OGDEN — Kevin Lundell wants to see an Ogden that gives back to the people that are already here.

He recently told the Standard-Examiner he feels some developments in the past few years have excessively hindered the city’s ability to invest in other areas.

“Ogden’s had a $100 million increase in its revenue over the last 10 years,” he said. “At the same time, we’ve continually been investing in economic redevelopment. The WonderBlock is a good example of that. That is a tax incentive package that totaled about $117 million, and just to service the debt on that, we’re (down) about $5.6 million in annual revenue every single year.”

He said that this comes at an “opportunity cost.”

“An opportunity cost to renovate our parks, to invest in our streetlights and sidewalks and the people of Ogden,” he said. “I would like to see a change in direction where we’re investing in the things that people feel and experience on a regular basis.”

Lundell said that one of the key ways to help invest in Ogden’s people is to check the pace of growth.

“First and foremost is to make sure that we’re not continuing that path of trying to speed up growth through these economic investment packages, because we would have that money if we didn’t,” he said. “From there, it’s making sure that we change direction and invest in the people that are here in Ogden. I think we have the revenue coming in to do those things if we take the right steps.”

Lundell said one of the biggest concerns he’s been hearing from voters is a lack of affordability.

“In a time where the city’s gone through this huge economic growth — $100 million increase in 10 years — the people on the ground are feeling the squeeze,” he said. “They’re feeling the squeeze from inflation, they’re feeling the squeeze from an increasing water bill, they’re feeling the squeeze from what will be paid parking implemented in downtown. When those are the conditions on the ground, the city needs to be focused on, ‘How can we make life more affordable for the people in Ogden? What are the mechanisms that we have to do that?'”

He said it goes back to investing in the city’s residents.

“If we’re investing in the parks, you’ve got a free place to go and do something fun with your family,” he said. “If you’re improving the roads, then that pothole doesn’t cost you a realignment of your car or a new rim.”

Lundell said, if elected, he plans to do all he can to keep in contact with constituents.

“I think a lot of people are consuming information a lot on their phones right now,” he said. “I’m very prevalent on social media where I try to bring the issues directly to people, directly to community members who may not be engaged in any other way. We’ll also take that and put it into a newsletter where a video will be embedded as well.”

He said he hopes this effort will allow more residents to better engage in local civics.

“Any vote that’s not unanimous on the City Council, I have committed to explaining that vote via social media,” he said. “Hopefully, people can more organically, more accessibly access information that is happening on a city municipal level. I think that can potentially allow them to be more informed and be more engaged.”

Lundell said he views the role as a City Council person to be twofold — governance and using their voices.

“We get to write ordinances, the budget and oversight,” he said. “We have to come to at least a consensus or majority amongst the council about how we’re going to implement those ordinances or how we’re going allocate those funds and those budgets. It is a process of coordination and collaboration with your fellow City Council members. The other one that City Council members have is their voice. We were elected representatives. It’s our job to get out there to hear from the people, to relay that information to administration and be an advocate and a voice for our community members.”