Responses from Sheila Aardema, candidate for City Council At Large Seat A
Changes should be made when imput and studies are completed. Also consideration of those living in the areas should be heard, sometimes we can't know the effects as well as those living in those areas. Ogden is beautiful and we want to make decisions that will be for the best good of the city. Change is good, but hard, it needs to happen if we want to progress. But it has to be smart and well planned growth with wise zoining.
2. The UTA and the Wasatch Front Regional Council have proposed a streetcar or bus rapid transit system for Ogden, which would connect downtown with WSU and McKay-Dee Hospital via Harrison Blvd. The present administration favors instead a gondola line over a similar route. The administration has also proposed streetcar routes in other parts of Ogden and neighboring cities. What are your views on these competing proposals?
The need and demands for the mass/rapid transportation system in our city it vital to its growth and evident as I try driving on Harrison and Washington blvd at keys times of the day. Street cars are delightful and easy to use as that was my main means of transport while living in Yugoslovia. We as a community need to be educated and convinced that we will help everyone if we would use mass transportation ruther than our own cars. But I would need to know more about the city dynamics before giving a final decision.
3. If elected, would you favor or oppose the sale of any city-owned open space along the benches for private development? Please explain.
Oppose!!! Green open spaces are a valuable item that can never be bought back when given or sold. The east bench is a beautiful place, used by our community and should garded and kept for public use and pleasure.
4. Should you be elected, do you plan to recommend changes in the way Ogden deals with waste, recyclables, water conservation, and/or protecting our aquifers and watershed areas? If so, what changes will you recommend, and why?
I would encourage to wise use of our water by using a scheduled program that has been introduced to the public. Through hearing and education these schedules would be put into place and the public would participate in forming these schedules. Our summers just seem to get hotter and we need to be wise for the good of future generations. We as a city also could recycle better and look into other ways of using our waste to benefit our community. We has international engineers who live right here who are helping other countries use their waste to create energy. We need to tap into these local citizens and use their knowledge.
5. The current administration supports rewriting Ogden's Sensitive Area Overlay Zone ordinance in such a way as to eliminate the current ban on construction on land sloped at 30 percent or more, and to increase the density of development that is permitted on other steeply sloped lands. What are your views on these proposed changes?
I believe that these issues need to be handled very carefully and that where we build or develope has a thoughtfully explored plan of these sights. Environmental considerations should be very impacting on our decisions. But this is not an area that I have great knowledge and would have to learn from experts in the area.
6. Ogden's urban and foothill trails are a valuable recreational asset for residents and an important factor in drawing visitors and businesses to Ogden. If elected, what changes (if any) would you propose to the city's trail system?
Our trails in the foothills are a valuable recreational asset that the public use and enjoy every day. The funds and volunteer who care for this are doing a wonderful job but it would be nice to have the city help in the upkeep of these trails. This is one of our treasures and needs to be maintained because all of our city can use and enjoy these areas.
7. Do you favor designating a portion of the National Forest lands above Ogden as federally protected wilderness? Why or why not?
I live on the east bench and enjoy seeing all the variations of wildlife that we have in these areas. I would love to see them preserved but also would love to see some areas improved with thought of the impact it would have on the wildlife using that area as it home.
8. The current administration has recently reduced the city's energy and carbon footprint by buying renewable energy credits and hybrid vehicles and by initiating the Fresh Air Fridays program. Do you support these programs? Would you favor expanding them? Why or why not?
I support these programs and would love to see all departments thoughout the city use vehicles that are hybrid that help our aire and conserve on fuel. But I think that we all need to look at our own use of vehicles and lack of use of our transit system.
9. What other environmental issues would you address if elected?
If elected I would love to see us all talk and with respect listen and learn from each other. To be one in thought is not always a strength and instead of disagreeing listen and compromise. It is wonderful to see a view from the eyes of another because sometimes if we let ourselves see their views we gain respect and understanding. That will never be ours if we are too proud to listen and understand if given the opportunity to serve this commpunity I will try to be open and listen.