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South Valley Riverton Journal

City Council Reports: Bluffdale

May 08, 2015 10:28PM ● By City Journals Staff
By Justin Westwood, 
Bluffdale City Council Member

In recent weeks a survey was sent to Bluffdale residents to solicit your opinion about parks and trails in our town. PLEASE FILL IT OUT. Your opinion is valued and will be used to plan and build out this aspect of our city.

I, along with other city council members, were able to attend a conference through the Utah League of Cities and Towns. I was able to attend lectures which covered topics such as body-worn cameras for police officers, outdoor recreation, Utah’s water future, attracting and retaining retail, and others. I would be glad to discuss any of these topics with you if you have an interest. 

I particularly found interest in the body-worn cameras for police officers topic and was able to come away with a more informed opinion. It is my opinion that body-worn cameras can be useful in a number of ways such as providing information to an event or situation, they can be used as a calming measure when they are in a very conspicuous place, and it can protect our officers who are doing an excellent job in Bluffdale currently. When a situation such as an officer-involved shooting arises the body-worn camera can provide another perspective. Unfortunately they most often are not able to show what brought the officer(s) to the scene in the first place which always is an important part of said situations. I feel the more factual information available is always better, and if it proves not useful then dismiss it. Again I invite you to contact me if you wish to discuss these items further. 

Another topic I wish to mention is the idea of re-establishing a youth city council for the city of Bluffdale. In recent years I have come in contact with some fantastic youth from our city who are active in service opportunities, are self-motivated, and show innate leadership skills. These personality traits and characteristics, when applied to a youth city council, will make for great opportunities to continue serving, learning, and involving others in these activities. I have talked to members of youth city councils in other cities and also their advisors. In these conversations I have learned of their successes and some of their failures. With good advisors, excellent youth members, and great vision, a youth city council in Bluffdale will provide youth positive ways to be involved, give better understanding of how government works and provide our youth with extracurricular activities that would help with resumes for college. If you have ideas that would help get this idea off the ground, I would welcome your opinion.

Last, but not least make sure the following events and activities are on your calendar:

• Movies in the park, throughout the summer
• Miss Bluffdale, May 9 
• Demolition Derby, June 13
• Old West Days, August 11-15 

Please contact me to give your input and opinion on anything going on in our city. [email protected]