Talk to the Mayor

Anyone who is interested can come to a Q & A session with Mayor Curtis on Monday, November 7, at 5 p.m., in the Mayor's Office (351 W. Center St.). Feel free to invite others. If they need more space, they will move to the City Center conference room (accessed through the Municipal Council Office).

The Final Walk

This week the city finished pouring concrete for the walkway in the northeast corner so there is now a complete loop in Lions Park. We are planning on filling in soil around the sidewalk on Saturday from 9 a.m. Please join other members of the Grandview South and Rivergrove neighborhoods in helping make this improvement to our community.

Happy Haunting Ground!

On Monday, October 31, 2011 from 3 - 6 p.m. trick-or-treaters will be welcome on Center St and University Ave visiting downtown businesses.  Look for the Trick or Treating flyer on participating business doors.  Last year, despite the rain, we had a GREAT turn out. We're expecting a crowd this year too!

For further information, call 801 472 0421

Rebranding Provo

Provo City is working on developing a new brand identity and invites anyone to participate in the process by attending a public meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Room 308 of the Provo City Library, 550 N. University Ave.

"Just as a unique and recognizable brand is essential to business success, it's also important to a city's success," stated Provo Mayor John Curtis in a city newsletter earlier this year. "Since cities compete every day for the businesses that bring new jobs, and the shoppers that result in sales tax revenue, city branding is important to our individual and collective bottom lines."

The rebranding process started a year ago when the Provo City Vision 2030 Image and Communication Subcommittee recommended that the city work with a qualified agency to develop a distinct brand identity. After a competitive bid process, the city hired a Provo agency named R[E]D to serve as consultants. For the past two months, the agency has been working on the research phase of the process, including meeting with and surveying various groups in and outside of the city.

"The meeting tomorrow night is an opportunity for anyone else to weigh in," stated city spokesperson Helen Anderson. "Representatives from R[E]D will ask attendees various questions about Provo to help determine which attributes to incorporate into the new brand."

"Branding is more than creating a logo. It's what the city represents, the values behind the city, the reasons people would choose to live or bring their businesses here," stated R[E]D president Mike Lee.

"The city's current logo is so outdated, several departments have developed their own over the years, leading to dozens of inconsistent symbols representing the city," added Anderson.

Those who cannot attend the meeting can also participate by taking a short survey on the city website, www.provo.org, or the mayor's blog.

Halloween Carnival

Gather your family and head to The Center (222 W 500 N) on Friday, October 28th, 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm. The cost is $3.00 per person or $10.00 per family. Children 3 and under are free with paid adult.

* Magic Shows

* Carnival Games

* Enchanted Forrest Craft Room

* 3D Comics Craft Room

* Mad Scientist Lab

* Peter Pan's Neverland Activity Room

* Haunted House of Horrors

* Monster House Movie Room

* Fear Factor Food Eating Contest

* Candy and Prizes for everyone

* And much more!

For more information call

852-7635

The Rivalry Ride

Since BYU lost the rivalry game against the University of Utah, Mayor Curtis will bike from Provo to Salt Lake City on Friday, October 28, 2011, and you can join him. Bike six or 60 miles, your choice. If you don't want to bike all the way to Salt Lake City, you can bike the first three miles of the route to the new Lakeview Park and back. It's a great way to show your support for the food bank, biking, the Cougars, the Utes, football in general, and/or Mayor Curtis. Read more about it on the city website.

After a public hearing on September 20, the Provo Municipal Council voted on a method for charging all electric utility customers for the bond payments associated with the city's fiber optic network, also known as iProvo. The method selected is a combination of flat rates and percentages. All residential customers will be charged a flat rate of $5.35 per meter. Commercial customers will be charged a flat rate of $10 and an additional 2.3% of the electric portion of their utility bills. The charge will appear as a separate line item on utility bills labeled "Telecom Debt Charge" and will begin November 1. For more information, residents may visit www.provo.org or call 801-852-6000.

Related to the City's acquisition of iProvo once more, last week there was a lecture sponsored by the group Our Provo that was a brief and simple explanation of the basics of broadband. It was taped and posted on Youtube. Anyone who wants to join the discussion about what should happen to Provo's network should watch this first.

Fire Safety Week

The Mayor proclaimed this week as Fire Safety Week.  Take some time to talk to your family members about fire safety.  Visit a station, invite a firefighter to do a fire safety inspection in your home, change the batteries in your smoke detectors, think about how your family members would escape an upstairs room if fire made the stairs impassable.
If you have small children, make sure they know what a fire fighter looks like when he is dressed to fight a fire; it can be a frightening sight to child in danger.
The Fire Department has made a great video you may want to view with your family. Find it at City Beat (click on Fire Safety) or on the Mayor's Blog.

All the World is a Stage! Now you can play a part too.

Provo City needs volunteers for a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Drill. It will be held on November 10th and is a great opportunity to see how the community is preparing for emergencies. 

Volunteers will be made to look like victims of disasters and will be treated to pizza after the drill.  Brush up on your acting skills by "playing injured"!

Click on here for more information about how to participate in this community "disaster drill".