New mayor is setting goals for Kaysville

KAYSVILLE — A month into the job and Neka Roundy has already upgraded her planner from miniature to pocket-sized.

Being mayor means more phone numbers, meetings and events to keep track of.

"Now I can write down all these notes and people I need to talk to and people I need to call back," said Roundy, 54.

On Jan. 3, 2006, after a six-year gig on the Kaysville City Council, Roundy was sworn in as mayor of this Davis County city. She's one of nine new Davis County mayors to take office last month and the only woman in the bunch.

The pressure of office, she says, is real. As a council member, she was one of five. As mayor, she stands alone. And while she doesn't officially vote on policy and ordinances, the mayor often shoulders the blame if things don't sit well with the citizenry, said Roundy.

"There's a different judgment standard," she said. "When you're running for mayor, you're one and the buck stops here, whether you have anything to do with it or not. And nine times out of 10 you had nothing to do with it."

Before being sworn in, Roundy met with city manager John Thacker to learn about the duties of mayor. She talked with staff and set appointments with each member of the City Council. The goal was to learn about her job and build consensus about future plans for the city.

She has several pages with an outline of goals, wants and needs for the city. Roundy wants to hire a full-time planner to help manage growth. At present, Kaysville has about 23,000 residents. It will have about 40,000 at build-out.

A planner could help the city maintain its personality and quaint charm while charting a plan for future growth, she said.

"We have a lot of people who grew up in Kaysville, and their goal in life is to come back and live here," Roundy said. "But when they come back, they don't feel that this is the place they grew up in and left."

Roundy was born and reared outside of Los Angeles but has lived the past 28 years in Kaysville. She remembers when the city put up its first stop light. She has watched the downtown district grow and develop.

"Our motto is 'City of Distinction,' " Roundy said. "We are definitely going forward, and we want that reflected in what we do and the services we can provide for our citizens."