It was 31 years ago, June 1, 1982, when the then North Ogden City (NOC) Mayor Don Colvin hired Polo Afuvai to be Chief of Police. Newly retired, Chief Afuvai addressed the Council and said “I guess this is it – out with the old and in with the new and young.” On behalf of himself, his wife Barbara, and his family, he thanked all in attendance “for the wonderful journey they have taken together.” In a glowing tribute to the Chief, Don said of yesteryear that “four of them conducted lengthy interviews and came to a unanimous decision that Polo… would bring dignity and professionalism as well as build a quality police department, which he has done so admirably.” Former mayor Bruce Dursteler said that he “appreciates Chief Afuvai’s fine character and he has never slipped from being a sterling individual.” Sergeant Butch Seamons stood up to publicly thank the Chief “for giving me my start in law enforcement” and commented that “he has made all his employees better police officers… good report writers… probably the best report writing department in the State of Utah.” Council Member (CM) Cheryl Stoker said she had “always known he was a man of integrity.” Current mayor, Richard Harris, summed it up by saying “Chief Afuvai leaves a special legacy for the young people; his concerns and compassions for them have been a hallmark throughout his years.” In particular he mentioned standing by the Chief at DARE graduations over the past 12 years where “his stories and the advice he gives to the youth… makes an awesome impression… especially on the young people.”
After consideration of a field that started with “only 6 applicants” as stated by a surprised mayor, a 6 member NOC panel included Mayor Harris, CM Kent Bailey & Brent Taylor together with City Recorder Annette Spendlove, Chief Afuvai and City Manger Ron Chandler, “unanimously selected NOC Captain Kevin Warren to be the new Chief of Police.” The newly appointed Chief Warren expressed his humility and appreciation for the trust placed upon him. He added, “Chief Afuvai has brought integrity to the department by implementing accountability, structure, organization, teamwork, professionalism and more.” He added that NOC has “not been sued civilly in the 31 years” during his tenure, and “there is not another department in the State that can make that claim.” Chief Warren indicated there would be a “smooth transition in moving forward… and is excited about bringing some new ideas” to NOC.
Dave Nordquist, NOC citizen and former Parks & Recreation director for 6 years, pleaded with the Council to “take great care in their decision to privatize the maintenance of City parks” as he “personally feels this is a huge mistake.” Dave acknowledged “there are some things private vendors can do better than the City, but regular maintenance of the parks is not one of them.” After several months of analysis by NOC staff, led by City Manager Ron Chandler, with much discussion on the actual costs and potential savings, Ron pointed out that “if the services are retained in-house by eliminating two full-time positions and replacing them with part-time employees… the savings… would be roughly the same.” Ron focused on two questions as he continued, “one is regarding control on what that employee is doing… would be given up if a contractor is doing the work” and the second is “relative to other duties and projects” employees are engaged in for NOC. After a lengthy discussion, CM Justin Fawson summarized by saying that he “agrees with CM Wade Bigler, the benefits the City would get compared to the cost savings with an outsource solution does not add up.” CM Stoker agreed that she “has never been a huge fan… because she has talked to other cities that have done similar things and most times it has not been successful” and that “it would be possible to consider using part-time employees to save money” and she is just “not sold on outsourcing.” The Council unanimously agreed with Dave and voted against the City Administration’s recommendation to privatize NOC parks maintenance and snow removal services.
