New leaders will bring fresh perspective to city

The recent municipal election resulted in two new council members being elected. I congratulate Sherri Jorgensen and Matt Fox on their elections and welcome their input on City Council.

Each of them campaigned for goals that I believe are shared by many members of the community and other members of the City Council. Among those goals are support for conservative growth in Boulder City and preserving the history of our town. These have certainly been among my goals as well.

Our city continues to face challenges other than these long-term goals. The harm that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to many was not the same for every person, family or business. Some have suffered enormous loss and will be affected permanently. Others have had economic hardships that are beginning to improve as the number of people receiving vaccines increases and businesses return to normal operations.

While COVID-19 continues to present the biggest challenge to our community there will always be other challenges to meet and try and resolve for the best.

The City Council recently approved unanimously the appointment of a new city manager. Taylour Tedder hails from Leavenworth, Kansas, where he is currently the assistant city manager. The hiring process was conducted with a nationwide search and interviews with the top candidates during council meetings.

I believe the appointment of Mr. Tedder will bring a necessary new perspective to our city. He has demonstrated a strong knowledge of the conservative growth that has so greatly benefited our town as well as an appreciation of how historic preservation is an economic benefit for many of our businesses and residents. His experience in the types of technology that are already in use by our city government will assist in making the finances of the city more transparent and accessible to residents.

The majority of voters in the municipal election also approved two financing options for the municipal pool. These options were developed to provide the community with an appropriately sized pool facility with no increase in taxes. One of the options is to use the proceeds from the sale of land around the Boulder Creek golf course that was originally approved by voters in 2010. Requests for proposals from developers on the type of residential construction are already showing interest.

These proposals will be presented to the community for their input and suggestions in order to select options that best serve the residents. Our conservative growth measures may require additional time for review and approval but the process is intended to allow residents to express their views on what is best for the community as a whole.

A goal of mine is to see that any new development does not come at a cost to our existing residents for additional infrastructure and services that may be needed.

The city has been advised of funds from the American Rescue Plan that will be received over the next two years. These funds are intended to be used for infrastructure projects that will provide jobs and improve our community. Among the projects that will be closely looked at is how best to use water. The drop in the level of Lake Mead is clearly evident. We all need to look at how we can reduce the amount of water we use.

I want to say a special thank you to council members Tracy Folda and Judith Hoskins for their service to the community and the City Council. Both of them were appointed to council by having their names drawn from a jar to fulfill the terms of office of others. These two people served the community in very difficult times with dedication to the best interests of the residents of Boulder City.

In closing, I want to encourage people who have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine to look at the advantages of doing so. Sadly, we continue to have residents die from this terrible virus. The science continues to show the vaccines are safe and effective for the great majority of people. The governor has announced you will even have a chance to win up to a million dollars if you have been vaccinated.

The opinions expressed above belong solely to the author and do not represent the views of the Boulder City Review. They have been edited solely for grammar, spelling and style, and have not been checked for accuracy of the viewpoints.

Kiernan McManus is mayor of Boulder City. He is a native of Boulder City first elected to City Council in 2017.