[ A Chronology of Providence City’s Continued Attempts to Annex Private Property can be found by licking the link. ]
Some questions for the citizens of Providence, Utah:
If the city administrator, mayor, and city council members are honest people? Then why do they make written and verbal statements that they aren’t going to invoke eminent domain to take the Simmons and Creed land, then in private they ask the developer to build a narrow 24 foot wide road next to the Simmons and Creed property? They have stated that they want a 66 foot wide road. The city’s own codes require a 66 foot wide road. Where are they planning to get the rest of the road width if not by eminent domain against the Simmons and Creed property? Are they suddenly going to settle for a 24 foot wide road in violation of their own city code instead of a 66 foot wide road? If they are so honest and if there is nothing wrong with their behavior, why do they seek to hide it from the public? Why not openly admit they want the land and make an open and fair offer for it? Simmons and Creed both say that in the seven years this issue has lasted so far; neither the developer nor the city have ever offered to buy the land they want in the open and honest way normal people do when they want some land.
Why does the city council seem determined to solve the housing crisis along the Wasatch front of Utah by themselves? Were they elected by the developers? Or did the people who might want to move to Cache valley elect them? Why are they not more responsive to the desires of the people who already live in Providence? Why are they fixated on more and bigger roads instead of bike-paths, walking paths or even equestrian paths? Why are there not more city parks?* Why don’t they focus on improving the quality of life for the citizens of Providence instead of so much focus on future growth? Growth happens, so where is the focus on preserving a green belt and future city park lands to maintain the current semi-rural quality of life for the current voting citizens? They make a master plan for roads on land they don’t own or control, do they have future parks and bike paths set aside? The master plan map of future roads has been on the wall of the city administrator for years but only on the city website for a month or two. Where is the map of future city parks, bike paths, walking paths, horse trails?
They say they focus on future growth, do they have plans for a future pedestrian overpass from the north side of 1st north to the school on the south side or must the children of city voters risk life and limb to cross as the traffic they forecast from new development increases?
Honest and fair minded people don’t have to find ways to hide their actions from the public. In fact they look for ways to inform the public.
Steve Simmons
* One of Mayor John Drews campaign complaints with the previous mayor’s administration was “ignoring” lack of enough parkland acreage in Providence. Now is a perfect, if fleeting, chance to increase all property values in Providence by adding parkland and equestrian trails while procuring a greenbelt at the same time. (ed.)
