As Promised

Recap:

Issue 9: Article about potential reasons to not always trust Town Council’s ability to do what is best for Springdale, giving ten reasons for that uncertainty

Issue 10: addressed in more detail the first of those ten reasons: the workforce housing overlay zone change

Issue 11, addressed item 2: The land-swap proposal for a medical clinic

Issue 12, addressed items 5, 6, and 7 (skipping 3 and 4 for now). These three items all have to do with the George A. Barker Springdale River Park.

Issue 13, this one, addressing item 9: transparency.

"The only issues that can be discussed in a closed meeting are (1) specific personnel discussions, (2) discussions regarding security personnel, devices or systems, (3) pending or imminent litigation, and (4) strategy sessions to discuss the purchase, exchange, lease, or sale of real property. It should be noted that the decision to close a meeting to the public is always discretionary and not mandatory. The law does not require any meeting to be closed.” (by Barbara Bruno)

Some causes for concern about transparency include but are not limited to the following:

The town does discuss the aforementioned things in closed meetings but could choose to be more transparent about them. The town recently lost a lawsuit about which we know nothing. TSS would appreciate more information in these cases.

More transparency concerning the 1.4 million dollar land purchase is desirable. Was it purchased knowing it was going to have to be paid for by floating a bond? A bond is just a clever way of taking out a loan which must be paid back with interest so it’s hard to say how much that land will end up costing the town. There are probably estimates about the projected actual cost which are not easily available, if at all.

The Government Records and Management Act (GRAMA) is Utah’s version of the FOIA. Anything that can be gotten with a GRAMA request can be made available without having to go through that process if the agency in question is willing. Every month TSS has to make a GRAMA request for the police information it publishes. It would be appreciated if transparency were simpler. Other requests have had to be made for information the Town could just provide without requiring a formal request.

Did you know the Town Council made an exhaustive request from the USPS for a new Post Office? A GRAMA request was necessary to access that request the details of which did not always accord with reality.

Having said that, Town Staff does an excellent job with the GRAMA request process. It’s simple, responded to quickly, and, so far, free.

There are places where the Town is probably aware they are not being totally transparent, but other situations where it just sort of happens. I expect, since they publish budget reports responsibly and regularly, they feel they are being transparent about the town’s finances. Really understanding those budgets is extremely challenging. With some effort, those could be made more citizen friendly — transparency without having to elbow grease away the film.

The Town stated (as was reported last issue) that funding is being sought for the Barker River Park expansion. What does that look like? Sought from where? Will the town have to put up matching funds? Just how much will it cost and how much might get funded and how much can the town afford (without floating a loan)? I think the Town Council probably knows the transparency on this is murky at best.

The evolution of what is now the new Town Plaza is a bit unclear. Was the reason we ultimately could not build the historical center because the town neglected to get the agreement in writing that the center could use the next door hotel’s parking lot? We do have $400,000 bathrooms on a charmingly done little parcel with tourist amenities. One citizen told TSS that the there was a potential to get it paid for by a developer but it was never initiated. I know the Town Council was sincere in its efforts to provide a truly wonderful historical center and was faced with one challenge after another. TSS wishes it could provide greater certainty in these details.

As Mayor Bruno stated in her September town newsletter article, the transparency we do enjoy is mandated by law.