West has long been a favorite street of mine as it is long and straight, lined with mature trees as well as some good friends and relatives. It is also boasts a variety of beautifully landscaped and unique homes and well as a very special church near one end. It is my understanding that only two churches of this style were ever built and it to me it just looks like a good fit to the neighborhood. As there are a lot of different aspects to these road and sidewalk improvements I was amazed at the variety of projected costs associated with each submitted bid. For example how is it that Company 'A' charges $110 per replaced mailbox while Company 'B' expects $235? After sorting through the various numbers and bids of this project the best value and lowest responsible bid was awarded and the construction has begun. Consequently, this road is closed and only accessible by local traffic, so it is best avoided for now. My niece Jordan and I walked down the road and took a few early construction pictures posted below.






As a final note: Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate my birthday yesterday and to all those who in one electronic form or another wished me the best.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

West Valley City Bond Ratings


Recently a small delegation representing West Valley City traveled to San Francisco to present the City's finances to firms associated with municipal bonds and the credit market. The good news and forecasts that came from these meetings resulted in a strong financial outlook for the City amidst of the current economic slowdown. I currently serve as a City Council representative on the West Valley Audit committee and after recently reviewing in detail the corresponding citywide audit, I remain confident that we continue to weather the current economic slide and emerge from the recession and leaner and more efficient City. Also with this good credit rating news we will be able to continue to reduce City debt and save money on financing costs of City facilities and infrastructure. With this we will also need to be prepared to capture new jobs, development, and businesses opportunities on the next wave when local and national economies begin to expand.

According to Business Wire, Fitch Ratings affirms West Valley City's Bonds as follows:

Sales Tax Revenue: 'AA-' Stable Outlook

Lease Revenue Bonds: 'A+' & 'A' Stable Outlook

You can read the full article at http://www.businesswire.com/