Hyrum city promises help for home owners in Wapiti Bluff subdivision
April 20th, 2012 Posted in Opinion‘Some of the repairs we just won’t be able to do, we just don’t have the budget for it. But we’ll look at it and decide what we can do to help.’ – Mayor Dean Howard
By Tara Alvey
HYRUM — Thursday night there were more than 20 people in attendance at the Hyrum City Council meeting; an unusually high number. Most of them were there regarding a request from the Wapiti Bluff Estates Home Owners Association to enter into a maintenance agreement with Hyrum city.
Wapiti Bluff Estates was the first planned unit development (PUD) to be built in Hyrum, and now includes homes for 84 families. Wapiti is the largest PUD within city boundaries, and it is also in need of a large amount of help. Many of the roads in Wapiti are in bad condition and homes are beginning to suffer because of oversights and errors that were made when the subdivision was built, such as not properly packing the pipes beneath homes and driveways and not inspecting the sewer materials and lines that were used in building the homes.
“Wapiti was the first PUD to be approved and built in Hyrum,” said Councilman Craig L. Rasmussen, “and we’ve really learned a lot since then.
Because Wapiti is a PUD with private streets, Hyrum city is not directly responsible for many of the problems. However, the council listened carefully to what Kim Jensen, vice president of the Wapiti Home Owners Association, had to say. They agreed to take a look at some of the issues and try and come up with some ways to help.
“We want our neighborhood to be beautiful like the rest of Hyrum,” said Jensen. “We just don’t have enough money in our coffers to make that possible by ourselves.”
“I want to do all we can to help you,” said Mayor Dean Howard. “I just feel bad that these mistakes were made when the subdivision was being built. Many homeowners in Wapiti are second-timers so they missed out on the low prices and benefits of getting into the home, but now they’re the ones paying a price. And it’s turning out to be a very steep price.”
“We’ve been saving up some money for the past 16 years and we would be completely willing to negotiate a five or 10 year deal with the city to help with some of the repairs that need to be made,” said Jensen.
“It’s a lot of money,” Howard replied. “Some of the repairs we just won’t be able to do, we just don’t have the budget for it. But we’ll look at it and decide what we can do to help.”
NW
Tags: city council, Dean Howard, Hyrum, Kim Jensen, Wapiti Bluff Estates
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