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This is an open letter to Mayor Michael Daniels of Pleasant Grove city.
Each month you publish a "Mayor's Message" in the newsletter that comes with our water bill. For months you have written about the downtown revitalization plan but you have never said what it was about.
Most of us heard about it by fliers left on our doors and word of mouth by neighbors.
There are more citizens that still have never heard of it than those that have. It seems like you have wanted to keep us in the dark. It's only been through concerned citizens that the revitalization plan has come to light.
In your March 2008 message you stated "when the colonists settled the east coast, they all agreed on one thing. They did not want to be subject to a king. They wanted freedom and rights."
It is easy to see why citizens in Pleasant Grove feel as if we are being ruled over in 2008.
You said, "the colonies convened a convention to consider the creation of a constitution. ... The convention was made up of very strong-willed and opinionated individuals. Over the course of the convention, the delegates argued. They came and left when they didn't get their way. ... The delegates were unwilling to give up their individual position in favor of the greater good. ... Compromise must prevail in order to unite a people around a common cause."
It was plain to see you were comparing us to those delegates. Compromise means a settlement by mutual concessions. Compromise is a two-way street and so far we have been doing all the compromising. Now it is your turn to compromise and walk with us for all our common good.
In your April 2008 Mayor's Message, you talked about natives. To quote you again, you said, "Let me suggest in the strongest terms possible that 'none of us are natives' of Pleasant Grove, of Utah or of America, except perhaps the American Indians."
The word native means: pertaining to time and place of birth; one who has been in a country or district. We are natives of Pleasant Grove. We love and care deeply about the land and city we live in.
I was extremely offended by your next comments: "We live in a time of war in distant places, or poverty in other cities, of prejudice that leads to genocide on many continents. Yet here in Pleasant Grove, we are not directly affected by these tragedies, unless a friend or a loved one is serving in these areas of conflict. Our greatest expressed concerns are potholes, burned-out street lights, lack of curb-side recycling, secondary water installation and growth."
How do you assume that because we citizens are concerned about your downtown revitalization plan that we have no more intellect or concern than potholes and burned-out streetlights! That we don't know or care about what is happening around the world is insulting.
You are doing all of us a disservice.
Mayor Daniels, you need to take off your crown, stop dictating, come to the "convention" and compromise so there can be a settlement of mutual concessions.
We want the downtown revitalization to be something everyone can enjoy, be proud of and benefit our city.
• Dixie C. Carpenter,
Pleasant Grove |
