ST. GEORGE – Parks, recreation facilities and a reliable source of power are the top issues facing candidates for Enterprise City Council. Two incumbents will face off against three challengers for three open seats Nov. 3.

Incumbent Darcy Holt is running for a second term and hopes to continue her work developing the city park and overseeing the installation of the splash pad water feature. Funds for the installation were provided to the city through a donation from Zions Bank.

“Our city park has been under construction for a long time,” Holt said. “I want to see that finished.”

Holt acknowledges that parks may not be as significant as water and power infrastructure but believes the city park will add to the community.

“I really honestly believe with that sense of community, people can do a lot of things,” she said.

Holt said she will continue her work if she isn’t reelected. She’s devoted hours to a program allowing residents to donate trees to the park and have their gift memorialized by an engraved marker.

“I think being on the City Council these four years has just given me a little more knowledge. I know what to do now,” she said. “If I want to start a program, I think the city is super supportive. I can continue my Memorial Tree program and keep working with that.”

Challenger R. Jared Holt is a newcomer to Enterprise politics. He’s generally pleased with the work of previous councils and wants to add his voice to ongoing efforts to create new recreation facilities for the town’s youth.

“The problem we have, of course, is that we’re a small community and we don’t have maybe the resources to put in huge facilities but something appropriate to the area,” he said. “We should be working on it and we are.”

Holt said he would remain active in efforts to develop activities for the city’s youth regardless of the outcome of the election.

“I would be supportive of whoever is in there to bring about the same goals,” he said. “We’re a community and we all work together.”

Jared Bollinger is running for a second term and has previously served on the Enterprise Planning Commission. Bollinger said recent city projects, including the construction of a new fire station, the remodel of city offices and the development of the city park are significant because they were accomplished without putting the city into debt.

“I think you’re just going to see continued growth and a lot more excitement amongst our citizens as they see things that have kind of been on the drawing board for a couple of years, some of those further than just a few years, as they start to see those things come to fruition, I think it’s going to be very exciting,” he said.

Bollinger feels the main focus of city efforts going forward should be on securing a reliable power source.

“There’s a lot of discussion right now as far as shutting off some of the coal generation plants,” he said.

Bollinger said the city is looking into alternative ways to generate power, including EPA-approved nuclear power.

He looks forward to a second term and said he will continue to serve the community even if voters choose not to return him to the council.

Challenger Ronald Lehm has served one previous term on the council. Since leaving office two years ago, he’s kept pace with local issues and contributed to the public discussion.

“(It) makes it a lot easier for someone that comes on to the council,” he said. “You can come on with both feet on the ground and ready to serve rather than come on the council and be confused.”

Power for the city is his main concern. He said the coal-fired power plant that supplies Enterprise will need to be converted to natural gas by 2027. This turmoil with the electricity grid makes an alternative source of energy a priority, he said.

“It’s a multiple challenge for not just us but many of the cities here in Utah,” he said.

Keeping the small city running and ready for the future is his goal.

“The other challenge we have is just to maintain and keep up our current infrastructure to make sure it doesn’t deteriorate,” he said. “Take the steps needed to stay on top of it, to keep everything as up-to-date as we possibly can.”

Aaron Prisbrey is running for a council seat because he isn’t satisfied with business as usual.

“I’ve worked quite a bit with the youth in Enterprise and it seems like there’s a lack of youth programs,” he said. “There’s really nowhere for the kids to go.”

He thinks there’s been a reticence on the part of Enterprise officials to move ahead with the park, citing the amount of time it took for the city to appoint a parks director. He also feels there’s been a problem with communication between the city and various sports programs like Little League.

That’s just the beginning. Prisbrey said city services are not being delivered to all the residents of Enterprise.

“There was an issue over the flooding (summer 2014) and the lack of the city’s response to a lot of homes that were flooded,” he said. “I think they could have certainly served the citizens a little bit better. They could have been a little more open to the concerns that they had.”

He’s also heard from residents of one city subdivision who said they couldn’t get essential city services such as snow removal.

Prisbrey said the city should do more to attract jobs and make it easier for businesses to get a license in Enterprise, something he said currently requires City Council approval.

“Overall, we could be a little bit more user-friendly at the city,” he said.

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