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Archive for May, 2011
Provo City Recreation Center
During today’s council meeting we received an update on the new Provo Recreation Center. The current goal is to complete the construction by February of 2013. The architect was announced as being VCBO architecture, the group which had prepared the initial rec-center study. I imagine that this means the final product will be fairly similar to the original concept they provided us with.
One component of effectively building this nearly $40 million dollar project is getting the contractor, Sandy based Layton Construction, involved early in the design process. Based on everything I have seen it looks like both firms are already working hard to make sure that the residents get an extremely good product at a fair price to the taxpayers.
Many will remember that last November 59% of Provo voted in favor of a modest property tax increase in order to pay for the recreation center.
I imagine many details still remain to be finalized prior to construction, but would invite you to look at this PDF to get some idea of the key services and activities that the new rec center will bring to the city.
Transportation Master Plan
During tonight’s council meeting there was a request by a member of the public to see the transportation plan we were scheduled to vote on. I was surprised to hear that our city website limits the file size which we can share online and so our only method of getting the public a copy of this was to hand out compact discs of the plan upon request.
It’s important that the public be able to access the same data as their elected officials, particularly when it directly affects the roads to be built in front of (or sometimes behind) their homes. I have uploaded a copy of the proposed Transportation Master plan here - anyone interested is welcome to link directly to it.
May is a Good Month to Ride a Bike in Provo
May is Bike month, and Provo is celebrating! The popular website Bike Provo has almost daily updates on the different bike friendly events going on in the city. There are far too many events for me to list here, but two of the city’s big events are detailed below.
2011 Rivalry Ride
Because the Utes won last season’s rivalry game, Provo Mayor John Curtis and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker will bike approximately 50 miles from Provo to Salt Lake City, on Saturday, May 7, starting at the Provo City Center, 351 W. Center St., in Provo. There will be an opening ceremony at 10 a.m., with the bike ride starting at 10:30 a.m. It will end when all participants arrive at the Salt Lake City and County Building, 451 S. State St., in Salt Lake City. Anyone can participate. Get all the details on the city website: http://provo.org/displayarticle108.html.
Bike to Work Day
Join Provo City and UTA in Bike to Work Day on Tuesday, May 17, starting at 7:30 a.m. at the Historic County Courthouse at 51 S. University Avenue. Enjoy free food and complimentary bike tune-ups, and a bike ride with Mayor John Curtis at 8 a.m. UTA will give away free bicycle helmets to the first 50 participants, and Provo City will offer free bike registration to residents. Also, for the first time ever, Provo City will give away the nicest unclaimed bicycle from the city’s found property inventory.
In addition, May 15-21 is Bike to Work Week and those who bike to work sometime during that week are invited to a lunch with Mayor Curtis on Tuesday, May 17, at noon in the City Center lobby. (If you haven’t biked to work by Tuesday, but are planning to by the end of the week, you’re still invited). RSVP to Janeen Jones at jjones@provo.utah.gov.
Free tickets to Stadium of Fire Talent Search
Come see the Top 10!
Ten of the best up-and-coming musical artists from across Utah and
America will perform at a public concert on Saturday, May 14 at 7:00
p.m. at Mountain View High School in Orem as part of the Stadium of Fire
Talent Search, sponsored by America*s Freedom Festival. Local comedian
and internet celebrity Stephen Jones will host the free event.
The Top Ten finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges the evening
before at an audition where the best 25 Talent Search contestants,
selected by the public through an online vote earlier this month, will
perform. All 25 will battle it out for a coveted spot in Saturday
night*s Top Ten show.
After evaluating the Top Ten on Saturday evening, a panel of judges
will send the best three to Stadium of Fire on July 2, where they will
compete before an audience of almost 50,000 to win $10,000. Country
music superstar Brad Paisley will headline the event, with American Idol
alumnus David Archuleta also performing. Great tickets are still
available for Stadium of Fire, and can be purchased at
stadiumoffire.com.
The concert will take place in the auditorium of Mountain View High
School, at 665 W. Center Street in Orem. Doors open to the public at
6:30 p.m. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and
are free of charge. Join the Talent Search Facebook event page here.
America*s Freedom Festival launched Stadium of Fire Talent Search in
February of this year. Over 400 applicants, who varied from singers and
dancers to instrumentalists and novelty acts, submitted videos of their
performances to our website. The submissions were narrowed by the
Festival to 40, and more than 67,000 people voted online for their
favorite 25.