Full Text
This is what the Best Of State judges will see when they judge this nomination. If this is satisfactory, click Continue at the bottom. Otherwise, click here to modify this nomination. Judges View Jeff Silvestrini Background Millcreek, Utah’s newest city, was incorporated in 2017 and Mayor Jeff Silvestrini has served as the city Mayor and member of the City Council since incorporation. After his initial term of two years, the mayor was re-elected for an additional four-year term by an overwhelming vote. Achievement As Mayor and as a member of the Millcreek City Council, Mayor Jeff Silvestrini has brought the new city of Millcreek to a place of distinction and recognition in the mere four years since incorporation. By working thoughtfully with the city council, city staff, and placing an extremely high level of importance on resident input, Mayor Silvestrini has managed to stand up a brand-new city and give Millcreek status in Salt Lake County. Mayor Silvestrini is a long-time resident of Millcreek—the city and its residents are close to his heart. Prior to incorporation, Jeff was heavily involved in the community. Starting with a successful effort to preserve open space on Grandeur Peak, Jeff has spent many hours volunteering on the Mt. Olympus Community Council and was integral in the establishment of volunteer organizations that spent time working with the governing body at the time, the Salt Lake County Council, to recommend and lobby for improvements in the Millcreek area. Based on his knowledge of the governance structure at the time and after careful study, Jeff decided that the residents of what was then the Millcreek Township would be better served by incorporating, providing local decisions to be made by residents of the area. An additional benefit would be a “seat at the table” on various decision-making boards and commissions. During the incorporation campaign, Jeff was often asked if he would be willing to serve as the city mayor and after getting approval from his wife, threw his hat in the ring and won handily. Since becoming mayor, this passion for the well-being of Millcreek residents has only increased. The mayor thoroughly studies all issues that are brought to the attention of the city from residents or businesses, and after discussion with the other members of the City Council, directs city staff as to the best way to proceed and carefully reviews recommendations. Mayor Silvestrini has developed strong relationships with other mayors throughout the county coordinating lobbying efforts at the state legislature on legislation dealing with municipal issues as well as important infrastructure projects that abut or encompass adjoining cities. During legislative sessions, Mayor Silvestrini spends many hours studying potential legislation and lobbying for those that favor Millcreek or against those that could become problematic. During the recent session, Mayor Silvestrini testified in front of six legislative committees and spent more hours on the phone discussing issues with legislators. Far from being a part time participant in city business, Mayor Silvestrini works alongside city staff full time as well as attending resident gatherings (virtually for now) such as the four city community councils, open houses, planning commission meetings along with interacting with residents at the city sponsored Venture Out! summer event series. Further, every Friday afternoon is devoted to meeting one-on-one with residents to discuss any issues they bring forward. Mayor Silvestrini recognizes the need to have a “seat at the table” on boards or commissions where decisions that may impact Millcreek are discussed and made, currently serving as the Chair of the Wasatch Front Regional Council, Vice President of the League of Cities and Towns, and as a member of the Central Wasatch Commission and the Salt Lake County Criminal Justice Advisory Council. ---PAGE BREAK--- Additional duties that Mayor Silvestrini has assumed are service as the current Chair of the Unified Police Department Board of Directors as well as being a member of the Unified Fire Authority Board of Directors. When approached by the Utah Housing Authority with a proposal to open a homeless shelter in Millcreek to provide safe and COVID-19 appropriate shelter for those in need, Mayor Silvestrini worked closely with all partners to bring the shelter smoothly into the facility (950 E 3300 S, Millcreek) while working diligently to assuage the fears of surrounding residents. As it became apparent there was a need for blood donations during the pandemic, Mayor Silvestrini directed city hall to be opened as a temporary blood donation center and was one of the first donors. The mayor is very interested in the young people in Millcreek and takes any opportunity to interact with and mentor students. The mayor has spent time talking to the Millcreek Youth Council about the work they were doing, explaining how government works and how they can participate. Additionally, the mayor enjoys sitting on the floor of elementary school classrooms and reading with kids as part of Read Across America Day each year. As pandemic guidelines relax, the mayor is looking forward to resuming these opportunities. When a windstorm hit Millcreek on September 8th, 2020, the city responded with an all-hands-on deck attitude. After issuing an emergency declaration, approving orders for funds to be spent on dumpsters, opening a location where debris could be discarded by residents, the mayor was immediately out in the community helping residents cleaning up by loading broken branches into dumpsters and helping unload many truck and trailer loads at the location where storm debris could be deposited. The mayor is close to the Millcreek community because he understands the importance of getting to know the residents, their concerns and needs. The ability to roll up his sleeves and work alongside community members gives him the perspective needed to accomplish making Millcreek the unique city that it is. Even before the city was formally incorporated, Mayor Silvestrini and the City Council were working hard to design the city. From the beginning, resident input has been a guiding focus of Millcreek. All issues, from ordinance changes to road repairs, are thoroughly vetted and read. The mayor brings his skills as a land use attorney to the table and is integral in all important decisions. Open houses, public hearings, neighborhood meetings and surveys are frequently conducted to be sure that the majority of residents are comfortable with proposed actions. Transparency is of utmost importance and is required in all city dealings. The city of Millcreek was recognized as a finalist for the 2018 Utah Ethical Leadership Award, the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business, and the Community Foundation of Utah, a testament to the open and transparent government that has been a central focus for the city since its incorporation. Innovation Even before the city incorporation, Millcreek residents have expressed the need for a city center, a downtown that is lacking in Millcreek. Upon incorporation, Mayor Silvestrini began working to provide an area for the city that could be the Millcreek downtown. A survey of residents indicated that a location central in the city was preferred and after carefully studying potential locations, it was determined that the area between Highland Drive and 1300 East running north from 3300 South would be a perfect location. A fault line runs through the site that disallows buildings and provides a great opportunity for public open space as part of a city center. The mayor worked with the city finance and economic development teams to create the Millcreek City Center Community Reinvestment Area for the area, which helped the city obtain a $20,000,000 grant to be used to build Millcreek Common, the public open space within the Millcreek City Center. Several older buildings were located along the fault. Mayor Silvestrini was heavily involved with negotiations with property owners to relocate their businesses, often to better locations. In the course of a little over a year, all properties were purchased without the use of eminent domain. A plan for the public open space has been determined, demolition of buildings in the site has been completed and on March 9, 2021, a groundbreaking for Millcreek Common was celebrated with many county and state representatives in attendance. ---PAGE BREAK--- During the groundbreaking ceremony, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson commented, “I think back to my time as a councilmember when this area, Millcreek, was part of unincorporated county and we kind of wondered about the future of Millcreek. What really did the residents want for their future? Today is evidence of the vision of Millcreek. Every city deserves a heart and a gathering place, and this is what this ground represents.” The mayor continued, “I am so happy to have been wrong when I encouraged people to stay unincorporated in this area. I’m happy that the city is doing so well and we are experiencing growth and development in the right way.” Millcreek will be required to move into a new city hall in three years when the lease on the current city hall expires. As part of the City Center development, the mayor and his team are working to develop a private public partnership to locate a new city hall in the City Center. City Hall is envisioned as a space with a ground floor that opens out onto Millcreek Common, the public open space, that will include a marketplace where local businesses and incubator space will be included. Plans include a ground floor art gallery and a community room on the top floor with a patio that can be used for city business or rented to community members for occasions such as weddings. Working closely with the city economic development department, Mayor Silvestrini has guided the city in various new directions to provide support and assistance for city businesses. Rather than establishing a Millcreek Chamber of Commerce, a Business Council was developed where all licensed businesses automatically become members and are provided opportunities to join committees where ideas are shared to promote their business. City social media outlets are used to publicize events like ribbon-cuttings, re-openings after remodels or to spotlight a “Business of the Month.” As COVID-19 progressed and seriously impacted many Millcreek businesses, the mayor and city economic development team developed a program where CARES act funds were used through a Millcreek Small Business Retention Grant program to provide qualifying businesses with assistance. In all, 94 Millcreek businesses qualified for the $10,000 grant, ultimately totaling $1.3 million, and used the funds for advertising purposes. New or improved websites, logos, t-shirts, business cards and outdoor advertising signs were developed with the funding. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, Mayor Silvestrini led Millcreek through the various stages of compliance with COVID-19 guidelines while always keeping City Hall open, providing all municipal services to residents that were needed. Care was taken throughout the process to keep city staff and residents safe. A glass partition was installed in the reception area, sanitation stations and face masks were provided. Staff was provided all the necessary equipment to be able to work remotely. Inspectors and code officers were allowed to take city vehicles home and perform reporting duties remotely to avoid the necessity of checking vehicles back in and entering the office to complete reports. Quality Mayor Silvestrini has worked to develop connections between the many demographics of the city. Millcreek encompasses area from the foothills of Mt. Olympus to a section of the Jordan River and a cross section of many neighborhoods with varied needs ranging from established neighborhoods of single-family homes to high density apartment buildings and commercial areas that have outlived their usefulness. The mayor and council developed a city slogan, “Connected by Nature,” to not only reflect the geography of the city but also to show the value that is placed on connecting the various communities within the city. Strides have been made to achieve this important goal. A major initiative that Mayor Silvestrini has strived to develop from the first days of incorporation is the Millcreek Promise Program, a unique collaboration with United Way of Salt Lake. The Promises made to residents include: “Education: We strengthen and support our local schools and other educational efforts to maximize academic success and educational outcomes-envisioning all Millcreek youth as college graduates. Health & Safety: We work together to create a safer, healthier community through resident engagement, support of local law enforcement, fitness and nutrition programs, and health organization partnerships. Economic Wellbeing: We work to improve income potential for Millcreek residents who are unemployed or underemployed or that have had life experiences that have denied them from access to education or vocational training that will result in higher wages.” ---PAGE BREAK--- To further these Promises, Mayor Silvestrini has been very closely engaged with the work of the Promise Committees. There has been a particular focus on Mill Creek Elementary, a Title 1 school, where new books were provided for every student and the Read with Kids programs was established which includes one-on-one student mentoring. As the COVID-19 pandemic evolved, the mayor worked with staff and outside agencies to build and fill a food pantry at the school. Working with an Eagle Scout who built shelving and gathered donations, Mill Creek Elementary now has a location where families in need can obtain food. Upon incorporation, Millcreek inherited a small neighborhood park located in the western portion of the city at 4013 South 700 West. The park was in serious disrepair, was a magnet for illegal activities and therefore not a safe place for the community and its youth to gather. Mayor Silvestrini directed that the focus for park funding be on this park rather than those in other parts of the city. A small start was removal of the rusty and damaged baseball backstop to allow for a field where neighborhood kids could play soccer, a more popular sport for the refugee community that lives in the area. Grant funding was acquired with a city match approved that, along with a Real Salt Lake partnership, has allowed for construction of Phase 1 Sunnyvale Park improvements that include two futsal courts and four new basketball standards where neighborhood kids and their parents now gather. Twelve new garden boxes were established and immediately reserved by families in the community where they can grow fresh produce for their families with the additional benefit of being able to grow various types of vegetables that are popular with their culture but not readily available in local stores. The Sunnyvale community lies within a “food desert” meaning an area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food and the garden boxes are a small step toward helping families in the area provide nutritious food for their families. An initiative that Mayor Silvestrini is working with in coordination with the city economic development team is to bring a small grocery store into the Sunnyvale neighborhood. Other efforts to provide needed services for underserved communities in Millcreek, particularly during COVID, included providing rental assistance through CARES funds and diligently working toward digital inclusion. Looking to providing the best public safety as possible for Millcreek, Mayor Silvestrini took the time to study the budget of the Unified Police Department and discovered close to $1,000,000 that should have been going to Millcreek but were being directed elsewhere. The mayor was interested in providing the best possible public safety coverage for Millcreek and worked with the UPD to correct this error. These funds allowed Millcreek UPD Precinct to create a new and unique Community Crime Suppression Unit which is deployed where needed throughout the city. Mayor Silvestrini takes an active and passionate interest in the residents of Millcreek and beyond. You will find him on most Saturday mornings assisting with Utah Food Bank distributions, an activity that he has participated in even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since vaccines have become available, the mayor has spent time assisting with check-ins or scheduling second vaccinations at the Salt Lake County mass vaccination site at Mountain America Expo Center and at the Holladay-Lions Senior Center. When it became apparent that mask wearing helped reduce the spread of COVID-19, the mayor and council approved production of a public service announcement that was distributed urging residents to wear masks.