“The only way to protect a view is to buy it,” quipped Mayor Bill Diak, immediately negating the modern proverb with, “I think that we can find a compromise situation.” Page is proud of its views, and capitalizes on it, attracting millions of visitors from around the world. Hotels charge premium rates for premium views. 

Page, from its humble beginnings, with hurdles along the way, evolved into a world-class tourist destination. When the area’s largest employer, Navajo Generating Station, closed, tourism softened the blow. When largescale employers close or relocate, many communities never bounce back. Thanks to forward-thinking council members and city administrators, Page not only survived, it thrived.

Page is a young town, younger than a large percentage of its population. Between 1956 and 1957, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) began construction of a bridge and dam to span Glen Canyon. USBR established Government Camp to temporarily house workers and their families. The land, 17 square miles, was acquired from the Navajo in exchange for land in Utah. When the Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1966, some workers and their families stayed. The camp officially incorporated as Page March 1, 1975. The city is planning a celebration for its 50th anniversary in 2025.

Page city clerk Kim Larson located incorporation documents signed by Page’s first city clerk, Jimmie Frost. He was clerk when Page was a township and when it incorporated as a city.

Although Frost died in the 1980s, his name is mentioned frequently in city council meetings. The unofficial name of undeveloped land off Vista Avenue is Frost Park. 

“I called him Brother Frost,” Debi Roundtree said. “I used to go read to him. He was ill and in a kind of a vegetative state. People would go in and sit with him and read to him and talk to him and help the family with him. I did that often when I first moved to Page, and I only had two kids at that time and would take my little teeny kids and we'd go in and sit and talk with him and read to him.”

Roundtree, a Page resident since 1982, has a different perspective on the city’s 5.81 acres bordering the Lake Powell National Golf Course. She doesn’t live near the disputed property. Development won’t affect her home’s view, and she has no financial loss or gain if the property is used for housing. Yet, she has addressed her concerns and wishes at Page council meetings on at least two occasions. 

“The city employees, especially the manager and the zoning person [have] not lived in Page and they're not part of Page's history and haven't lived here forever,” Roundtree said. “They've moved to our community, and we welcome new employees and the job they do for us, but they see it as a dollar sign. The rest of us see it as something that we in Page have thought for a long time was going to be a park. We knew Mr. Frost and he kind of signified all of our ancestors who had come to Page. So we're looking at it differently.”

Darren Coldwell began work as Page’s city manager Nov. 12. 2019. Coldwell’s responsibilities includes preparing and managing the city’s budget. Page Planning and Zoning Director Zachary Montgomery began about two years ago, replacing Tim Suan, who left Page in May 2021.

Speaking of Frost, Roundtree said, “It wasn't like they singled him out as the person in Page that a park should be named after. It was the other way around. They wanted a memorial park is what I remember. And I remember I was a citizen of Page. I remember when it was named, it was more the emphasis of a memorial park. Now everybody just calls it the Frost Park. I'm not trying to take away from Brother Frost because he was great employee and a good man, but it wasn't like he was that level that they were choosing to name one whole park in the whole town of Page after him. It was more they wanted a memorial park. He was passing away at that time, so it was like, well, ‘Let's name it the Frost Park.’”

Members of the group opposing selling the Frost parcels to developers have also talked about safety concerns ranging from helicopter flight patterns to children on the golf course.

Roundtree has another fear.

“So one of the other concerns is – you know that movie out right now, the ‘Sound of Freedom,’ that's out about human trafficking,” she said. “I haven't brought it up in a public meeting, but I've been involved with that group and what they've done, and help one of my dearest friends who works for O.U.R. (Operation Underground Railroad). Putting a multifamily right next to a motels is so irresponsible because stalkers are people [who] love those type of spots. [It’s] the type of thing they look at because they can check into a motel. They look like a tourist. They sit there. They can monitor families and children.” 

Many experts, including Teresa Huizar, CEO of National Children's Alliance (NCA), are critical of the “Sound of Freedom” movie because it’s dramatized and depicts child traffickers as shady strangers while most child victims know their traffickers. According to Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative, family members are involved in nearly half of child trafficking cases. 

O.U.R. is up front about dramatizations and fictional scenes in “Sound of Freedom.” The story is based on true events, but some events are fictional. They also acknowledge the movie doesn’t depict what human traffic typically looks like. A June 27, 2023, blog post on O.U.R.’s website says, “Predators are soccer coaches and trusted teachers, neighbors across the street, uncles and aunts.” The blog post lists which movie scenes are based on real events and which are fictional.

For information on child trafficking, search the web for National Center for Missing & Exploited Children or National Children's Alliance.

Members of citizen’s group spoke again at the July 12, 2023, Page City Council meeting. The group’s liaison, Chris Shores, spoke of the failure to resolve the issue carried over from the March 22 meeting. “An education on the process ahead of time would have been nice, but that’s OK too because now we're here and if we know what we need to do step-by-step we'll help walk it through. As far as a compromise goes, I don't want to throw anybody under the bus, but since we already have, I'll drive the bus.”

Shores, whose home borders the Frost parcels, said, “We thought staff was directed to come talk to us about coming up with a compromise, so we got defensive and said, ‘No, none of that's acceptable.’”

The group submitted two alternative plans for the land. Shores said the group preferred all 5.81 acres become a grassless park with paths, benches and signage describing the local fauna. 

Shore threw a variety of ideas around at the council meeting and suggested a compromise was possible. The Chronicle reached out to Shores to clarify issues and ideas. A scheduled phone interview was canceled by Shores and attempts to reschedule haven’t succeeded so far.

This article is the third of a multipart series on housing and land use in Page. Next week, Lake Powell Chronicle will feature and overview of Page’s housing crisis, including the obstacles in providing affordable housing.