This election cycle, two individuals are vying for the position of mayor in Ammon, as well as four for seats on the Ammon City Council. A writer for the Post Register spoke to the candidates about their professional backgrounds and goals for the city.
Mayor Brian PowellPowell has worked in technology for most of his career. He is currently the information systems manager for Bonneville County, managing software for the financial, payroll, permitting and planning software of the county.
Powell said if elected as mayor, his main goal would be to utilize data analysis for decision-making within the city.
“Because I have a background in technology and analytics, I’d really like to see us get more of our decisions that are data-driven instead of emotion-driven,” Powell said.
Powell said he would like to use geographic information systems programs like Esri to analyze data such as building permits, traffic counts, census numbers and school enrollment to find patterns of growth within the city for planning.
“You can get a really good idea of what the future growth is going to be in your community, and then you can start to budget for it,” Powell said.
Powell said he thinks his data-driven approach and collaboration with other cities like Iona and Idaho Falls will also be able to cut down on waste.
“We can probably save quite a bit of money, a lot of waste, because you’re not building something like a road to nowhere,” Powell said. “You’re actually making these decisions and putting your budgets together that are based on data and historical data.”
Powell said he also would like to form a mayor’s advisory council, made up of citizens such as educators, financial gurus, developers, engineers, etc., to discuss what is and isn’t working within the community.
“When you get out and about and start talking to people, you realize we’ve got a lot of smart, talented individuals that I just feel like we haven’t tapped into to help us make some decisions,” Powell said. “You’d be amazed at the amount of talent we have in this area.”
Sean Calvert CrystalSean Calvert Crystal is a write-in candidate for mayor of Ammon. He said he grew up doing food service and always had an entrepreneurial mindset. He said he taught himself stock trading and now owns 710 Spectrum, a CBD shop in Idaho Falls.
Crystal said his goals if elected mayor would be to “get back to work for the community.”
“I feel like our government has kind of forgotten who they actually work for and our communities are being put second to other priorities, whether that be infrastructure, education, healthcare, etc.,” Crystal said.
“I’m not a career politician, I’m here to get to work for the people, put the government voice back in the hands and the voices of the constituents that they are supposed to represent,” Crystal said.
Crystal said he is also a firm believer in having a proactive government, rather than a reactive one. He said this means planning for growth rather than only responding to growth that has already happened.
“Especially when it comes to stuff like infrastructure, we’ve got a government that doesn’t respond for growth,” Crystal said. “They respond after it’s already become a problem (when) it’s something that should’ve already been taken care of.”
City Council Seat Two Russel SlackSlack, an incumbent, has been on the Ammon City Council for four terms. Slack has worked in finance for 25 years. He currently owns Guided Seasons Wealth Advisors in Idaho Falls.
“I’ve lived in the same house in Ammon for almost 20 years and raised all my kids here, and I’m really passionate about where I live and being a part of making it a better place for people.”
Slack said while on the city council, he is particularly proud of managing the city’s budget while dealing with inflation and working with a low levy rate.
“Ammon has the lowest levy rate of a city our size in Idaho, which means we just don’t have a lot of money to work with, and we’ve had enormous amounts of inflation between wages and the sheriff’s contract and insurance increases,” Slack said.
He said part of their budgetary success has been the Ammon Fire Department becoming part of the Bonneville County Fire District and the Eastern Idaho Regional Wastewater Authority becoming its own district.
Additionally, Slack was on the city council when the Ammon Fiber project was approved, which he said has become a huge benefit to residents.
Slack said his goals for a potential fifth term on the city council will be to finish out the fiber project so every resident has the opportunity to opt in and continue to work on the budget.
“We’ve spent a lot of money, a lot of our savings — almost all of it in some road projects between the bridges and John Adams,” Slack said.
“A second project I’m really passionate about is making sure our finances are in a better position in four years than they are today.”
Nolan J. WheelerWheeler served as a diesel mechanic in the Navy for 10 years. After that, he worked in oil fields for five years, halfway through transitioning to safety. He currently works as a risk and safety consultant for BBSI.
Wheeler said if elected, one of his main goals would be for Ammon to get its own police force.
“Ammon’s population is over 20,000 now, and you just see all these other cities in the area — Shelley, Ucon — they have their own police force,” Wheeler said. “So with Ammon not showing any signs of slowing down in population growth, I think it is a really good time to look into actually having our own police force.”
Wheeler said he thinks a lot of older Ammon roads are being neglected.
“With that street levy that was passed last year, I think that’s where that money needs to go first,” Wheeler said.
Regarding Ammon’s budget, Wheeler said he believes fixing older roads in Ammon will entice new businesses to come and provide additional revenue for the city.
City Council Seat Four Kris OswaldOswald, an incumbent, has been on the Ammon City Council for two years, half of a full term. Oswald is a dental assistant, and she and her husband have owned their own practice in Ammon for 21 years.
Oswald said prior to being on the city council, she had no experience with city government. She had been on a community group which discussed water, infrastructure, safety and education called the WISE growth committee. She said group members would attend planning and zoning meetings and fight certain developments coming to the area. She said since being on the city council, she’s learned much, been a liaison with the sheriff’s department and fought density issues.
“I worked hard at getting some new zoning for anything past Crowley,” Oswald said.
“(Developers) were getting literally six homes per acre, and I was able to take that to the rest of the city council and discuss that,” Oswald said. “We came up with a new plan.”
Oswald said she’s also been attending traffic commission meetings, where many have expressed concerns with the bridge behind Eagle Drive.
Oswald said if elected again for the city council, her primary goals would be to make sure the city has adequate infrastructure, continue to fight density issues and make sure every voice is heard.
“I think Ammon is a very special place,” Oswald said. “I think it’s very different than the city we border and I want to keep it the way it is. You know, growth is going to come and growth is going to happen, but we can do it in better ways.”
Marco HancockHancock said he currently works seven jobs, including property management, managing a homeowner’s association, managing storage units and running vending machines. He said he tries to keep his life busy and utilize his high energy.
“I have a good life and I have the means, I have the time, I want to build up the community where I live,” Hancock said.
Hancock said his main goal for the city would be to see Ammon cleaner from trash. He said he would like to start a highway cleanup-like program for local students to clean up trash in the community.
“These kids that are going to be our future leaders, a lot of them are looking for things to do,” Hancock said.
He said he’d like to see a program like this also expanded to shoveling sidewalks in the winter and cleaning schools.
“I think that we could be helping our schools save money if we had programs … that helped the kids take on responsibilities to relieve the janitors of so much work,” Hancock said.
“I want to see more programs to build our youth and create solutions to save money,” he said.
Hancock said he also admires how Ammon has been able to build several bridges without requiring a high tax for citizens.
