On Renewing the PARC Tax

Cards on the table: I plan to vote yes on renewing the PARC tax for ten more years. In this post I’ll explain. I’ll also list and respond to some of the reasons I hear for opposition or skepticism about its renewal. (We’re on the opinion and analysis side of … Read More …

Guest View: John Mulholland on the PARC Tax

The PARC tax is up for renewal in American Fork. It is an additional 0.1% sales tax voters first approved in 2014. So, if you spend $100, you will pay 10 cents. There are some questions around the sales tax that I hope to answer here along with sharing my … Read More …

Fiber for American Fork, Part 6: New Thoughts and Closing the Loop

I last posted about American Fork City’s proposed citywide fiber optic utility about three weeks ago. At the time I had some unresolved, long-standing concerns (though I have favored the proposal since before it went public). Since then, I’ve read some documents, including the City’s service agreement with LightHub Fiber, … Read More …

American Fork Ballot: Fire Station Bond Issue

One of the items on American Fork voters’ ballots right now is the question of approving a general bond issue in an amount up to $8.5 million, to purchase land for a new fire station in the northeast quadrant of the city, to build that station, and to purchase land … Read More …

Fiber for American Fork, Part 5: Mid-October Update

The American Fork City Council continues to weigh the proposal to create a new utility to extend fiber optic connectivity to every residence and business in American Fork. I’ve spoken with members of the city council and others about it in the last couple of week, some briefly and some … Read More …

Fiber for American Fork, Part 4: Why Not UTOPIA?

UTOPIA Comes Calling In the early weeks of 2019 the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA) approached American Fork City officials with an invitation for American Fork to join UTOPIA. The City weighed the offer and declined — but that set some other things in motion. City leaders began to … Read More …

Fiber for American Fork: My Statement at the Hearing

Introductory Chatter I’ve been so busy with work that I almost forgot about last night’s hearing before the regular American Fork City Council meeting, about the possibility of bonding to build a citywide fiber optic utility. (LightHub Fiber is the name to remember.) Someone mentioned it the night before, or … Read More …

Fiber for American Fork, Part 3: Responses to 22 Concerns and Objections

This is the third of my planned blog posts about a proposal the American Fork City Council is studying to extend fiber optic connectivity to every residence and business in American Fork as a utility. It’s not on the November ballot, but incumbent candidates will cast key votes as city … Read More …

Fiber for American Fork, Part 2: Anticipated Benefits

This is the second of several planned blog posts about a proposal the American Fork City Council is considering to extend fiber optic connectivity to every residence and business in American Fork as a utility. You can find a more detailed description of the proposal itself in the previous post, … Read More …

Fiber for American Fork, Part 1: What’s Proposed

(And Who Am I to Write About It?) American Fork, Utah, is considering establishing fiber optic service to every residence and business in the city as a public utility, as permitted by Utah Code 10-8-14. Here we’ll discuss the proposal itself, and I’ll tell you how I learned enough to … Read More …