USU represented in Logan neigbouring committee

Patty Welch

Utah State University has a representative on the Logan neighboring committee to improve communication between the city and the university said Celestial Bybee, executive vice president for the Associated Students of Utah State University and the neighborhood council chair for the USU area.

The neighborhood council is made up of six representatives from different geographic areas in Logan said Laurie Tanner, director of administrative services. These representatives attend meetings and give feedback to the council about concerns within their area she said.

“We’re able to get a feel for what’s going on in the community, specific to their area, and answer questions on the spot,” Tanner said.

USU is considered its own community because it has a separate identity that differs from much of the community Bybee said.

“We are part of the community, but we’re also our own community,” said Bybee. “A lot of our time is spent on campus and it’s a totally different lifestyle.”

The goal of the neighborhood committee is to improve communication between the citizens of Logan and the City Administration, according to the neighborhood council mission statement.

The representatives from each of the six areas of Logan designate area representatives for each part of the community Tanner said.

“We’ve built a huge network in case of an emergency,” Tanner said. “We can notify citizens of Logan with relatively little effort.”

The best way for students to get involved is to support the events put on by the neighborhood council, Bybee said. She said in January the council will be holding a meeting at USU that will address emergency procedures and inform students of the downtown projects in Logan.

Tanner said residents of Logan are welcome to come to any of the meetings, which are usually held in elementary schools. The council will be able to answer any questions or address any concerns on the spot she said.

“It’s important to work with the city council because we can accomplish a lot more collectively than can be done alone,” Bybee said.

The USU council representative is always the executive vice president of ASUSU, Tanner said. The other members of council are recommended by the mayor and ratified by the municipal council she said. Representatives serve three year terms.