In this northern Utah County city of 36,000, six remain to vie for three City Council seats - three challengers and three incumbents.

In interviews, they discussed their excitement and apprehension over a Frank Gehry-designed sports-oriented housing and commercial development, their unanimous support of an Interstate 15-Mountain View Corridor connector at 4800 North and their preference on the city's form of government.

James Dixon (incumbent)

* 45

* Wife, five sons

* Owner of jewelry store

Commercial growth: Dixon said Lehi has to provide shopping areas to keep residents in the city rather than force them to travel to Provo. But he wants to preserve the city's historic and cultural flavor downtown.

"The new growth and new economy can help to maintain the traditions we have in Lehi," Dixon said.

Traffic: Dixon said solving Lehi's traffic woes will require planning coordination on the local, county and state levels. He said a 1000 South corridor is in the works and has been for years.

He said Lehi differs slightly from Highland and Alpine on State Route 92 construction. Lehi wants stops along the road, rather than a no-stop path to and from I-15.

Form of government: Municipal governments are different from federal and state forms, he said, adding that the manager form is "truly an American form of government" initiated back at the turn of the 20th century.

"The manager form of government is more efficient and more accountable," he said. "I would imagine the state would say citizens have to vote, and I think that's fine."

George Harris

* 52

* Wife, five children (two boys, three girls)

* Lawyer

Commercial growth: Harris said Lehi needs thoughtfully planned growth. He lives near the coming Gehry project and is generally optimistic about it, although several aspects are vague.

"There will be a number of housing units. So the question is, how they take care of water, utilities, transportation and traffic that would create."

Traffic: Harris said Main Street is cluttered by commuters heading to Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs, so the city needs arterial roads on 1000 South and 2100 South.

He said an additional I-15 interchange would help ease traffic as the Gehry project moves in.

Form of government: It's important that whoever holds the head office is elected and accountable to voters, he said. No change should be made by ordinance.

"It should be done by an election. If voters would like to see a change, and they'd like to have a manager-run city, voters can do that."

Mark Johnson

(incumbent)

* 50

* Wife, four children (three boys and one girl)

* Engineering project man- ager

Commercial growth: John- son said he wants businesses throughout Lehi because downtown can't support all the city's commercial needs.

"We have a lot of people in town that still can't go to a grocery store without getting on a freeway to get there. That's got to change," he said.

Traffic: Johnson said the city is continuing work toward a 1000 South corridor that should relieve congestion on Main Street.

"Unfortunately, growth has historically occurred faster than we can get property acquired and roads constructed," he said, adding that he wants to keep some traffic on Main Street in order to retain shoppers for downtown revitalization.

Form of government: Johnson said it's important that citizens have the opportunity to vote, but whatever comes out of the struggle needs to be good for the city.

"I prefer having the city managed by somebody who's been professionally trained," Johnson said. "It's important that people understand the dynamics of the situation and voice their concerns."

Craig Laurence

* 38

* Wife, four children (three girls and one boy)

* Technical writer and adjunct faculty member at Brigham Young University

Commercial growth: Laurence said the Thanksgiving Point area is primed for business parks. But he is concerned about the number of units in the Gehry project.

"I don't think Lehi is ready to become a metropolis, but it'd be nice to have proper community development that would enable people to live, work and play in Lehi."

Traffic: Relieving Main Street congestion can occur in two ways: Lehi can proceed with an arterial road at 1000 South, or it can further develop 2300 West to connect State Route 73 and 2100 North - only if the city and railroad carefully look at railroad-crossing safety at 2100 North.

Form of government: Laurence, whom Mayor Howard Johnson appointed to a commission that studied the form-change issue, said the best government might be a charter form - similar to federal and state governments - because it separates powers and provides checks and balances.

"But do I want Lehi to have a charter form? That's for the people to decide," he said. "It's certainly not for the council to decide."

Jeffrey Ray

* 38

* Wife, six children (four sons, two daughters)

* Insurance agent

Commercial growth: Ray said he wants to balance city growth in a way that would include 70 percent residential and 30 percent commercial.

"Lehi is no longer a sleepy little cowboy town; it's really becoming a destination spot in a lot of ways," Ray said. "Developers need to know they're not going to just get what they want without a serious look."

Traffic: Ray said Lehi needs roads on the north and south ends of Main Street to lessen commuter traffic in and out of Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs.

He wants three traffic signals to make roads safer - two along Main Street at 1700 West and 2300 West, and one at the freeway off-ramp near the Roller Mills to ease left turns toward American Fork.

Form of government: Ray is opposed to changing the form of government without residents voting. He said a change would eliminate the current balance of power between the city's legislative and executive bodies.

"Five council members changing what we have would hold too much power," he said.

Johnny Revill

(incumbent)

* 34

* Wife, three children (two boys, one girl)

* Salesman for printing company

Commercial growth: Revill said the city has to make good-sense concessions that are good for the city in the long run in order to get certain types of development. He said he's excited to see how the Gehry project turns out, but that the city would have to weigh the different concessions presented by developers.

Traffic: Revill said the city is developing relationships with UDOT and trying to find ways to solve issues on several state roads, including Main Street, State Street, SR 92 and 500 West.

Meanwhile, he said Lehi's views on SR 92 expansion differ from cities to the east, such as Highland.

"They want a superhighway," Revill said. "But we need access into Traverse Mountain."

Form of government: Revill sides with a city-established commission that recommended changing the government to a manager-council form. It's most effective because it's run by professionals who are educated in running day-to-day city functions, but the decision needs to be made by the people, he said.

sgehrke@sltrib.com