Payson council candidates face-off at CAC

By Matt Brabb
Connection Editor

At a spirited Citizens Awareness Committee meeting held Feb. 11, Mike Vogel and Fred Carpenter, who are both running for a seat on the Payson Town Council, answered questions ranging from a proposed new fire station to the possibility of a four year college coming to town.

The topic of whether or not a new college is a good idea for the town was the most divisive issue among members of the CAC. Many asked questions and made statements on the subject, both for and against.

Both candidates were firmly in favor of the idea, and Vogel pointed out that a college was free to come to town whether the town wanted it to or not. He also noted that it would bring a good employment base.

“They don’t have to get our permission,” he said.

“I do support the concept; these institutions generally have a positive impact on towns,” said Carpenter.

“We would have to work on the traffic issues,” he added.

A number of members of the CAC were in favor of putting the matter to a vote, claiming that the matter of adding some 2,500 resident students to the town would put a major strain on infrastructure and town services.

Other members spoke in favor of the idea, noting the increased cultural opportunities a four-year university would bring to the town, as well the positive economic implications the construction and staffing of the college would bring.

Both candidates also agreed that the passage of Home Rule is essential to maintain town services for its residents in the manner they have become accustomed to. The measure authorizes the town to spend more money than it otherwise would be able to, based on a formula that was written when the town had only a fraction of the population it has now.

Vogel went so far as to say, “It is more important for home rule to pass than for me to get elected.”

Carpenter noted that passing the measure wouldn’t raise taxes for anyone, and that a defeat of the measure would cause further delays in infrastructure improvements to the town.

He added that the law requiring towns to stick to a level of spending adjusted for inflation that was written some 30 years ago, at a time when Payson didn’t have nearly the responsibility to its residents that it has now, is untenable.

“Cities and towns can’t spend more than they take in already,” he asserted.

Both candidates also claimed that without the passage of Home Rule, Payson’s plans for construction of the CC Cragin Pipeline, which will nearly double the supply of water available to the town, would have to be scrapped.

Another question asked of the candidates was whether or not they thought the construction of a new fire station, during this current period of economic distress, was a good idea.

Vogel, who was instrumental in getting the deal done, stressed that he had tried to work out a deal with the Hellsgate fire department to share costs, but in the end, they simply wanted too much.

He claimed that by building the station now, the town would eventually save some $500,000.

Carpenter agreed, noting that because of the economic downturn that there would be no better climate in which the town could entertain bids for the project.

“The town should build it; even if we can’t open it up for a couple of years, it would be fine,” he added.

When asked if the Hellsgate fire department would still respond to calls, Vogel was emphatic.

“For $120,000 a year, they’d better,” he said, adding that he had never heard of a mutual aid pact in which a town was paid to come in before.