The Millcreek City Council has long been praised for providing opportunities where community members come together and share their thoughts, opinions and wishes for the city of Millcreek.

The council holds a dedicated "public comment" slot during its meetings to hear the concerns of residents directly. This slot is usually unoccupied by any one particular matter and at some meetings there isn't a single individual wanting to make a comment. But on Jan. 12, there were so many people wanting to speak, that the council had to impose a three-minute time limit for each comment.

These attendees were not just Millcreek residents, but members and affiliates of the Millcreek Community Councils. Community councils are made of volunteers who work together to advise the city council on different challenges facing Millcreek residents. There are four community councils that meet monthly, and they each provide a unique perspective on what residents would like to see from the city council across all areas of Millcreek.

Despite this, the city council was deliberating whether to remove the municipal code recognition of community councils from the city code. Taking this status away does not eliminate the existence of these councils, it removes the municipal recognition of the councils from the city code. But for many community councilmembers and residents, even considering this decision felt like a restriction on their ability to influence the city and community they reside in. 

This sentiment was expressed and echoed by the dozens of people in attendance, who spoke to not only share their personal love of the community councils, but to explain the opportunities it has provided for community members wanting to incite positive change.

President of the Canyon Rim Citizens Association (CRC) Michael Rush was in attendance and said, "The city we know today would not exist today in its current form without the groundwork laid by the CRC and other community councils....This is not a minor administrative change, it eliminates a proven mechanism for structured civic engagement and signals that decades of volunteer service and institutional knowledge can be cast aside."

Many speakers have been living in the area for decades and participated in the earliest forms of organization and governance long before Millcreek became an official city. "This council is separating itself from the people of the city," one of those residents said. "I'm disappointed with your effort to sever the people from city leadership.”

While the city council must abide by the law, some residents expressed a desire to maintain resident's ability to get involved with municipal government, even if the councils lose their status. One individual added, "I would urge you to consider furthering the conversation about how we make them [community councils] more effective, and how we can comply with the law at the same time without simply doing away with them."

For more information, visit https://www.millcreekut.gov/206/Community-Councils.