Housing areas a concern for Logan Municipal Council candidates
Growing pains brought on by the explosive growth Logan has seen in recent years dominated the Logan Municipal Council candidates debate Wednesday night, with residents pressing the candidates for their plans for revitalizing downtown Logan and solving transportation and air pollution problems.
Six candidates competing for three council seats answered several written questions from the audience concerning downtown Logan, mainly traffic congestion and improving downtown businesses.
Incumbent Laraine Swenson shared her goals on reviving downtown Logan.
“We have healthy businesses, but we need to grow our residential component in order to have a well-rounded downtown,” Swenson said.
Swenson said her major concern with downtown is the shortage of parking. “We need to make it walkable and available for everyone, ” she said.
Running opponent, Val Ewell said the problem downtown lies with getting the youth to downtown Logan.
“Businesses should strive to attract the students from USU and other younger people and keep them there,” Ewell said.
Herm Olsen, candidate for council chair two, said, “We have a marvelous opportunity to take our trail system from the university to downtown, in order to better connect the students with a way to downtown.”
Other issues were addressed such as rebuilding older neighborhoods in Logan.
Swenson said, “We need to improve our owner-occupied housing to benefit the quality, look and feel of the neighborhood by enhancing it as a whole.”
Steven Taylor, running against Olsen, said that rebuilding older neighborhoods is a tedious process that deals greatly with grandfathering issues. We need to deal with each neighborhood on an individual basis, he said.
Jay Monson, vying for seat three, said, “Preserving the residential neighborhoods of Logan is crucial. The expansion of university apartments is overbuilt and that is one concern council members need to address.”
Incumbent, Joeseph Needham, fifth-generation Logan resident running against Monson, also felt that home ownership is one step closer to neighborhood quality and improvement.
Increasing the financial support for the Cache Valley Transit District and increased road funding was another topic raised by the audience.
Olsen said, “The transit system is something we ultimately need to lean toward, but only on an incremental basis.”
Needham favored support for both systems, mentioning a bus system that operates strictly downtown, he said.
“The transit system is a much better system than building roads,” said Ewell. “We are in a huge debt and simply cannot afford to build new roads.”
Needham said the Logan Municipal Council has accomplished many feats by building reserves and cutting costs throughout the city by being more efficient with taxpayer dollars.
Monson said, “The university, surrounding towns and city government officials need to work together for the betterment of Logan.”
Swenson said she feels citizens need a voice and also need to see solutions implemented.
“Things are happening and changing and the character of our community is constantly improving,” she said. “We are also addressing our financial concerns from the inside out, understanding where we will be at five or ten years down the road,” Swenson said.
Ruth Woods, Logan resident who attended the debate with 50 others, felt it was a good meeting to gain some insight from the candidates. “It will be a very interesting election,” Woods said.
Election Day is Nov. 6 and those who are not registered to vote are encouraged to register by Oct. 22 in person at the County Clerks office at 179 N. Main Street.
The Whittier Community Center has hosted the candidate’s debate for the last 15 years. The debate was also sponsored by USU Charter Credit Union, Cache Chamber of Commerce, Cache/Rich Association of Realtors and Options for Independence.