Tooele voters will head to the polls Nov. 6 to decide between six candidates — two incumbents and four challengers — vying for three open seats on the Tooele City Council.
The Tooele Transcript-Bulletin sent each of the candidates a questionnaire addressing issues currently facing the city. The candidates’ responses, along with condensed biographical information, are included below.
Grantsville City Council candidates will be featured in Thursday’s edition of the Transcript-Bulletin, while candidates for the Stansbury Service Agency will be featured next Tuesday, Oct. 30.
Teri Battison Ellsworth
Teri Battison Ellsworth was born and raised in Tooele. She is a business owner, consultant and trainer, who has worked in Santa Fe, N.M., as a sustainable development consultant. She returned to Tooele two years ago after living her entire adult life away from the area.
Mike Johnson
Mike Johnson, a lifelong Tooele resident, has served on the city council since 1999. He was interim mayor in 2005. He is a partner in Snell & Wilmer, a Salt Lake City law firm and director of Tooele Federal Credit Union.
Dave McCall
Dave McCall retired from the United States Marine Corps in 2000 after 20 years of active duty. He has lived in Tooele for more than 14 years. He is currently employed as a human resources supervisor at Carlisle SynTec, a manufacturing company located in the Utah Industrial Depot.
Shawn Milne
Shawn Milne is the current chairman of the Tooele City Planning and Zoning Commission and the owner of Ivy League Image and Sound, a local business. He has lived in Tooele for more than seven years.
Richard Olson
Richard Olson has lived in Tooele for 11 years and is a carpenter.
Steve Pruden
Steve Pruden is in his first term of service with the Tooele City Council. He has lived in Tooele for nine years, and has worked for the LDS Church for 27 years as a seminary teacher.
Q: If elected/re-elected to the city council, what will your top three priorities be?
Ellsworth: My first priority would be to question current methods of decision making. I intend to show the benefit of a female council member who doesn’t have ties that create favoritism. I intend to hear citizens’ concerns and suggestions without preconceived ideas. My second priority would be to focus on sustainable growth and how that impacts quality of life in Tooele. This might mean more shopping and restaurant choices, and more cultural options. My third priority would be to help existing business and attract new business.
Johnson: My first priority would be continued development of water resources. Second, completion of capital facility upgrades and improvements, such as repairing deteriorated roads and the expansion of our sewer plant. Finally, we need to fund a new public safety complex for our police officers and firefighters, and continue to develop recreational opportunities.
McCall: My top three priorities would be streets/sewer, water and safety.
Milne: My top three priorities would be the wise implementation, acquisition and protection of our water resources; manageable-growth initiatives; and expanding the current community- and family-oriented programs.
Olson: If elected, my top priorities would be city beautification — mostly concerning properties left vacant and unmaintained — providing opportunities for families to become stronger, and supporting local and small businesses.
Pruden: My top three priorities would be continuing to follow the plans that are in place to manage current and new water resources along with the completion of the sewer plant expansion; getting 1000 North built and usable; and continuing to expand recreational opportunities in the city. Also, I would accomplish all three of these without raising taxes.
Q: Do you think Tooele is becoming overdeveloped? How will you ensure that future growth is sustainable and managed?
Ellsworth: I have questions about how much forward thinking has gone into planning and sustainability. Growth shouldn’t be just about attracting new business and more housing, especially if we don’t have a stable foundation for growth. I see great opportunities for a more dynamic plan that creates a stable and well-researched foundation for growth in Tooele, especially as it faces the challenges of long-term thinking, infrastructure expenditures and use of water resources.
Johnson: Certain commercial development should be encouraged because of the economic and quality-of-life benefits it can bring. Residential development is already well-managed. I will continue to ensure new development pays its fair share, and development decisions are based upon sound and justifiable logic. This will include regular review and updating of capital facilities master plans to ensure impact fees are fair and appropriate.
McCall: I don’t think Tooele is becoming overdeveloped. We need to address the older areas of our city and make them as much of a priority as the new areas. Growth is something that’s going to happen in Tooele City and throughout Tooele County. We need to make sure Tooele is ahead of the growth.
Milne: Continued development within Tooele City is inevitable. There’s a peculiar balance between honoring private property owners’ right to profit from development and protecting the traditional, small-town feel of Tooele. However, civic leaders and citizens have tools available to encourage growth in an orderly, thoughtful process. As an example, the Planning and Zoning Commission aids in directing developments to take in to consideration appropriate zoning mixes, population densities, landscaping, particular building features, relevant impact on neighboring properties, etc. Another example would be how the City Council oversees and directs potential growth through a state-mandated Master Plan with stepped intervals of expected growth. Such initiatives ensure that citizen input and regulated processes will establish harmony between anticipated growth and our current living standards.
Olson: I like the growth I’ve seen in Tooele over the past years, giving people the opportunity to find employment locally rather than having to commute into Salt Lake. I welcome growth as long as we don’t outgrow our water source.
Pruden: Tooele citizens continually want new retail and commercial experiences. To do this requires a degree of growth. However, it is, and has been, done with care and planning. Tooele is not overdeveloped. It will continue to grow as people sell their land. We have fair guidelines that restrict and guide growth, and I will continue to support those codes.
Q: What do you see as Tooele’s most pressing infrastructure needs? How would you fund and advance these projects?
Ellsworth: Water resource sustainability, creative use of gray water and researching water catchment systems that would be required for new construction are Tooele’s most pressing infrastructure needs. Other needs include roads and street maintenance, and parks that would include bike and jogging paths. I would fund these needs by looking at current budgets, seeing where waste is created and re-directing funds where appropriate. Then I would help develop creative methods of community involvement to look at new ways of funding these ideas.
Johnson: The most pressing need is completion of 1000 North. We’re in the process of designing the road, and construction will start next year. Some older roads need repair, and we’ll continue to repair/replace as many roads as funding allows. The council is looking at a transportation impact fee and possibly bonding for additional funding. Tooele’s storm-water retention facilities are either failing or non-existent. The council enacted a storm-water mitigation fee to address the problem, and is mapping out plans to put those funds to good use.
McCall: The most pressing infrastructure needs are streets, sewer and water lines in the older sections of the city. We need to continue addressing the total problem rather than using a Band-Aid approach. Under the surface in most areas we need to replace old water and sewer lines. With this additional work and added cost, it limits the number of streets the city can fix in a year. I am working on a plan to present to the mayor that may speed the process along, partly by adding personnel to the street department. With the current growth of our city, and even with additional personnel, we may never get to the point that we can say, ‘It’s done.’
Milne: Among the expected challenges from future growth will be additional demands upon various infrastructure systems: water sources and delivery, sewage processing, transportation routes, wider areas of service for our police/medical/fire response teams. Funding expansion of these projects will be challenging. We’ll no doubt continue to rely on current financing methods of residential and commercial tax bases, as well as various grant monies. I would seek a pay-as-we-go solution, rather than accruing debt.
Olson: I believe Tooele’s most pressing problem is crime. I think the police force needs more support. I’d like to see more police cars out on the roads.
Pruden: Streets and sewer/water are always being updated, and I will continue to follow our implementation plan to see that we update the parts of our city that need it. These projects are self-funding, and we are making great headway in replacing old systems.
Q: What would you do to help solve the rising problem of crime, gangs and drugs in Tooele?
Ellsworth: First, I would take a hard look at our schools and see how we can take proactive steps to help solve the problems that exist with dropout, poor development of our students and the social reasons for teen issues of drugs and crime. I would create a focus group that explores research done tying discipline issues and violence in schools to children’s diet.
Johnson: The council has taken a proactive role in this area, and I would continue along those lines. We have beefed up ordinances to address problems like graffiti, and have committed extra resources to the police department. We’ve provided funding and support for the Boys and Girls Club so youth can obtain the skills and training needed to succeed. We have funded and supported programs such as Guiding Good Choices and the Mayor’s Youth Recognition program, which are designed to address causes of crime, delinquency and poverty for youth and at-risk families — and to reward those who make a difference.
McCall: I do not think it’s so much a rising crime, drug and gang problem as it is an increase in population, and with more people you have more crime and gang activity. If we ensure our police department is staffed accordingly with the growth of the city and citizens get involved with community watch programs and other programs, that might help reduce the frequency of crimes and the number of gangs. We should look at the possibility of developing a joint task force to address the increased use of drugs. This force would be composed of the Tooele City Police Department, Tooele County Sheriff’s Office, Utah Highway Patrol and members of city government.
Milne: Expansion of policing services would likely result should crime increase. I would like to see positive alternatives for youth to participate in rather than gang affiliation and drug use. I endorse programs such as Guiding Good Choices and Communities That Care. Combined with religious youth groups, Scouting programs and extracurricular activities sponsored by schools, these structured programs encourage youth to become constructively entertained and involved in their community.
Olson: I would do what I can to support local police. However, it comes down to the people of the community to play a big part in the fight against crime. I would like to see neighborhood crime watches set up and run by individuals.
Pruden: Our police department has the finest equipment available. With growth you have growth issues. We address them as they arise and look for ways to prevent future problems. However, the majority of the responsibility for our youth is with the parents, not the city. There is a very good system in place with Communities That Care and other similar programs. I will continue to support our officers.
Sarah Miley: swest@tooeletranscript.com
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