• Currently gathering signatures of property owners.
The west alley behind the Town of Afton offices extending south has long been a difficult area to navigate for visitors, business patrons and residents alike as it is littered with giant pot holes, inadequate parking and awkwardly placed power poles.
At the most recent town council meeting for Afton held on February 13, the council approved an ambitious list of improvements scheduled for the upcoming year with the west alley among them.
According to the report during that meeting, representatives are currently getting signatures from area business owners and hope to have this project going out to bid in March.
This list also included a seal coat for areas of 2nd Avenue, Hospital Lane, Lincoln Street, 4th Avenue, 5th Avenue, Monroe and Twin Cliffs roads.
A crack seal is scheduled for 2nd Avenue, Lincoln Street, 5th Avenue (east and west), 4th Avenue and Adams Street.
A chip seal is scheduled for Doc Perkes Lane and Warrior Way/Rulon Gardner Drive as well.
A number of sidewalks are also up for expansion or continuation as well.
• Honoring Jensen for 35 years of service
One of the primary items that took place at the meeting was the presentation of a plaque of appreciation to Rod Jensen who was honored for his 35 years of service on the Afton Utilities Board. During an address to the council, Jensen replied that he had worked with ten mayors and three utility directors in his tenure and that it had been a joy to work with those who are concerned about things in the Town of Afton.
Jensen started his work on the board in 1989 where he related the story that this was the same year Swift Creek experienced a slide and the pond was 20 feet below.
“That became my passion,” he said of the water system
“We funded a new 20-inch line with one of the first town bonds,” he added. He also listed that the town had annexed north Afton, installed meters, expanded the sewer system, survived installations of Lower Valley Energy projects of gas and fiber lines and added a hydro system.
Jensen said he was proud of the work and the long and successful history of water quality for the town and pointed out that water for town residents is cheaper today in terms of buying power than it was in 1989.
Mayor Jeff Jensen praised the system that Jensen helped implement and stated that expansion is continuing to take place in the footprint of what has been built.
