Helper City again found itself in need of a new council member as longtime council member John Surfistini would retire from his position following the council’s April 3 meeting.
Two applicants looked to fill the seat, with Lori Barrett and Ruth Lee each taking time at the podium to answer seven questions over five minutes from the Council. The following are the responses from the candidates. Their answers may have been edited slightly for length, style or grammar.
Barrett
Q: Can you attend monthly meetings?
A: Yes
Q: What background do you have in understanding Financial reports or budgets?
A: I have 20 years of experience at Washington First Federal. I also managed the depressed operations department for the Utah Division of Washington Federal for eight years. And so, I dealt with reports, audits, pretty much everything on the deposit operations side.
Q: As a representative of Helper, what would you tell a visitor or guest about our city?
A: I would tell them about the rich mining and railroad history. Our culture that’s been developed over the last while. It’s been wonderful. And camp on the beautiful scenery, the beautiful surroundings.
Q: How would you handle making a decision in the best interest of the community and explaining it to someone who disagrees?
A: I would just bring up the strong points and the positive points being discussed.
Q: What ways have you served the helper community that you can share with us?
A: To this point, I’ve not really had a lot of involvement. That’s kind of where I want to make a turning point. I work remotely from home, so I’ve been a bit of a Hermit. I’m now in health care and a patient advocate for a group of surgeons in Salt Lake. That’s kept me pretty busy there. I do attend the festivities and the events. I love what goes on in Helper. I love the things that have been brought to the community so far and would love to be able to help them expand.
Q: Describe what attributes you feel a council member should have to best serve our community.
A: Number one, I think it’s very important to be team players and work as a team. That’s critical. Good decision making, troubleshooting also, working for the betterment of the community and looking at the big picture.
Q: In talking to residents of Helper, what do you sense Helper’s greatest need is?
A: Our greatest need. I think to preserve the integrity of Helper. I believe there’s infrastructure work that really needs to be addressed in order to keep the city running well and being able to expand
Lee
Q: Can you attend monthly meetings?
A: Yes. I am very fortunate to have a schedule. I only work at the restaurant a couple of days a week, so my schedule is pretty open. I’m pretty adaptable to fit that into my everyday life.
Q: What background do you have in understanding Financial reports or budgets?
A: I wouldn’t say that I have too much experience on a larger scale such as this. Through all of the research and everything that I’ve been doing since wanting to be in this position, I have gone over Helper’s past budgets so I know what a budget outline looks like, what is listed on it. Other than that, I budget in my daily life, and so it’s not something that’s new to me.
Q: As a representative of Helper, what would you tell a visitor or guest about our city?
A: I tell guests all the time about the city. Usually, what I like to start off by telling them is that they definitely need to come back during the summer when it’s busier and more beautiful for all of the festivals that we put on and Saturday Vibes. Also to walk down Main Street, and I tell them about the history of the artist movement that came through, and really, what’s going on. I love communicating with all the tourists and the locals. About things that are happening in Helper.
Q: How would you handle making a decision in the best interest of the community and explaining it to someone who disagrees?
A: In those situations, I think you have to approach it with an open mind and be able to find common ground. Make sure to be respectful of the other person and their ideas. Find that little ground there and try to communicate to them the importance and educate them on the situation so that we could all move forward, and hopefully, both parties turn out happy.
Q: What ways have you served the helper community that you can share with us?
A: I briefly worked for Helper Saturday Vibes, and I gained a lot of insight and knowledge on how a local or nonprofit organization runs and operates. Currently, I’m working at Balance Rock Eatery as a server, and so I’m just really interacting with the community and the tourists every single day. Then, I wanted to push myself to be more involved with the community, and I saw the opportunity to take this position, and so I felt like it was meant to be.
Q: Describe what attributes you feel a council member should have to best serve our community?
A: I really feel a council member should have leadership skills. The community always looks up to them and trusts them. They should also be honest and have integrity. Most importantly, they should have empathy – being able to empathize with the community and the people that they are representing.
Q: In talking to residents of Helper, what do you sense Helper’s greatest need is?
A: I’ve spent a lot of time communicating and telling people about wanting to be on the city council and getting their perspectives. I think one of the important things right now is really bridging that gap. Not necessarily a gap, but strengthening that communication between our community and our local city council. I just hear a lot of misinformation, and I feel like if we were to really educate our community, not just on the local issues, but what’s happening within the Council as well, I feel that would bring a better Community together. If we could unite the community in that way and have the community have the City Council’s back, it would benefit us greatly.
Following this line of questioning, the Council was tasked with selecting a new council member. In a 3-1 vote, council members Serfustini, Dave Dornan and Ed Chavez selected Barrett as the new representative. Council member Bob Olson served as the only vote for Lee.
Mayor Lenise Peterman closed the vote by saying, ” You were both excellent candidates, so thank you.”