ENOCH – Gary Wilcken has recently been sworn into office as an appointed city councilor to replace former Councilor Justin Gray, who left to go on an LDS mission with his wife.

Wilcken said he takes an interest in how the city does things and has been involved with the city’s water board and planning commission as well as running for a council seat two years ago. Those experiences helped him become familiar with how the process works.

“And I care; I care about people, I care about people getting taxed, and the fees and all those kinds of things,” Wilcken said. “They just kind of add up.”

He said he feels the need to serve at a time when his children are all grown. He thought he could give up a little bit of television time to serve the community.

Mayor Robert Rasmussen said he has known Wilcken as a good, hard worker for a long time.

“Whatever assignments you give him, he’ll work hard and try to be fair and equitable,” Rasmussen said.

Wilcken said his family moved to the area in 1952, and he was born at the Cedar City hospital and raised here. He said he attended Southern Utah State College (now SUU) for a couple of quarters and studied political science. After that he went to work so he could provide for his family.

He has been working for the LDS Church for the past 22 years, managing about 10 church buildings in the north Cedar City and Enoch areas. He keeps the systems for those buildings running, which includes heating and cooling, as well as handling security. That experience has familiarized him with maintenance costs and procedures.

Wilcken said a couple of years ago the city’s greatest challenge would have been considered growth, but now it is a lack of growth so there are economic concerns. The city staff, he said, informed him that the city is providing sewer service to 100 fewer homes this year and that creates a budget shortage.

“So anything the city wants to do has to be tied to whether or not we can afford it,” Wilcken said.

He said he wants to listen and learn as much as he can, and then participate.

When he took over Gray’s seat during the June 17 council meeting, Gray only had another six months before he would have reached the halfway point of his four-year term so the other half of that council term will be open in the November city election.

Wilcken said he plans to run for the next two-year term of that council position, and his highest priority is families. He said families are the strength of the city, and if it continues to tax them, regardless of how good the intentions are, stress is put on them.

“The city is no stronger than the people who live in the city,” he said. “So when we take from individuals in the city to make the city stronger, we make it weaker.”

He also said the city needs to be very responsive to the citizens who pay the bill, and not necessarily to those who “squeak the loudest.”

His wife’s name is Joyce, and they have six children.