From Deseret News archives:
Davis tour is eye-opening
And many, like Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay, may not think much about the county unless they're visiting family or perhaps stuck in traffic.
"You just don't have a sense until you see it personally," Moss said during a tour of the county Wednesday, shortly before heading to Antelope Island for dinner and a western hoedown.
When the Utah Legislature came to Davis County Wednesday, its members didn't get just the 50-cent tour.
What they got was a jam-packed, 13-hour day, a chance to see Davis County from bottom to top and learn just how state money has been spent in the state's third-most populous county.
The price tag for this tour was just under $11,500, funded by donations.
Today, the Legislature visits Salt Lake County on a similar trip — but with a price tag of $105,000, also funded by donations through the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.
Normally, when legislators make a summer visit to Utah communities, they hold public meetings to gauge the residents' needs and hear their concerns.
Instead of holding public hearings this week, legislators are taking residents' questions via a virtual public hearing through residents' calls to 801-326-1677 or visits to www.utahsitevisit.com.
Legislators then post their responses on the Web site.
During Wednesday's tour, 11 residents sent questions to legislators, and more are expected during today's Salt Lake County visit.
The Davis County trip began at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, with about 60 legislators piling into two buses for a tour of the Chevron refinery in North Salt Lake.
That was followed by a ride on the budding Legacy Parkway, slated to open in October 2008. For most legislators, it was the first time on the $680 million highway, which is expected to route 30 percent of traffic from I-15.
Bridges on the parkway are beginning to take shape, and various portions of the roadway are nearing their final paving.
Donald Neville of Kaysville asked legislators online about an expansion to the Legacy Parkway, called Legacy North, which would run along the western side of Davis County to Weber County and could be funded sometime in the next 20 years.
Neville was concerned that because an exact route for Legacy North hasn't been determined, cities are stuck about where they can allow development in certain locations in western Davis County.
On the Web site, Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, said the sooner the road alignment is established, the better.
