CEDAR CITY — Cedar City Council has three four-year seats up for grabs this election cycle.
Councilmembers Terri Hartley and Craig Isom are stepping down, and incumbent Tyler Melling is in the race with five others: Robert S. Cox, Brittany Fisher, Kathy Long, Mark Mumford and Carter Wilkey.
Which candidates will join R. Scott Phillips and Ron Riddle in the council chambers next year? And how might they vote on Cedar City’s hot topics?
On Oct. 10, Southern Utah University’s Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service hosted a debate. Candidates were given questions by students and center team members Tydon Bullard and Lexi Andrist, which they were randomly selected to answer within a 60-second time limit.
Who are the candidates?
Cox has been a Southern Utah resident most of his life, has served in the military and has been involved with service organizations. He’s been the president, board member, and committee member of the Cedar City Rotary Club and helped youth groups raise livestock.
“Service has really been the crux of my life, and I’ve been involved and I’m proud of that,” he said during introductions. “And now I want to take my turn to serve Cedar City and try to make Cedar City maybe a little better than I found it.”
Long has lived in Cedar City for approximately 40 years after moving to the area from Salt Lake City to attend the “lovely SUU.” She’s been involved with the Cedar City Chamber of Commerce, the Children’s Justice Center, Iron County Care and Share and the Canyon Creek Services.
“I love to serve,” she said, adding, “I’m also a treasurer for a statewide nonprofit entity — It’s a multimillion-dollar entity, so I understand the fiduciary responsibilities of any service-oriented project that we do.”
As the only incumbent, Melling said he has a track record, which could be a mark for or against him, “depending on who you ask.” He ran for City Council initially after his law firm repeatedly received phone calls from people interested in starting businesses but struggling with the city’s process.
“So, I’ve zealously advocated for simplification of the rules that allow people to provide for their families, as well as better water resource management,” he said. “And I would like another chance to continue serving in that role.”
Starting as a teacher at Canyon View High School, Mumford has lived in Cedar City for 19 years and currently works in the Iron County School District’s technology department. He is on Cedar City’s Board of Adjustments, where he said he’s “learned a lot more about what the city does.”
“I’m really fascinated with civilization,” he said. “I love learning about the way that people live around the world through time. … So, I want to be on City Council because I just think it’s fascinating.”
Wilkey moved to Cedar City in 2016, and since then, he’s graduated from SUU and has had four children with his wife. He’s served on four city committees, including his current work with the Board of Adjustments and Planning Commission. He began attending weekly City Council meetings in 2018 and said he’s since been to over 160.
“I’ve prepared myself the best that I can,” he said.
Fisher wasn’t born or raised in Utah but attended SUU, where she earned her Master of Business Administration. She and her husband served in the Navy, so they moved often and decided to settle down to raise their son in Southern Utah. She is the Cedar City Rotary Club’s president.
“I just want to make our community even better,” she said.
A 100-foot building in Cedar City’s heart?
In July, Cedar City Council agreed to consider disposing of a 1.2-acre parcel located at approximately 120 N. 100 West in Cedar City’s Historic Downtown, behind Bulloch Drug, after completing a Request for Proposals process.
Bush and Gudgell proposed to build a 100-foot building, Cedar City News reported. The structure would host underground parking and residential and commercial units. Currently, it serves as a parking lot for the Downtown Parking Authority.
Bullard said that none of the candidates opposed the proposal during the primary debate and asked if they were in favor of the city providing financial incentives for the project.
Wilkey said no.
“The property has a lot of value as it is,” he said. “And the location — obviously, you can’t make more downtown property just appear out of nowhere, so I am confident that there will be good proposals that come forward, and hopefully, we end up with a great product that’s good for our community, and that’s good for our downtown.”
Cox said the city doesn’t necessarily need to get involved in developing real estate but should encourage business.
“They need to encourage people to come here,” he said. “But what about the businesses that have been here forever? How do you help them? Why are we helping new ones?”
If developers want to build something, “they should be able to come up with the money to do that,” Long said, adding that she doesn’t fully support the project.
“However, if someone wants to buy it and guarantees that the buildings facing Main Street won’t be harmed, then they should be able to.”
“If you build it, they will come,” Mumford said, adding that the city shouldn’t offer incentives; if the zoning is correct, developers will build what’s needed.
“I think if all the ordinances are correct, it should just work,” he said.
Melling said there is a difference between not opposing a proposal and “zealously advocating” for it. Still, if city rules make a property less valuable, they should be changed for everyone.
He said that 45% of Cedar City’s downtown is asphalt, compared to 25% in similar cities, and that “we need to find better policies that prioritize people, not cars.”
Fisher agreed with the other candidates, adding that she felt the city “did a great job of opening it up to (Requests for Proposals).”
“If something comes back and matches the ordinances, and it’s profitable for them, there’s no need for an incentive,” she said.
Should the city consider rezoning parcels for non-student, high-density housing?
Fisher said that student housing “is a little different.”
“I’d have to look at the zone change and everything that goes into it,” she said. “I really focus on when you’re changing a zone from a general plan. There’s a lot that goes into that — We have a general plan for a reason, for infrastructure and a number of things, so rezoning is not something to take lightly.”
Long said that while apartment living isn’t for everyone, high-density housing is a “viable option” for some as it’s “cheaper than purchasing a home.”
“Because we do need high-density housing in our area because it will lead to more attainable, affordable housing,” she said.
Mumford said it’s cheaper for developers to build up rather than out and that people have different housing needs.
“There was a family across just across the street (in the Three Peaks subdivision) that were really into sports, but … they didn’t really like to take care of their lawn, so after a few years, they actually moved into the city near some ball fields and lived in an apartment,” he said.
“If done correctly and in the right place,” Cox said high-density housing could reduce traffic issues and make housing more affordable.
“You look at Denver and Salt Lake and some other cities, and they’ve made McMansions and townhomes and single families all in one development. … They’ve all risen together — it’s become very beautiful,” he said.
Wilkey said that in Cedar City’s ordinances, “high-density” could mean various housing types, including condominiums, apartment buildings or townhomes, and that he’d like to see that change.
Additionally, it’s more costly for the city to provide services to subdivisions built in remote areas, Wilkey said.
“There’s something to be said about … allowing that density closer to the city where our services already are,” he said.
Melling said he doesn’t think “people realize how much high-density housing subsidizes our way of life,” referencing city-funded water line repairs.
Additionally, he said he struggles with those expressing concerns focused on the types of people who live in high-density housing.
“I’m not afraid of apartment people,” he said. “But I think when we politicize housing, that is dangerous territory.”
Sustainable water use
Andrist asked the candidates if recent water rights purchases and other efforts to acquire water would be “enough to stabilize the aquifer and take care of our fast-growing city.”
“What does a stable and sustainable future of water use in Cedar City look like?” she asked.
While Utah has had a wetter year, Mumford said he didn’t expect that to last. He applauded the Central Iron County Conservancy District and Mayor Garth Green for their interest in purchasing water rights and the City Council’s decision to raise water rates.
“What we need to do now is follow up with programs to help people understand what they can do to reduce their water usage,” he said.
Melling said the city’s recent water purchases doubled the volume of rights available for residential use, which would need to be doubled to “meet the demand of our current usage.”
“What we’ve found is we had very cheap water and … about half of it was being used by 5% of households,” he said, adding, “In adjusting water rates, we’re hoping to either meet our conservation targets or have funds to acquire for those excess users.”
Between water rights purchases and conservation, Long said the city could become “somewhat sustainable, but who knows what’s going to happen in the future.”
“But conservation is key,” she said. “It always is key — always will be key. We need to conserve, conserve, conserve, even though we do have new water rights.”
Fisher said, “Water, in general, is a long-term issue, and we really need to plan out for the future and make good judgment calls.”
“I really think that conserving water is going to make a big impact on our aquifer,
she said. “I also think that buying … water rights are going to be important for that first cut.”
The cuts referred to would result from the Utah State Engineer’s groundwater management plan for Cedar City, “scheduled to ‘retire’ or phase out any water rights newer than July 25, 1934,” with the city at risk of losing a large percentage of its water over the next 50 years, Cedar City News reported last year.
The goal is to gradually reduce the amount of water depleted from aquifers and establish safe yield limits — the amount of groundwater that can be pumped sustainably. This prompted the city to purchase older water rights.
Cox said the city should consider creative strategies to acquire more water, such as developing reservoirs or using settling boxes to settle out “murky water” for irrigation.
“We need to do all we can to equal that ledger,” he said.
“Anytime we talk about water, it gets very expensive very quickly,” Wilkey said, adding that Green has “a lot of great ideas.”
“We need to find ways to vet these things and spend the money that’s needed on the good ideas and maybe set some of the other ones aside.”
Voting
The General Election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 21, with unofficial results expected the same day after 9 p.m. According to Iron County, ballots will be mailed to eligible registered voters on Oct. 31.
The last day to register to vote in person, via mail or electronically is Nov. 13 by 5 p.m.
Absentee ballots must be requested by Nov. 14. Iron County residents can vote early Nov. 14-17. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 20.
To learn more about the election, such as where to vote or how to register, visit Iron County’s website.
Additionally, Cedar City shared additional information about City Council candidates and other issues on the ballot online.
Cedar City News reporter Jeff Richards contributed to this report.
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