Residents of Layton are expressing shock after the unexpected death of Mayor Steve Curtis at the age of 58.
City Council member Mike Bowhuis says Mayor Curtis died in his sleep after enjoying Thanksgiving with his family. Curtis was just finishing his second term as mayor. Prior to that, he served ten years on the Layton city council. Bowhuis says city employees held him in high regard.
“Steve was a stalwart," Bowhuis told KUER. "He’s the one who was at every event for the city. He was the Santa Claus at the police Christmas party. He was the one that was giving out all the awards to police officers who had distinguished themselves.”
Under Curtis’ leadership, Bowhuis says Layton City was able to build some important new capital projects without bonding or raising taxes. And he says the city’s grown economically even during the recession.
“We’ve added 15-18 restaurants," Bowhuis says. "We’ve added an industrial park. The old downtown area has started to develop with the FrontRunner station and now a high-end, transit-oriented apartment complex is going in as we speak.”
Curtis chose not to run for a third term this year. Bob Stevenson was elected to the job earlier this month, and he’ll take office in January. In the meantime, city council member and mayor pro temJory Francis will take over the mayor’s duties.