By Michael Heather
The voters of Payson have created a mayoral runoff between the two weakest people running for the position. Imagine choosing to vote between a dumpster fire and a train wreck. The current mayor Tom Morrissey has signed not one, but two non-disclosure agreements with MHA Foundation while he was. mayor, meaning that his entire term is owned not by the people who elected him, but by Kenny Evans, who has kept secret his own interests. The next choice is Chris Higgins, a former councilman who was living illegally on the property of yet another former councilman (Steve Smith) and his wife Tina McAllister-Smith, a new councilman, until recently. Perhaps the voters should know about FCC regulations that have been broken and money paid by the town to a shell corporation in order to skirt yet more FCC regulations. After taking into account his bankruptcy, he is running as a broke, homeless mayor. But he got more votes than anyone else. Way to go!
You now have a town council without any direction other than that given by MHA or the town manager, an employee of the town who seems to be taking orders from MHA. Taylor pool, which he conveniently decided to close, backed by a big pile of lies and the contract town attorney still exists. It is far less expensive to refurbish (about $150,000) than tear out. The only bid (reported to be $307,000) was made by the husband of a recently retired (30 years) town public works employee. And that is only one of the two water features in question. The Splash pad was passed by the council 3 years ago yet has not been started. The town council will likely continue its love affair with studies and consultants, using YOUR tax money to do anything but improve the living conditions in town, create a destination Main street, replace asbestos-lined water mains that are more than 40 years old, and what about the streets?
Gotta hand it to you folks; you were told many times by wild eyed know nothings that a forensic audit would cost $500,000 and find nothing and they frightened you into believing both ends of the statement. It would either find nothing or cost a lot if there were irregularities to find and people to charge. Maybe not by this town manager, who lost a vote of confidence in Colorado just before becoming the darling of Payson. But by voting for what is familiar, please do not expect anything to improve in the foreseeable future. The town council will have big smiles at every meeting because they got away with the big lie that you bought, and they will not have to answer for. You will have the same sense of paying too much for living in a formerly wonderful town that is just not so wonderful for you. Crappy roads, conflict-of interest, corruption and nepotism should probably be on the town seal. I voted for a little change. We will get much more of the same old stuff, plus a new park we cannot afford and will not own even after paying for it for 49 years. ★ ★ ★
