West Haven hires new officials to help balance growth, preserve city identity
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Shari Phippen, right, has been hired as West Haven's new community development director and Edward Mignone has been brought on as city engineer.WEST HAVEN — A new city engineer and new community development director are on board in West Haven, hired to help in city leaders’ efforts to strike a balance between growth and maintaining the locale’s rural identity.
The city announced the new staffing in a statement, tying the hires last month to the dramatic population expansion in the city, the fastest-growing locale in Weber County over the past decade. Many have expressed concern that the growth will erode the country feel in the city, and countering such change is one of the hopes with the new staffing arrangement, which creates two posts from one.
The city “is working to provide a path towards smart growth that maintains West Haven’s rural identity,” reads the city statement. City Manager Matthew Jensen also foresees “more efficient and responsive government” with the change.
Shari Phippen was hired as community development director while Edward Mignone was brought on as the city engineer. Steve Anderson had handled both roles as a private contractor for 23 years before the city moved in the new direction, and Jensen lauded his service.
But carving two posts out of one “represents the City Council’s continued investment in handling the challenges of growth and maintaining identity that many cities along the Wasatch Front are dealing with,” he said.
Phippen had previously worked as a district liaison for U.S. Rep. Blake Moore and, before him, U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop. She also worked in city planning and will oversee planning for West Haven as well as building inspection and code enforcement functions.
Mignone previously worked as a municipal engineer in the Borough of Fort Lee, New Jersey, and also served as mayor and council member in the Borough of River Edge, New Jersey. “His familiarity with both an engineering approach and sensitivity to community concerns on projects will be key for his new role,” reads the city statement.
Creating two positions from one comes with extra cost, around $80,000 a year, Jensen said. The change was outlined in the city’s 2021-2022 budget.
West Haven’s population went from 10,272 in 2010 to 16,739 in 2020, up 63%, according to the latest census numbers. That made it the fastest-growing city in the county both in raw numbers and in relative terms.