4 minute read
New City Leadership
Mayor says Springville headed in the right direction
Springville City is doing well, and city leaders need to work to ensure that status continues as opportunities for growth and community development present themselves, said the city’s new mayor.
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“The ship is heading in the right direction; we just need to continue to promote that,” said Matt Packard, who took office as mayor of Springville on Jan. 4.
A lifelong resident of Springville, Packard graduated from Springville High School, then earned a bachelor’s degree in business management with an emphasis in finance at Brigham Young University. He also graduated from Pacific Coast Banking School, a graduate banking school in Bellevue, Washington.
He’s a fifth-generation banker and worked at Central Bank for 43 years. Although he’s now formally retired, he still serves as chairman of the board at Central Bank.
He served one four-year term on the Springville City Council in the 1990s. In 2019, he ran again and won a second term on the city council. He served two years of that term before being elected as Springville’s mayor.
“I have lots of wonderful experience that I’m happy to use to help the city in whatever capacity that I can,” Packard said.
Like other communities in Utah, Springville is experiencing tremendous growth. Part of managing that growth is ensuring new developments have an aesthetic or appearance that matches the community and don’t look like they belong elsewhere.
“We want to make sure that the growth that we have is controlled,” Packard said, “and we hopefully don’t lose our hometown feel.”
One of these projects is a large housing development called Lakeside Landing that will bring hundreds of new homes to the area west of I-15 between the two Springville freeway exits.
“I think we worked really hard on Lakeside Landing, and we would like to see that throughout the city,” Packard said, “and I think over the next several years, that’s hopefully going to be impressive to all the developers that come here.”
Packard said the city has been in discussions with a number of other developers looking at Springville, including regarding properties near the area of 1600 South and I-15. The Utah Department of Transportation plans to begin building a new freeway interchange at 1600 South this fall, bringing new economic development opportunities to that area.
Work is also continuing on the former Allen’s grocery store property on the west side of Main Street between 300 South and 400 South. The proposed development has multi-story buildings with retail businesses on the ground floor and residential units on the upper floors.
“The goal is to make it look and feel like the downtown,” Packard said of the downtown development.
One of Packard’s other concerns is uniting various aspects of the community, whether they be geographic or cultural. Much of Springville has been established for many years, while some areas, such as west of Main Street, are attracting many new residents. Lakeside Landing will bring hundreds more new residents to an area separated from the rest of the city by the freeway.
“That’s a challenge, to make sure that you can pull all of that together,” Packard said.
In addition, a high percentage of Springville’s population is Hispanic. “We want to make sure that people who come here, who immigrate here, that they feel accepted, that they feel a part of our community, and that they feel a part of our culture and who we are,” he said.
Packard believes offering various community events can pull Springville together and help people feel like they’re a part of the community.
In the area of parks and recreation, Packard said he feels good about where the city is and where it is heading. “We just need to continue to provide opportunities for people to recreate, whether it’s up the canyon, whether it’s on a bike, whether it’s at the rec center,” he said.
The city’s government is making efforts to be more transparent for residents through its website and newsletter, and it is planning to start a podcast. “The intent is to dispel the rumors and preach the facts and then allow you to be able to make your own decisions based upon the facts,” Packard said.
He praised city employees and said the levels of service in the city are “very, very good.”
“Whatever happens, we want people to be proud of Springville. We want people to be happy to live in Springville, and we want people to feel safe in Springville,” Packard said. “We want the community itself to be a place where they enjoy living and raising their family, and we are going to do everything we can to make that happen.”
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