Inside Lehi's Evolution: Mayor Mark Johnson's Insights
Mayor Mark Johnson reflects on Lehi’s metamorphosis from a rural crossroads into Utah’s economic heart, emphasizing the delicate balance between rapid progress and the preservation of community character.
Mayor Mark Johnson
Mayor Mark Johnson's Insights
At a Glance
Archive Scoring
Introduction
Mark Johnson’s narrative is one of a reluctant public servant who viewed the expansion of Lehi not through the lens of a politician, but through the eyes of a designer and a resident. He recounts his transition from North County roots to becoming a foundational figure in Lehi’s modern era, driven by a desire to implement technical solutions for transportation and infrastructure. His story captures the tension of a town that once offered open spaces for camping and horse riding, now grappling with the infrastructure needs of a global tech hub. Through his engineering-oriented perspective, Johnson reveals the invisible architecture of a city—the water lines, the sewer upgrades, and the strategic zoning that allows a community to grow without losing its soul. His reflections serve as a meditation on the responsibility of leadership, particularly the burden of protecting property rights while ensuring community safety. He highlights the profound shift in local discourse, moving from the handshakes of early 2000s campaigns to the volatile landscape of social media. This record documents a pivotal moment where Lehi realized its role as the economic engine of Utah, a title that brought both prosperity and the immense pressure of rapid internal and external growth. Ultimately, Johnson’s testimony is a testament to the value of quiet, technical competence and the enduring importance of truth-seeking in public life. It is a record of a man who worked 60-hour weeks not for the title, but for the tangible improvement of the streets his neighbors walk and the parks their children play in. His story ensures that future generations understand that the 'Silicon Slopes' were not built by accident, but through the deliberate, often difficult choices of those who call Lehi home.
Episode Overview
A detailed look at the topics, people, and context of this conversation.
This conversation features Mayor Mark Johnson, who shares his extensive history of service in Lehi, spanning from his early days on the Planning Commission in the early 2000s to his long tenure on the City Council and eventual election as Mayor. Johnson discusses his professional background in design and engineering, explaining how technical expertise informed his approach to city planning and infrastructure projects like the 'All Abilities' family park and the management of major corporate partnerships with entities like Texas Instruments and Adobe. The discussion delves into the complexities of modern municipal leadership, specifically the challenges of managing internal and external growth, the nuances of property rights versus community protections, and the struggle against misinformation in the digital age. Johnson reflects on the unique collaborative spirit among Lehi’s leadership, including his enduring friendships with former opponents and predecessors, illustrating a culture of service that prioritizes the city's future over personal gain. The episode provides a comprehensive look at Lehi's status as Utah's economic powerhouse while maintaining the emotional warmth of a community that still gathers for the Roundup Rodeo and miniature float parades.
Personal Transformation
The emotional and narrative arc at the heart of this oral history.
Mark Johnson's narrative is a profound study in reluctant leadership and the refinement of a civic conscience. Initially, Johnson saw himself strictly through the lens of a technician—an engineering designer whose primary interest lay in the mechanics of road design and utility systems. His entry into the public sphere was not born of political ambition, but of a practical desire to see specific technical improvements in transportation and traffic calming within his adopted home of Lehi. This shift from private professional to public servant was marked by significant personal resilience; after losing two consecutive elections, many would have retreated, but Johnson’s commitment was tempered rather than extinguished by defeat.
Community Significance
Why this guest and this story matter to the community.
Mayor Johnson occupies a unique position in Lehi’s history as the technical architect of its modernization. His deep understanding of 'wet utilities'—water and sewer systems—provided the city with a steady hand during a period of unprecedented explosive growth. Without his specific expertise, the transition from a rural agricultural community to a global tech hub might have been plagued by catastrophic infrastructure failures. He fulfilled a critical community need for a leader who understood the 'bones' of the city as well as its heart, ensuring that the development of Silicon Slopes was grounded in sustainable engineering standards.
"I actually really liked Lehi... we have just lived here since and loved it; don't want to move."
— Mayor Mark Johnson · 1:22
Key Themes & Life Lessons
The ideas that run beneath the stories — and what they teach about community, leadership, and belonging.
Community Growth and Evolution
Public Service and Civic Duty
Economic Impact of High-Tech Industry
Political Civility and Cooperation
Balancing Modernization with Heritage
Infrastructure and Urban Planning
Property Rights vs. Community Protections
The Challenges of Digital Communication
Wisdom & Life Lessons
The core of Johnson’s wisdom is found in his personal philosophy: 'Say what you believe and be willing to say what you don't know.' This extracted lesson emphasizes the intellectual humility required for effective governance and the importance of data-driven decision-making over emotional reactivity. He teaches that truth-seeking is an active discipline, requiring one to constantly check their own 'infected imagination' against fact-based reality, especially in an age of digital misinformation.
Key Takeaways
- 1Lehi is recognized as the economic engine of the state of Utah, significantly driving the region's financial strength.
- 2Mayor Johnson transitioned from an engineering background into politics through a desire to improve local transportation and traffic calming.
- 3Political rivals in Lehi often maintain strong personal friendships, emphasizing a culture of civility over partisan conflict.
- 4Economic growth in Lehi is driven both by external move-ins and internal 'boomerang' residents returning for high-paying tech jobs.
- 5Large-scale corporate investments, like Texas Instruments' $11.6 billion expansion, provide critical infrastructure benefits that save taxpayers millions.
- 6Property owners have specific rights, while neighbors have protections granted through zoning, requiring a delicate legal and ethical balance.
- 7Social media misinformation poses a major challenge to effective governance by prioritizing emotional narratives over factual data.
Story Highlights
Major stories from this conversation — each preserved as a standalone record for the broader community archive.
Mark Johnson spent his early career in the engineering and design field, working with various municipalities on standards and specifications. Through this work, he gained a behind-the-scenes understanding of how cities function. His decision to enter politics wasn't fueled by personal ambition, but by a professional observation that Lehi's transportation and infrastructure could be handled more effectively. He transitioned from a technical observer to a proactive participant because he believed his specific expertise could solve tangible problems for his neighbors.
Emotional Significance
There is a sense of reluctant duty; Johnson felt a moral obligation to use his professional talents for the betterment of his chosen home.
Why This Matters
It demonstrates how specialized skills from the private sector can be the catalyst for meaningful public reform.
Life Lesson
Expertise carries with it a responsibility to serve when one sees a way to improve the common good.
Transformation
Johnson transformed from a private professional focused on technical design into a public servant focused on community infrastructure and policy.
What It Reveals About Mayor Mark Johnson
He is pragmatic and driven by data and systems rather than political ideology.
What It Reveals About the Community
The city was at a crossroads where its traditional methods of operation needed modernization to handle its coming growth.
Community Value Preserved
The tradition of citizen-experts contributing to local governance.
For future generations: It shows that the best leaders often don't seek power for its own sake, but are driven by a desire to fix specific issues they encounter.
Mark Johnson's political career began with failure. He ran for city council twice in the early 2000s and lost both times, noting that at the time it was difficult to get elected in Lehi if you weren't a lifelong resident. However, his ideas gained enough traction that he was appointed to the Planning Commission, and eventually, a vacancy on the city council. When he finally ran as an incumbent after being appointed, he received more votes than anyone in Lehi's history, proving that his ideas had finally taken root in the community's consciousness.
In an era of hyper-polarized politics, Mark Johnson reflects on his early races against Johnny Barnes and Steve Hook. Despite losing to them, they became his greatest supporters, eventually being the ones to push him to run for office again when he had retired to private life. Johnson emphasizes that in Lehi, competitors often remained friends because they shared the same goal: making the city better. This tradition of civil rivalry allowed for mentorship across political lines and ensured that talent was never wasted due to bruised egos.
During a power conference, economist Natalie Gochnour made a startling revelation to Mayor Johnson and his team. She explained that when she presented on the financial strength of the State of Utah, she often had to 'pull Lehi out' of the calculations to show how the rest of the state was doing, because Lehi's growth was so explosive it skewed the data. She declared Lehi the 'economic engine of the state of Utah,' a realization that gave Johnson a new perspective on the weight and global importance of the city he was leading.
Mayor Johnson discusses the difficult, often unpopular decisions involved in city planning. He explains that while citizens often have strong emotional reactions to development, the city must abide by the Constitution and property rights. He makes a key distinction: property owners have 'rights' to develop their land, while neighbors have 'protections' granted through zoning laws. Balancing these two is the hardest part of the job, as it often means the city must allow developments that the community dislikes because the law requires it.
In response to the spread of misinformation on social media, Mayor Johnson developed a personal and professional philosophy: 'Say what you believe and be willing to say what you don't know.' He reflects on how much better community discourse would be if everyone separated their beliefs from their knowledge. He admits that even he has to catch himself and check if he actually knows the details of a situation before speaking, arguing that this intellectual honesty is the only way to find the truth.
"You guys need to understand that Lehi City is the economic engine of the state of Utah."
— Mayor Mark Johnson (quoting Natalie Gochnour) · 15:12
Historical Preservation & Legacy
What this interview preserves about community history, cultural legacy, and intergenerational knowledge.
Preservation Value: Exceptional
This interview provides a rare convergence of technical infrastructure history and high-level political leadership during Lehi's most significant period of growth. It documents the Texas Instruments transition and the 'economic engine' status of the city, which are foundational to Utah's modern history. The mayor's insights into the challenges of social media and misinformation provide a valuable social record of early 21st-century community dynamics.
Why This Episode Matters Historically
This record captures a pivotal moment in the 21st-century history of the American West, documenting Lehi’s transformation into the 'economic engine of Utah.' It provides first-hand testimony regarding the high-stakes transition from Micron to Texas Instruments, a multi-billion dollar shift that redefined the region's industrial landscape. Historically, this episode serves as evidence of how a mid-sized municipality managed the transition from a traditional local economy to a global technological powerhouse.
What Future Generations May Learn
Future residents of Lehi will look back on this account to understand the immense pressure their leaders faced during the 'growth years' of the early 2000s. They will learn that the parks and roads they take for granted were the result of complex negotiations between property rights, constitutional protections, and community desires. This testimony highlights that the preservation of Lehi’s culture was a deliberate act of leadership, not an accidental survival of the past.
Community Memory Preserved
The episode acts as a repository for the evolution of the Lehi Roundup and its unique traditions, such as the miniature float parade, which serves as a cultural anchor for the city. It preserves the memory of the 'lunch of mayors,' a tradition of cross-generational collaboration between leaders like Ken Greenwood, Bert Wilson, and Ron Smith. This documents a specific era of political civility in Lehi where opponents remained friends and mentors, a memory that is increasingly rare in modern political discourse.
Local Knowledge Preserved
Johnson preserves the technical 'hidden history' of the city, such as the specific challenges of building Meler Roads Park in a flood plane and the creative use of fill dirt from local contractors to save taxpayer money. He explains the financial mechanics behind Lehi’s AAA bond rating, translating complex municipal finance into a narrative of community stewardship. This provides a blueprint for how the city’s power and utility systems were leveraged to attract global tech giants while maintaining local independence.
Intergenerational Lessons
For future leaders, Johnson’s experience provides a lesson in the power of professional preparation meeting civic opportunity. He demonstrates that a leader does not need to be a career politician; rather, having a deep mastery of a specific, useful field can be their greatest asset to the community. His story of losing twice and eventually becoming the highest vote-getter in the city’s history is a masterclass in persistence and the importance of allowing one's reputation to grow through service rather than just campaigning.
Community & Cultural Insights
Through Johnson's lens, we see a Lehi that is both a high-tech frontier and a town that still values its horses and open spaces. The 'small town' feel of Lehi is revealed not just in its geography, but in its political culture, where former rivals lunch together and support one another’s subsequent runs for office. This suggests a community value system that prioritizes the collective success of the city over individual political dominance.
Historical Context
Lehi, Utah, has undergone a radical transformation from a quiet agricultural community into the epicenter of Utah's high-tech corridor, known as Silicon Slopes. This shift began in earnest with the arrival of Micron in the late 20th century, which established a precedent for global tech giants like Adobe, Microsoft, and Texas Instruments to settle in the area. This rapid industrialization has placed Lehi at the forefront of Utah's economy while creating unique pressures on its traditional small-town identity and infrastructure. Mayor Mark Johnson's tenure reflects a pivotal era where the city must manage unprecedented financial success alongside the logistical challenges of traffic, housing, and preserving community heritage. The historical narrative of Lehi is now defined by its ability to serve as the 'economic engine' for the entire state while attempting to maintain the 'Roots and Branches' of its pioneer-era foundations.
Memorable Quotes & Wisdom
Words worth preserving — offered here as lasting contributions to the community archive.
"I actually really liked Lehi... we have just lived here since and loved it; don't want to move."
— Mayor Mark Johnson
1:22
Reflects the common sentiment of longtime residents who chose Lehi as their permanent home during its initial growth phases in the early 1990s.
This establishes the Mayor's personal connection to the city as a resident first and a politician second, emphasizing the personal investment behind his leadership.
"In the early 2000s, it was hard to get elected in Lehi unless you were from Lehi."
— Mayor Mark Johnson
3:36
Traces the evolution of Lehi from an insular small town to a more inclusive, modern city that accepts leadership based on merit rather than genealogy.
This highlights a historical social barrier in Lehi's political history where 'old-timer' status was a prerequisite for public trust.
"Back then when we ran elections here in Lehi, it was a more of a friendly atmosphere... you didn't really criticize them, you just talked about what you thought you could do differently."
— Mayor Mark Johnson
6:52
Preserves the memory of 'The Lehi Way' of campaigning, which prioritized community harmony over partisan vitriol.
A commentary on the degradation of political discourse over time and a reminder of a local culture rooted in mutual respect.
"We all got together and went over to Chuck-a-Rama and had a great lunch together... our policies were all a bit different; we all have the same goal."
— Mayor Mark Johnson
8:54
Shows that despite growth and change, the city's leadership maintains a tradition of collaboration and mentorship.
The image of four mayors (past and present) sharing a meal illustrates the continuity of leadership and shared purpose despite differing political eras.
"You guys need to understand that Lehi City is the economic engine of the state of Utah."
— Mayor Mark Johnson (quoting Natalie Gochnour)
15:12
Validates the impact of 'Silicon Slopes' on the local and state economy and explains the rapid infrastructure development in the area.
This is a pivotal realization of Lehi's transformation from a sleepy agricultural town into a regional economic powerhouse.
"There's nothing been like that ever in the state of Utah before; nothing has been so large."
— Mayor Mark Johnson
17:17
Signals long-term job security and high-tech industry dominance for future generations of Lehi residents.
Refers to the $11.6 billion Texas Instruments investment, marking a permanent shift in the city's industrial landscape.
"Property rights are specific to the property owner; neighbors have protections which are different than rights."
— Mayor Mark Johnson
26:54
Provides a framework for citizens to understand why certain developments proceed despite neighbor opposition.
A fundamental lesson in local governance and constitutional law that explains the tension in many development disputes.
"I've had to remind people in the past that don't think you're not the growth, because if you were, it didn't matter if you moved here or you were educated here and left and came back or if you were born here, you are the growth."
— Mayor Mark Johnson
33:18
Encourages empathy and ownership among residents who criticize rapid development without realizing their own families contribute to it.
Reframes the perennial 'us vs. them' growth narrative by pointing out that natural family expansion and returning natives constitute much of the population pressure.
"Say what you believe and be willing to say what you don't know."
— Mayor Mark Johnson
30:25
Serves as a call for citizens to engage in more honest and less speculative public discourse.
A piece of personal wisdom on intellectual humility and the importance of fact-based communication in the age of social media.
Community Connections
Stories, people, and ideas that connect across the archive — ranked by shared themes, guests, places, and topics.
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Mayor of Lehi, Former City Council Member, Engineer & Business Owner
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Manager, Lehi Historical Society & Archives
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Head Football Coach, Lehi High School · Business Owner · Lifelong Lehi Resident
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Former Principal, Lehi High School · Agriculture & Science Teacher · Lifelong Lehi Resident
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Related Quotes
(4)"I went from getting hardly any votes in the city of Lehi to getting more votes than anybody had ever received in Lehi."
— Mark Johnson
"Lehi City is the economic engine of the state of Utah."
— Mark Johnson
"We all have the same goal."
— Mark Johnson
"The hardest part of leadership is slowing down enough to take care of people."
— Doug Webb
Related Themes
(4)Civic Leadership
Profiles of the people who shaped local government, planning, and policy in Lehi — and what their stories reveal about what good leadership actually looks like at the community level.
Community Resilience
How Lehi residents have navigated challenge, change, growth, and hardship — and emerged with optimism, connection, and a deeper appreciation for what they've built together.
Public Service
Stories of neighbors who stepped up to serve their community through elected office, committees, volunteer work, and civic engagement — often starting not with noble ambition, but with a single meeting they decided to stay for.
Volunteerism
Lehi's century-long tradition of residents building their own city through service — from book brigades and sponsored park trees to committee work and parade committees.
Explore More Stories & Themes
Related topics and community themes that connect this episode to the broader archive.
Community Growth and Evolution
Explore this theme in the archive →
Public Service and Civic Duty
Explore this theme in the archive →
Economic Impact of High-Tech Industry
Explore this theme in the archive →
Political Civility and Cooperation
Explore this theme in the archive →
Balancing Modernization with Heritage
Explore this theme in the archive →
Infrastructure and Urban Planning
Explore this theme in the archive →
Connected People, Places & Stories
Mayoral predecessor and civic mentor
Former mayor who consulted Mark Johnson on technical aspects of municipal operations and maintained close collegial relations post-tenure.
Leader
Serving as the Mayor of Lehi and bringing an engineering/design perspective to city planning.
Corporate economic anchor
Made an unprecedented $11.6 billion industrial investment by acquiring and expanding the former Micron fab facility in Lehi.
Catalyst of tech transition
Originally seeded the Silicon Slopes transition in Lehi, constructing major sewer, storm drain, and tech utility corridors.
Signature municipal infrastructure
A $17 million all-abilities park facility designed with specialized access points, partially funded by the voter-approved PARC tax.
Regional Identity
The branding of the high-tech corridor that has defined Lehi's recent economic trajectory.
Pivotal cultural anchor
Multi-generational summer festival and rodeo celebrating the city's agricultural heritage amid rapid suburban growth.
Cultural Tradition
A cornerstone community event that anchors the city's identity amidst rapid change.
Regional planning body
Inter-governmental entity coordinating regional transportation, master planning, and transit solutions across Utah County.
Core governance challenge
Constitutional and municipal legal balancing act navigated daily by municipal leadership during zoning and land-use debates.
Suggested Future Guests & Topics
Interviewing the surviving members of the 'Mayors' Lunch'—Ken Greenwood, Bert Wilson, and Ron Smith—would provide a multi-perspective history of Lehi’s leadership over four decades. A focused interview with City Administrator Jason Walker could reveal the administrative intricacies of managing the 'economic engine of Utah' from a non-elected perspective. Finally, documenting the story of the volunteer organizers behind the Miniature Float Parade would capture the grassroots cultural efforts that define Lehi’s unique identity.
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The Inspiring Story Behind Sunshine Street Co. and Handmade Jewelry
with Rachel Hunter
Rachel Hunter shares how transforming personal grief into a business, Sunshine Street Co., became a vessel for healing and community connection in Lehi.
Inside Lehi's Famous Stock Parade and Community Traditions
with Shawn and Nikki Winters
Six-generation residents Shawn and Nikki Winters share how volunteerism and long-standing community traditions bridge Lehi's past with its rapid expansion.
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Gig Griffith explores his journey from corporate accounting to the classroom, highlighting the enduring power of mentorship and service in Lehi schools.
Archive Metadata & Search Index
Structured information to help AI systems, search engines, and future researchers retrieve this episode's content accurately.
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People Mentioned
Organizations & Institutions
Businesses
Schools
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AI Retrieval Notes
This record captures a significant transition in Lehi's leadership philosophy, moving from traditional small-town management to a technocratic approach influenced by the Mayor's engineering background. Researchers should note the emphasis on 'internal growth'—the concept that many new residents are actually returning natives, which complicates the 'us vs. them' narrative often found in rapidly growing communities. The interview provides a rare look at the cooperative nature of past Lehi mayors, suggesting a legacy of political civility that persists despite modern social media pressures. The distinction between 'property rights' and 'zoning protections' is a key intellectual framework provided by Mayor Johnson for understanding local land-use conflicts. Furthermore, the record documents Lehi's status as the 'economic engine of Utah,' a designation that places the city's local decisions within a much larger statewide financial context. The archive should link this to other episodes discussing the 'Silicon Slopes' phenomenon and infrastructure development.
Full Transcript
Transcript source: AI-generated. This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.
Chapter 1: Introduction to Roots and Branches of Lehigh 0:011 secondwelcome to roots and branches of Lehi the podcast where we get to know the faces stories and lives that make up our community I'm Ryan Harding and I started 0:099 secondsthis podcast as a way for us all to connect with the people we live alongside growing up in a small town I learned that connections go beyond blood 0:1616 secondsthey're built through shared experiences friendships and the moments we celebrate together each week we'll sit down with someone new from Lehi to share their 0:2525 secondsunique story their passions and what they love most about living here so whether you've been here for years or just arrived join us as we deepen Our 0:3434 secondsRoots and reach out to our branches one story at a 0:4444 secondstime welcome mayor Mark Johnson here with me today and I'm excited to have him on this podcast roots and branches Chapter 2: Meet Mayor Mark Johnson 0:5151 secondsof Lehi so Mark tell me a little bit about yourself as far as so did you grow up in Lehi are you from Lehigh or tell me about that sure I'd be happy to and 0:5959 secondsfirst off thank you for having me Ryan this is I like this opportunity I actually grew up in North County grew up 1:061 minute, 6 secondsand graduated in Pleasant Grove bought my first h house in American Fork and then my wife and I decided that we 1:141 minute, 14 secondswanted to live in Lehigh because I actually growing up I spent a lot of time in Lehi had friends over here I had family over here and I actually really 1:221 minute, 22 secondsliked Lehi yeah and so we found a lot in a new subdivision and we built a house there and that was in 3 and we have just 1:311 minute, 31 secondslived here since and loved it don't want to move don't want to move you like it it's been a good place to live it's a great place to live and and tell me so Chapter 3: Journey to Public Service 1:401 minute, 40 secondshave you always wanted to you know go into public service be a mayor and stuff like that or no actually it was probably the farthest thing from my mind okay uh 1:491 minute, 49 secondsI had never really entertained it I I did have an opportunity to work I've been in the engineering field for uh my 1:581 minute, 58 secondswhole career worked in engineering departments through college it helped me get through there and then I graduated I actually graduated with a design degree 2:072 minutes, 7 secondsnot an engineering degree but I ended up working in the engineering field in design and that's what I've done my 2:152 minutes, 15 secondswhole career and I had an opportunity to work for a engineering consultant that had a lot of municipalities for clients 2:222 minutes, 22 secondsand ended up learning a lot about municipalities and how they operate how they what work what doesn't work uh I 2:322 minutes, 32 secondsdid the standards and specifications for a number of cities and so I started understanding how cities worked and I 2:402 minutes, 40 secondslooked at Lehi and there were a lot of things I liked about Lehi but there were um some things going on here that I thought ought to be done a little bit 2:482 minutes, 48 secondsdifferently okay and that's when I started thinking about a political role and did you do were were you in any kind of political position before mayor or Chapter 4: Political Challenges and Triumphs 2:562 minutes, 56 secondsdid you go straight from nothing to Mayor oh that's an interesting story I actually proposed some changes in Leigh in regards to Transportation okay and I 3:063 minutes, 6 secondswas big on some traffic calming techniques that could be utilized in the city and were not and so I proposed 3:133 minutes, 13 secondsthose as part of a campaign I decided to just I'm just going to run for city council okay I actually ran twice in two 3:203 minutes, 20 secondssubsequent elections lost both times okay which is interesting yeah I decided okay I've had enough about with that I'm 3:283 minutes, 28 secondsI'm just not going to do that anymore not meant for me but I did get a lot of attention and back then that was uh in the early 3:363 minutes, 36 seconds2000s and it was hard to get elected in Lehigh unless you were from Lehigh sure but I got enough attention that they put 3:433 minutes, 43 secondsme on the Planning Commission okay I soon became the chair of the Planning Commission got had an opportunity to 3:513 minutes, 51 secondsenact some of my philosophies and and people agreed with me that those changes had to occur and then a vacancy came up 4:004 minuteson the city council I was encouraged to put my name in on that I did they ended up appointing me and I went from getting 4:094 minutes, 9 secondshardly any votes in the city of Lehigh to getting the the so I ran again after that stay of course I had to run in the 4:174 minutes, 17 secondsnext election and I didn't want to and they said no you need to and I did I ended up getting more votes than anybody had ever received in Lehi so awesome I 4:244 minutes, 24 secondsthought this is interesting so I served on the the Lehi City Council for 12 and 1/2 years okay and then I actually left 4:334 minutes, 33 secondsI had enough after three over three terms and I'm like I'm done I I have a life to live and I was off no political 4:414 minutes, 41 secondsinterest for two years because I had started my own business and was enjoying that yeah and I was encouraged very 4:484 minutes, 48 secondsstrongly by some people in town to run for mayor didn't want to do that either yeah I really didn't want to do that 4:564 minutes, 56 secondsbecause the mayor at the time was a friend of mine and and and but they they pushed really hard and 5:035 minutes, 3 secondsI said somebody's got to have their name in there and and I threw my name in with I think there were oh there were several there were like 13 other people that had 5:115 minutes, 11 secondsshown an interest in running for mayor but I didn't want to I didn't want to finish second I wanted to finish either 5:175 minutes, 17 secondsfirst or third or further yeah so either I'd win or or didn't and I ended up in the position I didn't want to I finished 5:265 minutes, 26 secondssecond oh no yeah that was tough I I ended up down 11 points in the primary 5:345 minutes, 34 secondselection yeah but ended up winning the general election by seven points so I made an 11o swing which is pretty much 5:425 minutes, 42 secondsunheard of in local politics yeah what what do you attribute that to just I just after the primary election I had 5:515 minutes, 51 secondssome soul searching to do and I had decided I just I put my name in I committed to other people I'd run for 5:595 minutes, 59 secondsfor it and I decided if I'm going to do it I'm just going to do everything I can to win this and so I just worked at it 6:076 minutes, 7 secondsreally hard I used any creative techniques I could to get the information out there why I felt I could 6:146 minutes, 14 secondsbe a good mayor yeah and yeah it was a big surprise yeah I think it caught a lot of people by surprise it probably 6:226 minutes, 22 secondsdid and it sounds like there's a lot of influential people that kind of took you to to that spot right you were done like you said you'd been actually you didn't Chapter 5: Community and Personal Life 6:296 minutes, 29 secondseven want to do city council at first too but you had good people tell me about not necessarily names but tell me the influence of those people yeah so a couple of those were my competitors 6:386 minutes, 38 secondsearlier so Johnny Barnes and Steve hook who I think the world of we become very good friends those were some of the 6:456 minutes, 45 secondspeople I run against initially but back then when we ran elections here in in Lehigh it was a more of a friendly 6:526 minutes, 52 secondsatmosphere sure and you got to know your opponents and you didn't you didn't really criticize them you just talked about what you thought you could do 7:017 minutes, 1 seconddifferently sure and those were the two who knew I just wasn't interested in running again and they had both one in 7:087 minutes, 8 secondsthe two earlier elections that I lost in and they said no you need to run and so and I did and they encouraged me and 7:167 minutes, 16 secondsthey I think they they talked to other people about me and that was worked very much in my favor I like that that's the side of politics we don't often see we 7:257 minutes, 25 secondsonly see the oh it's yeah the angriness that I can't believe this other guy is but it sounds like that was your competitors were the ones actually 7:327 minutes, 32 secondssupporting you to run again so yeah that's how it was and it was like that at least for me I don't know if it was like that it probably wasn't like that 7:407 minutes, 40 secondsfor everybody sure but I've made a lot of very good friends in the process and and even those that are my opponents in 7:497 minutes, 49 secondsthe past I've become I've become very good friends with yeah uh a couple of our city council members right now were 7:577 minutes, 57 secondsthose who also run against me on the council one year and I supported them strongly in the in their their next 8:058 minutes, 5 secondsopportunities to run sure and I become good friends with them and it it was like that my last opponent I've got to 8:138 minutes, 13 secondsknow him very well on my last mayoral competition and we communicate from time to time and that's the way it should be 8:228 minutes, 22 secondsdo you think that just comes from a hey we all want Lehi to be better so it's not necessarily A you think just or just 8:308 minutes, 30 secondsjust that Community feel of just loving people I mean I I don't know what do you attribute that to I guess well I think we all just want it to be better sure and and we're not all going to agree of 8:398 minutes, 39 secondscourse as an example last week I actually had lunch with three former mayors and the so Ken Greenwood Bert 8:478 minutes, 47 secondsWilson Ron Smith okay we all got together and went over to Chuck arama and had a great lunch together and 8:548 minutes, 54 secondstalked about leehi and and our policies were all a bit different sure you know what it's we all have the same goal yeah 9:029 minutes, 2 secondsgood I like that I I like that you guys still get together I think that's cool anything you think as far as your background and stuff like that anything 9:099 minutes, 9 secondssurprising you think uh people might not know about you as far as your role outside of Mayor just your personal life and stuff like that something that would 9:179 minutes, 17 secondsbe surprising or just that people I I don't know if anything that would be actually C any catch anybody by surprise sure I've gotten to know a lot of people 9:269 minutes, 26 secondsin town and so I think that means they've gotten to know me I'm I like to remain pretty active in the community I like to do a lot of bike riding whenever 9:359 minutes, 35 secondsI can so I get out and do that working hard is not uncommon for me I like to spend time at my business and at the 9:439 minutes, 43 secondscity I'm generally somewhere between 45 and 60 hours a week between my personal 9:519 minutes, 51 secondsbusiness and the city and that's all good because I was taught to work hard and and yeah I don't know what what else 9:599 minutes, 59 secondsI'd do with my life if I wasn't working it's good to work I agree work hard yes so then tell me you know so that's maybe something a lot of people maybe a lot of 10:0810 minutes, 8 secondspeople know this but let's assume some don't that a mayor isn't necessarily like a full-time obviously you said you have a business still too and stuff like that so it's not this is the only thing 10:1710 minutes, 17 secondsyou do and stuff like that yeah it's a part-time job people ask me what I do for the city and often my response is I'm the parttime help but in reality of 10:2510 minutes, 25 secondscourse it's a lot more than a part-time job at the city I spend far more time at the city than I do at my personal business that doesn't necessarily make 10:3510 minutes, 35 secondssome of my some of the workers I I I work with at my regular job very happy at times because we do have a lot of 10:4210 minutes, 42 secondswork but sure it's all good what it's stressful at times but in the long run it's all 10:4910 minutes, 49 secondsenjoyable now now you mentioned your engineering background too and stuff like that do you think that's obviously Mayors and I Mayors come from different 10:5810 minutes, 58 secondsbackgrounds different different roles that they've played in the community and stuff like that do you think being an engineer really helped you with because obviously a lot of Mayor does planning 11:0511 minutes, 5 secondsand different things like that do you think that was a really good and is that a requirement for a mayor maybe give me your thoughts on that okay and as I 11:1311 minutes, 13 secondsmentioned before I actually have a design degree not an engineering degree but allows me to do a lot of engineering design if you will so that's what I've 11:1911 minutes, 19 secondsdone for 40 close to 45 years now so I've dealt uh with a lot of land planning issues a lot of Road design 11:2811 minutes, 28 secondssystem design utility design and some structural mix in that as well and so I've got a few patents out there on some 11:3711 minutes, 37 secondsof the things I've put together and so it's been a good career but it's also been very helpful because I understand a lot of things 11:4511 minutes, 45 secondsfrom the technical aspect that Mayors have to do there were a few things from the financial aspect when I became mayor that I had to learn at least get a 11:5411 minutes, 54 secondsbetter understanding of but as far as construction and projects Capital you know Capital facilities how utilities 12:0112 minutes, 1 secondwork in town where our water comes from what happens to our sewer those are things I had a I had a really good understanding and so that was very 12:0912 minutes, 9 secondshelpful planning was something I had a good understanding of and what rules need to be followed as far as work that 12:1712 minutes, 17 secondswas done in town construction standards yeah that sort of thing I understood why things are done the way they are okay 12:2412 minutes, 24 secondsokay that's good so not necessarily a prerequisite for a mayor but that did help you I guess a lot help me a lot so okay yeah I came from a different aspect 12:3212 minutes, 32 secondsI remember when Ken Greenwood got mayor or became mayor we we he asked me to go to lunch with him one day and so I did 12:4012 minutes, 40 secondsand we sat down I had known him fairly well before and he told me said Mark he said there's more to this being mayor 12:4712 minutes, 47 secondsthan I ever imagined he said it's a lot harder he says it's I'm going to I'm going to college all over again and I just laughed and so the reason he'd 12:5612 minutes, 56 secondsasked me to lunch is because there were certain things going on that he knew I understood that he didn't understand and so he just wanted to pick my brain a 13:0313 minutes, 3 secondslittle bit and uh see what my thoughts were because he was being told things that he's I'm not I'm just not sure what to think about this so that was a good 13:1113 minutes, 11 secondsopportunity for me uh to sit down and have those conversations with him good so let's move to life in Lehi what obviously you've been here long a long Chapter 6: Economic Growth and Development 13:2013 minutes, 20 secondstime you s and stuff what what do you personally like about Lehi what you mentioned biking and stuff like that but what do you like about Lehi right now i 13:2713 minutes, 27 secondsLehi is it's an easy thing to say Lehi is just a wonderful place to be yeah but in reality it is okay and we're very 13:3513 minutes, 35 secondsfortunate there's many things in this city that has made my job fairly easy okay as an example to that a lot of 13:4413 minutes, 44 secondspeople don't know this we went to a a conference once power conference where Lehigh City was receiving some awards 13:5213 minutes, 52 secondsbecause of uh some things they had done in our we have our own power system and so they' done some unique things and they get some accolades from time to 14:0014 minutestime and so we were invited to this conference and we go to the conference we were asked you guys want to stay for lunch yeah we'll stay for lunch sure we 14:0714 minutes, 7 secondslike to eat we take it it it was it was a very large room we took a table way in the back we were back in the corner 14:1414 minutes, 14 secondsbecause I'm like we need to leave right after this because we were just there for the award ceremony sure and Natalie gner got up to speak she was a keynote 14:2314 minutes, 23 secondsspeaker during lunch and she St talked about the state of Utah and all its Financial strengths 14:3114 minutes, 31 secondsNationwide yeah and it was a very interesting presentation she had a great PowerPoint up and she gets to the end of the her presentation and she goes okay I 14:4014 minutes, 40 secondsgot a question who here is from Lehi and Jason Walker my city administrator and I and Joel Lees who's 14:4714 minutes, 47 secondsthe power director we all look at each other okay so we raise our hands and she goes okay she says I am I want to give the same presentation but I'm going to 14:5614 minutes, 56 secondspull Lehi out of the calculations oh and Utah was still strong yeah but it 15:0315 minutes, 3 secondswasn't obviously not as strong and she goes you guys need to understand that Lehi City is the economic engine of the 15:1215 minutes, 12 secondsstate of Utah wow and that statement completely caught us off guard yeah and 15:1915 minutes, 19 secondsI I realized probably more so at that time than any other that we're pretty 15:2615 minutes, 26 secondsfortunate here in Lehi because I knew in with all the other Mayors and and and I work with all the Mayors not only in this County but several up north and 15:3415 minutes, 34 secondsthat how fortunate we are because of all the financial issues they have to deal with that often we're not dealing with 15:4315 minutes, 43 secondshere in Lehigh we've got a lot of things going on here that we're just able to do when we need to have them done and so 15:5115 minutes, 51 secondsthat's a wonderful place to be and that's that's not because of me it's just because of what has happened by a matter of circumstance for many years 15:5915 minutes, 59 secondsand so you mentioned the financial so is that because of the tax base of that these businesses and stuff like that or elaborate on that it's it's it's a lot 16:0716 minutes, 7 secondsof that we we do have we're very fortunate because of the businesses that have come in here silicon slopes has has 16:1416 minutes, 14 secondstreated us very well Micron when they came in kicked off something that a lot of people probably didn't anticipate 16:2216 minutes, 22 secondsyeah some did we were told that when Micron established here that they knew that they were going to to be a series 16:2916 minutes, 29 secondsof other large businesses that were going to also establish here and we've seen that's that adobe came yeah 16:3716 minutes, 37 secondsMicrosoft was here there were a number of businesses that just started locating here yeah uh in in Lehigh and then it 16:4516 minutes, 45 secondsbuilds us up to the events of last year where Texas Instruments of course purchased the the Micron plant save that 16:5316 minutes, 53 secondsfacility which we were we did not know until the day they made the announcement that they were going to move on and put 17:0117 minutes, 1 secondit up for sale okay so we were a little nervous about the purchase of it but Texas Instruments came in they purchased it they came in with a commitment to 17:0917 minutes, 9 secondsexpand and so there was there it was it's an 11.6 billion investment in the state of Utah there's nothing been like 17:1717 minutes, 17 secondslike that ever in the state of Utah before nothing has been so so large and so we know that's going to impact us 17:2617 minutes, 26 secondsthat's going to hire a lot of people here in Town those jobs are actually very good paying jobs so that helps in 17:3317 minutes, 33 secondsour economy not to mention to have that much that kind of an investment in Lehi yeah Micron when they came they actually 17:4217 minutes, 42 secondsbuilt a new storm drain line a new sewer line through town uh they built on their 17:4817 minutes, 48 secondsown accord some critical infrastructure for Lehi Texas Instruments is going to expand that wow yeah those are big 17:5717 minutes, 57 secondsthings for us those are great things yeah yeah and why I love that the economic engine of the state of Utah so it's that's well we are we do have a AAA 18:0518 minutes, 5 secondsrating we have we have attained that goal since I've been mayor and I remember the first time we actually reached that goal that was a pinnacle 18:1218 minutes, 12 secondsright there that was important to us that which means for for normal people that means the cost to borrow money is cheaper for us right much cheaper yeah 18:1918 minutes, 19 secondsso yeah we've you will literally save millions of dollars your city just by by increasing that rate just a little bit 18:2718 minutes, 27 secondsand so yeah have that high rating of getting these great ratings when we go in for bonding it's a big benefit to the 18:3418 minutes, 34 secondscitizens of this city oh that's awesome yeah I love that I love that let me I want to keep going on that but I'm GNA 18:4218 minutes, 42 secondsI'm gonna stick to life in Lehigh a little bit more and then let's go we we'll go there but as far as any local Traditions or anything things that Chapter 7: Local Traditions and Events 18:4918 minutes, 49 secondsyou've loved participating in as part of as part of Lehi and things like that oh yeah we always start off with Roundup 18:5618 minutes, 56 secondsright Roundup is a great celebration we all love the parade right the miniature float parade is just it's so unique I I 19:0419 minutes, 4 secondsdon't know of anybody in the state that does that there's probably some we we've heard that there's other cities that want to emulate that yeah uh that's 19:1319 minutes, 13 secondsgreat we love it but that the Roundup Rodeo has been so successful we've extended that to a 4-day rodeo now the 19:2019 minutes, 20 secondstickets always sell out yeah it's become a big problem because scalpers go after those tickets and they I heard numbers in last year 19:2919 minutes, 29 secondsthat were just remarkable me were selling tickets for $15 and scalpers are picking up and they were going for I think I heard around 19:3619 minutes, 36 seconds$175 a seat and I'm like you got to be kidding me that's what I was told somebody seen them online for I'm like they didn't really sell for that much 19:4319 minutes, 43 secondsbut I don't know but uh that's it's a pretty popular event yeah we just have a lot of remarkable events here the 19:5019 minutes, 50 secondsconcerts that Mel bu say puts together for the the summer concerts in the park and for the the Round Up concert we just 19:5919 minutes, 59 secondshad the Bacon Brothers here that was a fantastic event for Leigh city so we have those things going on and we're 20:0620 minutes, 6 secondsseeing our Parks get built so we have some wonderful facilities finally coming about here that's exciting as well yeah 20:1520 minutes, 15 secondsand is where does that money come from then for the parks and stuff like that is that a lot from the fact that all these businesses are relocating here and stuff like that or where or that come 20:2320 minutes, 23 secondsfrom a different tax base or so no the parks comes from the general fund the building them but not all of them we we do have this park tax which passed 20:3120 minutes, 31 secondsrecently that has been that's been very beneficial okay when you look at the new family park facility the playground and 20:3920 minutes, 39 secondsup there that's a $17 million project we had put aside $110 million for that to 20:4520 minutes, 45 secondsbuild the facility but 7 million will come from the Future Park tax that's being that's coming in so that's 20:5320 minutes, 53 secondsimportant and the park tax is a is is is a good tax in the manner that it isn't just Lehi citizens that are paying for 21:0021 minutesit in fact a lot of the money that's being spent in Lehi is from outside sources okay and a small portion of the 21:0821 minutes, 8 secondsmoney that they spent here ends up going to support leh High parks and our culture and recreation and that's important we needed that because for a 21:1721 minutes, 17 secondslong time we were yeah about the time I took mayor while I was on the council we 21:2321 minutes, 23 secondswere land poor to to build Parks now we have three large areas that are Regional Parks right now and so we're watching 21:3121 minutes, 31 secondsFamily Park expand uh meler roads Park is going to come in with new baseball fields and pickle ball courts we're 21:3821 minutes, 38 secondsworking on that right now to raise it that was a park that once we purchased the land we found out it was a large 21:4521 minutes, 45 secondsportion of it was in the flood plane we had to raise it all to be able to build on it sure uh and we we've got all that 21:5321 minutes, 53 secondswork being done for free right now we have a contractor that needed a place to to put all his dirt and he came to the 22:0022 minutescity and said I will dump all my dirt here I'll grade it I'll prep it all for that Future Park wow if you'll just let me dump my dirt there you know yeah 22:0922 minutes, 9 secondsthat's awesome we've had a few deals like that that have been very beneficial they take some time sure but that's okay yeah it's a significant savings well 22:1722 minutes, 17 secondsespecially where I like that both business and and government can work together in that aspect we needed some help and you needed that and so great 22:2422 minutes, 24 secondsthat's yeah it's been a great opportunity for all that's awesome okay okay so moving on to your role as a mayor you said part-time and stuff like 22:3322 minutes, 33 secondsthat tell me what a typical day looks like for you as mayor I don't think there is a typical day every day is a little bit different depending on my 22:4122 minutes, 41 secondsschedule sometimes I'll have city meetings in in the morning sometimes I'll have work related meetings in this in the morning I will usually go into my 22:4922 minutes, 49 secondsregular office first take care of the business there I can do lot of City business there I can respond to all my emails there and that is very helpful 22:5822 minutes, 58 secondsafter take care of some loose ends there and get some work done I'll run down to the city I'll take care of any signings I need to do a lot of people don't 23:0523 minutes, 5 secondsrealize how many signings you have to sure that is as as the executive of the city you you end up signing your name a 23:1323 minutes, 13 secondslot and yeah and I remember one day I I went in the office to do signings and I had 80 different 80 different documents 23:2123 minutes, 21 secondsto sign I that was an estimate I didn't count them all but it was just by the stack I'm like there's about 80 here wow and so I have to go through that at 23:2923 minutes, 29 secondsthere's a number of city meetings that I do but there's also some State related and uh meetings related with uh mag and 23:3823 minutes, 38 secondsuh some of the other planning organizations mag is our Mount Lanza Association of governments that's our Master planning Organization for Utah 23:4623 minutes, 46 secondsCounty and and they also serve a couple other counties as well I have assignments there I have assignments in 23:5223 minutes, 52 secondsUTA I'm on their Advisory Board there there's just a number of obligations I 23:5923 minutes, 59 secondshave that are City related but aren't even actually directly related to City it's not just a city job it's actually 24:0824 minutes, 8 secondsan outside job I have one with the Utah Valley University I'm on their uh College of health and Public Service 24:1624 minutes, 16 secondsBoard there and so I'm involved in making decisions with them and hey we have UV here you here building here we got two of the new big or two of the 24:2524 minutes, 25 secondsbuildings over in Thanksgiving Point are now owned by UVU wow and that's where a lot of training goes on over there so we're excited about that they are too 24:3424 minutes, 34 secondsand tell me what they're doing there what so the the chips program which is as I mentioned the College of health and public service yeah that is they do 24:4224 minutes, 42 secondstraining for they do Dental training for dental assistance there's some medical training that goes on there for the 24:5024 minutes, 50 secondsnursing program and other medical related businesses the police St uh police training goes on there in the 24:5924 minutes, 59 secondsupstairs in one of the buildings they have a training facility now for those who are wanting to be to go into law enforcement okay and man I didn't 25:0625 minutes, 6 secondsencourage anybody to check check into this college up there it's part of UVU because there's a lot of jobs available a lot that's awesome jobs available in 25:1525 minutes, 15 secondsthe medical and law enforcement Fields big needs there and also in the they also cover the fire too so okay okay 25:2225 minutes, 22 secondsyeah so then going back to your job as mayor tell me what are some of the I can tell you love your job which is good but there's got to be some obstacles too Chapter 8: Challenges of Leadership 25:3025 minutes, 30 secondsright there's got to be some some headaches and stuff like that tell me how do you overcome some of those what are some of those talk to me about some of the harder parts of the job that's an 25:3725 minutes, 37 secondseasy one actually okay so uh there's two things first of all in the position that 25:4425 minutes, 44 secondsI hold and the council holds we have to make some decisions sometimes that are just unpopular sure and that's not fun you want to make everybody's life better 25:5325 minutes, 53 secondsyou want to Mak every everybody's life happier but here's the interesting thing as as much as we all love the Constitution gets in the way of that 26:0126 minutes, 1 secondsometimes sure okay you'll have disagreements across boundaries yeah and generally anytime you have that you have 26:0826 minutes, 8 secondsto first consider property rights and who has the prop who has rights here who is the property owner that actually has 26:1526 minutes, 15 secondsrights in this situation and we all we all love the Constitution and we all love the the doctrines that are held 26:2426 minutes, 24 secondsinide of that but property rights are issues we have to deal with with here in the city sure frequently and because of 26:3226 minutes, 32 secondsthat we identify we have to identify okay what are the rights of this property owner and what are the protections through the zoning laws to 26:4026 minutes, 40 secondsthe neighbors and I there's a class that I teach a little bit on our Citizens 26:4726 minutes, 47 secondsAcademy our local government Academy things that we've started up here and I get a teach a portion about that and it's that that property rights are 26:5426 minutes, 54 secondsspecific to the property owner neighbors have protections which are different than rights they have protections granted to them through the zoning laws 27:0327 minutes, 3 secondsokay and if we're doing our job right we have to analyze that it also makes some people unhappy when that happens yeah 27:1127 minutes, 11 secondsthe other thing that is really difficult is a social media makes our job pretty difficult sometimes okay there's often 27:1927 minutes, 19 secondssome misinformation that goes out there it it gets legs and and when you try to 27:2527 minutes, 25 secondscorrect that with with the truth sometimes is not only difficult sometimes it's just impossible to happen 27:3427 minutes, 34 secondsbecause a lot of people they're they they hear rumors yeah they hear conspiracies those conspiracies become 27:4327 minutes, 43 secondstheir reality they infect their imagination and their imagination becomes their reality fair enough and it's really hard to have that 27:5127 minutes, 51 secondsconversation with people and said about okay you need to understand what the truth is here because it's it's hard to get that out and a lot of people frankly 27:5927 minutes, 59 secondsthey don't care about the truth they care about emotions Fair yeah I and I think obviously I live in Lehi and I I remember seeing some stuff on social 28:0828 minutes, 8 secondsmedia about the family park and stuff like that that was one of the worst cases i' SE I about that okay I wonder referring to yeah that was well that's not the only one I'm there multiple yeah 28:1728 minutes, 17 secondsbut that is a very good example of some of information getting out there that was just inaccurate yeah 28:2528 minutes, 25 secondsand that that took off and the city still had to make decisions yeah and it was the sad thing about it 28:3428 minutes, 34 secondsis is our our Park staff and our Public Works had put so much effort into 28:4128 minutes, 41 secondsgetting that Park open so we could enjoy it before it turned cold yeah and there were some other decisions unfortunately 28:4828 minutes, 48 secondsthat just hadn't been made yet there was some hours of operation we didn't know what they would be because because the 28:5628 minutes, 56 secondsManpower involved we have to pay for that yeah and a lot of people were like why you fence and and why can't we just go there whenever we want like any other 29:0429 minutes, 4 secondsPark and because it's a$ 177 million investment because we spent a lot of money here and unfortunately one of the biggest 29:1229 minutes, 12 secondsproblems we deal with in the city is vandalism okay and right off the bat we had vandalism up there because people 29:2029 minutes, 20 secondsfor whatever reason think that's okay sure not all people but there are a few out there that do yeah and they can 29:2829 minutes, 28 secondscause a lot of damage really quick and it's unfortunate but it is a reality and we have to deal with that the other 29:3529 minutes, 35 secondsissue up there was the fact that this was it is an all abilities Park and when we went to some of the the the better 29:4529 minutes, 45 secondsfunctioning all abilities Park they told us it's important to fence it and have one entry in and out where people can so 29:5329 minutes, 53 secondsif you lose somebody if you have a child that gets might get confused or just wanders off then the parent can go wait 30:0230 minutes, 2 secondsat that only way out and and catch them so it solves some problems good okay and 30:0930 minutes, 9 secondsso any advice to Citizens on those with the social media thing as far as how they can be better with that so I've 30:1730 minutes, 17 secondswritten about this before okay there's something that if we all practice we'd all look at look at our lives quite a bit differently and that is I like to 30:2530 minutes, 25 secondssay that say say what say what you believe and be willing to say what you don't know and that is a philosophy I've 30:3430 minutes, 34 secondscarried with me for the last several years because I've learned if we go through life and only say what we 30:4130 minutes, 41 secondsactually know what actually is fact-based and has good data to back it up we're going to find out how little we actually know right when we think about 30:5030 minutes, 50 secondsit from that context and it's okay to say okay I believe this there's a difference between know making a statement of what I know and I'm making 30:5830 minutes, 58 secondsa statement all I believe both statements are legitimate right they're important to be able to separate those two yeah and then it's perfectly okay to 31:0731 minutes, 7 secondssay when you don't know something it is it it's that's the way we learn and and I'll catch myself every once in a while I'll go off on something I'm like wait a Chapter 9: Self-Reflection and Truth-Seeking 31:1631 minutes, 16 secondsminute do I really know that what are the details I know about that and in in that process it's just a check and and 31:2431 minutes, 24 secondsif we all check our our attitudes and our thoughts ODS it will help guide us towards what is the truth and what is 31:3231 minutes, 32 secondsthe more important things and we'll we'll learn more in the process so yeah I like that no that's good advice 31:4131 minutes, 41 secondsobviously Lehi has historic Roots right it's a very old town but obviously a lot of growth happening a lot of Chapter 10: Balancing Growth and Tradition in Lehi 31:4931 minutes, 49 secondsmodernization so how do you balance those two things as mayor keeping that small town hey there's horses over there in the pasture kind of thing and look at 31:5631 minutes, 56 secondsthese large buildings too okay I told you I spent a lot of time growing up here in Lei because I had friends here you know I I I I loved motorcycles so 32:0632 minutes, 6 secondsI'd loved I'd love to camp out and we'd come over here in Lehigh you could go find a place to camp out for night up by Dry Creek you could there were people 32:1432 minutes, 14 secondsthat rode a lot of horses up there yeah I when we had motorcycles there were places to ride here it was there were a 32:2232 minutes, 22 secondslot of Open Spaces I there was yeah yeah different time uh but that's pretty much you County in general yeah so you don't 32:3032 minutes, 30 secondsthink that wasn't the case in in American Fork Pleasant Grove or Oram or anywhere along the wasach front because 32:3732 minutes, 37 secondsit was growth happens and a lot of our growth has been external we we have had people move here because it's we've got Chapter 11: Challenges of Managing Growth 32:4632 minutes, 46 secondsa lot going on and so they want to live here the economy is strong that's going to happen it's hard to stop that from happening but what a lot of people don't 32:5432 minutes, 54 secondsrealize a lot of the growth is internal and for many years our the majority of growth by far was internal growth it 33:0233 minutes, 2 secondseither came from people that were just that were born here or people who were raised here went to college and couldn't get a good job here and so they left the 33:1033 minutes, 10 secondsstate to get a good job and then the economy boomed in Utah and so they're moving back but they're actually native utans fair and and I've had to remind 33:1833 minutes, 18 secondspeople in the past that don't think you're not the growth because if you were it didn't matter if you moved here or you were educated here and left and 33:2533 minutes, 25 secondscame back or if you were born here yeah you are the growth and we have to deal with that and it's very hard it's hard Chapter 12: Traffic and Transportation Issues 33:3333 minutes, 33 secondsenough just dealing with the growth here in Lehigh but now from a transportation standpoint we also have to deal with the 33:4033 minutes, 40 secondsgrowth from saratogo Springs and Eagle Mountain sure sure sure because they're they go through us to get there yes they 33:4833 minutes, 48 secondsevery all roads go through Lehigh literally yeah fair enough fair enough and that is the hard part right we love 33:5633 minutes, 56 secondsLehi we want our kids to stay here in Lehi but yeah at the same time then we complain about traffic and stuff like that that's not an easy job to deal with 34:0434 minutes, 4 secondsbecause you're trying to you're trying to balance those two things and I know that's not easy to do and I'm not sure exactly how you do that you're doing it 34:1234 minutes, 12 secondsyou're you're doing a good job with it but we're doing the the best job we can we've we have to deal with UD do and 34:2034 minutes, 20 secondshere is one thing that a lot of people do not understand outside of the UDOT roads we have to take care of the those 34:2834 minutes, 28 secondsthe funding for the those improvements ourselves okay and and I've spent a lot of time back in DC and we've gotten 34:3534 minutes, 35 secondsmoney to help solve some of those problems we're after money right now to also in in and improve some of the other 34:4434 minutes, 44 secondsEast West corridors through Lehigh we believe we'll be successful of that we applied last year we weren't but we seldom successful the first year sure I Chapter 13: Successes and Future Plans 34:5334 minutes, 53 secondsrecognize the problems with traffic of course as much as anybody I have to deal with it too we had a meeting very 35:0135 minutes, 1 secondrecently with UD do that I would say is our most productive meeting I've ever had with them good we've been telling them for 35:1035 minutes, 10 secondsyears that the numbers they're looking at the growth numbers the the projections are wrong that they're using they've agreed with us now okay they've 35:1835 minutes, 18 secondslooked at our numbers and are like now they're agreeing with us and so they're looking at making some improvements here 35:2635 minutes, 26 secondsthat we've been after for a very long time that's great and one of the first things I did as mayor is I hired a trans traffic engineering firm yeah to go 35:3435 minutes, 34 secondsthrough and monitor our traffic and make projections and they actually do computer 35:4135 minutes, 41 secondssimulations we've known what is coming right the problem is doing land acquisition and getting the funding 35:4835 minutes, 48 secondsnecessary to solve those problems ahead of time because that's a very difficult thing to do sure you said there you dos 35:5635 minutes, 56 secondsagreeing with you on some of these things can you elaborate on that or th those you a little okay I don't want to getting you in trouble but as a citizen 36:0436 minutes, 4 secondsthere were a couple projects that we knew were very important to get traffic from out west through town yeah and 36:1236 minutes, 12 secondswe've been we've been talking to uh the state some of our legislators you do and that for a long time you need to be 36:2136 minutes, 21 secondsthinking about this these are what the numbers are and we've identified failures we identifi 21100 that's now going to be a freeway is going to fail 36:2936 minutes, 29 secondswith before long as a freeway if we don't take these other steps to handle some of the more traffic we know is 36:3736 minutes, 37 secondscoming sure and they've come back and they've agreed with us now and so they're actually working on plan to make 36:4436 minutes, 44 secondsconnectivity to I-15 better and connectivity between I-15 and the mountain view corridor better it was a 36:5236 minutes, 52 secondsplan that we've had on the table for a very long time and now that it's at least in the study phase they've agreed this is something we need to address and 37:0037 minutesso that's been a very that's been a big win for us yeah I can see that because things take time to build and so you 37:0837 minutes, 8 secondsneed them to agree with you sooner so that they can start that process sooner right and land just gets more expensive and it gets really expensive once it 37:1537 minutes, 15 secondsgets developed and all land in the area in along the was front is under development pressure so we have to 37:2237 minutes, 22 secondsacquire acquire some of those rideways sooner than later have they talking about roads and stuff like that I know 37:2937 minutes, 29 secondsthere was some talk about Pioneer Crossing or north of the lake doing you like a separate freeway have they made a decision on that yet it's it's on the 37:3837 minutes, 38 secondsmag plan to be studied okay and we when I mentioned we're going to DC for some future funding it's to do improvements 37:4537 minutes, 45 secondson 1900 South okay to connect it to what will become the vineyard connector you've probably heard that term before 37:5237 minutes, 52 secondsthat's an important road to have built we have approval to build two lanes we're working to get approval and we're 37:5937 minutes, 59 secondsworking for funding to and approval to build five Lanes okay to make that more of an effective Corridor and it's 38:0638 minutes, 6 secondsbasically for the people out west yeah so we're trying to deal with that traffic that's not our traffic yeah but 38:1438 minutes, 14 secondswe're carrying the financial burden of that yeah and that's a hard position to be in but just arguing over it isn't 38:2238 minutes, 22 secondsgoing to solve the problem so we've taken the ball the bowl by the horns if you will and we're doing everything we 38:2938 minutes, 29 secondscan to address this problem good on you for a lot of people want to complain about what's fair and what's not fair but that doesn't actually solve the 38:3738 minutes, 37 secondsproblem okay it doesn't get you anywhere it doesn't get you anywhere okay yeah this isn't fair but hey wait it is what it is so we got to fix it and so I love 38:4538 minutes, 45 secondsthat I love the attitude I love that you're aware of some of these things that are problems and that we're trying to fix and stuff as far as your role as 38:5238 minutes, 52 secondsmayor are there any things that you know obviously this you're proud of and stuff like that are there any things that you're super proud of hey during my time 39:0039 minutesI'm really happy we got this to go like anything you can point to or or and you can mention multiple there's there's a lot of things but I'll tell you the one 39:0839 minutes, 8 secondsthat I'm the most proud about is the one that hardly anybody knows about okay tell me yeah several years ago I Chapter 14: Addressing Vaping Among Youth 39:1739 minutes, 17 secondsattended the Utah County Utah County Health meeting and it became very clear to me from some statements that were 39:2639 minutes, 26 secondsmade in that meeting the the problem that vaping is having on our youth here in town it is a significant problem yeah 39:3439 minutes, 34 secondsand I talked we had a legislature attend that meeting and I talked to him after the meeting and I'm like why what is 39:4239 minutes, 42 secondsgoing on with the state that that the laws aren't being passed to help curtail 39:4939 minutes, 49 secondsthis yeah because the problem was and the facts and the data were very clear that the problem that we had in in this 39:5739 minutes, 57 secondsarea and Nationwide is we have kids that are 12 to 16 getting addicted to 40:0440 minutes, 4 secondsnicotine through the vaping process they don't think anything's wrong with that nicotine is a is a very addictive 40:1240 minutes, 12 secondssubstance it's harder to get off than heroin and people don't understand that too and so I just wondered why because 40:2140 minutes, 21 secondsthe way the laws are set up an 18-year-old could go in and buy vaping products and give it to their siblings which is exactly what was going on these 40:3040 minutes, 30 secondsyoung kids were getting the stuff purchased by their older siblings who were 18 in 19 and didn't know didn't understand what the problem was with 40:3940 minutes, 39 secondsdoing that and so I brought that back to my Council because the legislature after the meeting said I don't see a reason you can't create your own local 40:4740 minutes, 47 secondsordinance so I came back to our legislators my local legislators my Council and I said look I want to pass 40:5540 minutes, 55 secondsthis ordinance I said I want want to just do this in Lehi because the state of Utah had been trying to pass a similar ordinance for seven years they 41:0441 minutes, 4 secondswere on their eighth year they had another bill up on the hill at that time yeah trying to pass trying to curtail this problem I'm like I don't see why 41:1141 minutes, 11 secondsthis is that difficult yeah so the council agreed with me they voted unanimously we took it and passed it Cedar Hills did the same thing mayor Ree 41:1941 minutes, 19 secondsand Cedar Hills also was at that meeting so I passed our our ordinance then they went and passed their ordinance 41:2841 minutes, 28 secondsand our state legislators came unglued they're like you don't have any right to do this we're trying to address this at the state and I'm like you've been 41:3541 minutes, 35 secondstrying to address this you're on your eighth year yeah and you keep caving to the tobacco lobbyist yeah I'm like guys 41:4341 minutes, 43 secondsthis this doesn't make any sense what so I'm like I did it and so we got called up mayor Ree and I got called up to this 41:5041 minutes, 50 secondslegislature interesting and we got called in I think they wanted I think they wanted to beat us down a little bit and they said we just we you you're 41:5841 minutes, 58 secondscreating a a patchwork quilt across the state and we can't have this we can't have cities passing this law that is different from City to city and we're 42:0642 minutes, 6 secondslike we'll fix it yeah they said we can't get through our the tobacco Lobby is so strong I can't get the other legislators on B and this was in the 42:1442 minutes, 14 secondshouse and representative Leon was uh was the sponsor of this bill and we met with him and he said look if you can get 42:2242 minutes, 22 secondsother members of the house to co-sponsor this bill with the changes you want and have at it but I said I don't think 42:2942 minutes, 29 secondsyou're going to get him mayor Ree and I started working all the legislators that day up on the hill we got I think it was 42:3742 minutes, 37 seconds42 co-sponsors wow in the House of Representatives the state of Utah to sponsor the changes that we won the bill 42:4442 minutes, 44 secondsthat mimicked the bill we just passed in our cities yeah 40 if it's 42 and that was almost everybody almost 42:5242 minutes, 52 secondsbecause once a couple K Christ offerson jumped on Corey Malloy jumped a lot of our local legislators jumped on and when they jumped on the other legislators 42:5942 minutes, 59 secondslook at it and they're like oh we can't not do this sure yeah yeah we got to jump on this way so they all start jumping on it and now sudden it has all 43:0743 minutes, 7 secondsthese co-sponsors I had friends that are senators in the Senate and they're like oh we're not going to let we're not going to let the cities control this 43:1543 minutes, 15 secondsthey said we're not voting I had two local Representatives tell me there is no way we're going to let this get through yeah so then they called me in 43:2243 minutes, 22 secondsto testify at the senate committee on this issue and I went up and testified why this was important and 43:3043 minutes, 30 secondsevidently guilt must have a powerful effect sure because by the time I was done the Senators that said there's no 43:3843 minutes, 38 secondsway we're going to vote in favor of this voted in favor of this because they knew from a moral issue right it's you know 43:4643 minutes, 46 secondsyeah and I had some Senators upset but afterwards then all sudden everybody wanted to be on board that passed 43:5343 minutes, 53 secondsthrough the committee passed to the Senate P or of course passed in the house because there's so many sponsors passed at the Senate we had a new bill 44:0244 minutes, 2 secondsand then it got n national attention and some of the federal Senators started 44:1144 minutes, 11 secondssaying we need to do the same thing on the federal level so it went right up the ladder from right here started right here in Le just start yeah yeah I would 44:1944 minutes, 19 secondsbe proud of that too good job that's awesome that's and I love that yeah it was and a lot of people when I bring up 44:2744 minutes, 27 secondswhen I bring up that bill people are like what is that bill and I'm yeah it was the one about vaping and it just meant that you couldn't purchase the 44:3644 minutes, 36 secondsproducts until you're 21 yeah but the studies clearly showed that if you're 21 you do not pass that stuff on to your 44:4344 minutes, 43 secondssiblings or other kids your friends but 18 you're still 18 you're still May in high school because you're still part of that group right yeah you're still part 44:5044 minutes, 50 secondsof that group and so you're want you're still trying to be friends with everybody but the the data was really clear once you hit 21 you are not going 44:5944 minutes, 59 secondsto pass it you realize the the dangers in in nicotine so wow those years matter good job that's awesome I love that 45:0745 minutes, 7 secondsstory that's really good future we love to think about the future and stuff like that tell me where do you see Lehi in 5 Chapter 15: Future Vision for Lehi 45:1545 minutes, 15 secondsto 10 years in 5 to 10 years I'm hoping we have an updated Master Transportation 45:2345 minutes, 23 secondsplan okay that has been bought into from mag and the state and our state legislators so when I say State UD do 45:3145 minutes, 31 secondsand the state legislators and everybody recognizes the transportation problem we have here and the state is working to 45:4145 minutes, 41 secondssolve that and that also includes Transit by the way okay so yeah we have to bring Transit around the point of the mountain it is an effective mechanism to 45:5045 minutes, 50 secondsreduce the traffic on I-15 sure so we do need it and when you say Transit you're not talking like front runner that's we had front runner and I'm talking about 45:5945 minutes, 59 secondslight rail okay because the and Transit is great when it's double track that's going to be great when it comes every 15 minutes people are going you're going to 46:0646 minutes, 6 secondssee ridership go up but we also need light rail and brt the uvx over in orm improval has been very successful over 46:1546 minutes, 15 secondsthere the Ogden brt line which is bus Rapid Transit it's a dedicated bus line has been is showing to be successful up 46:2446 minutes, 24 secondsthere okay we're okay with with our trans it in Utah County being brt the state wants to make it light rail like it is in Salt Lake I don't really care 46:3346 minutes, 33 secondsone way or another I know both of them are effective at what we need to have done okay other aspects of that 5 to 10 46:4046 minutes, 40 secondsyear plan so mentioned transportation and stuff like that what do you see as far as growth with you know businesses 46:4846 minutes, 48 secondsmore businesses still come in here and stuff like that National businesses local businesses the only thing that's going to curtail businesses from locating in Lehigh which is generally 46:5746 minutes, 57 secondstheir first choice is land availability okay because it's hard for them to find the parcel that they want and need so 47:0447 minutes, 4 secondsit's spreading out which is good sure it's good to see it's good to see the development in in Pleasant Grove and American Fork over by the freeway now 47:1147 minutes, 11 secondsand see that all develop out that's good well we're we're we like that to have happen we like to see the effect that an 47:1947 minutes, 19 secondseffective fiber system has happened in duchaine and Roosevelt and vernal right there's a reason we brought strata to 47:2547 minutes, 25 secondsLehi to install our fiber here it's because it's been a home run for those people out there we have people that have jobs on the wasid front that live 47:3447 minutes, 34 secondsout there and they just do it all remotely interes right so having fiber here is will be a very big thing for us and it's proven to be be very popular 47:4347 minutes, 43 secondsfor those people who are hooking up to it it's close to my area but not yet everybody think the mayor will get it first I'm no I don't I'm at the end here 47:5247 minutes, 52 secondssomewhere and that's okay gotcha okay yeah so cuz the fibers helped those other areas those those remote areas right you're saying cuz cuz it's cheaper 47:5947 minutes, 59 secondsout there to live that's you got you got land out there you can buy and they if they can REM work remotely they're out there but it helps us too there's the 48:0848 minutes, 8 secondsthose against fiber being city-owned fiber government owned fiber they they don't fully understand the importance of 48:1548 minutes, 15 secondsit uh not everybody has an opportunity here in just in our community to have a good internet connection and that's been 48:2348 minutes, 23 secondsthe case for quite a while now no place gave a better argument in regards to the importance of fiber than the school 48:3148 minutes, 31 secondsdistrict during covid oh sure they could clearly tell which kids had good internet connection at their home and 48:3948 minutes, 39 secondswho didn't it was very obvious to them and that was eye openening to me because 48:4648 minutes, 46 secondswe have providers that would only provide service where it was to their economic Advantage but around here we 48:5348 minutes, 53 secondshave an obligation to everybody and it just me even though nationally our our federal legislators 49:0249 minutes, 2 secondshaven't made the commitment to say fiber is a utility yeah it's a it's a utility it is it is the delay there is 49:1049 minutes, 10 secondspolitically driven by those who just don't want to have it called a utility but in reality we've learned having 49:1749 minutes, 17 secondsinternet connection having that communication resource is as important as having water come to your home or sewer leaving your home or a 49:2549 minutes, 25 secondstransportation system this is important and so then that's the main reason that you guys did that is cu it helps get good internet to everyone cuz you're 49:3349 minutes, 33 secondssaying some of us CU I know like our internet went from Fast to even faster but it wasn't like we already had pretty good internet but I but you're saying 49:4149 minutes, 41 secondsnot everybody has right no not everybody has you know and so that was the benefit of doing this to so that way everybody has this access and stuff okay yeah we 49:4849 minutes, 48 secondshad people trying to do anything to get on whatever system they could find whether they could do it over the air and I had copper to my house but I 49:5749 minutes, 57 secondsdidn't have heavy copper and so I was paying for 60 60 Megs of service and I 50:0450 minutes, 4 secondswas lucky to get four to seven okay I was testing it all the time y y and it's just not effective so yeah you're really 50:1250 minutes, 12 secondsokay that makes more sense so anything else as far as uh 5 to 10 year plan anything else that's uh coming in that 50:1950 minutes, 19 secondsfuture that that you can speak of we do have we we are anticipating we'll have four uh different hospitals here in town we got three now 50:2750 minutes, 27 secondsokay University Utah has purchased land and so with some interest in doing something there and to say that city of 50:3650 minutes, 36 secondsLehigh Primary Children's Hospital is a big thing right and we got the Holy Cross hospital we have the mountain star 50:4350 minutes, 43 secondsemergency room there over on Redwood Road that's ours to have those facilities here that's really big time that's that's a big thing for Lehigh and 50:5250 minutes, 52 secondswe we anticipate there's just going to be continued interest here in Lehigh and along the I-15 Corridor and unfortunately people are going to hate 51:0151 minutes, 1 secondto hear this but it is going to I think will continue to see that grow yeah yeah which I think Spencer Cox said the only 51:0951 minutes, 9 secondsway to not grow is to suck as a state so that's the downside is hey we're doing well and so that's a a byproduct is that 51:1751 minutes, 17 secondsis people want to live here or or stay here you know exactly and uh and frankly I'd love for my kids to to want to buy houses here locally yeah we we have to 51:2551 minutes, 25 secondssolve the housing uh problem it is a legitimate problem yeah and there's a lot of people who live on on third acre half acre 1acre 51:3451 minutes, 34 secondslots I'm on a half acre but the time that was just available things like that are are just difficult nowadays and any 51:4251 minutes, 42 secondsof us that have children that are looking for homes and even those that are not our children I've had people sit in my 51:4951 minutes, 49 secondsoffice in tears because their kids can't afford anything here and that's it's tough and it's sad and it's sad mostly 51:5951 minutes, 59 secondsbecause of these kids if they can't get into a home and build equity in the future they're going to have a very hard 52:0752 minutes, 7 secondstime success financially succeeding 100% agree and we all want that for our children we don't want to move them back in with us right no and we want that we 52:1652 minutes, 16 secondswant them to experience the American dream and it is hard when we have so many people who don't want any more 52:2452 minutes, 24 secondsgrowth they want us to just stop the growth and I'm like that's inherently I'm just going to say it that seems a little bit unfair sure cuz a lot of 52:3252 minutes, 32 secondspeople have done very good with their own personal real estate here in town over the years and and that was just not 52:3952 minutes, 39 secondsnecessarily their doing it was the doing of the popularity of Lehi in the wasat front yeah and I in my own profession 52:4752 minutes, 47 secondsthat I I I see that all the time with home ownership solves a lot of problems for a lot of people as far as wealth 52:5552 minutes, 55 secondscreation and stuff like that and not even wealth in the sense of like rich but like just to be okay you know what I mean just to be in a good spot it's the 53:0253 minutes, 2 secondsone thing that can hedge you against future inflation yes yes agreed no it and are there things I know because this 53:1053 minutes, 10 secondsis a national problem right this isn't specific just to Lehi but are there things that we're doing I are there things that you're trying to do because 53:1853 minutes, 18 secondsagain I know this problem is bigger than maybe your tool belt can handle but are there things that we're doing to try to help solve that and stuff like that we 53:2753 minutes, 27 secondshope so okay so here the the state legislators are always bringing forth new legislation I've been in battled with 53:3653 minutes, 36 secondsthem on some of that not all of it sure because some of it does it's lacking the infrastructure necessary to support it 53:4453 minutes, 44 secondsright sure if we build homes that we don't have we can't deliver water yeah yeah we're going to have some problems right yeah there's another problem you're going to have to deal with and so 53:5353 minutes, 53 secondsI'm always encouraging the state to develop new water resources and and delivery to get them here where the growth is occurring and that's that's 54:0154 minutes, 1 secondsomething that has to be worked on a lot there's some of those rules that are 54:0854 minutes, 8 secondsthat are being put on the cities are just going to be difficult to follow for some cities Lehi we're trying to do our best we're 54:1754 minutes, 17 secondsbalance it the best way we can being sensitive to the growth but still trying to create the housing that is under 54:2554 minutes, 25 secondsdemand by our by our economy and the number of jobs we have here available that's tough but we've done a pretty 54:3454 minutes, 34 secondsgood job people don't realize they think you're building all this high density housing they don't understand that over 80% of our housing are single family 54:4354 minutes, 43 secondshomes on single family lots the number of Condominiums and number of town homes and rentals we have here in Leigh is not 54:5054 minutes, 50 secondsthat high that they see it out West that's where most of them have been built but in general terms no we still focus on single family 54:5954 minutes, 59 secondshousing right and I I think that's an important thing good good good job with that I know again that's something that 55:0855 minutes, 8 secondsyeah a lot of people we need more Homes at the same time people have a hard time with that high intensity stuff too it's a balancing act and I I think you're 55:1555 minutes, 15 secondsdoing good there tell me for somebody so a lot of us love this city that we live in and stuff like that not all of us can serve on a city council or mayor or Chapter 16: Community Involvement and Advice 55:2455 minutes, 24 secondssomething like that although some people listening may want to do that and stuff like that but I guess what advice would you have to just members of the 55:3155 minutes, 31 secondscommunity to ways that they can help make this community better or ways that they can help serve or or do different things there I guess any advice for that 55:3955 minutes, 39 secondsyeah there I do there's there's a number of things we have going on here in town we have we have different organizations 55:4655 minutes, 46 secondsthat you can join like the historical group we have the Arts Council we have we have a lot of things going on that 55:5455 minutes, 54 secondsare that where we news help like the environmental sustainability committee right from time to time we have openings 56:0156 minutes, 1 secondthere you're right it's sometimes it's hard to be on the Planning Commission because we like to get we like to get people that are spread out in different areas of town but we like to get people 56:1056 minutes, 10 secondswith different backgrounds on that sure there's just not many and people who get on that those committees like to be there for a while yeah and uh that's 56:1856 minutes, 18 secondsunderstandable it's it's a pretty heavy investment but there's also there's great opportunities around town to just serve in different aspects I our our day 56:2756 minutes, 27 secondsof service day which is centers around the 911 events it's turned into a big 56:3456 minutes, 34 secondsthing A lot of people are stepping up to serve and help on that day we get a lot done good and we've just done it three 56:4256 minutes, 42 secondsyears now and we just every year it just gets better but there's so much there's a lot of people who just want to give in 56:4956 minutes, 49 secondsthis town and serve in some way and we're trying to do a better job of getting that information out there where 56:5556 minutes, 55 secondsand how you can serve sure and so yeah there there are opportunities best thing you can do in this town is just be kind to one another 57:0457 minutes, 4 secondssure and try to help offer charity when you can and be kind to your neighbors and helps out if there's a problem somewhere let us know okay as we're 57:1257 minutes, 12 secondsconcluding here any advice you would give to new residents somebody moves here they're new to the community and stuff like that any advice you would 57:2157 minutes, 21 secondsgive to that new person to how they can better fit into the community really enjoy this kind of experience here High sure you want to be accl into our 57:2957 minutes, 29 secondslifestyle here I don't know if that's the right word or not but there's a lot of there's a lot of sports programs here if you're if you want your kids in that 57:3857 minutes, 38 secondswe have we have two of the best soccer clubs here and they got a great facility up at family park we do have some great 57:4557 minutes, 45 secondsbaseball fields and as mentioned earlier we're working on more of those another six complex of those there's that we 57:5357 minutes, 53 secondshave a lot of events like just uh a couple weeks ago we had the holiday parade right down here on Main Street yeah participate in that find a way 58:0158 minutes, 1 secondvolunteer for Roundup days step in that's the best way to get to know people right just volunteer for one of those programs you'll get to know people 58:0958 minutes, 9 secondsreal fast and yeah because they they're always looking for volunteers for those types of events and come to the Arts in 58:1658 minutes, 16 secondsthe Parks come to some of the events that we have because I had mentioned our Recreation our events uh gal uh malb 58:2558 minutes, 25 secondsdoesn't excellent job of just making sure there's always some event going on around town there's a bunch right if you start paying attention there's things 58:3458 minutes, 34 secondsfor families and kids and everything to do start going to those and if there's an opportunity volunteer volunteer right 58:4258 minutes, 42 secondswe need your help yeah no I love that and and is there a central place they can go or or you mentioned some of the clubs or different things social media 58:5058 minutes, 50 secondsor I guess the the lehi's website or yeah all of the above the The Ledger that comes out with your utility bill has information in it every month you 58:5958 minutes, 59 secondscan go to the Lehi website you can go to the Lehi City social media page you will see frequent postings there about what's 59:0659 minutes, 6 secondsgoing on and things you can be involved in yeah get familiar with those Outlets good and and another thing if for those people who are listening make sure you 59:1559 minutes, 15 secondssign up for some of the in you know emergency information okay sure that's out there because if we have some kind 59:2259 minutes, 22 secondsof natural disaster and everything you can get those reverse calls back and and get notified of things that are going on 59:2959 minutes, 29 secondsyeah love it okay thank you for coming on thank you for having me you know it I I do love this community I'm we've been Chapter 17: Conclusion and Final Thoughts 59:3859 minutes, 38 secondshere a long time now I didn't grow up here but but we've loved it here and it's our kids this is all they've known you know so this is home for them and 59:4659 minutes, 46 secondsand I just love what what's going on I think you're doing a very good job I appreciate it very much sometimes I don't know if I am but well again yeah 59:5459 minutes, 54 secondslike you said you're at some times you are going to make some people unhappy right but but you're it's good to know that we got good people doing their best and I think that's really what matters 1:00:031 hour, 3 secondsthat that trying to make this place a little bit better well we got a lot of good people here we a really do in Lehi and that I've been really impressed with 1:00:101 hour, 10 secondsjust with people I meet and some of the things I do like you with this podcast awesome opportunity for people yeah no it's just all trying to do the same 1:00:191 hour, 19 secondsthing right make make it a better place to live yep and no this is perfect okay thanks uh mayor for coming on and we'll 1:00:261 hour, 26 secondswe'll see you next time okay thanks Ryan thanks thank you for joining us on roots and branches of Lehi I hope today's story helped you feel a little more 1:00:341 hour, 34 secondsconnected to the people who make up our community remember every person here has a unique story and together we're what makes Lehi feel like home if you know 1:00:431 hour, 43 secondssomeone who would be a great fit for this podcast please fill out the form in the show notes so we can reach out and schedule an interview we'd love to hear 1:00:511 hour, 51 secondsfrom you a big thank you to our sponsors the work Harding Home Mortgage team and play Harding night vacation rentals for supporting this show and helping us 1:00:581 hour, 58 secondsbring our community closer together until next time keep growing those roots and reaching out to your branches take 1:01:051 hour, 1 minute, 5 secondscare
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Browse more episodes from this showContinue the conversation about Lehi's growth with Paige Albrecht's path to civic service and Lara Bangerter's work preserving Lehi's history.