Eagle Mountain, Utah
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Eagle Mountain is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. The city is a developing town located to the west of the Lake Mountains, which are west of Utah Lake. It was incorporated on December 3, 1996 and has been rapidly growing ever since. The population was 2,157 at the 2000 census. By Feb. 2007 the estimated population had reached 19,000.
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[edit] History
In 1992, Scott Kirkland moved his family to Utah in search of a better quality of life. He had started out in the real estate development business in 1982 in Orange County, California, and was very successful. In 1990 real estete values began to decline, along with savings and loan debacle, cutbacks in defense and natural disasters. Feeling he had learned some valuable lessons he started Jamestown Homes with some partners. Here he became acquainted with Debbie Hooge, who handled sales for Jamestown. She became the original broker for sales at Cedar Pass Ranch. She later became the first mayor of Eagle Mountain.
In 1994, Jamestown Homes merged with Trophy Homes of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Kirkland moved on to land development.
It was about that time when he, Phil Nolen and Grant Marsh (two Denver developers) joined to create Cedar Pass Ranch. Each lot was five acres or larger with an equestrian twist. Horse trails run between the lots over the entire 800 acres. Most homes are in the $200,000 to $400,000 range. Prior to incorporation, most of the land within the boundary of what became Eagle Mountain was zoned by Utah County for agricultural use, with large lot residential development also allowed. In addition to homes in Cedar Pass Ranch and Harvest Haven in the northeast corner of the community, there were another eight or ten homes along the length of Lake Mountain Road. The predominant land use remains agricultural, priamrily in irrigated cropland, dry farming and livestock grazing, though within two years of incorporation two large areas were in the early stages of intensive development.
Until 1993, the area now known as Eagle Mountain contained several homes on Lake Mountain Road and a few farmhouses in the valley. In 1993, members of the Communities of the Apostolic United Brethren began building homes on property purchased from their church on the north side of State Road 73 about seven miles west of Lehi. Their small subdivision was known as Harvest Haven. Shortly thereafter, Cedar Pass L.C., a development group based in Colorado, purchased property on the south side of the highway from Grant Smith, a farmer and large landowner in the Cedar Valley. The development, known as Cedar Pass Ranch, was developed under Utah County ruled requiring a minimum lot size of 3.25 acres. Unusual for a rural development, it included features like trails and common parks or recration facilities.
In 1994, John Walden (a developer based in Florida) purchased the Monte Vista Ranch from the Fitzgerald Estate wich consisted of 8,000+ acres together with several thousand acres feet of water. Nick Berg, a manager of four other Walden projects in Utah, assembled a team that included three land planners (Ira hodges, David, Conine and Lee Nellis), along with other real estate and engineering professionals to evaluate the development opportunities for the property. Initially purchasing the land for the water rights and after finding out that those rights could not be transferred out of the valley, Walden later decided to form a city by joining with the developers in the Ranches and with Harvest Haven development, both from the north area of the city, in order to have enough residents to form a town. Because the Utah County commission was opposed to extensive development in unincorporated areas, it was apparent that incorporation was the only alternative if Walden was to pursue large-scale development.
The Walden team approached the developers of both Cedar Pass Ranch and Harvest Haven about incorporation. With their support, a sufficient number of residents signed a petition requesting a town. Eagle Mountain was incorporated in December of 1996. The county commission allowed the developers to propose the names for positions for the first town council and mayor. Debbie Hooge, a member of Cedar Pass Ranch L.C., volunteered to be Mayor. Nick Berg was also appointed. John Jacob (2006 United States Congressional Candidate) and Diane Bradshaw, both residents of Cedar Pass Ranch, were appointed. D. Cyril Watt of Harvest Haven was also appointed.
A need for city services was paramount to make a reality of this effort and so the city shortly after being formed entered into the utility business and began providing, gas, electric, water, sewer and even telephone since this area was so far removed from typical services. This would require millions of dollars and would become the root of much controversy in the future.
In fact, shortly after incorporation, a lawsuit was filed by a Cedar Valley resident who challenged the legitamacy of the town, since the mayor (Debbie Hooge) did not yet actually reside in the community at the time of incorporation. There were also questions of conflict of interest raised by residents concerned about members of the council approving developments from which they would personally benefit (ie. Today, councilwoman Jackson is a title worker and does all of Walden's title work). After several months, the courts agreed the law was based on "intent" and that Mayor Hooge and the city were legal.
Eagle Mountain was a planned city built around a concept of new urbanism, and incorporated in December 1996 with a population of approximately 250 residents.
The city formed its own volunteer fire department that would later become one of the finest in the State of Utah for a city its size. The first permanent structure built was the fire station. Temporary trailer were brought in as the first official city offices with a new city hall/utilities administration building being built and completed in May 2005 along with a new public works building. They even formed their own library that now occupies over 2000 square feet in its new city hall/utilities administration building.
Pony Express Elementary, Eagle Mountain's first school, opened over capacity. A new elementary school, Eagle Valley Elementary, opened in time for the 2004-2005 school year, also opening over capacity. The Ranches Academy, a public charter school, opened for the 2004-2005 school year opened at its set enrollment capacity.
Eagle Mountain has had numerous mayors and mayor pro tems that have served since its inception.
Mayor Hooge Dec 1996 - Oct 1998, Mayor Rob Bateman Oct 1998 - Jan 1999, Mayor Paul Bond Jan 2002 - Jan 2004, Mayor Kelvin Bailey Jan 2002 - June 2005, Mayor David Lifferth Aug 2005 - Dec 2005, Mayor Brian Olsen Jan 2006 - Oct 2006, Mayor Don Richardson Nov 2006 to present. In addition to these mayors, Eagle Mountain has had various mayor pro tems serve as acting mayors until one could be appointed. Vincent Liddiard July 2005 - Aug 2005, Brian Olsen Nov 2005 - Jan 2005, Linn Strouse Oct 2006 - Nov 2006.
[edit] Government and politics
Eagle Mountain has had several mayors in its short history.
Shortly after incorporation, a lawsuit was filed by a Cedar Valley resident who challended the legitamacy of the town, since the mayor (Debbie Hooge) did not yet actually reside in the community at the time of incorporation. There were also questions of conflict of interest raised by residents concerned about members of the council approving developments from which they would personally benefit (ie. Today, councilwoman Jackson is a title worker and does all of Walden's title work). After several months, the courts agreed the law was based on "intent" and that Mayor Hooge and the city were legal.
Debbie Hooge was appointed the first mayor by the Utah County Commission upon incorporation in December of 1996.
The first elections to the town council were held in November of 1997. Mayor Hooge ran unopposed. Diane Bradshaw and Cyril Watt were re-elected. Dan Valentine and Rob Bateman were newly elected. When Mayor Hooge stepped down the following year, Rob Bateman was appointed to fill the remainder of her term. William (Bill) Chipman was appointed to fill the open council seat.
At the next regular election, Paul Bond was elected mayor to serve a term for two years. Paul Bond was later accused by Kelvin Bailey as botching the entire financials of the city. To date, Bailey claims there are no financial records and that all records of finances during Bond's term or missing or otherwise destroyed.
Kelvin Bailey then ran against Greg Kehl, a city councillor, and won by about 70 votes. Bailey resigned on June 30, 2005, citing financial problems and a need to have time to develop his inventions. Vincent Liddiard, the Mayor Pro Tem, took the lead until David Lifferth was appointed by 5-0 vote of the council on August 2, 2005. Lifferth resigned his position as mayor at the end of the final council meeting for 2005. Brian Olsen, the mayor pro tem and mayor-elect filled the seat for the final days of 2005. Brian Olsen was the sixth mayor to serve in the office since 2005 until he resigned on October 20, 2006. Councillor Linn Strouse was appointed to fill the mayor seat on October 21. The vote was 3-2, with council members Liddiard and Jackson dissenting.[1]
Immediately prior to resigning as mayor, Lifferth's last official act was to officially name the Utilities Administration Building (the City Hall) in honor of former mayor Kelvin Bailey. The sign would have read, "Eagle Mountain's Mayor Kelvin Bailey City Administration Building". While David Lifferth felt he had the power to make this change as Mayor, the council disagreed. After Brian Olsen was sworn in, the proposal fizzled out and was finally killed.
Currently, Heather Jackson, David "Dave" Blackburn, David Lifferth, Linda "Linn" Strouse, and Vincent Liddiard hold seats on the city council.
Bailey and Eagle Mountain gained some national attention in March 2003 when Bailey reportedly claimed to have been kidnapped and forced to drive to Barstow, California. FBI personnel were briefly involved in the case. Bailey reportedly confessed that he had invented the kidnapping story due to his "struggling with the stresses of his responsibilities as mayor and with his job as a construction consultant. He admitted making up the story to appease his wife until he could return home and explain his disappearance." [2] Bailey initially pled not guilty to misdemeanor charges of filing false police reports, but finally accepted a plea deal in 2005.
Interestingly, to-date Brigham Morgan and Greg Kehl are the only two city councillors to finish four-year elected terms. No Eagle Mountain mayor has finished a four-year term. The city council determined that part of the problem lay in the fact that the mayor received a monthly stipend of $1,000. In July 2005, the council approved a salary for the mayor of $69,982 per year, which included benefits. April 2007 City Council meeting is being held to determine if the council members should receive a healthy increase in pay from $300/month to $600/month. The mayor, Don Richardson is seeking a reduction in salary to $40,000, as he reports he can only be mayor part time.
On October 20, 2006, Brian Olsen resigned from office. The reason cited was "family and personal considerations".|url=http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/197271 |title=Eagle Mountain mayor quits |publisher=The Daily Herald |accessdate=2006-10-21 |date=2006-10-21 }}</ref> In light of this resignation, the council met in emergency session on October 21, 2006 and selected Linn Strouse to serve as interim mayor for a 30 day period. The vote was 3-2, with council members Liddiard and Jackson dissenting.|url=http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/197319 |title=Interim mayor for Eagle Mountain |publisher=The Daily Herald |accessdate=2006-10-22 |date=2006-10-22 }}</ref>
It wasn't until October 23, that Olsen was accused of seven felony accounts of misusing public funds by the Utah County Attorney's office. The amount of monies have not been disclosed. Papers reported that an employee of the city is accusing Olsen. Councilman David Lifferth and Heather Jackson have reported being aware of the investigation and were advised by the County Attorney to not speak about it until the charges were filed.[3]
The current mayor is Don Richardson, a newcomer to Eagle Mountain politics. An election will be held November 2007 to determine who will serve for the next two years (2008-2010).
Councilman David Blackburn was chosen by the council to serve as mayor pro tempore, despite accusations that he failed to declare a conflict of interest when he accepted Elk hunting and Pheasant Hunting trips from Epic Engineering. During 2005, Epic Engineering was one of the applicants bidding on the $5 Million sewer treatment expansion project. Interestingly, David Blackburn has voiced deep emotion at one council meeting where he voted for Epic Engineering to receive the bid and it was defeated. Blackburn continues to defend himself that accepting fully paid hunting trips from Epic was not a conflict of interest. ( Thursday, March 22, 2007 Councilman denies conflict of interest Utah's Daily Herald).
[edit] LDS CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
The majority of people who reside in Cedar Valley now, as in times past, are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For many years the Cedar Valley Ward at Cedar Fort and at times the Fairfield Branch fucntioned as the presiding units. However, with all the recent population growth great change has occurred. There are now several Stakes. A new temple in American Fork, the Timpanogos Temple, serves these people. New buildings have been constructed to serve as Stake and Ward meeting houses.
[edit] UTILITIES
The utilities are owned by the city. While the Telecom department has been sold to Direct Communications, the city owns its own natural gas, electric, water, and sewer services. It is a major financial debate with current city politicians.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 108.0 square kilometres (41.7 square miles).
Eagle Mountain sits at the western base of the Lake Mountains in the flat Cedar Valley northeast of the city of Cedar Fort. An area known as The Ranches is also being developed just north of the Lake Mountains on Utah State Route 73 (west of Lehi), within the city limits of Eagle Mountain.
A citywide 2005 Dan Jones Survey resulted in Mr. Dan Jones reporting to the 2005 council that it was more than likely major moral and political battles would be had in the town because of the predominant religious base of LDS in the area.
Highway 73 and Eagle Mountain Boulevard provide access to the city from Utah Valley and Salt Lake Valley, although the city center sits at least 15 miles from the two valleys' main transportation corridor along Interstate 15. The Utah Department of Transportation is in the process of planning a western freeway for the Salt Lake valley which would connect to Highway 73 only a few miles from The Ranches Parkway and Eagle Mountain Boulevard and provide more direct access to Provo and Salt Lake City. [4]
[edit] Demographics
As of the 2000 census, there were 2,157 people, 532 households, and 502 families residing in the town. The population density was 20.0/km² (51.7/mi²). There were 598 housing units at an average density of 5.5/km² (14.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.57% White, 0.32% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.11% of the population.
There were 532 households of which 74.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 89.1% were married couples living together, 3.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.6% were non-families. 3.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 0.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.05 and the average family size was 4.18.
In the town the population was spread out with 47.4% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 6.3% from 45 to 64, and 1.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $52,102, and the median income for a family was $52,434. Males had a median income of $40,777 versus $25,313 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,340. About 2.0% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Since the 2000 census there has been massive growth in Eagle Mountain and surrounding cities. City officials now estimate the total population to be closer to 13,500.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
