Table of Contents

Mayor's & Council Messages

Election Information

Orem Recreation

Affordable Housing Charrette

EveryDay Strong

The City of Orem is Hiring

Calendar of Events

Message from
Mayor Richard Brunst
"Hey, Can I Catch a Ride?"

When I was in college I went home to Phoenix where my family lived one semester. While I was there a U-Joint on the drive line of my old car went out. 

The only place that had a used U-Joint that I could purchase was at a junk yard 40 miles across town. As this was on a Friday and my family was at work, I had to find my own way to get to the place that had the part.

As such, and back in those days, I decided to hitch hike across town and purchase the part. I started out and soon found that each person I caught a ride with would only go a few blocks and then be turning down a different road. I ended up catching a ride with 10 different people, all of who were very friendly and helpful. I was successful in retrieving the part and putting my car back together.

I thought about that experience this week as I attended the "Move Utah Summit" put on by leaders of UTA, UDOT, State Government, and private businesses on ways that will be needed in the future to help move people around the state.

It was pointed out that our state agencies are now looking at the future in ways to move "People" and not just "Cars". As such many different modes of transportation for the future are being looked at in a different light. Autonomous cars, electric bicycles, motorized scooters, smaller electric cars, enlarged and electrified frontrunner trains, lengthened trax lines, and other means of transportation were discussed.

With our state projected to grow by an additional 1 million residents before 2065 we will need additional means to move "People" around the Wasatch Front.

In Orem we will soon see a company install electric scooters in our community as they have done recently in Provo. This will be a change for us. It will help "People" move around the last mile as it were from Frontrunner and UVX. It will be an interesting development to see how well it is accepted and used.

One state agency estimates that to move "People" around on the I-15 Freeway in the future, an additional 4 new lanes on each side will be needed. This will be too costly and not feasible physically. So a different way will be needed. Possibly electrifying Frontrunner to make it start and stop more quickly and double track it so that the trains can pass each other without having to wait, plus adding additional cars to the trains, and then making it move to each stop twice as quickly, plus setting it up with a free fare program such as UVX has will help. In fact it is estimated that it will move up to an additional 50,000 to 80,000 "People" per day - thus taking that many "Cars" off of the freeway.

However it works out we will need many new and creative means to move "People" successfully across the Wasatch Front and in our cities.

I look forward to the future and what the State and Cities and Private Business can do to help solve this issue.

Thanks,
Mayor Brunst
Message from
Councilmember Brent Sumner
With leaves starting to color and the air becoming brisk, the Orem Youth Council and Senior Friendship Center is gearing up for an exciting, fun, and successful 2019–2020 season.

The Orem Youth Council consists of high school students from Orem High, Mt. View High, Timpanogos High, and home schools. Their opening social was September 26 with games and plans for the coming year. The council meets monthly to learn about how our great city works and get involved with different organizations within the city.
The Youth Council will meet with city leaders and city department managers to understand how city leaders are working to make Orem a great place to raise a family.

The Council will participate in monthly activities like fire and police station tours, visits to city water sources, classes on domestic violence, and—one of the favorites every year—a mock court trial in the city’s court room. They also will travel to our state capitol in February to observe and understand how state laws are passed. They also will have lunch with our Orem legislators. The Youth Council is led by Suzette Clark, city attorney Greg Stevenson, and assistant city attorney Steve Earl.

Orem Senior Friendship Center is the largest center for senior citizens in Utah County, with over 3400 members. Seniors enjoy various activities available for all those who want to participate. Seniors can attend movies, watercolor classes, personal history, literature, ukulele lessons, be-smarter-than-your-phone class, Zumba, spinning, strength training, sculpting, and even belly dancing classes for those brave citizens. During the winter months the Senior Center serves more than 1200 lunches per month. Classes and lunches are very little cost, and many are free.

If you haven’t attended the annual spring Grammy Awards, you are missing a day of fun, food and the opportunity to meet Elvis and Frank Sinatra as the emcee. The Senior Commission Chairman is Kay Bradford, and if you don’t know Kay, she is a bundle of joy and will welcome all seniors to the friendship center. Karl Hirst is the manager, and Gena Bertelsen is the coordinator of the Friendship Center. The Orem Senior Friendship Center is located at 93 North 400 East in Orem, and the phone number is 801-229-7111.



Councilmember Brent Sumner
2019 City of Orem Municipal Elections
Affordable Housing Charrette
EveryDay Strong
A new approach to anxiety and depression

To become more educated about—and to better help respond to—the growing amount of anxiety, depression and suicide we’re seeing in the children and youth in our community, the City of Orem has partnered with the United Way of Utah County to become its first, “EveryDay Strong City.” EveryDay Strong program is a community initiative to help children and youth to feel more safe, connected, and confident. The goal of the initiative is to help build more resilient kids and a stronger community.

This important initiative includes specialized training, activities for children, and a question and activity guide for adults. The City would like to encourage residents to complete the one hour, specialized training online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkkjoDDWaCc or in person at a upcoming training session at one of the local schools (see calendar for upcoming dates and locations). The Resilience Handbook can be downloaded at https://www.unitedwayuc.org/resiliencehandbook.

As a parent, grandparent, teacher, friend, or neighbor, you can start building everyday resilience by building safety, connection and confidence in the children around you. To find out more about the program, please look online at www.everydaystrong.org or contact Kena Mathews at (801) 229-7023 or kjmathews@orem.org .  
Calendar of Events
This fall, there will be no shortage of events to keep you and your family busy! Keep up with all Orem City events by following the link below.