Growth seemed to be a recurring theme in Heber City in 2025, whether it be in media coverage or casual conversation between citizens. From the city’s efforts to create a walkable, bustling Main Street to the construction of the valley’s second-ever high school, Heber City is bracing for an ongoing boom in population.

In November, residents chose the mayor and two city councilors they thought were best-suited to lead the city through the next four years of proposed developments, affordable housing struggles and, most pressingly, the approaching announcement of a route for the Heber Valley bypass.

Five stories highlight just how much the once-tiny pioneer town has continued to change in 2025.

5. No Kings protests

About 62% of Wasatch County residents voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, but not all are happy with the current administration. Heber City residents joined the nationwide “No Kings” protests in June and October, with more than 1,000 people attending the latter.

The protests attracted costumed unicorns and bald eagles, people holding signs reading “Make America Kind Again” and even Midway mayor Celeste Johnson wearing a homemade protest dress.

There were also some counter-protesters, such as James Ross, who wore a MAGA hat and waved an American flag at the protest in June. 

As we come up on the one year milestone of Trump’s inauguration, majority-red communities like Heber City will continue to find ways to respond to developments from the White House over the remainder of the president’s second term.

4. School nearly in session

An only child since 1908, Wasatch High School is expecting a little sibling next year in the new Deer Creek High School, which is under construction.

Some would argue that a second high school is long overdue. When former superintendent Paul Sweat was the high school’s principal in 2006, there were 1,350 students. Now, that number has doubled to nearly 2,700.

This year, Deer Creek High School made further strides toward its August 2026 opening. 

In January, the school board chose the high school name and mascot, the Riverhawks.

The district finalized school boundaries in November after an over six-month process of surveys, data collection and public feedback. The district wanted to be thorough in order to ensure transportation safety, even enrollment numbers and keeping peers together though middle and high school.

School choice has begun for those who don’t want to attend their boundary school, with the final open enrollment period beginning in late February or early March.

Now, only one thing remains to be seen: whether the Wasps’ sports teams have enough of a sting to fend off birds of prey.

3. Ranked-choice veto

Although Heber City used ranked-choice voting in its 2021 and 2023 municipal elections, the City Council voted unanimously in April to drop the practice for this year’s election. 

Detractors, like Mayor Heidi Franco, argued that confusion around how to fill out a ranked-choice voting ballot could lead to lower voter turnout. 

Meanwhile, Heber City recorder Trina Cooke said that a ranked-choice ballot provided 50% cost savings to the city and promoted “camaraderie and politeness” among candidates.

The city put out a community survey in March that found that nearly 80% of Heber City residents spoke in opposition to ranked choice voting. This led even councilors favorable to the system, like Scott Phillips and Aaron Cheatwood, to vote against continuing the controversial voting practice.

2. Bypass becomes even more polarizing

Longtime Heber City residents will say the legend of the Heber Valley bypass goes back decades, but only as a fleeting concept. That concept became real — and all the more controversial — in 2019 when UDOT conducted a study to determine the best ways to divert traffic from Highway 40 off of Heber City’s bustling Main Street. 

A whopping 23 concepts were whittled down to five in 2022, then two in March. Alternative A keeps traffic on Highway 40 between Potters Lane and 900 North, while Alternative B cuts through the North Fields.

Proponents of Alternative B have argued for its lower cost and fewer required property acquisitions. Meanwhile, Alternative A’s supporters have decried its impacts to wetlands and open space. 

With only two options remaining, discussion around the bypass has never been so polarized. During the 2025 municipal election, which route each candidate supported was a key point of debate, despite the fact that Heber City officials will have no say in the decision.

With UDOT set to announce its preferred route on Jan. 7, there’s no doubt the bypass will remain the talk of the town in 2026, with many residents set to be disappointed either way.

1. Mayor re-elected

This year’s mayoral election proved anything but mundane. Three candidates — incumbent Heidi Franco, City Councilor Scott Phillips and health insurance salesman Mike Hewlett — declared candidacy in June. 

Franco had served 12 years in public office, eight as city councilor and four as mayor. She ran on a platform of protecting open space while tackling downtown revitalization and traffic issues. 

Phillips, who had served on the city council for the past four years, ran due to dissatisfaction with Franco’s leadership. He ran on a platform of downtown revitalization and infrastructure improvements, as well collaboration and communication, whether that be with city staff, UDOT or developers. 

Hewlett aimed to put checks on growth and give the mayor more executive power. He ran while in the midst of legal trouble, as did his wife, Jami, who ran an unsuccessful bid for the City Council. In June, Jami was charged with misdemeanor child abuse, and Mike was charged with alleged retaliation against a witness of said abuse. 

Hewlett was eliminated from the race after he received about 7% of votes in the early primary election. Phillips received about 43%, and Franco received almost 50%.

Tensions grew between Phillips and Franco in debates and city council meetings. After Franco was re-elected with 53% of the vote, Phillips introduced the drafting of a city communications policy as an agenda item for the City Council, which led to conflict through Phillips’ final meeting.

Election turnout was high this year at 48%, as opposed to the typical 30%. City public information officer Ryan Bunnell attributed the turnout to increased spending by candidates and “incendiary” campaigning variables in the mayoral race.

The post Top 5 Heber City headlines in 2025 appeared first on Park Record.

Park City leaders on Tuesday evening certified the results of the City Hall election, but the possibility of a recount remained.

The Park City Council, acting as the Board of Canvassers, unanimously approved the election results.

The margin in the mayoral contest, though, is close enough that the second-place finisher, Jack Rubin, could request a recount. City Councilor Ryan Dickey finished in first place. The margin was seven votes, within the range that a recount could be sought.

A request for a recount would need to be made by 5 p.m. on Friday.

Rubin, who was in attendance, declined to comment about whether he will seek a recount. 

The post Park City election certified, mayoral recount remains a possibility appeared first on Park Record.

Wasatch Back voters have just a few more days to cast their ballots in the general election.

Tuesday is Election Day, and the Summit County Clerk’s Office has received 4,190 ballots, or 30% total countywide, as of Friday morning. The majority are from mail-in or drop box votes, with a small turnout so far from early voting. 

Ballots were mailed about two weeks ago. Since then, Clerk Eve Furse said staff have been collecting and processing ballots so they’re ready to count and training poll workers. Early voting also started on Wednesday and will remain open through 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Summit County Health Department’s Quinn’s Junction location on Round Valley Drive and the Summit County Courthouse on Main Street in Coalville.

Furse anticipated countywide voter turnout would be about 45%, which is typical for an off-year election. She expects the majority of ballots will be cast on Monday or Tuesday.

Staff planned to start counting ballots on Friday afternoon. Each is marked with a unique identification number tied to each voter. The Clerk’s Office collects and processes ballots by verifying the signature matches against past signatures — with an opportunity for the voter to correct it if challenged — and scans the barcode. Then, the ballots are entered into the tabulation equipment. 

Furse said the system records and counts the votes, but the information is suppressed until polls close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. 

The biggest challenge for the Clerk’s Office has been keeping up with all of the changes to the West Hills incorporation election. 

Summit County Third District Judge Matthew Bates’ October ruling invalidated the election after 10 people filed a lawsuit to block the vote. West Hills sponsor Derek Anderson appealed the ruling to the Utah Supreme Court, which temporarily reinstated the election. However, the state’s high court ultimately reversed its decision after a last-minute hearing.  

Furse said the Clerk’s Office had to cancel the West Hills vote in its system, which then would “spoil” or flag ballots in that election, reinstate it, and then call it off again. However, ballots were already printed, so 97 residents will still see the incorporation vote on their ballot.

The Clerk’s Office has also heard a few questions from people living in the Snyderville Basin who did not receive a ballot. Furse clarified that not every voter will have an election. 

For example, the only race in the Snyderville Basin is for Summit County Service Area #3 Board of Trustees and that is solely open to Silver Creek residents. There would have been a water reclamation district election, but there were as many candidates as open seats.

Municipal elections are being held for mayor and city council in Coalville, Francis, Henefer, Kamas, Oakley and Park City. One candidate is also running for one open South Summit Fire District fire board commission.

Ballot drop boxes are located throughout Summit County, including the Park City Library, Oakley City Hall, Francis City Hall, Henefer Town Hall, the Summit County Courthouse, the Coalville and Kamas Valley branches of the Summit County Library, The Market at Park City and the Quinn’s Health Department. Hours may vary by location.

Mail-in ballots must be in possession of the Clerk’s Office by Tuesday night to be counted, a change from previous years when ballots had to be postmarked the day before the election. Voters who are unsure if their ballots will arrive in time by mail should use a drop box instead.

The first round of preliminary results will be released by the Clerk’s Office after polls close. Updates will be provided throughout the week until all votes are counted.

The post Summit County voter turnout around 30% appeared first on Park Record.

Andrew Nelson speaks about Coalville with the passion of a lifelong resident despite having only called the city home since 2022.

Nelson grew up in Brigham City, but settled in Coalville with his wife because it’s where she grew up and where her parents still live. The couple is raising their own family here, and Nelson’s eager to bring a fresh outlook to the Coalville City Council to shape the community where their children will grow up.

“Sometimes having an outside perspective is not necessarily a bad thing,” he said. “If we can bring those two sides together … we can grow, become stronger, better.”

Nelson earned a bachelor’s degree in operations management from Utah State University, and is completing his master of business administration while working as a buyer for an automotive company based in Ogden. His wife is a teacher at North Summit Elementary School. 

Her family has a background in farming, and Nelson was inspired to run for City Council because of the potential for new development in a historically agricultural community. He recognized that things are changing in Coalville, and Nelson wants to work to “mend the fences” and collaborate.

He recognized a tension in the current city government and advocated for more constructive, less personal discussions. Nelson said his outside perspective would be useful in providing a neutral analysis of the ongoing issues.

Coalville is “old school but changing,” according to Nelson. He wants to maintain the community’s rural roots and family feel while thoughtfully managing growth. Nelson said he isn’t opposed to development but feels projects need to fit in with the landscape of the community. 

He said there are a lot of large ideas without the right level of community involvement. Nelson was in favor of keeping the character of Coalville, but improving elements of it as time moves on.

“Remembering where we’re coming from, and my hope is to keep that,” he said. “Development is going to come. If we can keep that and incorporate it into how we develop, I think that would be the best route. Sure, I want to keep a small town. … But if we do have to develop, let’s do it the right way.”

Nelson referenced the possibilities of the Hidden Meadow annexation project from Larry H. Miller Real Estate, which would have built 75 homes and a new community park on 316 acres if the City Council had approved it last week. Nelson had his concerns about the proposal, but said it would be nice to see affordable housing for young families in the area or opportunities for the community to otherwise benefit from development.

If elected, Nelson vowed to prioritize balanced development, support young families, and be the voice of constructive dialogue on the City Council.

“I want Coalville to succeed,” Nelson said. “Now granted, not everybody gets what they want, but if we can work together to come to a consensus, I think that’s the best we can do.”

Nelson is among several candidates seeking one of two Coalville City Council seats on the November ballot. The other individuals who declared their candidacy are Steven Richins, Matthew Boyer, Jeff Peterson, Colleen Goodman and Chris Tomczyk. 

A primary election will be held on Aug. 12 to cut the candidate field in half before the general election. Ballots were mailed on July 22.

The post Andrew Nelson would bring a fresh perspective to the Coalville City Council appeared first on Park Record.

Jeff Peterson knows Coalville is a friendly, family-values kind of town built on legacies — his own family ties going back at least four generations.

Peterson sees a lifetime of personal history when he looks around, including the electrical business he started half a decade ago and a stint as chairman of the Coalville Planning Commission around 2013, as well as a community on the cusp of change. 

The lifelong resident is running for an open seat on the Coalville City Council with the hope of protecting the small-town spirit he’s grown up with by guiding growth without letting it define the area. Peterson wants to bring a “common sense” approach to city government and would ensure Coalville’s residents are the ones benefiting.

“I’ve been blue collar pretty much all my life, and I know what it’s like to get my hands dirty,” he said. “I’ve been here for 50 years roughly. I was kind of born and raised here, went to school here. My mom went to school here. My grandma went to school here.”

Peterson served on the Planning Commission before large development projects like Wohali came up. He mainly focused on updating city codes, giving him a keen understanding of the rules, as well as property subdivisions. 

The then-planning commissioner eventually stepped down due to work obligations, though his interest in local politics never waned. With the potential for so much new growth, Peterson was keeping tabs on the City Council meetings to keep up to date with what’s happening in the city. 

He described what he witnessed as a “circus.”

Peterson felt like there were a lot of topics the City Council was bringing to the table that weren’t helping the community, or issues that generated internal animosity. 

For example, the City Council spent weeks debating whether to approve an ordinance outlining the responsibilities of councilors in comparison to the mayor, particularly regarding the distribution of appointment powers and operating procedures. The mayor retained the authority in the end.

Instead, Peterson said he wants to focus on things that matter. Like growth. If elected, he would be committed to keeping the character of Coalville while allowing for growth that’s done in a way that benefits residents rather than developers.

“I just want to try to keep it as small and rural, but still allowing it to grow. Because it’s going to grow. We’re too close to Park City for it not to,” Peterson said. 

His platform is rooted in focusing on what’s best for the community and its residents, and allowing them to have a voice through their elected representatives. Peterson’s background in construction would also be an asset for the City Council with the amount of new development coming up, he said. 

Being a business owner also means having thick skin and knowing how to communicate with a variety of people, according to Peterson. He said he’s able to stay level-headed through disagreements rather than taking things personally, has the ability to see both sides, and would look at issues with a forward-thinking approach. 

Managing growth and working with developers would be Peterson’s No. 1 priority if elected. He wants to ensure there’s infrastructure in place before new homes are built. 

“What’s going to benefit Coalville? What’s going to may not benefit Coalville now, but it’ll benefit it in the future,” Peterson said. “I’m trying to help kind of put the city’s money where it’s best going to be used, and not towards something that we’re not going to use for 40 years.”

Additionally, Peterson wants Coalville to invest in improving its sidewalks, particularly to the south of its boundaries. Updates on Main Street are needed, too. Peterson said he wants people coming to Coalville to have a great impression of the community.

Collaborating with the new mayor is also important. Peterson said city officials need to determine what topics they want to focus on and how best to spend money. One area he said officials need to consider more is affordable and senior housing as well as rentals, so locals aren’t priced out of the area when new development comes in. 

Peterson said North Summit County hasn’t been as impacted by new growth as Park City or even South Summit, but it’s on the horizon. He’s in favor of slow, planned development that longtime residents can become accustomed to, rather than an influx of new homes all at once.

“When people stop talking is when a community goes downhill,” Peterson said. “That’s really what I’d like to keep. It’s just where people are just neighborly. … Be neighborly towards each other, versus standoffish.”

Peterson is among several candidates seeking one of two Coalville City Council seats on the November ballot. The other individuals who declared their candidacy are Steven Richins, Andrew Nelson, Matthew Boyer, Colleen Goodman and Chris Tomczyk.

A primary election will be held on Aug. 12 to cut the candidate field in half before the general election. Ballots were mailed on July 22.

The post City Council candidate Jeff Peterson wants to keep Coalville ‘neighborly’ appeared first on Park Record.

Walter Brock might not have been born in Coalville, but raising eight children between the ages of 2 to 18 has made it his home.

Born in Provo and raised in West Valley City, Brock completed a Church of Latter-day Saints mission in Brazil and then chased his now-wife to Coalville, where she grew up. Military service led the couple to leave for a brief time, but they retained their home and came back to the North Summit School District to raise their family.

With a background in urban planning and commercial real estate, Brock is running for mayor to preserve Coalville’s character while guiding it through rapid change. The key values of his platform are community, quality leadership, collaboration and family.

“We have enjoyed the benefit of this beautiful community for a long time, and we want to raise our family here, so I need to get involved and provide my skill set and acumen,” he said.

Brock said it feels like the community is straining. There are a lot of sophisticated developers coming in with complex projects, and he’s concerned about the “damage to the community fabric” that unsolved problems may cause. 

He’s already served on the Coalville Planning Commission, and now Brock wants to use his professional experience to help the community prepare for the future. He has a bachelor’s degree in urban planning, a master’s degree in real estate development, and a master’s degree in business administration. He’s also involved in his local faith group and North Summit Unite.

Brock also has 10 years of experience in commercial real estate and just as long working in operations management. He explained that his skill set allows him to understand developers and their operations while applying city processes and codes.

The mayoral candidate also pointed out that the Coalville City Council must be “collaborative and kind,” which hasn’t always happened. He said the community needs to remain united despite disagreements and advocated for a quality, competent professional to be the executive of the city. 

Brock described himself as an agile operational manager who believes in daily collaboration and honest candor with a deep understanding of community development. If elected, documenting and streamlining city operations would be among his top priorities. Brock said he wants to ensure operations are well understood and that city officials, from the staff and City Council to the mayor, are collaborating in harmony.

“Some people aren’t as comfortable in that kind of fluid dynamic, but that’s what we need right now,” he said. “I’m really a team builder, collaborator, and, deep and hard, I just want communities to thrive. … I think we have such a great thing going, and it would be a shame to tarnish it with some complications.”

It’s also important to Brock that Coalville remains pleasant, safe, friendly and beautiful despite being endangered by “tempestuous potential times ahead.” He noted inflation and cost of living pose a risk to the quality of life residents have come to know, but there are also bigger challenges related to ongoing and future development.

If elected, Brock wants to help Coalville maintain its small-town roots while adapting to incoming growth. He wants the community to benefit from whatever is built, which requires Coalville to have the proper policies in place. Brock would also prioritize infrastructure maintenance, pushing for trails and sidewalks to be maintained and built — making time for essential community-focused projects as well as larger developer-oriented ones.

“I think that Coalville is being demanded to operate in a very sophisticated arena that they haven’t had that history of sophisticated operations, at least that, not that I’m aware of,” Brock said. “So, that’s what I think we need. Just an elevation of our operational methodology.”

As mayor, Brock would also want to help facilitate discussions between Coalville and other East Side municipalities, as well as the broader county. He said many residents want to feel like their voices are being represented, which is why he’s generally in favor of creating districted seats on the Summit County Council. Brock said he liked the idea of having two at-large seats with the remaining three assigned to a geographic area to help represent a broad spectrum of views when county officials consider big decisions.

Looking into the future of Coalville, Brock said what the community develops into over the next five years will be decided now. That’s why updating infrastructure, improving operations, so the community has a greater level of confidence in leaders and attracting new businesses to Main Street are crucial issues Brock hopes to address if elected.

“I think the future is going to look like a quality, upgraded current, with an eye forward to change in a nonabrasive manner,” he said.

Brock is among a handful of candidates seeking the mayor’s office this November. The other people who declared candidacy are Rory Swensen, Lynn Wood and Tyler Rowser.

A primary election will be held on Aug. 12 to cut the candidate field in half before the general election. Ballots were mailed on July 22.

The post Walter Brock enters Coalville mayoral race with diverse skill set, experience appeared first on Park Record.

Lynn Wood is a “move-in.” 

She married her husband in 2007 and began splitting her time between Salt Lake City and Coalville, where he raised his family, and quickly became enamored with the eastern Summit County community.

The couple moved to Coalville full-time about five years ago during the coronavirus pandemic. Wood’s background is in finance, but her profound love for Coalville led her to help form North Summit Unite, a nonprofit committed to preserving the arts and culture of the area through a community-driven approach, the following year. 

Wood hoped to embody the spirit of community-driven leadership when she ran for Coalville City Council in 2023, ultimately earning a seat after a successful campaign. Now halfway through her first term, Wood has entered the race as a mayoral candidate aspiring to put local voices at the center of local government.

“My big motivation for running or being involved in politics at all has always been to just draw in and get public involvement,” she said. “There should be nowhere that the public feels is more heard, where they have more influence, than local government, and I didn’t see that happening.”

Wood said her experience on the City Council has given her a great understanding of how the government works and what the role of the mayor should be. She sees the person holding that office as a sixth member of the City Council, and someone who should be collaborating with the councilors’ decision-making. 

If elected, Wood’s goal is for the City Council to become more involved in the administrative responsibilities of government through committees while being supportive of the council’s role as policy makers. She recognized that the mayor has specialized responsibilities, but she wants to ensure everyone at City Hall is working together more productively rather than from the top down.

Wood also acknowledged some tension and difficulties for the existing City Council in getting things done, saying the group needs to listen to each other better. She felt a strong, collaborative leader would be able to guide the group. Wood also wants residents to become more comfortable sharing their opinions at City Council meetings without feeling intimidated, and wants to improve the accessibility of public hearings. 

Wood said she’s improved City Council engagement by advocating for open houses for the Main Street revitalization project and an overview of the annexation process. That’s something she plans to continue if chosen for mayor.

Wood said her work as a certified public accountant is also an asset because Coalville needs a detail-oriented person with budgeting experience to lead the city, which will be beneficial when officials consider capital improvement projects or budgeting for the city’s long-term plans.

In addition to increasing citizen engagement and collaboration, one of Wood’s priorities would be to better manage the annexation process. She said the city needs to partner with professional advisors, such as a strategic planner, who can help officials through the process by crafting ordinances and working with developers to ensure all projects benefit the community.

Wood said in an interview that she’s interested in exploring the Larry H. Miller annexation petition, characterizing it as different, innovative and aligned with the “vibe” of Coalville. However, she was critical of the project’s timeline, which ultimately led her to deny the proposal during a City Council vote a few weeks later. 

“We will do it when the timing is right for Coalville City. That means getting the right advisors in place,” Wood said. “But I definitely feel that we do need to grow our city to some level. We need to be smart about it. We need to make sure that it’s sustainable and that it’s in the best interest of the citizens there.”

If elected mayor, Wood would also be focused on revitalizing Main Street. She wants to create a more vibrant downtown area, restore historic buildings and support local businesses. In five years, she’d like to see Coalville develop a Chamber of Commerce. 

This would help preserve Coalville’s unique, rural small-town character while encouraging strategic growth, according to Wood.

While she’s had a positive experience with the County Courthouse and feels the Summit County Council has been supportive of Coalville, Wood recognized that others don’t feel that way. She was supportive of creating districted County Council seats because she sees it as a necessary way to ensure Coalville’s interests are represented at the county level.

“What is threatening our quality of life? I think if we were to go out on the street and ask people, they would say, ‘New people coming in and changing the way we are,’” Wood said. “I think the way that we deal with that is we direct that growth. … And I think people understand that if we can create programs and events and things that attract those kinds of people who are going to support the values that this community has, I think people will be less afraid of it.”

Wood is among a handful of candidates seeking the mayor’s office this November. The other people who declared candidacy are Tyler Rowser, Rory Swensen and Walter Brock. 

A primary election will be held on Aug. 12 to cut the candidate field in half before the general election. Ballots were mailed on July 22.

The post Lynn Wood wants to bring collaboration, community to Coalville mayor’s office appeared first on Park Record.

Matthew Boyer was born and raised in Coalville, so it’s no surprise the small eastern Summit County town feels like home. 

The sixth-generation resident grew up working on a farm about nine miles east of town in Upton, and he is well acquainted with the community. Boyer said he understands the town’s agricultural roots, but he also recognizes that times are changing. In part, that’s why he joined the Coalville Planning Commission last fall, and what’s now inspiring his run for the Coalville City Council.

“I want everybody to feel like this is their hometown. This is for them. You know that this is a place they can always call home, whether they stay here their whole life, or they grow up here and they leave, or they come here later in life. I want them to feel like this is home,” he said.

After graduating from North Summit High School, Boyer attended Utah State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in statistics with minors in math and finance, as well as a master’s degree in financial economics. 

Boyer discovered there was a new position opening up at the County Courthouse around the same time he was finishing his master’s degree. The Summit County Council in 2022 approved a data analyst position for the assessor’s office due to a backlog in commercial properties that hadn’t been reevaluated for several years, and Boyer was hired. 

When he returned to Coalville about three years ago, Boyer began paying attention to how issues were being handled at City Hall. 

He noticed there was a massive emphasis on growth, yet not much long-term perspective. Boyer also felt like officials were neglecting more immediate issues that keep the city running, such as improving the sidewalks on Main Street, and giving too much attention to issues that don’t benefit residents. 

“We need to carefully plan that out so that we don’t turn into a community that we don’t recognize in 10 years,” Boyer said. “We need to be looking at the whole picture of Coalville.”

Last fall, city officials were looking to appoint someone to an open Coalville City Council seat, and Boyer was one of five candidates who applied. His grandfather and father both served on the council for years, and so it was natural for him to want to serve.

Although he wasn’t chosen for the seat, Boyer’s name came up again when the mayor needed to fill a vacancy on the Coalville Planning Commission. Boyer happily agreed. 

“I want to be involved. The way Coalville grows, I want to be here the rest of my life, and so I feel like I need to take an active role, and can’t just expect other people to do everything for me,” he said. “My predecessors set the city up in a way that it was a place I wanted to come back to. Now, I have to do that for my kids and their grandchildren and generations to come.”

Boyer noted a big shift at the state level in the way developers interact with municipalities, and characterized the Planning Commission as a kind of “subdivision approval committee.” Commissioners ensure the project meets the city’s development code and debate whether it fits into the vision for Coalville and how it should grow.

He noted the importance of taking on an active role in planning and development, emphasizing the value of open spaces to preserve the agricultural feel of the community and recognizing the need for connections and infrastructure like trails or sidewalks — something he plans to do if elected to the City Council.

Serving on the Planning Commission exposed Boyer to the planning process and the responsibility the city has in taking a mindful, future-forward approach to do what’s best for the community.

Smart, purposeful growth is a key component of Boyer’s platform. He said he wants to help facilitate development that preserves the community’s agricultural character without overwhelming the city, while creating opportunities for young families. 

Improving city infrastructure by focusing on the revitalization of Main Street, continuing to connect community spaces and making Coalville more accessible is also a top priority for Boyer. 

He also noted the importance of restoring civility to the City Council. Boyer wants to reduce personal emotions, promote collaborative problem-solving, ensure all community groups feel represented, create a more transparent, accountable government and provide clear, articulate reasoning for decisions.

“To me, that’s what Coalville really is,” Boyer said. “Anytime somebody needs something in this community, there is always a line of hands ready to help. It’s friendly, because half of us are related to one another, but we’ve known each other all our lives, and so we want everybody else to succeed.”

Boyer is among several candidates seeking one of two Coalville City Council seats on the November ballot. The other individuals who declared their candidacy are Steven Richins, Andrew Nelson, Jeff Peterson, Colleen Goodman and Chris Tomczyk. 

A primary election will be held on Aug. 12 to cut the candidate field in half before the general election. Ballots were mailed on Tuesday.

The post Matthew Boyer wants to continue legacy of public service on Coalville City Council appeared first on Park Record.

Longtime Coalville resident Tyler Rowser has dedicated years to shaping the community’s future on the Planning Commission and City Council. Now, he’s setting his sights on the mayor’s seat to prevent stagnation and ensure Coalville has an active role in how it changes.

An administrative battalion chief with the North Summit Fire District, Rowser spent eight years on the Coalville City Council, exiting his seat in 2023 after he was unsuccessful in securing a third term. Before that, Rowser served almost as long on the Coalville Planning Commission because he believes in proactive community development — and making Coalville the best it can be.

“None of us want to see a lot of change, but it’s going to happen,” Rowser said. “We can either be involved and make it be as Coalville, or we can bury our heads in the sand, and it’ll take its own shape, and we’ll totally be outside of it.” 

His goals are to protect Coalville’s long-term interests, ensure that new developments benefit the community, and collaborate with developers rather than pushing them aside. Rowser said he sees Coalville as a historic, rural and family-friendly community, and he wants to keep it that way.

Rowser was also a strong advocate for developing a strategic plan to mitigate the impacts of development and was in favor of working through master planned developments to gain benefits for the city. New developments should also create a cohesive look.

For example, Rowser cited a city ordinance that requires major developments to donate open space. He said this preserves 10% of the land. It essentially forces the developer to pay for the open space on property they’re constitutionally entitled to build on, which reduces the city’s burden. 

He was once opposed to the Hidden Meadow Village annexation proposed by Larry H. Miller Real Estate, but Rowser started to worry Coalville would face something similar to West Hills — a bid to incorporate a new town between Kamas and Hideout that’s slated to appear on the November ballot — if city councilors rejected the project. The Coalville City Council recently denied the application in a 3-1 vote.

If elected, Rowser’s top priorities would be updating the entry corridor, encouraging local business growth, and maintaining and improving city infrastructure. 

Rowser recognized that Coalville will need to partner with the Utah Department of Transportation for improvements to state roadways and that funding could be an issue. He noted how many people come through the area to visit Echo State Park and how that supports the sales tax base, so Rowser wants to encourage that atmosphere year-round.

Improving the Main Street corridor will be key to achieving that goal. Rowser wants to fill vacant storefronts, improve the aesthetics of the area and drive people downtown. However, the streets need to be more pedestrian-friendly and safe. Coalville had been considering updates to its Main Street corridor for years, but money and a lack of consensus have been issues. 

“[The City Council] didn’t want to change anything,” Rowser said about the failure to act on any Main Street improvement plans. “I think that’s a big oversight. In government, your job is health, safety and welfare first.

Continuing to work on the city’s infrastructure a bit at a time is another goal for Rowser. He wanted to avoid a large tax increase for citizens if the city needed to take out major loans for projects to bring the infrastructure up to date. 

Rowser would approach the mayor’s seat as a mediator seeking compromise and transparent communication. He acknowledged a sense of disagreement among the current City Council and an aversion to making decisions. Roswer said he wanted to see officials working together for the betterment of Coalville. 

With two new city councilors as well as a new mayor to be elected in November, Rowser said his experience working in Coalville’s government makes him the ideal candidate to lead the city. If he were mayor, Rowser said he would help get the ball rolling for decisions to be made.

“We’ve had disagreements. We disagreed on staff, but we tried to work with each other,” Rowser said. “Where can we have common ground?”

He also wants to help close the gap between Coalville and the County Courthouse by opening communication with the Summit County Council and other eastern Summit County municipalities. Rowser advocated for cross-county collaboration, including with South Summit.

Rowser was in favor of creating districted seats for the County Council rather than five at-large seats, a change that will be implemented next year. He said he didn’t want Coalville’s voice to be “diluted.”

Rowser said he wished he had a crystal ball to see Coalville five years in the future. His vision includes safety improvements, enhanced walkability and a historic, robust Main Street. He also wants more affordable housing opportunities for younger families and perhaps public transit.

Rowser is among a handful of candidates seeking the mayor’s office this November. The other people who declared candidacy are Rory Swensen, Lynn Wood and Walter Brock. 

A primary election will be held on Aug. 12 to cut the candidate field in half before the general election. Ballots were mailed on Tuesday.

The post Tyler Rowser eyes mayor’s seat to keep Coalville in control appeared first on Park Record.

A large, slate gray device resembling an early 2000s Xerox machine whizzes, spitting out a test deck of sample ballots into a top, middle or bottom bin based on what it detects. The categories are simple: can count, needs human eyes and unreadable.

The outcome, unlike the actual election, is predetermined. 

Election programmer Election Systems & Software (ES&S) marks the test deck using a predictable pattern for each primary municipal election, and sends a copy of what the ballot count outcome should be to the Summit County Clerk’s Office. Staff use the deck to test the voting tabulation equipment and make sure it’s calculating votes correctly before the actual count begins.

Clerk Eve Furse said the logic and accuracy test is a key component in safeguarding election integrity and promoting public trust in the process. 

A printer generates a copy of the test deck created by ES&S on mail-in ballot paper, which is then sent to the County Courthouse. Furse explained the Clerk’s Office also makes a sampling of those ballots on an ExpressVote and on the Ballot on Demand printers so the count is tested on mail-in ballot paper, replacement ballot paper and in-person voting paper — to make sure all voting methods are covered.

Clerk’s Office staff, primary candidates and citizens curious about the process crowded into a small room on Monday morning to participate in and observe the test.

A report is printed to show that before the ballots are counted, the machines have been cleared of all old counts. Furse said this is for the DS450 digital scan ballot tabulator, the desktop, the laptop and the DS200 back-up machine, none of which are connected to the internet. Only poll pads connect to the internet for voter registration checks.

Then the test deck is run through the DS450. The ballot tabulator scans the ballots, categorizing them based on whether the vote is readable. Some ballots need to be adjudicated, such as if someone had crossed off their choice and selected a new one or if an individual overvoted. 

Furse described Utah as a “voter-intent state,” saying officials do whatever they can to ensure every ballot is counted when possible, even if it means additional steps to verify a vote.

If a ballot is marked as unreadable, Clerk’s Office staff will look at it to determine the issue and decide on how the vote should be counted. There are two people for every task, such as collecting ballots from drop boxes and signing off on the reports, to promote integrity and security.

After the sample ballots go through the DS450, a report is generated. Staff compare the printed report to the master report to see if it matches. If it does, the machine is doing its job. 

Clerk’s Office staff move the results from the DS450 to a desktop, upload the results and print a report to make sure it matches. If it does, the votes are not being changed during the transfer from the tabulating machine to the desktop. 

Next, the results are loaded onto a laptop. Again, staff print a report to see if it matches the master list. If it does, they know the votes aren’t being changed. The Clerk’s Office is also equipped with special USB-like encrypted keys that prevent the data from unauthorized access or tampering.

There are also several checks in place before ballots even hit the tabulation machines to be counted. 

Ballots are mailed to voters around three weeks before an election, each marked with a unique identification number tied to each voter. The Clerk’s Office collects and processes ballots by verifying the signature matches against past signatures — with an opportunity for the voter to correct it if challenged — and scans the barcode. Then, the ballots are entered into the tabulation equipment. 

The initial preliminary count is released in the days following the election, and the Summit County Council meets as a canvass to certify the results soon after.

Furse recognized that it can be frustrating not to see official results immediately after the election, but she said there needs to be a balance between speed and accuracy. 

Polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day. The primary election is Aug. 12. Ballots were mailed Tuesday and should arrive in mailboxes soon.

Changes to state law prevent the Clerk’s Office from accepting any ballots returned after the election. Utah law previously allowed mail-in ballots postmarked the day before the election to be counted. However, ballots returned by mail must now be received by Election Day. 

Furse encouraged voters to plan ahead to ensure their ballots arrive on time. If there’s any doubt it will be returned on time, she advised dropping ballots in a drop box or voting in person.

Ballots will also have a box for voters to put the last four digits of their driver’s license number or Social Security number, starting this election cycle. This is a new process that will formally take effect in 2029. It’s intended to improve voter security by providing a more objective verification method than signing. 

Voters should also look for a box to check whether they want to opt in to receiving a ballot by mail. The state Legislature amended the law to make mail-in ballots no longer automatic starting in 2029.

Drop boxes are at the Summit County Courthouse, the Coalville and Kamas branches of the Summit County Library, the Park City Library, The Market at Park City, the Summit County Health Department in Quinn’s Junction, Francis City Hall and Henefer Town Hall.

Early in-person voting is also permitted in the week leading up to the primary as well as the day of. Early voting will be available from Wednesday, Aug. 6, to Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Summit County Clerk’s Office and the Marsac Building. The Clerk’s Office will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Park City Hall will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Election Day voting locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 12 at Coalville City Hall, the Kamas branch of the Summit County Library and the Marsac Building.

Furse emphasized that misinformation about voting is the No. 1 election issue for the Clerk’s Office. She affirmed that Summit County has safe, fair elections. People with questions are encouraged to email elections@summitcountyutah.gov or call 435-336-3203.

The post Summit County Clerk’s Office tests election machines before counting primary votes appeared first on Park Record.