2008 Highlights from Woods Cross Citizen

This past year has been a great one here at the Woods Cross Citizen blog. This post will be my 108th post for the year. Some highlights of my posts over the past year:

• In January I said goodbye to a great leader, President Gordon B. Hinckley of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I also posted about www.crimereports.com which still doesn't appear to have data from Woods Cross, but, does have data from Bountiful and North Salt Lake City. I also speculated about how much a City Council seat is worth to some people.
  
• In February I answered the question of why I blog.
• March brought the announcement that our Mayor had filed to run for the Utah State Senate. I also postulated on the propriety of City Council Members forwarding their own agenda.
• During April I crossed two items off my bucket list and commented about curbside recycling beginning in Woods Cross. I also talked about our decision to purchase a vehicle from Murdock Chevrolet.
• In May I sent questions to the Senate Candidates for Utah State Senate District 23.
• June brought my 15th wedding anniversary as well as a meeting with Dan Liljenquist and my first ever lunch with a Democratic Candidate.
• In July I received answers to my questions from the Senate District 23 candidates.
• August began my series of posts giving the answers that I received from those candidates. Also in August, Dan Liljenquist survived a plane crash.
• The only posts during September were more answers in my series of posts that began in August.
• In October I announced that my job location would be changing. I also shared my position on California's Proposition 8, the Davis County Commission race, and the State Senate District 23 race.
• At the end of November, I declared that I was happy to see the Utes go 12-0.
• December started off by me saying goodbye to a great University of Utah fan. It ended with a wonderful Christmas.

What to expect for 2008?

What things can we expect as citizens of Woods Cross during 2008? Some of the things that will happen as well as my comments about how they will impact us are listed below.

1) More homes built west of Redwood Road. There are several subdivisions that are being built now that will continue to grow throughout 2008. With more residents means more needs for water, and fire and police protection. This will put an increased demand on the city budget.

2) Menlove Toyota moving temporarily to Bountiful City. The car dealerships in Woods Cross provide a large sales tax base for the city budget. Larry Miller's Bountiful dealership moved to their new location by I-15 in West Bountiful this week. Wes Johnson (owner of Menlove) is going to be remodeling the Menlove dealership that exists in Woods Cross on Highway 89. In order to facilitate this remodel, the Toyota dealership will be moving to the old Larry Miller dealership building on Highway 89 in Bountiful. What does this mean for Woods Cross residents? Our city coffers will take a big hit during the time Menlove Toyota is located outside of Woods Cross, as the municipal portion of the sales tax collected by Menlove during that time will go to Bountiful City.

3) Completion of Front Runner. The commuter rail is scheduled to be up and running in the spring of 2008. This could bring an increase of traffic to the 500 South area. Many Woods Cross residents already avoid 500 South since CostCo opened. Adding traffic to this already congested area can't be good for our city.

4) Completion of Legacy Parkway. The Legacy Parkway is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2008. When this opens, it could help with the traffic congestion on 500 South. During the commuting hours, several people use 500 South to drive between Redwood Road and I-15. If those living north of Woods Cross have an alternate route, they may not use 500 South as much. The other plus for Woods Cross could come in that the vacant land that exists North of 500 South and East of Redwood Road could turn into a viable commercial area. Woods Cross could use the additional sales tax money that could come from such a commercial development.

All in all, it will be interesting to watch how our City Council deals with these many changes that will be coming to our city. All of these changes will continue to impact each of us who call Woods Cross home.