Senators Killpack, Bell and Eastman-

Appose SB 208.

Senator Killpack, there is no benefit to giving UDOT more eminent domain power.

Legislation that gives UDOT more power should be replaced with legislation that would require UDOT to go through a series of checks and balances that would provide Utah residents with the best road and freeway designs available with the least impact to families and their homes, communities and the environment.

UDOT has proven over time that they are unwilling to do the work necessary before making decisions that have such drastic negative impacts.

Apposition to this bill is in the best interest of every Utah resident.

I anticipate a response with the position you will take on this bill.

Thank you for your time-

Nate Creer, MBA
<informaiton deleted>

The following is the list of elected local, county, and state officials that represent Farmington Citizens. For a complete list of Utah Legislators please follow these links:

Utah Senate: http://www.utahsenate.org/perl/spage/roster2007.pl
Utah House: http://www.le.state.ut.us/house/members2005/membertable1add.asp

This is Mayor Harbertson's reply to a letter sent to him regarding inappropriate political discussions by City staff. See the original letter here: Letter to Mayor - Politics at the Fire Department?

Dave,

I appreciate you bringing this situation to my attention. I have attempted to contact Larry 2 twice this morning already to get his side of the story. If what you say is what happened, then yes, I agree that Larry overstepped his bounds to express his personal feelings and choice to the firemen at the last drill. I will say this Dave, about 2 months ago when all of the candidates filed for office, I asked Max and Margy what the procedure and recommendations where to city staff members concerning their personal opinions and preferences on candidates for office. I was told that they instruct and encourage all city personnel to remain neutral when asked about their choice of council or mayor candidates. And of coarse the reason being that they have no idea who is going to take office and who they will be working for in the coming months and years. I told them that I agreed with that policy or recommendation and that is what I felt they needed to support.

I agree that the candidates that have run and that were successful in the primaries are ALL concerned about Farmington as a whole, I believe that they are are dedicated and concerned about all the issues facing Farmington. I mentioned to them all that as representatives of Farmington on the council that there would be a million different issues that they would have to face and deal with. And I encouraged them to think about this and if there was a single reason that they were running for office......well then......they should reconsider because they would find the job very boring and time consuming after their single issue was dealt with. I personally feel that the 3 candidates that are running from the West side of Farmington are not single issue candidates and that any one of them would be a great asset to the council. I have repeatedly said that it is extremely important that we have representation from all areas of our city. And right now we do not have that from your area.

I hope I have defused your concern about " back door" politics and know that there has never been any direction from the Mayor or anyone else as I know of to push the staff to support a certain candidate for office.

As far as the decision on the Legacy connection, I have always made it perfectly clear from the beginning of this second round of UDOT's request, that it was the responsibility of the current council members to be ones that will be making this decision before the end of the year and possibly before the gen. elections. I also told the current council that this is to be a decision that is based on what is best for Farmington as a whole and that it may come down to a very tough decision. But I felt that they were elected to perform their duties and not to be pushing it off to another council in the future. I also told them that this could possibly be very detrimental to their campaign, but that it was their decision to make.

Dave, I hope I have answered your questions, but if not or you would like more explanation. Please call me on my cell number. I am headed out of town this afternoon for the next week (Lake Powell) so I may not have very good reception. But I will call you back if I need to when I return.

Thanks Dave,

Scott C. Harbertson
<contact information removed>

Update: See the Mayor's reply to this letter here: Mayor's Reply - Politics at the Fire Department?

Dear Mayor,

It came to my attention today that Chief Larry Gregory spent the first part of drill time telling those in attendance how to vote in the City Council elections. He said that the west side candidates only had one agenda and that was to stop the option 3 UDOT proposal and that they didn't understand any of the real issues of the city. Fortunately I wasn't at the drill last night or I would have turned in my pager and quit on the spot. As a tax paying citizen of Farmington I don't think Fire Drill time (for which the City is paying) should be used as a political campaigning arena unless all of the candidates are invited and given time to tell their views and answer questions. I know that Chief Gregory doesn't have any idea as to how the "west side" candidates view all of the issues facing Farmington. It disturbs me, not that he has an opinion about the candidates, but that he is telling the firemen how to vote by dispensing inaccurate information about the west side candidates. I don't believe that campaigning for candidates on City time is in his job description. I really don't care who he supports, I just think he handled this so poorly that he should at least apologize to the Fire Department, the candidates, and the citizens of Farmington. If campaigning should be done at drill shouldn't the candidates be invited to represent themselves rather than having the Chief tell everyone what they do or don't support?

You have been to our committee meetings and know how strongly we feel about the UDOT issue, but you also saw that we from the west side are interested in Farmington as a whole. We are not promoting an East versus West or any other platform which divides the city. Physically dividing the city with a freeway is not what we want, but creating an "us versus them" division is even worse than dividing us with a freeway and I know that the three candidates from the west side feel the same way. They all want "Farmington First"--that's the whole city, not just the west side.

Since the Chief took it upon himself to spend taxpayers money to campaign for the status quo, I think it only fair that he invite all of the candidates to drill and let the city pay for the audience to be there so everyone's views can be given. The Chief was way out of line using my money for that purpose and what it looks like is that he was told to go and tell the firemen how they should vote. This only continues to give the appearance of back door politics. And if that is the case then we really have a problem at City Hall.

He also said that the City Council was going to meet with UDOT next week and refuse their request for Option 3. I hope that is true, but I fail to see the urgency for the vote at this time.

I would like to hear from you concerning this matter.

Thanks,

Dave Kershisnik

Nate Creer has summarized his conversation with Mayor Harbertson in a letter. Here is the letter:

----

Dear Mayor Harbertson-

Thank you again for taking the time to talk with me at the Transportation Expo.

It was interesting to find out that we share a common family name.

The citizens of West Farmington have developed a website http://farmingtoncitizens.org/web/ to help us in communicating on issues that effect the west side.

I would like to highlight our discussion in the points listed below and then post my findings in regards to the Legacy Connection Corridor on the website. If you would please correct me if I am wrong on any of my points, before they are posted.

1. The firm was asked to look at every option including a redesign of the Park Lane interchange that would incorporate Option 4.
2. The independent firm will need 3 to 4 months to complete their investigation. (The city are hoping it does not take that long)
3. You will recommend to the planning commission in August that they table the corridor discussion until the independent firm has completed their work.
4. Your hope is that the independent firm will bring a viable option that will incorporate Option 4 and fix the current intersection. The Mayor Hopes that the independent firm will find an option that will not bisect the city yet again.
5. A small committee was formed to establish the criteria that would guide our independent engineer as he begins and works through his study. Roger Eggett is a member of that committee and during our first meeting suggested an option that would move Option 3 further to the East and North and have a smaller impact on the homes. We included that as an option to be reviewed and considered to see if it has legs.
6. The current proposed option 3 is the only option that meets all for legislative criteria because it alleviates the pressures off of Park Lane. However in order to do that it would turn the connection at Park Lane in to much more than just an overpass, it will include a diamond interchange with on and off ramps.
7. It is your belief that if you do not amend the master plan and approve the corridor as a city council now, or come up with a better plan, UDOT will put in the corridor in no matter what and in 15 years when the corridor is truly needed then they will exercise eminent domain and condemn all businesses and homes in their way at a higher expense to the tax payers of Utah.

Mayor, I believe that you are right when you said there have been some great options proposed by the residents themselves and that they should be seriously considered. Please know that I recognize the position you are in, we need you as a negotiator and project planner to work with all parties in facilitating the very best option for Farmington. I recognize the complicated nature of the project, however I believe we can find a viable solution. We need UDOT to recognize the cost opportunity available to them in just fixing the intersection they built incorrectly, which will save money in the long run, and improve the vitality, and potential for Farmington both commercial and residential. I believe we can reach a compromise, it is going to take skill and high level negotiation power and the use of all our resources. I still stand by my initial statement in regards to UDOT, It is incorrect to think that they can do whatever they want.

I again pledge my support in doing whatever I can to facilitate any projects, teams or discussions that may need to happen in finding a better solution rather than accept the obvious problems created by Option 3.

Thanks again for your time and leadership on this issue.


Nate Creer

Nate Creer has requested his email to the Farmington City Council and Mayor be posted. If Nate receives a reply we'll post the response. Many others have sent letters to officials. If you want your letter posted please contact us.

--

Dear Mayor and City Council Members-

I wish to raise my voice with all other West Farmington Residents, in opposition to the proposed Option 3 North Legacy to Legacy Connection Corridor that UDOT is planning to build.

Knowing that you act on behalf of all citizens of Farmington, and as residents of West Farmington, we expect that you will do your civic duty in representing the majority in opposition to this corridor.

We ask that you protect our way of life, and as Paula Alder has requested, we too request that you look to support other options.

Our desire to see this stopped is as strong today as it was in the fall during the Farmington City Planning Meeting where hundreds of West Farmington residents spoke out against the proposed plan.

I spoke with Senator Greg Bell last night who informed me personally that the decision to move forward with this plan lies in the hands of the Mayor and City Council. It is incorrect to think that UDOT can do whatever they want.

Senator Bell has no interest in supporting us as a community on this issue, when he said "Look Nate, I represent 150 thousand people in my district, not just you and your neighborhood."

This complacent attitude will get us nowhere, we need you as a Governing Council to stand with us and firmly SAY NO to Option 3.

Thank you for the service you provide, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Nate Creer
<contact information deleted>