CEDAR CITY — The Cedar City Council has two open seats up for grabs in the upcoming election and five citizens have signed up as candidates. They offer a variety of different life and community experiences to draw upon if elected to serve.
Cedar City News asked each candidate the same set of three questions to get to know who they are, and what they want to accomplish on the council.
Derek Morton
Why do you think you’re the right candidate for the job?
I’m not afraid to go first. I have lived in Cedar City for 14 years and have seen the problems our city continues to face and will work to create new solutions to fix those problems.
I’ve served as spokesperson for the People for Ethical Treatment of Property Owners, and we were the first organization ever to have any portion of the Endangered Species Act ruled unconstitutional.
As I started NetGain, I had the opportunity to be innovative and try to solve the problems that my tenants were facing. We are the first property management company to hire what’s called a Housing Advocate to work with our tenants to help them find and connect to resources they are needing to help them maintain stable housing.
What issues are the most pressing issues that you hope to address?
As a community, because of lack of planning, we are currently facing three different crises all at once. First, the water issues, second, is the lack of housing that’s available for all of our citizens and third is the continued increasing rates of poverty. Each one of these, while challenging, are related to how we develop and how we allow ourselves to grow as a population. As a community, I do not believe that we can sit back with the lack of housing for both SUU and our residents and say, “It’s just the market.” In my career as owner of NetGain Property Management I have worked on finding flexible solutions to allow people to have a roof over their head. I’ve found private investors to create transitional housing for those coming out of domestic violence and homelessness. I have advocated to try to find investors to convert hotels into studio apartments. I’ve advocated at a city level to allow additional flexibility in zoning to allow additional flexibilities in their requirements to allow the developers to work towards solving the problems that we face in property management.
If elected to council, what will you do to make available more affordable housing in Cedar City?
Housing affordability is on all of our minds. We want to create a vibrant community that supports economic growth. Without affordable housing, we can’t expect investment by our own residents, the next generation, or even companies who want to offer their employees the quality of life we all enjoy. Cities can’t subsidize housing, but they can do a lot to look at how they zone and permit new construction, and allow additional flexibility. We can never forget the importance of being able to adjust quickly to what the market is doing. As a private business owner, I’ve never been afraid to take on some of the most challenging issues in housing such as helping those coming out of homelessness and domestic violence gain and keep a roof over their head. These initiatives are leading to success solving the problems, but more importantly they are changing the lives of those in need. It is this type of creative thinking that is needed to be able to help solve these problems.
Mark Mumford
Why do you think you’re the right candidate for the job?
I have a keen mind and I like seeing the many sides of complex issues. I don’t make up my mind too quickly–I think it’s important to stay open to new information and allow myself to think things over at length. I enjoy discussing issues with others and I’m a good listener. I take notes habitually, so when someone presents something to the city council I won’t forget it.
What issues are the most pressing issues that you hope to address?
The price and availability of housing and the issue of water usage and water rights are the two most important issues facing Cedar City (though there are other important issues as well).
If elected to council, what will you do to make available more affordable housing in Cedar City?
The most effective way to make anything affordable is to increase its supply. No matter what happens, the cost of water *will* rise. The question is, is getting the water we need to allow growth more expensive than what the price of housing will rise to if the supply isn’t increased? If the price of housing is allowed to rise unchecked, will it dissuade people from moving to Cedar City? Do we want to limit the growth in the valley or should Cedar continue to grow? At some point, Cedar City will either have to stop growing or begin total wastewater treatment (at or near 100% recycling of water). I support efforts to obtain water rights to make housing affordable, and I think that we need to *begin* cutting back on lawn watering. Using culinary water to make our neighborhoods look like we live in a completely different part of the country is wasteful and vain. I support xeriscaping of front lawns in the short term but people can still have green grass in the backyard. This is a difficult and complex issue, and I haven’t yet made up my mind, so I would love to hear from you if you have a differing opinion.
Scott Phillips
Why do you think you are the right candidate for the job?
I am the right person for the position because I care about this community and the people who live here. For the past 50 years, I have worked and participated in many of the daily functions within Cedar City. With the knowledge I have gained over the past four years as a council member, I better understand the needs and challenges that face our growing community. I believe public service is part of being a good citizen of the community. Our geographic location, can-do spirit, love of family, and dedication to making our City a better place is what inspires me each day. I have the time and desire to commit 100% to Cedar City and am dedicated to its progress.
What issues are the most pressing issues that you hope to address?
Improve economic development: I will continue to support strong economic development to enable wise growth. A diverse economic base is the best approach in developing Cedar City as a balanced, first-class, livable community. It’s the only way we can secure future employment for our community’s children and grandchildren. Adopt a long-range water use plan: I will work with our local, state and regional professionals to develop an appropriate and sustainable water use plan that takes into account residential and commercial growth, as well as the agricultural lands within Cedar City. The plan will include conservation, recharge efforts, appropriate rate structure and acquiring additional water resources. Enhance public safety: I will ensure our public safety departments are well equipped and prepared to protect our community, our families, and our neighborhoods. It’s imperative to support our public safety entities and budget appropriately. Revitalize and energize historic downtown: I will continue to make our downtown a vibrant, historic, thriving place for families, students and tourists alike including the saving of historic buildings, encouraging local small business to expand or relocate Downtown, keeping the atmosphere lively and inviting. It’s vitally important that we continue to foster our cultural corridor from Southern Utah University to Historic Downtown.
If elected to council, what will you do to make available more affordable housing in Cedar City?
The market is going to drive what is available in affordable/attainable housing. The job of the city is to work closely with Southern Utah University and private developers to provide alternatives for SUU students. Affordable housing for first-time buyers and long-term renters is in competition with buyers/renters from a wide geographic area. It’s very difficult for the seller/property owner to accept a low bid over a higher one due to our supply and demand, free-market system. I will continue to work with our local Housing Authority and various non-profits to seek funding opportunities for the building of affordable/attainable housing. There is no easy answer and will require cooperative efforts from all parties to find an acceptable solution.
Ronald Riddle
Why do you think you are the right candidate for the job?
I will go out and hear what the people of the city say. I will listen to the staff, but will give greater weight to the well-informed opinions of the citizens of Cedar City. I feel I have a good common sense approach to what Cedar City needs. I will inform myself on the issues at hand. My candidacy is not all about one issue.
What issues are the most pressing issues that you hope to address?
First, finding water, securing water, conservation of water, and informing the citizens of Cedar City of availability of water, usage of water, and trying to find additional water. Second, zoning issues-trying to help have new development, affordable development, but do our best to keep a good master plan of the city. Third, we need to revisit building ordinances that make commercial and residential building difficult.
If elected to council, what will you do to make available more affordable housing in Cedar City?
Probably the biggest hindrance to affordable housing is the current market conditions. The city council has no control over that. Some of the zoning laws that the current city council is looking at could help the issue. As we research and find common sense solutions, I will work towards helping implement what can be implemented as a city council.
Carter Wilkey
Why do you think you are the right candidate for the job?
At the center of a good city council person needs to be a true desire to serve. During my entire life, service to others has been a core principle I take to heart. With that true desire to serve and a good vision of how to help Cedar City stay an amazing place, I know I am the right candidate for the job. Early in my campaign I chose my mission: Keep Cedar strong. Cedar is an amazing place to live, work and raise a family. Being on council and serving is not just worrying about water, affordability, public safety, infrastructure, recreation etc. It’s about all of it. Over the past three-plus years I have attended the majority of all city council meetings. I have a full understanding of what issues and concerns come before the council body and I am prepared to serve my community.
What issues are the most pressing issues that you hope to address?
Some of the pressing issues right now will most likely be resolved by the time the newly elected council members take office. Two of the big issues that I know will still be pressing come Jan. 2022 are water and growth in Cedar. As I look at those, I ask myself, “Are we getting what we want today at the expense of what the future will need tomorrow?” Growth will come, we just need to make sure we are ready for it. We need better numbers on how much more growth can happen with the water Cedar has. Cedar City has expressed interest in being involved in a water project that would bring substantial water amounts from areas northwest of Cedar and those come at large costs. I want to be involved as much as possible in this process and keep the citizens highly involved and informed. This water project may very well be the future of water and any growth for the Cedar Valley. There will come a point where some of the costs of the project will work its way down to the end user, our citizens. I want to make sure our citizens know what to expect and when to expect it if they’re going to be paying for it.
If elected to council, what will you do to make available more affordable housing in Cedar City?
Cedar City is an amazing place to live and other people have discovered our community and want to be here also. The vast majority of what dictates the price of housing is simple supply and demand. We find ourselves very high on demand with limited supply. The “market” is what controls the majority of pricing of housing. There are things the city can do to help. Working with the city’s engineering department and reviewing current building ordinances to try and find ways to possibly give some ease to the costs of building and fees is something I fully intend to do. We may need to get creative. We need to try our best to make sure we don’t have empty rooms in houses or buildings that could be used for student housing or otherwise, simply due to some city ordinance. I would also work hard to try and find some alternative funding via programs or grants that could allow the city to continue working hard with the housing authority to provide some affordable housing. As part of my graduate program at SUU I studied grant writing and want to help in this process. I know there are solutions that we can find to help with the affordability of housing.
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