This last week was an interesting one. I had the privilege to meet for the first time with the group of Weiser High School leaders who have agreed to form an advisory committee to myself and the City Council. I was very impressed with this group, which consisted of Brylee Williams, ASB President, Alexandra Froshiesar, ASB Vice-President, Jaiden Gomez, ASB Secretary-Treasurer, Shelbi Burns, Senior Class President, Bryan Juarez, Junior Class President, Trista Buescher, Sophomore Class President, and Pearl Kaewta, Freshman Class President. We had just a short time to visit, but I was impressed by the sense that these students were used to working well with each other and had earned their leadership positions.
The purpose of this committee is two-fold. The first is to provide a student’s perspective to the needs and wants of living in Weiser. As I pointed out to them, when trying to improve Weiser, we can never get too many constructive perspectives.
Also, this committee will allow these young leaders to get a taste of how city and other levels of government work. I have asked that in bringing forward their ideas, they also vet the ideas for potential cost, payment method, and how to implement the ideas. The last piece is to make a presentation for their recommendations to the City Council for consideration.
I am really looking forward to working with these students and seeing where their ideas and perspectives lead us.
Another event that happened last week was a day for city officials to meet at the State Legislature. On Thursday, I was joined at the Capital building’s Lincoln Auditorium by your City Council members Alicia Cavazos and Sterling Blackwell.
The meeting started off with Governor Little addressing the audience to tell us about his state budget and policy agendas for this session. In addition, the governor took some time to answer questions from the city officials.
We also heard from Senator Jim Rice about potential reforms to the property tax law enacted last year and about state funding for school levies. Then we listened to Representative Jim Addis talk about possibly using impact fees to help finance growth particularly with highway districts.
There were three other state departments heads talking about everything from transparency and consistency in financial records sent to the state from cities and counties, to federal funds available for water and sewer projects, and funds available for roads and bridges.
We then went to lunch where we were joined by two of the three members of our District 9 legislative team. Senator Abby Lee and Representative Ryan Kirby met with us to discuss our concerns and give their perspectives. They also provided us with their contact information, and emphasized the importance of hearing from us on matters as the legislative session progresses. Overall, it was an informative day and one where Sterling, Alicia, and I were able to have a good conversation about our city’s needs with two of our legislators.
Well, that’s it for this week. Stay warm and let’s hope we start seeing the sun more soon.
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