Residents and youth group highlight emergency preparedness and community programs at Bountiful council meeting

Casey Bowen, a long-time Bountiful resident and member of the city’s neighborhood emergency preparedness council, told the City Council on June 10 that the city’s volunteer emergency preparedness program works across all 12 neighborhoods and is coordinated with the police department. Bowen said the council’s CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program is recognized statewide and that volunteers helped during local incidents such as a gun range fire and windstorms. Bowen invited councilors to a county Amateur Radio Emergency Field Day on June 20–21 and thanked the city for supporting training and meeting space.

John Cook, advisor to the Bountiful City Youth Committee (BCYC), gave a term update. He said the BCYC finished the year with more than 170 participants at an end-of-term event and that the committee now includes 59 members from nine schools (18 seniors, 15 juniors, 12 sophomores and 14 freshmen). Cook said the BCYC reorganized into four youth-led committees — youth-led events, community support, service and engagement — to give members more decision-making authority. He said the BCYC logged roughly 850 committee hours this past year and described upcoming volunteer work including a food-pantry shift and Hand Cart Days.

Several council members publicly thanked volunteers and noted community summer events including the farmers market, concerts in the park and the Chalk Art Festival. Council members also recognized the late former Mayor Joe Johnson; councilors described his longtime mentorship and community service during reports.

Council members and staff encouraged residents to volunteer for the Bountiful History Museum and to use Davis County mosquito abatement services for community events. The council did not take formal action on either the emergency-preparedness presentation or the BCYC update.