Draper council appoints Marsha Vaudry to vacant seat after public interviews; city highlights infrastructure and park projects

Draper City’s council filled a recent vacancy and officials used the city’s podcast to describe the process and recap municipal accomplishments.

The vacancy opened after councilmember Calvin Roberts ran for and won a seat in the Utah State House. The city held a public application period with roughly 51 applicants. The council conducted a single interview night where each candidate had three minutes to speak; the mayor and managers described the method as a political but open process consistent with the relevant statute.

"Everyone got three minutes," the host said, describing the evening when candidates made their cases. After interviews, the host said, Councilwoman Johnson moved to appoint Marsha Vaudry; Councilmember Green seconded the motion and the council voted to appoint Vaudry. The podcast did not provide a roll-call or a vote tally in the episode audio.

City leaders said the appointee will serve the remainder of the term but must run in the next election cycle if they seek to continue beyond the statutory appointment window. The mayor emphasized the appointment process is inherently political and that the city met statutory open‑meeting and application requirements.

The podcast also listed the city’s recent accomplishments: about $3,000,000 in infrastructure repairs after 2023 flooding, completion of a widened 300 East at 12300 South with an added turn lane, the opening of an 18‑hole disc golf course, phase‑1 opening of Jensen Farm Park, additional trailers at the Suncrest off‑leash dog area, a new farmers market, a highly attended Draper Days festival with no major incidents, and a redesigned city website at DraperUtah.gov.

The episode did not provide the council’s vote tally for the appointment or detailed budget breakdowns for the projects mentioned; officials directed listeners to city records and upcoming council minutes for those specifics.