PAYSON — A decision to rip out an old horse racetrack is among the reasons several folks were spurred into running for seats on Payson's City Council.
"There was no citizen involvement in (the decision to tear out the race track)," said Randy Christensen, a candidate.
Christensen would have liked to see the issue put to a vote.
Still, two of the current members of the council running for re-election defend their votes to tear down the track to make way for a new recreation complex.
Max Roberts, who is running for his second term, said the track was not fully used and the city needed the ground for new ball fields, a new recreation center and possibly a swimming pool complex.
Jan Tanner, who also seeks re-election, also wants to stay on the council to push for the construction of a city swimming pool complex, more ball fields and an equestrian center on the racetrack site.
"The recreation corridor is very important to this city," Tanner said. "I want to finish what I started."
The last time the city built ball fields was in 1968, she said.
Councilman Bertis Bills also wants another term. Though mostly on the other side of the vote to build the recreation center, he garnered the most votes in the primary.
Of the other three candidates, Brent Burdick, 53, is staunchly in favor of new recreation facilities, including a new pool and the fields to play baseball and soccer. He wants to see recreation facilities built for Payson residents from youngsters to seniors, he said.
Burdick also wants to see the roads repaired and protected with curb and gutter throughout Payson in the next six years.
Larry Skinner expressed dissatisfaction with the way the council has acted in recent years. He wants the city to work on preservation of its heritage — an issue that surrounded razing the racetrack, which was more than 100 years old.
In other races in south Utah County, water and growth seem to be on most candidates' minds. Elk Ridge candidates say those two issues are especially important. Elk Ridge has the second-highest water rates in south Utah County behind Woodland Hills. And as more people move in, the city has an even greater need to expand its services.
Another issue is how to control where ATV riders drive their vehicles in the rural town.
Genola and Goshen races are much quieter. The only real race is in Goshen where three candidates are vying for two seats. They are Terri Lawrence, Steven Staheli, and Jonathan Adams.
In Mapleton the issues are more varied with budget, growth, emergency preparedness, public safety, sewer and water and private-property rights at the forefront. Six candidates are running for three four-year seats. They are Keith Sterling, Bruce B. Rees, Trudy Gibby, Francis Gibson, Bob Evans and Ryan Parham.
Salem issues include upgrading the city's roads and sewer, bring more business to town and push Nebo School District toward building a high school in the town. Salem teens now attend Spanish Fork High School. The six candidates running for three four-year seats are incumbent Terry Ficklin, Marvin C. Baker, Lynn Durrant, Bruce A. Farnsworth Sr., Brent V. Hanks and former city recorder Paul J. Hair.
In Springville a bond issue vote in August may have failed, but it encouraged more candidates to run. The nearly $20 million bond proposal was to fund a new recreation center, swim center and new city buildings. Now some candidates say it was a waste of taxpayers' money to even hold it.
Six candidates running for three four-year seats are incumbent Mark Stephen Balzotti, Phillip F. Bird, Kent L. Blackley, Rodney L. Burt, Steven Earl Oakey and J. Niel Strong.
Water and power are also important issues, candidates say. While Springville has adequate water it needs a better delivery system, Strong said.
Burt says the power rates are too high and need to be brought into line with other cities. Springville has a power rate adjustment that works like a surcharge on local bills.
At least one candidate, Blackley, wants to tackle Springville's crime rate, which he says is the second highest in the Beehive State. But Springville Police Lt. Dave Caron says there's no way to prove that. Springville crime reports may be skewed higher because a single crime may be listed in two or three categories, Caron said.
E-mail: rodger@desnews.com