Meet the City Council Candidates

by Allison Jones

Last night the Standard Journal hosted a question and answer session with the candidates for the City Council at the Romance Theater. Questions were gathered from the audience, the Standard Journal's editors and those submitted to the paper on their website. The questions and answers focused on how to help Rexburg grow and deal with the problems that growth entails.

1. The paid parking zone around BYU-I campus
   Garon Bell answered that the school needs to provide more parking for the students.
   Jordan Busby wanted to get rid of the paid parking zones around the school.
   Keith Ferrin wants to use the money from the parking permits to provide more parking.
   Jerry Merrill said that the paid parking zone is working so far.
   Troy Rasmussen's opinion was that it was the only feasible solution currently.
   Sally Smith thought the parking problem would be eased if the students would use the existing parking up by the Hinckley and Ricks buildings.
   Cory Sorensen said that fewer students are bringing cars with them so the parking situation was improving already.
   
   
2. Higher density housing
   All of the candidates agreed that higher density housing projects were beneficial for the city because it would keep the students closer to campus and thus cut down on traffic congestion. Also it would keep costs down and help keep control of development and growth.
   
   
3. Traffic congestion on 2^nd E and Hwy 33
   Each agreed that the proposed Eastern Parkway Corridor was a good idea and would help ease traffic and benefit Rexburg's growth. Other issues addressed were the need to have more crossings over the Teton River and providing more ways to access north Rexburg.
   
   
4. The relationship between Rexburg, Madison County, and Sugar City
   The candidates once again agreed with each other that the relationship between these entities was already good though of course there was always room for improvement in communication.
   
   
5. The candidates' favorite issue
   Jordan Busby and Sally Smith stressed the need to keep the roads in good repair and provide the infrastructure necessary to accommodate the city's growth.
   Cory Sorensen, Garon Bell, and Troy Rasmussen spoke of the need to encourage businesses to come to Rexburg and provide a business friendly environment.
   Keith Ferrin focused on fiscal responsibility and keeping government accountable to the people.
   Jerry Merrill talked about planning for the growth of Rexburg.
   
   
6. Renovation of the roads
   While Jerry Merrill thought the current patching was good enough until the city could afford more extensive repairs, the other candidates wanted there to be a plan and schedule for repairing the cities roads based on prioritizing the most used streets and pacing repairs to what the city can afford without extra bonds. They also spoke on the need for the contractors to be held accountable for the quality of their work.
   
   
7. The candidates view of Rexburg in the next ten years.
   Bell's vision included steady planned growth while keeping the feel of Rexburg.
   Busby focused on growth in Rexburg and getting the community involved in planning for it.
   Ferrin proposed that fiscal responsibility would encourage growth and that the city would benefit from having manufacturing businesses move to Rexburg.
   Jerry Merrill spoke on growing smart so that the small town feel of Rexburg wouldn't be lost.
   Rasmussen's view of Rexburg's future involved high growth with high paying jobs and less traffic congestion.
   Smith focused on planning for growth.
   Sorensen wants to encourage businesses to come to Rexburg that would allow the university's graduates to settle in Rexburg instead of all the young families moving away.
   
   
8. Problems with winter driving and road maintenance
   All the candidates agreed that the city does a good job of keeping the streets plowed and that the newcomers who haven't ever driven in snow before just have to learn how to do so. There is nothing the city can do to make sure that everyone drives safely in winter.
   
   
9. If the city should build an indoor pool.
   The candidates vehemently opposed the idea of the city building an indoor pool now that we have an outdoor pool. They pointed out that it would be too expensive to build, maintain, and run. Also, Sorensen pointed out that when the outdoor pool was built studies of community pools in the inter-mountain west showed that while outdoor pools were able to pay for themselves, indoor pools always require subsidies to operate. Bell said that there is plenty of recreation available already in the area and that it is not the government's job to provide more.
   
   
10. If the concerns of the public are being heard and how to be accessible to them
    Most agreed that the public is listened to, at least the opinions that are voiced are listened to. Smith, Sorensen, Bell, and Busby mentioned that people need to come to the city council meetings if they have concerns or just want to be involved in the city's planning. Busby and Ferrin said that the city needs to be better about reporting back to the community on decisions and that the city needs to improve on sharing information with the community before meetings. Keith Ferrin also said that there needed to be more time allowed for discussion in the city council meetings and informing the public of the agenda beforehand.

Although the candidates have many similarities there are differences so one should consider them carefully before making a decision on whom to vote for.