Speaking Personally

Snow

2009-12-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

"Snow is falling, snow on snow . . ."
(Christina Rosetti)

Today's Daily Herald announced a welcome piece of news, very welcome in light of the week's snow forecast: American Fork has new snow removal equipment. Quoting from the article:

"We bought more snowplow blades for one- and two-ton trucks," said Director of Public Works Howard Denney. "Some are for the parks, several more for the streets department. We will have those available to work on cul-de-sacs and other areas."

Mayor Thompson explained further:

"We've decided to use some of our existing equipment that we use for regular public works projects, like backhoes and front end loaders," he said. "They are not designed particularly for snow removal, but are still very capable for areas that we can't get in with big trucks. I think that's an example of how we're making the best use of our current resources."

This is good news, an appropriate response in a tight budget year to the challenges of 2008, when snowfalls came so hard and fast that City crews working continuously could keep only the major arteries open, when one of the City's snow plows went out of commission, and when too many residential streets and cul-de-sacs froze before they could be plowed.

As 2009 descends to its wintry close, here are a few facts to keep in mind about the City's snow removal policy.

It is NOT City policy to plow every street. Streets are plowed in order of precedence: Arterials first, then collectors, then as many residential streets and cul-de-sacs as can be done before the snow freezes.
It is a violation of City ordinance to park any vehicle on any street or cul-de-sac from November 1 to March 31 between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and ANY TIME THERE IS SNOW IN THE STREET.
The City's insurance company generally does not pay for damage incurred to vehicles due to icy roads or piled snow. Let the driver beware.

If you think we have it bad in American Fork, be glad we don't live farther north. Quoting from the April 2008 edition of Better Roads:

Large cities such as Montreal or Ottawa spend huge snow-removal budgets. Montreal, for instance, gets nearly 100 inches of snow in an average year and spends more than $128-million Canadian dollars to take care of it.

Toronto's budget exceeds $5 million a year.

The whole of Canada spends more than a billion dollars a year on snow removal.

Individual storms rack up big bills. Ottawa spent $3 million in one day last December to remove almost 15 inches of snow that fell overnight.

Montreal spent $20 million cleaning up a 14-inch snow that covered the island. The city had about 44 inches of snow by the end of December 2007, with more on the way. . .

In cities with so much snow there is no place to put it, a snow-melting vehicle may be used. This scoops snow into a melting pot in a tank at the rear of the plow. A smaller tank of boiling water melts the snow, which is discharged into storm drains.

Other cities haul off the excess snow, dumping if ino an ocean or lake, if one is nearby.

I'm not sure which makes me grumpier, the snow itself (I'm too old and too cold to see the magic any more), or the cost of its removal. But after reading about Canada, I've decided to start counting blessings instead of snowflakes.

Residents may now read American Fork's parking and snow removal policy for themselves by following this link. (Kudos to City staff for making the municipal code the newest addition to the City Web site!)

Thought for the Day

2009-11-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility. Americans know this from experience -- almost every town in this country has its monuments honoring those who sacrificed their lives in defense of freedom, both at home and abroad. The preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good, and a sense of responsibility towards the less fortunate. It also demands the courage to engage in civic life and to bring one's deepest beliefs and values to reasoned public debate.

In a word, freedom is ever new.

-- Pope Benedict XVI. Remarks made on the White House Lawn, April 15, 2008.

Qtd. in Liberty: A Magazine of Religious Freedom, a publication of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, September/October 2008 edition.

Water Rates Explained

2009-11-13T13:57:00.001-08:00

There have been notices, newspaper articles, newsletter blurbs, and public open houses, but the thing we've seen most of, with respect to the new water rates, is confusion. To the many explanations that have been given I add my own, hoping that adding another viewpoint will help to increase understanding.

Disclaimer: Views expressed here at the blog are my personal views and do not represent the official position of the City. Though I try my best to be accurate, you should not act on any information you read here without first confirming it through the PI hotline at 801-763-5281.

If your house is the typical American Fork household, sitting on a quarter-acre lot, your water bill should increase to about $30 per month. You are already paying this increase if pressurized irrigation (PI) has already come to your house. If not, you will begin to pay the increase starting NEXT MONTH with your December 2009 water bill.

If your house is not the typical American Fork household, but you live on a large lot or you are a business owner or an agricultural user, yours is a special case and I will explain your rates separately.

What is the breakdown of the increase? Users who connect to the PI system will now be subject to two rate schedules. Culinary (aka indoor, potable) water will be billed at $14 for the first 6,000 gallons. This is the base rate. After the first 6,000 gallons, the charge will be $2 per thousand gallons up to 8,000 gallons, $2.50 per thousand up to 10,000, $3 per thousand up to 12,000 gallons, and $3.31 per thousand for all amounts above 12,000 gallons. This is a sliding scale that encourages conservation of culinary water and discourages its use out of doors.

That's the first $14.

Irrigation water (aka outdoor, pressurized, PI, or secondary), is optional. However, culinary overage charges will encourage most users to opt for a PI connection so they can afford to water their lawns. PI will be billed not according to usage but lot size. The PI rate is $14 per month (the base rate) for lots up to 9,000 square feet (about .20 acres) with an additional charge of $0.001750 per square foot per month for any area over 9,000.

That's another $14, for a total of $28.

Add an extra $2 for culinary overages or a larger lot size, and the typical monthly water bill adds up to $30. This is a significant increase, very significant, but it is offset, at least in part, by the fact that if you connect to PI you will no longer pay overage rates for your summertime outdoor water.

This still leaves a few questions.

Why is this increase taking effect for my household when PI water is not yet available to me? Most households are already paying the increase, but a few are still waiting for construction to pass their house this month. If this is your household, you will not begin paying the $14 PI rate until you connect to the PI system. However, you will begin paying the new culinary rate on your December water bill. The new culinary rate took effect city-wide on November 1, with the first payment coming due on December 1. This is in accordance with City ordinance, which was structured this way (1) because November coincides with the completion date for construction, and (2) so that the City can begin making payments on the bonds without assessing higher property tax rates.

If you are considering delaying your connection to the PI system so that you can delay paying PI rates until spring, please keep in mind that you must connect within six months of your eligibility. After six months, you will be charged a hook-up fee of $250.

Why must I pay PI rates year-round when the system is only operational from April 15 to October 15? This is the City's version of an equal-pay plan. For most residents, it is more affordable to pay a lower rate year-round than a higher rate for six months of the year.

What is the water rate refund credit? Many residents were switched over to the new culinary rates last summer, but did not understand the impact and continued to water their yards with culinary water. Others attempted to connect to PI but were stalled because of weather or because contractors were unavailable. Whatever the reason, many residents accumulated punishing overage charges of hundreds of dollars before they realized the problem. The City Council voted to refund these overages, reasoning that (1) culinary overages were not built into the revenue model, and that (2) the revenue model is based on an 85 percent connection rate to PI city-wide. In essence, this refund was planned as an incentive to encourage more residents to connect to PI.

The refund was carefully structured so that residents would be credited as though they had been paying PI rates all along, and thus would have no advantage over those who did connect in a timely manner. It is available only to those households who connect to PI by December 1, 2009. If you did not pay punishing culinary overage rates over the summer, the refund would not apply to your household.

What are rates for large lot sizes? If your lot is larger than one acre, you may request and pay for the purchase and installation of a water meter. Then your PI water will be billed at the rate of $14 for usage up to 8,000 gallons, with a progressively increasing scale for usage above that threshhold. Your culinary water rates will be the same as those for the rest of the city.

What are rates for business owners? Actually, rates for business are the very same as for residents. However, because most businesses use water on behalf of many hundreds of consumers, they are certain to exceed the 6,000 gallon base rate. Hence their increase is far greater than $30 per month. This inequity was not foreseen when the original rate structure was passed. When its impact first began to be felt, the city council voted to flatten the culinary rate structure for usage above 12,000 gallons. This provided some relief to businesses; I only hope the measure will prove sufficient to keep them open and well supplied with water.

What are rates for agricultural users? Agricultural users who own at least one irrigation share per acre of land and who qualify under three other provisions of the ordinance will be assessed $1 per share per month for PI water. (This fee is in addition to assessments made by the irrigation company.) Culinary rates will be the same as those for the rest of the city.

Why do we have to pay such high rates for water in American Fork? It's not pretty, it's not fair, and it's not cheap. There's nothing I can say to make you or me feel better about the situation. But the sad fact is, if the City had installed pressurized irrigation in 1994, when the need was first predicted, it would have cost only $9 million. That's $40 million in savings , which would have translated to an eighty percent savings over the new water rates.

The lesson? Deferring major infrastructure expenses does not pay. It's a lesson we do well to heed as we consider more of our City's pressing needs including road maintenance and public safety.

Four More Years

2009-11-03T21:55:00.000-08:00

My heartfelt thanks to all who voted and volunteered! Tonight I am announcing victory with results as follows:

Mayor

James Hadfield 2194
Heber Thompson 1380

City Council

Marc Ellison 1776
Jess Green 924
Dale Gunther 2000
Heidi Rodeback 2295

I am looking forward to four more years of dialogue and cooperation with you as we work together for the kind of city we all want to live in.

My Stump Speech

2009-10-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

Now that the last of the meet-the-candidate events is over, I'm posting my stump speech here for those who weren't able to attend. Like a basic black suit, this is a mix-and-match piece which was excerpted as necessary to fit the various time limits at the various venues.

= = = = = = = = = =

Four years ago, I ran for city council saying I wanted to see American Fork provide a neighborly experience for our children and families, with all that entails—parks, ballfields, safe routes to school, a mix of cultural and recreational offerings, and the preservation of our beautiful neighborhoods . Underpinning this vision, I said, was the need for strong leadership and careful attention to finance, planning, management, and economic growth.

These last four years, I have been hard at work on this vision, and I believe the need for strong leadership and planning has never been more important than it is now.

Road maintenance has been deferred far too long. Public safety continues to be priority one, and the City must commit to paying for top quality police, fire, and ambulance protection. These are costly but essential priorities. With careful planning, the City can provide for these needs without overwhelming the taxpayer's wallet and still have a little money left over for quality of life.

If there's one theme of my campaign I want you to understand, it is the great importance I place on long-range planning. Long-range planning would have seen pressurized irrigation completed in 1994, when it was first considered, for a total price tag of $9 million dollars. That's $40 million cheaper than the $48.95 of the 2006 pressurized irrigation bond, which translates to an 80 percent savings over today's water rates. Long-range planning in the coming years is the only way we can prevent this from happening again. It's the only way American Fork can get out of debt and provide for road maintenance without overburdening the tax payer.

There isn't time at an event like this for me to tell you everything that's in my heart. Please, I hope you will visit my Web site at http://www.heidiforcouncil.com/ to learn more about my platform. Let’s talk more tonight before you go home. And you already know you can call or email me at any time. I am always happy to listen.

For tonight, let me make you a fistful of promises.

1. I promise, for the next four years, to prioritize our city’s most pressing needs, which in my opinion are road maintenance, public safety, and long-range planning.
2. I promise to remember that I must pay the same taxes I ask you to pay. When this is a hardship on you, it is a hardship on me.
3. I promise to listen to both sides of any issue, to keep an open mind while I listen, and to analyze the numbers and their consequences carefully.
4. I promise to be available to you. You already know that you can call me on the phone, write me a letter, email me, or stop me at the library or the grocery store, and I will respond. I love hearing from you, and I always follow through.
5. Finally, I promise to continue my advocacy of the quality of life issues that make this the kind of city we all want to live in.

You can trust me when I make these promises because this is what I have been doing for the past four years. It's what I did for years before that when I was volunteering for the City, and it's what I will continue to do for the next four years.

It has been a great privilege to work side by side with the residents and families, citizens and neighbors who make American Fork the kind of city we all want to live in. I would be so pleased to continue this collaboration for four more years.

Why Musicians Make the Best Politicians

2009-10-27T13:58:00.000-07:00

Zoltan Kodaly, the Hungarian composer, musician, and educator -- one of my greatest heroes -- taught that the characteristics of a good musician are these:

1. A well-trained ear
2. A well-trained intelligence
3. A well-trained heart
4. A well-trained hand.

I believe these are also the characteristics of a good politician. My reasoning:

1. A well-trained ear. Representing the people requires the ability to listen, truly listen, to constituents with concerns. A representative must be able to listen to both sides of a given issue and to keep an open mind while he listens. Representatives must also be able to listen to the pulse of the public and discern the values of the community. Truly, a politician must have a well-trained ear.

2. A well-trained intelligence. I hardly need elaborate on this one. All the gifts of education -- the ability to communicate, to reason, to do math, and the capacity to learn -- these must be the politician's gifts.

3. A well-trained heart. A politician must be grounded by solid ethical values which can only originate in the heart. A politician must also be fired by passion for the issues or he will not survive the rigors of office. Are we talking about a local politician? Then she must care, and care deeply, that her community is healthy and that her neighbors are well served.

4. A well-trained hand. Where the musician must be practiced in technique, the politician must be grounded in hands-on experience. Experience with a daunting labyrinth of local, state and federal law is essential to the politician who wishes to apply these laws for the benefit of his community. Experience with people, systems, and organizations is a must. Experience can come in many forms -- through volunteerism, relevant experience in industry, or through prior office -- and is the best indicator of future performance.

A pianist in private life, I have often observed another comparison to be made to politics. The musical accompanist must be at once follower and leader. The pianist follows the soloist, but also gives strong support. The organist follows the conductor, but leads the congregation. The same circular reasoning also holds true for the representative. Following the will of the people, he leads them where they want to go. As the bumper sticker says, "If the people will lead, then the leaders will follow."

One final comparison. I believe that what Kodaly said about art is equally true about government -- that it is "one of the most powerful forces in the rise of mankind, and he who renders it accessible to as many people as possible is a benefactor of humanity." Empowering you to be part of your government and involving you in your community is what this blog and I are all about.

Thus I find myself, as both a musician and a politician, asking you to measure me by Kodaly's standard, and see if you can't trust me with your vote next Tuesday.

If you can't trust me with your vote next Tuesday, then I hope you'll be willing to trust me with your piano students next January. I'll have a lot of spare time on my hands.

Love Your Library

2009-10-19T20:02:00.001-07:00

I marvel at American Fork's hard-working library staff. Its people are cheerful and service oriented and they take obvious pride in their work, seemingly oblivious to the library's constant funding challenges. Our library has long operated with only half the collection budget enjoyed by our neighboring libraries, and current budgetary cutbacks have brought about a reduction in the library's operating hours, as well you know.

If you love your library as I do, please consider making a donation to its collections. You might have books at home that you're finished with. You might do as I do and search the shelves at DI for books to donate. The library will gladly accept almost any up-to-date book in good condition. If for some reason the library cannot add a donation to its collections, the Friends of the Library will sell the book and the proceeds will benefit the library.

If you'd like to donate a new title, please consult the library's wish list which has been posted physically at the stacks and electronically at the library's Web site. Donating one of these books will provide for the library's greatest needs. This is what the industrious students of Caleb Warnock's writing class did last month. I quote from the minutes of the meeting in which these books were presented:

When Mr. Warnock heard that the Library had compiled a list of titles of books that they wished to have he felt it was something that the literary program could support. He and his wife went to the students and said for every brand new book that was on the Library’s list they donated, he and his wife would match that donation. Today they were presenting 20 brand new books as a way to thank the City for hosting this class for the past 20-months and for allowing them to have the conference and the upcoming conference in April and for everything that American Fork provided for them.

These twenty books delivered a much-needed shot in the arm to the library's collections, and I wish here to express my personal gratitude to the class (an Arts Council offering) for its initiative.

If you've been to the library recently, you've seen a creative poster which was written by our imaginative library staff and based on Laura Numeroff's classic If You Give A Mouse a Cookie. I'm going to reproduce it here as best I can. Please take a minute to consider its wisdom and ask yourself whether there's a way you can include the library and its many patrons on your giving list this year.

If you give a library a book . . .

Someone will want to read it.

When they are finished reading it, they will want to read another . . . and another.

Others will want to read it, then another . . . and another and bring their families to the library to get good books to read.

While looking for books, they will find DVDs and books on CD to check out.

After watching the DVD, Mom and Dad may discover that a school report is due in a few days.

They will come to the library and research the report topic on the Internet access computers.

When the Internet research is complete, they will want books on the same topic to finish the report.

When the report earns and "A," the student will tell of the great information that is available at the library.

More people will come to the library to find the information they need.

While looking for information, they will find novels, picture books, DVDs, books on CD . . . and more.

They will want to read one . . . then another . . . and another.

Will it ever end?

See what happens when you give a library a book! Think about donating books, DVDs, or books on CD to the American Fork Library. They will be gratefully accepted. If they can't be added to our collection, they will be placed in the Friends of the Library Store and the money earned will be used to purchase more books.

Consider -- if you give a library a book . . .

Top Ten Reasons To Use Your Library Card

2009-10-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

. . . as posted by American Fork librarian LaRee Parkinson in the American Fork City employee newsletter.

1. Hours of free cheap entertainment.

2. Read the book before you watch the movie.

3. You always have something to do on a rainy day.

4. Improve your mind as you delve into our non-fiction section.

5. Learn a new skill through reading about that subject.

6. Feel important because your wallet is full of cards.

7. Turn over a new leaf (again) with our self help books.

8. Ready to get away? Escape to your dream vacation with our travel books.

9. Need Internet? It's free at your American Fork Library.

10. Don't have time to sit and read? No problem! Check out a book on CD and work or travel while you listen.

These are only a few of the great reasons to use your library card. Come use your card and discover your own top reasons for using your card.

BYU Marching Band Invitational

2009-10-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

Ordinarily on a second Tuesday I would encourage you to attend the evening's City Council meeting. But tonight I'd like to see American Fork drop everything and go support our marching band at the BYU Marching Band Invitational.

Yes, I said OUR marching band. It may be the high school's program, but the marching band is at least half of who we are as a community. We have supported its fundraisers, marveled at its breathtaking performances, and felt ourselves inspired and ennobled by the band's constant striving for excellence.

Tonight will be the band's first performance since Saturday's tragic accident, and our turnout will help us support the band, honor a fallen hero, and salve the pain we are all carrying inside.

Performances run at LaVell Edwards Stadium from 3:55 p.m. through about 10 p.m., with American Fork scheduled to compete at 9:25. Tickets are $5 per person and are available at the door.

I salute the fighting spirit that empowered the band's decision to go through with tonight's competition. Let's rally the troops and show our support.

Trails

2009-10-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

Question: Is the City spending my local tax dollars to complete trails I voted against last November?!?

Answer: No, the City is not spending your local tax dollars on these projects, but yes, the City is completing the trails using federal grant money. As you have seen on your drives about town, not one but four trails are under construction at this very minute.

Question: Is our City government just a little bit loopy to undertake construction of trails and pressurized irrigation at the very same time?

Answer: Well, if we weren't loopy when we started, we certainly are by now. Throw in 50 South, and this construction is enough to drive anybody mad. But there is method to our madness. We accelerated the construction period on pressurized irrigation (PI) as a hedge against inflation. Originally scheduled for completion in three years, we are completing the project in two. Also -- sad but true -- recessions are a strategic time to install infrastructure as governments can benefit from a competitive bidding environment. If current projections hold, we'll complete PI one year ahead of schedule and one million dollars under budget.

Question: But did you have to throw trails in on top of this? I mean, we told you in that bond election that now is not the right time!

Answer: Last January, Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG -- the agency that distributes federal funds) delivered an ultimatum. Either spend this federal grant money already -- some of it was awarded as much as a decade ago -- or reimburse the feds for costs already paid on engineering and design.

Question: You had federal money sitting around and you didn't spend it?

Answer: The trick was coming up with the match. These grants paid 93.33 percent of total project costs, leaving the City to pay just 6.77 percent. This is a bargain, to be sure, but with project costs like $900,000 and $750,000, the City's match would still have been in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. As you already know from reading my post about road maintenance, we local taxpayers do not have that kind of money sitting around.

Question: So where did you get the money? You better not have bonded when I told you not to!

Answer: Well, I wasn't strictly accurate when I said we're not using local tax dollars. But it would be fair to say that we're not using very many local tax dollars. Faced with the choice between paying back $97,500 in engineering costs on the Art Dye trail or paying the match of $89,000, we chose to pay the match. (Hmm: $97,500 for no trail or $89,000 for a nice trail?) This amount is far less than the $2.3 million of the bond that was rejected.

Question: That's the Art Dye trail. What about the others I'm seeing under construction?

Answer: Right. Fortunately, MAG has graciously allowed us to move federal grant money from project to project. When we got stimulus funds for 50 South, we were able to move some of the earlier grant money for this over to trails. When we cancelled the expansion of the Main Street Park and Ride (FrontRunner's announcement of its American Fork station pre-empted the need for this expansion), we were able to move those funds over to trails. So the total City outlay for completion of four trails will have been just the $89,000 of the Art Dye Trail match. This is what I call value-engineering.

Question: Where did you get the $89,000?

Answer: The City Council had a knock-down drag-out fight over whether to take this from road and sidewalk funds or from the general fund balance. We'll probably settle the question at the end of the fiscal year when we adjust the budget. If you need to take your Scouts or Young Women to a meeting, this will be a fun one to watch.

Question: Did you say FOUR trails? What are the four trails?

Answer:

(1) The Art Dye trail, which leads from the heart of Art Dye park to the Highland border, where it connects with Highland's trail system. I've been told that users can proceed from there all the way to the mouth of the canyon.
(2) The American Fork River Trail, which begins at approximately 325 East 300 North, follows the west bank of the river, skips onto 500 East for a bit, then connects to the Art Dye Trail.
(3) The 300 North connector. This is just three-and-a-half blocks of trail along 300 North that will connect the Center Street Trail to the aforementioned River Trail.
(4) The Center Street Trail, which leads from the Greenwood Skate Park to Chipman/Bicentennial Park and on up Center Street past the Fitness Center to the cemetery.

Question: I've seen some of these trails completed already. Why on earth would you rip out sidewalk to install a trail? Why not keep the sidewalk and mark it as trail?

Answer: My friends who jog tell me that asphalt is a much better surface. But the real reason for this decision is the federal design standard. Nobody gets to argue with the feds.

Question: So I shouldn't vote you out of office?

Answer: That's entirely up to you, and remember, you get your chance on November 3. But when I judge these trails, I see that American Fork has finally become a place where a person can take a walk. I see four fantastic opportunities purchased at the bargain basement price of $89,000. This sum divided among 7,000 households works out to $13 each, made payable in a one-time sum with no interest payments to be made ever. That's a pretty fair price for the ability to reconnect with nature, work on your heart health, or take a walk with the kids.

Question: That's $13 plus all that money I pay on my federal tax bill.

Answer: That's an issue for our federal representatives, and they don't seem to listen to me these days. But as a local representative, I feel that if the feds are going to collect all this money from us, the least we can do is let them spend some of it in our own community.

For more background on American Fork's trails, read Trixie Walker's article in last Friday's Daily Herald.

Road Maintenance

2009-09-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Road maintenance is a long-standing concern of the city council, and it is emerging as one of the central issues of the current election debate. Today I blog to explain the nature of the problem and talk a little bit about solutions.

THE PROBLEM

The problem was clearly stated by Public Works Director Howard Denney at the June 18, 2009 city council work session. I quote from the minutes of that meeting:

Mr. Denney continued that the City did their first inventory of roads in 2001 and it showed that 80 percent of the roads had a service life of 4 to 15 years. It was projected back then that if they did not increase funding for roads, that in 2011, 50 percent would be in failure mode. Now with the PI [pressurized irrigation] installation, five years were removed from that service life. After PI, the remaining life of most of the roads in American Fork was four years. To bring [all] roads to the condition of a new road, it would take $117 million. The annual funding level that the Council wanted to put toward the roads could be entered into a program and they could then look at scenarios that would get the City where it wanted to be. Generally, the worse roads would be dealt with first. There were a number of strategies to look at.
Mayor Thompson asked Streets Superintendent TJ Warnick if other Councils have had this kind of analysis and costs placed before them.
TJ Warnick answered that to his knowledge they had not. Up until 10 years ago they were doing a combination overlay and reconstruction on a yearly basis. That was part of the reason the City was paying the price now.
Councilmember Rodeback asked what happened in 1999 that the practice was stopped.
Mr. Warnick responded that prices increased.

It should also be noted that the City discontinued all road maintenance when the PI bond passed, in anticipation of the trenching that would take place. Many have asked why the City did not consider the need for road resurfacing in the PI bond. The answer is that resurfacing was in fact considered, but would have doubled the size of a bond which, at $47.95 million, was already much too large.

So the problem today can be viewed in three different ways. It can be viewed as either of two different lump sums: the $117 million needed to resurface all roads, or the $23 million needed to resurface just the collectors and arterials. Or it can be viewed in terms of twenty-year cycles. Resurfacing one-twentieth, or five percent, of the City's 110 center-lane miles each year would cost about $5 million per year.

At present, the City's road maintenance budget -- by which I mean actual maintenance, without including wages or overhead -- is $1 million per year.

That's the problem.

THE SOLUTIONS

Solution number one is to throw $4 million more at roads each year. This is more easily said than done. All of last year's painful, 17.14 percent property tax increase went to road maintenance, and this raised only $500,000.

The City has hopes of retiring the Meadows infrastructure bonds in 2012, freeing up additional revenue for this purpose. But even if all budget dollars so obtained were pledged to road maintenance -- a big IF, given the City's equally pressing need to maintain public safety wages at a competitive level -- this would add only an additional $700,000 to the pot.

Cuts? The City could cut all spending on the cemetery, the Fitness Center, parks and recreation, the Arts Council and the library -- eliminate these budgets entirely -- and still not raise $4 million.

Bonds? A small bond for a few key projects -- not for the entirety -- might be an option, but not in the present economy, and not until more of the City's existing bonds (library, Meadows) have been retired.

Growth? Nearly impossible to put a figure to this, until the economy picks up.

Still, I think it's conceivable that, with discipline and without raising taxes, the City could increase its spending on roads by an additional $1 million per year at some point in the next five years. Add this to the present million, and the total would equal $2 million, or forty percent of the $5 million annual need.

Clearly, money can only be part of the solution. The urgent need, in this scenario, is for strategy. Which brings us to --

Solution number two. Long-range planning. This is the same need I have rated as number one on my re-election platform. I take this occasion to remind my readers that I have pledged not to vote for any tax increase until long-range planning has been completed. Laying out the need in five-, ten- and twenty-year cycles is the first part of the solution. To this end, my colleague, Council Member Dale Gunther, called for the road inventory that was presented to the council on June 18 (see minutes quoted above). Pair this with a similar forecast of revenues for the next five, ten and twenty years, and future councils will have all the data they need to resist allocating scarce budget dollars to lower priorities.

Solution number three is to scour the road and pavement industry for money-saving technologies and best practices. To this end, I invited Dr. Spencer Guthrie, chair of BYU's pavement management program, to visit with the City's public works department last month. This was an illuminating meeting. I learned many things. For example:

The worst-first strategy is the worst possible strategy. Preventive maintenance is the best strategy. This may seem counter-intuitive, but the City actually gets more bang for its buck by maintaining the best roads in good condition. The worst roads won't get much worse, and they can be picked off one at a time, as funding permits.

American Fork is not alone in its troubles. Most of the nation's roads were built in the 1960s. Fifty years later, these roads are challenged both by increased loads and increased volumes. Meanwhile, their governments are slowly waking up to the fact that what at installation might have seemed like a one-time expenditure is actually an ongoing need.

While it is possible to assess a road's needs visually, by surveying patterns of cracks and buckles, the best analysis is done by sending core samples to a lab.

Fortunately, trenching now underway for installation of the PI system is enabling a thorough inventory and analysis of existing conditions.

The Asphalt Zipper is a fascinating, recent invention which grinds, recycles and repaves asphalt all in one pass. Where applicable, this technology can reduce costs by sixty percent or more. It was invented right here in nearby Pleasant Grove, and American Fork has been making use of this technology.

THE CONCLUSION

The easiest conclusion to draw is that there are no easy conclusions. A good, solid, preventive pavement management program must be a top priority, or road maintenance will overwhelm the budget. And there is no single way to get there from here. Solutions will be found, but they will of necessity involve many different strategies -- and a goodly measure of patience.

A Vision for Main Street

2009-09-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

On Friday last, an eager group of downtown merchants, residents, elected officials, and City staff crowded into the east wing of the library to see the preliminary results of MAG's Main Street Vision Study.

And such a vision it was. Poring over the engineering diagrams, the artist's conceptions, and the numerous pictorial examples from other western Main Streets, I felt as though I were actually gazing upon the American Fork Main Street I have always envisioned.

It was like driving down 89 wearing rose-colored glasses.

This, for me, was the truth-revealing paradox of the evening, to think that the traffic-snarled corridor which is widely seen as the greatest deterrent to a healthy downtown could actually point the way to its revitalization. Consider the following morsels of insight gleaned from Friday's presentation:

If American Fork does nothing, today's 20,000 daily vehicle trips on Main Street will escalate to more than 50,000 in thirty years. Pacific Drive's counts will number in the 20,000s. This translates to seven lanes of traffic on Main, five on Pacific.
Sustainable traffic planning means including more mass transit options and better accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists. This will not only ease the high traffic counts but will also bring life-giving pedestrian traffic to downtown merchants. ("Cars don't shop," we learned. "People shop.")
Creative solutions, such as the creation of one-way traffic couplets along Main and Pacific, can reduce lanes to three or four on each street. This would allow the City to preserve the existing parking on each side, add a bicycle lane, and create better conditions for pedestrians.
It turns out that bicycle racks are a bigger motivator for cyclists than dedicated bike lanes.
It is possible to house a 21st century parking garage in a 19th century facade.
Street trees and harmonious landscaping do more than create a happy facade; they play a large part in generating economic prosperity by attracting customers and reducing crime.

Friday's open house, while preliminary in nature, nevertheless represents three months' hard work by a dedicated team of the state's best urban planners. In just three months, team members met with all existing stakeholders and gathered oral input. They surveyed every Main Street resident and business. They analyzed American Fork's business license trends, tax records and leakage reports; they gathered data from North Utah County's tourism destinations. They met with UDOT and UTA and surveyed the City's existing ordinances and budget constraints.

This underlying research will make a compelling case when the City begins to work toward next steps. This is good, because next steps will be difficult. If the City is to launch a new vision for Main Street, it will need to enact a new set of ordinances, the likes of which have never been seen in American Fork -- ordinances for TOD (transit-oriented development) and form-based ordinances.

City leaders will need to lobby vigorously for American Fork's interests with the likes of UDOT and UTA. Leaders must also be willing to sit down with potential developers and help them see a vision for themselves on Main Street.

These will be difficult battles. But if we are to overcome the blight that is overtaking our downtown, this is the fight we must fight.

Please watch for more of the Main Street Vision as it takes shape. I'm told drawings will soon be posted at the City's Web site.

And please, consider the urgent nature of this issue as you follow election debates this season. The full Main Street vision will take thirty years to realize. But the time to make decisions is now.

An Apology

2009-08-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

The cemetery debate has inflamed into major proportions, so today I am writing to post an apology.

In last Saturday's post I stated, forcefully, that I and the other city council members want to begin using interest from the perpetual care fund to offset the cemetery subsidy. I recounted my memory of a discussion in which staff -- and all the rest of the room -- misunderstood this position to mean that the council wanted to begin using the principal from this fund.

It appears that it was I, and not the room, who was guilty of the misunderstanding.

I have been advised this morning, by staff, that other council members did request, in other settings, information about using the perpetual care fund principal to offset the cemetery subsidy, and that this was in fact the thrust of Thursday's discussion.

This leaves me wondering whether I have become the octogenarian driver who called his wife on his cell phone to complain that everybody else on the freeway was driving the wrong direction.

But this also puts me in a position of anxiety. While I am deeply concerned for the cemetery, for its long-term maintenance, and for the city's need to find property for expansion, I am equally concerned about a potential breach of promise. I cannot justify raiding the principal of the perpetual care fund. Those who have paid into the perpetual care fund hold certificates guaranteeing that the money will be used as promised, and the City cannot go back on that promise.

But enough of that. This is an apology.

The second reason for the apology is for the life Saturday's post gave to a deeper concern. Readers who follow my husband's blog noted the second-hand analysis of the debate he posted over the weekend, in which he asked, "Is there a serious problem with the staff?"

I hope City staff will take me at my word when I say that I did not intend any personal criticism of their work when I gave a narration of a miscommunication. I did that to give the public a glimpse into the workings of meetings that very few attend.

I stand by what I said in Saturday's post, that we must chalk the miscommunication up to human nature, and move on.

I am not the mayor, and I am not trying to be the mayor. I do not make personnel decisions, but I do work with the personnel he appoints. I have observed many times that our City's growth calls for a much larger staff than our budget supports, and that this puts many of our staff in impossible positions. I would like to solve the problem, but I cannot bring myself to criticize them for their hard work.

Another cemetery correction

2009-08-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

$5500 for a cemetery plot? NOT!

ABC News erroneously reported that "plot prices may spike to as much as $5,500," and that "the city council will vote on the issue during a public meeting Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m."

Yes, the city council will vote Tuesday night. The price under consideration is $1,000.

Cemetery Funding

2009-08-21T21:25:00.001-07:00

This is a matter of principal.

More precisely, it's a matter of interest.

Caleb Warnock, who writes with more style than any two other journalists, missed a key point in today's Herald when he covered yesterday's council debate about cemetery funding. But he's not to be blamed -- so did almost everybody else in the room.

The article discusses various challenges to cemetery funding, including the rising cost of land for expansion and the $500,000 subsidy the City makes for maintenance and operations. Council discussion focused on the impossibility of covering both maintenance and land replacement through burial fees alone.

There was considerable debate about the perpetual care fund. This fund, as its name suggests, was established to provide maintenance for the cemetery in perpetuity. Its revenue source is a $200 fee paid as part of the purchase price of a burial plot. The fund, which by now has grown to nearly $500,000, yields $400 per month in interest which may be used for cemetery maintenance.

The concept behind any such trust is that one invests the principal and spends the interest. But here's where the misunderstanding begins.

"So desperate is the City," says the Herald, "that they are debating dismantling the cemetery's perpetual care fund. . . . [Mayor Thompson] and others agreed the city should consider changing its ordinance so the city can get its hands on the principal."

Not so, not so!

We council members stated, repeatedly, that the City should begin applying the interest -- the interest -- toward maintenance, as was originally intended. Armed with copies of the ordinance which we held in our hands, we insisted that the ordinance allowed spending the interest -- the interest -- for this very purpose.

Sadly, staff misunderstood our repeated pleas, and could not be dissuaded from their frustratingly irrelevant position that the principal -- the principal -- could not be expended except in case of dire emergency.

It was to this stubborn insistence that Mayor Thompson said, as was reported, that this "seems like a useless fund to me." Useless indeed, if the interest is not to be used as intended. But it is only as wise as wisdom itself -- and as obvious, even to a room full of politicians -- for the City to continue to grow the principal.

The Daily Herald is not to be blamed for this mistake. We'll chalk this one up to human nature -- as a mother of teens, I'm good at this -- and move on.

If only the interest -- $400 per month, $4800 per year -- could make a bigger dent in the $500,000 subsidy.

Recycling Letter

2009-08-10T06:48:00.000-07:00

I walked with myself,
talked with myself,
and myself said to me . . .

I read last weekend Barbara Christiansen's article in the Daily Herald about American Fork's opt-out recycling program. It reported, among other things, that while 2,746 households have opted out, the City's take rate (the number of households recycling) has nevertheless jumped to above 50 percent. It also said that, while the City can expect to save $73,263 in tipping fees, it nevertheless raised recycling fees from $4.50 to $5.40.

I also received my August utility bill in the mail last weekend and noted the 90 cent increase. I was not surprised, therefore, when the following angry letter appeared in my inbox.

Dear Councilmember Rodeback:

I am appalled and outraged that the City has increased my recycling bill by twenty percent with its fancy new "opt-out" recycling program. Did anybody with a brain vote for this? I thought we were Cavemen in this city, not Neanderthals. If the newspaper is to be believed, then the City will raise close to $40,000 annually in revenues to help with "billing expenses" on top of the $73,263 the City saves in tipping fees. That's a very generous full-time salary for somebody. I know business executives who don't make that much money. And whatever happened to economies of scale? Shouldn't the recyclers be able to make more money at lower cost now that they have more customers on their routes? And couldn't you at least find a company that recycles glass, if you're going to extract this kind of money off the backs of us impoverished taxpayers? It's governments like you that are the problem with this country. I'll thank you to stop raiding my pocketbook for ill-thought-out measures like this one.

Sincerely,

Heidi Rodeback

Nasty letters are a fact of life for elected officials, so I was able to take this one in stride. I sent out a gentle, reasoned reply which I now share.

Dear Heidi:

Thank you for your letter regarding the opt-out recycling program. I want you to know that I feel your pain in this and all other matters, seeing as I have the distinct honor of being your self. I empathize with your concerns about economies of scale and about the new, hidden, unjustified revenues -- truly, a mid-year tax increase -- which will flow into City coffers because of this program. I can only validate your point of view.

In fact, it was for these very reasons that I voted against this measure last February. Please read more about this vote at my blog entry dated February 9, 2009.

As for your other question, yes, all four of my colleagues have brains. While I disagree with them over the mechanics of this measure, I nevertheless respect their intelligence and their concern for sustainability. I might point out their further concern for the price of land, and their thought for the difficulty of finding new landfill space when today's landfills are full. Anything that postpones that day will pay dividends in the long term.

I don't say this to most of my correspondents, but I think you are one who will appreciate my advice when I say to count 10 next time before sending such a strongly worded letter. Remember that your elected officials are, and are supposed to be, lay leaders elected from among the people. They give generously of their time and must do their best according to their lights. Who knows, maybe next time around it'll be YOU sitting in this seat.

Thanks again for your inquiry.

Sincerely yours,

Heidi Rodeback
American Fork City Council

Call for Volunteers

2009-07-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

Looking for a good way to use your talents in service of your community? You might consider volunteering for the Visual Arts Board.

The American Fork Visual Arts Board states, "It is our mission to inspire, enliven, and enhance our community through exposure to the visual arts." Organized in 1948 by a small group of local artists dedicated to this cause, the Visual Arts Board became an umbrella group of the American Fork Arts Council in 1991. Through the dedication of past and present board members, the Visual Arts Board continues the tradition of sponsoring both the Steel Days Art Show and the Edna Birk Memorial Scholarship, a scholarship of $500 given annually to an outstanding student of the visual arts. Grant money from the Utah Arts Council and funding from American Fork City also enable the Board to sponsor classes for children, teens, and adults in various art media.

The Visual Arts Board is now -- and always -- seeking volunteers. Volunteers can serve in a variety of ways, filling one-time or on-going slots such as show director or co-director, reception coordinator, host or hostess, publicity director, data entry specialist, or board member.

To learn more, please call the Arts Council at 801-763-3081.

A Beautiful Reservoir

2009-07-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

Speaking at the grand opening of the new reservoir last Friday, lead engineer Eric Franson explained about his penchant for finding beauty. He runs cross-country races, he said, and every so often he has to stop and say, "Wow. That is beautiful." His fellow runners usually scratch their heads, seeing no beauty. So he points out a dam or a reservoir and says, "That makes me happy."

Completion of this reservoir was an event of symbolic significance, marking the construction of an entire utility including 100 miles of pipeline, 13 million gallons of storage in two reservoirs, and three filter stations -- construction which, when it is completed in the spring of 2010, will have taken place in just two years.

Thanks are due to the many who worked to make this possible, including the City staff, the American Fork Irrigation Company, the shareholders, two engineering firms, the contractors, and the American Fork voters.

So many of these voters have now become the rate payers who are feeling the pain of sacrifice necessary to bring this about. "We knew there would be an increase," they say. "We just didn't know it would be this big." Or, to put that in the words of a merchant I spoke with, immoral. A three hundred percent increase is just plain immoral, he said. But then he conceded that not supplying water would be equally immoral.

The reservoir is standing evidence of what Mr. Franson said was "the City's thought for its long-term future, for residents to come, and for our children and grandchildren who will benefit."

"That's a decision that needs to be applauded," he said, "and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Three Bumper Stickers

2009-07-22T12:15:00.001-07:00

Driving in Salt Lake yesterday, I saw three bumper stickers that merit thought.

If the people will lead, the leaders will follow. Profound thought. In the 2005 mayoral/city council elections, for example, the people made such a voluble outcry for action that the elected officials had no choice but to deliver on pressurized irrigation.

Jesus was a liberal. If so, then Jehovah was a conservative.

Never underestimate the power of a redhead. Amen.

Please Take the Main Street Survey

2009-07-17T13:24:00.001-07:00

At Saturday's Steel Days parade, did you focus on the floats, the free candy, or the failing infrastructure?

Personally, I find it increasingly difficult to ignore the crumbling sidewalks, the treacherous pedestrian crossings, the waist-high weeds, and the mangy trees in our downtown. That's to say nothing of the high traffic volumes on 89, or the near impossibility of finding parking near one's favorite downtown merchants.

These things are bad enough for those of us who live here and worry about falling property values and vacant properties. But an ailing Main Street hurts everybody in American Fork. It invites crime. It projects a run-down, unkempt image onto our city as a whole, deterring strong businesses from locating in town. And it carries a high opportunity cost, considering what is possible at this location.

Positioned at the center of a region boasting so many of the state's highest incomes, an effectively revitalized Main Street could attract a pretty penny or two to the City's sales tax coffers.

Fortunately, there are remedies to be had. Enter the Main Street Vision Study, sponsored by Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG). This is a thorough and official effort to "analyze and recommend economic opportunities, possible design themes, future land use types, densities and transportation opportunities that American Fork City could use to encourage future development while retaining the streets’ unique historic character."

MAG is the metropolitan planning organization for Utah County, and its studies are taken seriously by all the major decision makers, including UDOT and the State of Utah. MAG itself is taking this study very seriously, as it has engaged some of the state's top designers, architects, and economic analysts to complete the job.

The study will be kicked off with a survey of Main Street residents and business owners. Today I am inviting YOU to take this survey also. I am especially interested in feedback from my several hundred neighbors who live in the blocks adjacent to the Main Street corridor, but I am also interested in feedback from American Fork's farther-flung residents who have given the issue serious thought.

Please follow this link to read the mayor's letter and print the survey today. You'll need to deliver it yourself to Debby Lauret at the City administration building by about August 1, or mail it to this address:

Debby J. Lauret
PO Box 162, 51 East Main
American Fork, UT 84003

I'm sorry that this is inconvenient -- but if, like me, you are anxious for change and want a voice, then I know you'll appreciate this opportunity for input.

If you ask me, this study has come not one minute too soon.

The Steel Days Are Here!

2009-07-14T10:29:00.001-07:00

It's a week-long par-tay in American Fork.

For the official calendar, go dig your utility bill out of the recycling, or check here at AFCity.org.

For more details on a prolific profusion of events including parade, carnival, baby contest, art show, car show and cruise, craft, quilt and doll shows, golf and horseshoe tournaments, steak fry, 5K, or to find out which movie will be showing after Friday's picnic in the park, check out today's Daily Herald article, "American Fork Steel Days Full of Events."

Also in the Herald, look for a fitting and well-deserved tribute to this year's Grand Marshalls Dan and Karen Adams. Read about last Saturday's Tour de Donut (this is public health?) and about the old root beer bottles that inspired last night's tour of the DUP Museum in Robinson Park. (I went, and was inspired.)

Additional events include the American Fork Symphony (tonight!) and, in place of the traditional Big Show, Reality Nite featuring American Fork Idol. Contestants are listed in the Herald article, but the best talent of the night may well be the Master of Ceremonies, Sam Beeson.

Last of all come the fireworks, so the Saturday show will end with its traditional bang.

A few don'ts: Don't forget to buy discount carnival tickets from participating downtown merchants before noon tomorrow (Wednesday). Don't neglect to support the peerless American Fork Marching Band at breakfast Saturday morning in the Albertsons parking lot. And don't forget to thank the amazing Steel Days volunteers who put all this fun in American Fork!

Lessons Learned

2007-07-06T12:51:00.001-07:00

Comparative Study of Hot Air Popcorn Popper and Hair Dryer

-- The hair dryer has the longer, more flexible cord.

-- The hot air popper has the higher temperature, but this is offset by its lighter air flow.

-- Positioned strategically on a kitchen stool, the hot air popper can dry hair while leaving hands free for brushing and styling.

-- A wall mount is a possible improvement worthy of further study.

These are among the lessons learned when one's hair dryer gives out at 9:37 a.m., immediately prior to one's 10:00 a.m. meeting.

Sewer Rate Increase

2009-07-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

With water bills tripling this year, residents are justifiably concerned to note an increase in sewer rates also taking effect this month. Here's a tiny bit of background.

As the TSSD (Timpanogos Special Service District, one of the best euphemisms ever) raised its rates this month, it became necessary for the City in turn to pass the increase on to the users. The TSSD increase was about 26 percent.

As a city council, we analyzed several variations on the rate structure looking for one that would spread the increase equitably without penalizing residences more than businesses or vice versa. We looked at what our sister cities charge. We examined low base rates and high base rates, low and high per gallon charges, and so on. What our analysis showed, based on usage patterns we have on record, was that raising the base to $24.50 and lowering the per gallon overage threshold to 3000 would result in roughly a 25 percent increase for both residents and businesses.

This was an important value to us because businesses such as car washes and laundromats within the city are already struggling epically with the water rate increases. Raising their sewer rates disproportionately could have put several out of business, with a negative effect on the local economy.

Where the City previously charged $22.50 for the first 6,000 gallons with an overage charge for any usage beyond 6,000 gallons, it now charges $24.50 for the first 3,000 gallons and $1.10 per thousand gallons over that threshold. So for 6,000 gallons the charge is $24.50 plus (3 x 1.1) which equals $27.80 -- about a 22 percent increase. City records show that most residences use water within this range, so residents are not likely to see increases much higher than this.

Like you, I still prefer the zero percent increase. But 25 percent, under the circumstances, is pretty manageable for residents, and will not put anybody out of business.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that the TSSD plans to increase rates yet again, by the same amount, next year.

Now Seeking Four More Years

2009-07-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

I did it. I filed for re-election this morning.

This is not a decision to take lightly. Campaigning ranks on my list of fun somewhere below visiting the dentist and going through labor. But it is obviously the most important and necessary step for anybody interested in public office. I view the campaign itself as an act of service. It has more power to engage the public than any other discussion, and enables people and government jointly to sift through current issues and determine priorities.

I'm seeking a second term not because I think one good term deserves another, but because there's more I want to do. On this subject, read more at my campaign Web page. It is up and running today, though it is not complete. Tune back in over the coming month as I hope to nail in the planks of my platform soon.

A few housekeeping items are in order. I am no longer using my City email signature to promote my blog, as I am now a candidate and will avoid even the appearance of using City resources to further the campaign. Any campaign-related emails should be addressed to my personal account, HRodeback@att.net.

To those who follow this blog: My plan is to continue my present habit of providing detail on current council pursuits. I cannot cover every issue (never could) but will continue to post on whatever topics seem most relevant and most accessible in the occasional hours that pop up between council projects.

I signed a pledge this morning when I filed for office, a "pledge of fair campaign practices." It deals more with unethical practices than negative campaigning, but it appeals to me because I am by nature a positive campaigner. It makes no sense to catalog a colleague's demerits and leave voters without any sense of my own strengths. You can expect me to focus on my own record and views, leaving others to tell their own stories.

All other candidates will sign the pledge. You can read it below, then help keep us honest.

Pledge of Fair Campaign Practices

2009-07-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

There are basic principles of decency, honesty, and fair play which every candidate for public office in the State of Utah has a moral obligation to observe and uphold, in order that, after vigorously contested but fairly conducted campaigns, our citizens may exercise their right to a free election, and that the will of the people may be fully and clearly expressed on the issues.

THEREFORE:

I SHALL conduct my campaign openly and publicly, discussing the issues as I see them, presenting my record and policies with sincerity and frankness, and criticizing, without fear or favor, the record and policies of my opponents that I believe merit criticism.

I SHALL NOT use, nor shall I permit the use of, scurrilous attacks on any candidate or the candidate's immediate family. I shall not participate in, nor shall I permit the use of, any other criticism of any candidate or the candidate's immediate family that I do not believe to be truthful, provable, and relevant to my campaign.

I SHALL NOT use, nor shall I permit the use of, any practice that tends to corrupt or undermine our American system of free elections, or that hinders or prevents the free expression of the will of the voters, including practices intended to hinder or prevent any eligible person from registering to vote or voting.

I SHALL NOT coerce election help or campaign contributions for myself or for any other candidate from my employees or volunteers.

I SHALL immediately and publicly repudiate support deriving from any individual or group which resorts, on behalf of my candidacy or in opposition to that of an opponent, to methods in violation of the letter or spirit of this pledge. I shall accept responsibility to take firm action against any subordinate who violates any provision of this pledge or the laws governing elections.

I SHALL defend and uphold the right of every qualified American voter to full and equal participation in the electoral process.

I, the undersigned, candidate for election to public office in the State of Utah, hereby voluntarily endorse, subscribe to, and solemnly pledge myself to conduct my campaign in accordance with the above principles and practices.

Signed:

Heidi Rodeback
July 1, 2009