Kearns picks council, talks of incorporating
Residents plucked a mixture of new names and familiar faces to lead their community in an election that revamps a group the county severed ties with earlier this year.
Although the polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, results weren't tallied and released until Thursday.
The new members are Samantha Anderson, Charles Henderson, Chuck McDowell, Thomas R. Dubach and Debra A. Conner.
McDowell said he believes the issue of incorporation will dominate the coming months.
"I think that's probably one thing (incorporation) that's on everybody's mind," McDowell said, adding a feasibility study is under way.
"A city can't exist without a tax base. We have a lot of resentment out here about the fact that, over the course of the last 10 years, neighboring communities have come in and, if I can use the word, 'pirated' our tax base."
McDowell said incorporation is possible and would be the best option.
Dubach, another new council member, agrees.
"We are at a point where we need to decide to remain Kearns or choose to become a neighboring city's residents," he said. "My concern is that Kearns remain Kearns."
Before such weighty issues as incorporation can be tackled, however, McDowell said the community needs to come together.
"There's been some controversy out here recently, and I think it's important that we restore the community's confidence," he said. "I think an important thing for us to get past the divisiveness that's been here the last few years and try to move on and do what's needed for our community."
The new election was held because the county mayor's office announced in March it would no longer recognize the Kearns Town Council, saying it was plagued with infighting and expressing concerns about the way state and federal grants were being administered. The grant administration became the subject of an investigation by the District Attorney's Office.
The county called for the council to reorganize, adopt new bylaws, change its name to a community council, hold new elections, then reapply for county recognition.
The old council, according to a letter from the county, had ceased to work productively, was filing financial statements with the county that were incomplete and inaccurate and should have been called a community council, as the name "town council" made it sound like a governmental entity instead of a citizens group.
Community councils act as liaisons between residents of certain parts of the county and the county government. For unincorporated areas like Kearns, they are the only elected body specifically focused on their community.
Their primary function is to work with county planners as they develop zoning and other plans for the area. They do not make zoning decisions, write ordinances or otherwise set policy, but they act as residents' voice in county planning.
E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com
Comments
- 'Drop Dead Diva' is frothy fun 6:14 p.m.
- Vail's mountain cross inspiring 6:14 p.m.
- Bishop on a mission 6:14 p.m.
- Look for face of God in others 6:14 p.m.
- Religion briefs 6:14 p.m.
- Teachings on adultery after Sanford 6:14 p.m.
- Church camps closing doors 6:14 p.m.
- Religion around the world 6:14 p.m.
- Did daughter not pay for car? 6:13 p.m.
- Ra Ra Riot brings groove to S.L. 6:13 p.m.
- LDS seminary principal arrested
- Jazz talking Boozer trade?
- Reactions on Boozer speculation
- Stadium of Fire flag burning was fake
- Jazz in back of line for free agents
- A primer for the 6th Potter film
- Okur signs two-year extension
- Jazz won't meet Lopez on Europe trip
- Restaurant destroyed by fire
- Mall owner seeks to retain zoning
- LDS seminary principal arrested
155 - Bronco collecting a galaxy of recruits
141 - Letters: Palin mistreated
141 - Teachers struggle with district cuts
137 - Jazz talking Boozer trade?
135 - Blazers may offer Millsap a contract
123 - Stadium of Fire flag burning was fake
92 - Moon landing: Let's hear from you
84 - Fairness of BCS debated
81 - Chaffetz eyes challenging Bennett
74
As more and more dads are put out of work in this economy, I've been...
The photographs are mysterious, brooding, dark. They show dimples and...
i hope portland gets millsap, that would be so cool, then we could laugh in...
GM (Gadianton Motors) takes from all.
Brown is ANOTHER teams property, the jazz can't sign him.
Actually it was Mr. Rush Limbaugh who invented the Internet. Rush knows...
Boozer you deserve a team like Sac, we will take Nocioni and their first...
Hear Hear! Excellent letter from a man with a most excellent name. (Yes,...
What a great organization! Good luck in helping children, families, and...
I think you are ALL missing the obvious. Just skip the middleman portland...
Its a good thing YBU has Heaps, Apo, and Stout to use as recruiting power...
Assuming the charges are truthful, he has done a lot of damage to the...



You can be the first to comment on this story.