Wednesday, May 2, 2012
If you have concerns about the overgrowth of weeds, dead trees, or any other concerns pertaining to the Highland City open spaces and our city budget, please make sure to attend the Highland City Budget Open House. There currently is no money in the budget for weed control according to our city engineer. City Council must approve money to be spent and the Budget Open House is a perfect opportunity for you to let your voice be heard. City council members will be available to speak to and many opportunities to review the budget and learn about the budget proposals and how they will affect you. The following is the Highland City announcement:
Community and Budget Open House
May 3, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM @ City Hall
Highland City is holding a FREE Community and Budget Open House on May 3, 2012 from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Highland City Hall. Let your opinion be heard regarding proposed budget cuts by some members of the City Council including: •Elimination of funding for the Highland Fling •Reduction of Police and Fire Services •Reducing the level of maintenance of parks, open space, trails, and cemetery including personnel, equipment, weed control, fertilizer, sprinkler repairs, etc. •Increasing the open space fee from $20.00 to $30.00 per month •Creating funds to begin a “Shop Highland” an economic development program. •Reducing the number of paid employees in the Library by half We invite you to attend and provide your input on these and other budget cuts. There will be carnival games, performances by the Lone Peak High School Jazz Band, prizes, food, and more! For a comprehensive list of the proposed cuts and to review the draft budget please go to: www.highlandcity.org.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Voting and Open Space Committee Update
This year we have a unique opportunity to make a difference through exercising our rights by voting. This year there is likely to be a low turnout because there is not a presidential election. I am encouraging you to get out and vote on November 8th, 2011. You can make a difference! Please take the time to prepare and educate yourself on the best candidate for you. I personally am supporting Tim Irwin, the only Open Space Resident City Council candidate. While I am generally not a political person, having volunteered on several city committees, I know that getting involved makes a difference.
As many of you are aware, the Highland City Open Space Steering Committee has been placed on hold because of the struggles the open space representatives were faced with a lack of action from the city. Scott Smith, a current City Council member had worked quite diligently with this committee and offered some significant support. Many people have voiced their dissatisfaction and concerns about open spaces and as I have participated on this committee and I have brought those concerns to the city. I feel Scott Smith as done an exceptional job, and now more than ever, I feel that we need a City Council representative that understands and is affected by the decisions made related to the open spaces.
The mayor sent out a bulletin in the September utilities bill referring to subsidizing the open spaces. I have been greatly troubled by this response. The majority of our open spaces are also Highland City parks and trails, not unique to the open space development that they are a part of. Many persons from non-open space developments as well as non-Highland City residents have enjoyed these parks and trails, not just open space residents. This is only one of the concerns from open space neighborhoods that has been addressed time and time again. The following letter submitted to the mayor by an open space resident addresses this concern specifically and reiterates the importance of having a City Council representative that understands and is directly affected by the decisions they make:
""Dear Mayor Ritchie,
I read the recent newsletter and am a bit confused by your calculations regarding the pressurized irrigation and open space fees. I will explain my interpretation of these figures and hopefully you can answer my questions.
You say a resident that is on an acre lot pays $30.28 for pressurized irrigation and nothing to the open space fee.
A resident on .25 of an acre pays $16.88 for pressurized irrigation and $20.00 to open space.
You claim that $13.40 of the $20.00 open space fee needs to cover the difference of an acre for pressurized irrigation. This does not make sense to me.
A .25 of an acre resident pays proportionally twice as much as an acre resident for PI.
I understand that you have 4 residents (.25 of an acre each) paying $16.88 each for PI which totals $67.52 for an acre for PI. This is more than double what one resident pays for one acre. I would assume that having 4 houses on one acre would have less space to water and use less pressurized irrigation than one house on an acre with a lot of yard.
I don't see how there can be a shortage given my interpretation of the figures you presented. If $30.28 covers the PI fee for each acre, you are collecting that much and more per acre. If this amount does not cover the PI fees, than that needs to be addressed. The higher density residents pay more per acre in PI fees than the one acre residents and the additional amount that the higher density residents pay in PI fees should cover the PI fees in the open space area, eliminating taking out PI fees from the open space fee.
I do not understand how you feel that all residents subsidize the open space when only some are paying for it. I live in a higher density neighborhood and have yet to see the majority of our open space developed. I believe there is 14 acres undeveloped and you can't tell me that the $20 per month collected from over 150 residents in the neighborhood can't cover the costs of maintaining the open space of natural vegetation and little bit that has been developed.
Sincerely,
Jennifer P.""
While this letter is just a small part of the concerns Open Space residents have, you can see that there is still a lot of work to be done. Please, get out and vote! I would also strongly encourage you to attend the City Council debate this evening at 7:00 p.m. at Highland City Hall. Bring your questions and learn about the candidates positions and how their positions will affect you. If you need more information, please follow this link http://highlandcity.org/index.aspx?NID=267.
Sincerely,
Kristi V.
As many of you are aware, the Highland City Open Space Steering Committee has been placed on hold because of the struggles the open space representatives were faced with a lack of action from the city. Scott Smith, a current City Council member had worked quite diligently with this committee and offered some significant support. Many people have voiced their dissatisfaction and concerns about open spaces and as I have participated on this committee and I have brought those concerns to the city. I feel Scott Smith as done an exceptional job, and now more than ever, I feel that we need a City Council representative that understands and is affected by the decisions made related to the open spaces.
The mayor sent out a bulletin in the September utilities bill referring to subsidizing the open spaces. I have been greatly troubled by this response. The majority of our open spaces are also Highland City parks and trails, not unique to the open space development that they are a part of. Many persons from non-open space developments as well as non-Highland City residents have enjoyed these parks and trails, not just open space residents. This is only one of the concerns from open space neighborhoods that has been addressed time and time again. The following letter submitted to the mayor by an open space resident addresses this concern specifically and reiterates the importance of having a City Council representative that understands and is directly affected by the decisions they make:
""Dear Mayor Ritchie,
I read the recent newsletter and am a bit confused by your calculations regarding the pressurized irrigation and open space fees. I will explain my interpretation of these figures and hopefully you can answer my questions.
You say a resident that is on an acre lot pays $30.28 for pressurized irrigation and nothing to the open space fee.
A resident on .25 of an acre pays $16.88 for pressurized irrigation and $20.00 to open space.
You claim that $13.40 of the $20.00 open space fee needs to cover the difference of an acre for pressurized irrigation. This does not make sense to me.
A .25 of an acre resident pays proportionally twice as much as an acre resident for PI.
I understand that you have 4 residents (.25 of an acre each) paying $16.88 each for PI which totals $67.52 for an acre for PI. This is more than double what one resident pays for one acre. I would assume that having 4 houses on one acre would have less space to water and use less pressurized irrigation than one house on an acre with a lot of yard.
I don't see how there can be a shortage given my interpretation of the figures you presented. If $30.28 covers the PI fee for each acre, you are collecting that much and more per acre. If this amount does not cover the PI fees, than that needs to be addressed. The higher density residents pay more per acre in PI fees than the one acre residents and the additional amount that the higher density residents pay in PI fees should cover the PI fees in the open space area, eliminating taking out PI fees from the open space fee.
I do not understand how you feel that all residents subsidize the open space when only some are paying for it. I live in a higher density neighborhood and have yet to see the majority of our open space developed. I believe there is 14 acres undeveloped and you can't tell me that the $20 per month collected from over 150 residents in the neighborhood can't cover the costs of maintaining the open space of natural vegetation and little bit that has been developed.
Sincerely,
Jennifer P.""
While this letter is just a small part of the concerns Open Space residents have, you can see that there is still a lot of work to be done. Please, get out and vote! I would also strongly encourage you to attend the City Council debate this evening at 7:00 p.m. at Highland City Hall. Bring your questions and learn about the candidates positions and how their positions will affect you. If you need more information, please follow this link http://highlandcity.org/index.aspx?NID=267.
Sincerely,
Kristi V.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Highland Hills Open Space
Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 26th at 6:00 p.m. the Highland City Open Space Steering Committee will be reviewing the unimproved open spaces eligible to participate in the Open Space Maintenance Agreement. Please let your representative know if you are interested in participating.
Looking for Volunteers
Highland Hills, Chamberry Fields, and Mercer Hollow will soon be without any representation on the Highland City Open Space Steering Committee. If you are interested in helping improve our open spaces, contact Emily Gillingwater at 801-756-5751 or email her at emily@highlandcity.org. Volunteer today! We need you!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Upcoming Open Space Public Forum
On Monday, May 9th, at 6:00 p.m. there will be a public forum to listen to the comments and concerns of open space deveopment residents in regard to their open spaces. The Open Space Steering Committee is a recommending body and will be presenting this public forum to take input on concerns. Are you concerned about maintenance? How about trials or parks? Perhaps the open space fee? Are you concerned with the upcoming budget proposal alloting little money for open space? Whatever your concerns, they want to hear from you. Along with presenting your concerns, they would love to hear your suggestions for resolving those concerns. Do you have an appreciation for other parts of open space? They'd like to hear about that too. Once this input is received, it will help futher direct the committees actions on progressing through resolving our open space concerns and providing those recommendations to the City Council and the city Administration. They want to hear from you! See you Monday!
Friday, April 15, 2011
City Council and the Arbor Day Tree Sale
The Highland City Open Space Steering Committee has been reviewing all 18 open space neighborhoods and will be reviewing our 3 developments soon. The first one to be reviewed will be Chamberry Fields this Tuesday, April 19th. The purpose of this City Council review is to lift the moratorium on participation in the Open Space Maintenance Agreement (OSMA). What does this mean? It means that those backing unimproved open space can participate in the OSMA by improving the area adjacent to their property. This area will still remain city property. This agreement will allow homeowners to eliminate the "natural vegetation (weeds)" in open space adjacent to their property that has been permitted in the Highland City Development Code for Open Space Developments. Highland Hills and Mercer Hollow will be reviewed by the Open Space Steering Committee sometime in May. After the committee has reviewed the neighborhoods, their recommendations will go to City Council for their approval of lifting the moratorium Watch for more information to follow soon.
Prior to the Open Space Steering Committee review, there will be an opportunity for you to meet with your representative(s). We will need signatures from as many residents as possible, whether or not you are eligible to participate in the OSMA, as to whether or not you support the OSMA. Also, we will need to know who is interested in participating if you are eligible.
We would also like to send our sincere appreciation and deep gratitude to Carol K. who has worked tirelessly on the City's Open Space Committee to help improve our open spaces. Thank you Carol and we wish you the best in your relocation! For those in Highland Hills, any questions or concerns can be redirected to Kristi V. or Doug C. on the Open Space Committee at this time until a new Open Space Committee volunteer representative is appointed.
Last, but certainly not least, the city is again having their annual Arbor Day Tree Sale! You can check out the city website for trees that will be available for purchase. The sale will take place Saturday, April 30th, starting at 8:00 a.m. Happy Arbor Day!
Prior to the Open Space Steering Committee review, there will be an opportunity for you to meet with your representative(s). We will need signatures from as many residents as possible, whether or not you are eligible to participate in the OSMA, as to whether or not you support the OSMA. Also, we will need to know who is interested in participating if you are eligible.
We would also like to send our sincere appreciation and deep gratitude to Carol K. who has worked tirelessly on the City's Open Space Committee to help improve our open spaces. Thank you Carol and we wish you the best in your relocation! For those in Highland Hills, any questions or concerns can be redirected to Kristi V. or Doug C. on the Open Space Committee at this time until a new Open Space Committee volunteer representative is appointed.
Last, but certainly not least, the city is again having their annual Arbor Day Tree Sale! You can check out the city website for trees that will be available for purchase. The sale will take place Saturday, April 30th, starting at 8:00 a.m. Happy Arbor Day!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Highland City Open Space Steering Committee
Last year Mayor Ritchie began an Open Space Steering Committee to research and propose solutions for individual open space neighborhoods. The committee has been working hard at creating and revising the Open Space Maintenance Agreement and has begun reviewing each of the 18 open space developments. Many issues and concerns have been addressed which include: homeowner improvements to immediate adjacent open space (Open Space Maintenance Agreement), trails, fencing, orphaned open space parcels, parks, and many other unique and individual concerns. Over the next few months these neighborhoods will be contacted individually and the committee is requesting comments/concerns and whether or not homeowners will be interested in utilizing the new Open Space Maintenance Agreement. The Open Space Maintenance Agreement allows residents to improve adjacent open space which has previously been designated as "natural vegetation". Many people call this "natural vegetation" weeds! The Open Space Maintenance Agreement does not pertain to property previously improved such as grassed open space and grassed park areas.
The Open Space Steering Committee is requesting your help. Please have a list of concerns/comments ready for your committee representative. Also, if you are interested in participating in the Open Space Maintenance Agreement, please let your committee representative know. While comments and concerns will be reviewed, the primary purpose of this neighborhood review is to evaluate the interest/participation in the Open Space Maintenance Agreement. Your Open Space Steering Committee representatives are: Highland Hills-Carol Kounanis, Mercer Hollow-Doug Cunningham, Chamberry Fields-Kristi Vick. You can send any comments/concerns to openspace@q.com and the information will be forwarded onto your representative or you can contact them directly.
The Open Space Steering Committee is requesting your help. Please have a list of concerns/comments ready for your committee representative. Also, if you are interested in participating in the Open Space Maintenance Agreement, please let your committee representative know. While comments and concerns will be reviewed, the primary purpose of this neighborhood review is to evaluate the interest/participation in the Open Space Maintenance Agreement. Your Open Space Steering Committee representatives are: Highland Hills-Carol Kounanis, Mercer Hollow-Doug Cunningham, Chamberry Fields-Kristi Vick. You can send any comments/concerns to openspace@q.com and the information will be forwarded onto your representative or you can contact them directly.
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