Councilors listen, discuss, answer questions

By Bob Hembree
Posted 7/31/24

Representing the City of Page, Councilors Brian Carey and Rich Leightner held a Meet and Greet at Page Lake Powell Chamber of Commerce July 25. Residents had the opportunity to ask questions, share …

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Councilors listen, discuss, answer questions

Posted

Representing the City of Page, Councilors Brian Carey and Rich Leightner held a Meet and Greet at Page Lake Powell Chamber of Commerce July 25. Residents had the opportunity to ask questions, share concerns and offer suggestions. The format was relaxed and conversational, like friends chatting in the living room.

Some, like 89-year-old Patricia Dill, came prepared with a list of concerns she wanted clarification on. She heard there were plans to tear down the Page Community Center, one of the many rumors circulating through Page.

“Well, it serves such a great purpose,” said Dill. “I eat lunch there almost every day. Sometimes I play games. I do yoga about three times a week. So, I was concerned.”

Carey and Leightner assured Dill the rumors were false.

The Community Center is managed by Becky Reed. Nora Black supervises the kitchen that serves lunches every day except weekends and holidays. John Robertson helps with transportation. The Community Center offers a variety of activities including field trips, guest speakers, exercise and educational opportunities. The Council and city staff know how important the facility is to the community, especially for seniors.

The City of Page applied for and was awarded a grant to make improvements and repairs to the Community Center. According to Page Public Works Director Kyle Christiansen the project includes remodeling the bathrooms and a new roof.

The rumor likely started with J2 Design and Engineering conceptual drawings on the city’s website. The idea was presented but never pursued. It called for moving the Community Center to the other side of John C. Page Park and building a shaded plaza and performance area in its place. On the city’s website under proposed projects, there are currently two J2 links, “Downtown Streetscape” (conceptual drawings) and “Streetscape 95%” (engineering and construction plans). The construction plans were for one block on Lake Powell Boulevard between Vista Avenue and North Navajo Drive. This is what contractors bid on.

“We spent $75,000 developing plans for all of the parks,” Carey told the Chronicle. “And so we already went through this, whether the Community Center was going to be replaced and the answer was ‘No.’

“So, then fast forward to everybody wants to see pictures once the controversy starts and we post, ‘OK, here's the pictures.’ We don't have pictures as part of the construction design. Those are actually very detailed, lots of lines and numbers. Things [sic] are not pretty pictures. So, what we posted was, of course, the development concept plan. You know, graphics and pictures, and they even had a 3-D thing and everything. Well, unfortunately that has no Community Center in it. And everyone thought that's what we were doing. And that caused a big uproar.”

Dill’s next question was, “How are we standing on a pool?”

“Council agreed on how to finance it because it is an expensive project,” said Carey. “We'll go out and borrow that money so we can construct it immediately rather than try to build it in pieces. The SRP has deeded the city the Pera Club property, and that's where it would be down there. Now it's got to get designed, et cetera. Gonna be a little while. We'll have, hopefully, the splash pad under construction by the first of the year and figure out the pool details.”

“The pool is gonna be on a bond, so it won't cost the citizens anything at all,” said Leightner. “It'll come off a taxation from the bed and board tax. So basically, the tourists are gonna pay for it.”

On May 10, David and Lindsey Blake moved to Page to take over the Lake Powell Ford dealership. As business owners, their concerns are the same as most of the community but for different reasons. Their needs are those of employers. Employees need housing.

“Our biggest challenge is employees,” said David Blake. “I've had to import my managers. I have one sales manager in Florida. I got my parts manager from California. I brought in other salespeople from California. I've had to import people, and they want to be here. The problem is housing.”

“With growth comes change,” said Lindsey Blake. “So, I like both the gentlemen’s (Carey and Leightner) ideas of bringing growth but keeping Page the same consistency. It's a small-town feel, the whole community vibe. But we do need some growth, especially if you want the next generation to stay and continue. If you want Page to go on. There has to be somewhere for them to go and jobs for them and places for them to live and things for them to do.”

A wide variety of topics were covered, everything from the swimming pool to Streetscape. All questions asked were answered by Carey and Leightner, both knowledgeable of the city, its challenges, its progress and its plans.