Francis City Letters to the Editor

I urge all Francis residents to get out and vote on Tues, November 6th. We will be deciding new council members, and the fate of Hilltop Road. We are at a critical point in Francis’s history; poised on the edge of a build-out period that will shape our future forever. As taxpayers, we will decide who ushers us through the next several years of growth. Hopefully, the new and existing council members will unify and work hand-in-hand with our Planning Commission, who is our first line of defense in protecting our vision. Their calculated reports and opinions serve a vital purpose. We expect a transparent government who will embrace public input and participation. We should not have to endure ridicule or negative statements against any one group of residents, which continually divides our town into “us vs. them”. We expect town officials to take personal responsibility for, and encourage others to, raise the standards of how they behave and conduct business. Our new town council should also demand a knowledgeable and organized town office, able to produce documents in a timely manner and without bias. Most critical is the need for a town website, allowing us access to documents such as Agendas, Minutes, Budgets, and Department Reports. With the current outdated mindset, there is resistance to making this information readily available to the residents, and chasing it down can be a challenge. Francis town does not belong to any one man or woman. It is “our” town. Let your voice be heard! Vote on November 6th.
Sincerely,Tal Adair
Francis Resident

Results of Francis City Council Meeting

Although we didnt get the commitment or answer we wanted from the Mayor, we WILL get much press of last nights meeting, in particular the sewer issue.

Feeling pressured to allow law-required public input on the sewer issue, Mayor Bergen did acknowledge Mr. Kit Burton, who had previously sent a letter to request an explanation as to why public input has not happened. There were some tense exchanges between the two and although we believe Mr Burton got their attention, the issue of public input was side-stepped altogether and a commitment to include the public at any time soon did not happen. Greg Averett (running for re-election) was the only council member who commented saying he agreed with some of Mr Burtons comments in his letter and that the public should be included. A round of applause ensued. (A campaigning stunt perhaps?) He also said there was a 'packet' of information on the sewer plant in question at a previous meeting to which resident Tal Adair spoke up to say: "YOU may have that info at your council table, but WE [the public] dont get to see it". Then Town Clerk Lynette Hallam, who's husband is a council member, said: "If you want to see anything, all you have to do is come into my office and request it." That brought an uproar from the public, collectively claiming that we shouldn't HAVE to REQUEST it...it should be MADE AVAILABLE at the meetings. She rebutted: "We cant make copies for everyone" to which we all replied: "WHY NOT?"

The Mayor then turned the discussion to the lawyer asking for confirmation that their efforts so far have been legal...(which is STILL debatable). Mayor Bergen cleverly asked the town attorney (in front of public and press) "Have we done anything illegal?" putting the town attorney in the hot seat. What was he suppose to say? YES - and face disbarment? After his [safe] reply, the Mayor IMMEDIATELY moved onto the next Agenda item without closing the public input session...if it truly even was one. No one else got a chance to voice their opinion or comments, OR re-address the Mayors lack of commitment to law-required public input.

They also SKIPPED over 2 Agenda items; one curiously listed as "Rezoning Francis" which gives us much concern. So we all left scratching our heads with lots of follow-up work to be done including writing the Mayor and council members to ask - again - when he intends to include the public in the selection process of a new sewer system.

Orchestrated in advance, there were 3 reporters and a photographer at the meeting and were all given a copy of Mr Burtons letter to the Mayor and council. They recorded the meeting and took many notes and photos. Those stories/reports will begin airing on KPCW Wednesday and in this Saturday's Park Record, and next Friday's Summit County Bee. For more details on the sewer issue , Mr Burton can be reached at (435) 783-4029

We will most likely have to wait 2 months for the minutes as that has been the average time frame for turn-around for the Town Clerk to produce them. It was 3-4 months this summer!

Respectfully Yours,
Kristi Major
Francis Utah