This past week, several of the City Council and I had the chance to attend the Utah League of Cities and Towns conference. At these meetings we received valuable information on the state legislative session, how to hold proper and productive public meetings and how to better communicate.

In recent months, the topic of how to better convey information to the residents in Alpine has been at the forefront. We are working towards improving our web site so that you can easily find out what is going on in the city. Our staff has done a good job with the tools we’ve given them, but we need to make it easier to update the website and keep it current.

We are currently working on the city budget. This will be a tight year. While we don’t rely on impact fees to sustain the budget, we do use those funds for improvement projects that are needed as a result of new construction. As you may have noticed, there is very little new construction. We have had only two building permits issued in 2008. This slowing of construction will make us reevaluate the projects that we
have planned.

By the time this Newsline reaches you, we will have held the public meeting regarding the park on 100 South. I look forward to reviewing the input and see what Alpine envisions for that property. We are designing the road (600 East) along the side of the park and will soon have that under construction.

Like many of you, I was recently a victim of theft here in town. I lost two tanks of gasoline from my pickup truck. Also, I lost a handful of change from my car. Both of these happened at my home. I should have had locking gas caps and locked my door. Since I didn’t, I gave the thieves the open invitation to take my things. Chief Botkin reminds us almost every month to lock our doors, don’t leave the garage door opener available, and watch out for suspicious things in our neighborhoods. I wish I had incorporated his timely advice prior to my experience. I would suggest that we all take the advice now.