WESTON — Incoming Weston Mayor Ryan Beckstead said his town of roughly 550 people doesn't have a swarm of projects on its plate, but there is a couple of things he would like to see accomplished.

Beckstead ran unopposed for mayor in November, replacing Greg Garner who opted not to seek another term.

“Greg has been a good friend and he's been there for the city for a long time,” Beckstead said. “We really appreciate his willingness to serve and are grateful for the hard work he's done.”

Beckstead said the biggest consideration for the city moving forward is the possibility of a new commercial/industrial development that could bring new business to the area.

“Hopefully we can get that worked out,” he said.

His next thoughts turn to the need for a new home for Weston's city government.

“Our City Hall is pretty old and not really meeting the needs of the city,” Beckstead said.

In fact, the current City Hall isn't even used for City Council meetings. Beckstead said they hold those meetings in what he calls the “city shed,” a building used to house city equipment. It's just large enough to hold one truck, he said.

His vision for a new facility appears to be multi-use, as some of the ideas he threw out included a community center and town hall for city offices.

Beckstead is no stranger to Weston city government. He has previously served two different times on the Weston City Council, from 2007 to 2013 and from 2017 to 2021.

It was at the suggestion of a friend and former City Council colleague that Beckstead decided to run for mayor.

“(Camille Larsen) approached me and said, 'let's get back on the City Council,'” he said. “We talked about it and we decided she would run for City Council and I would run for mayor.”

Larsen ran unopposed for the Weston City Council, filling the seat vacated by Mike Hornberger, who resigned last year. Beckstead said the resignation came close enough to the election that Garner decided to let the voters decide who would fill the seat rather than appoint someone.

Larsen has previously served on the Weston City Council and as Weston's mayor. She and Beckstead will be sworn in on Wednesday.

Incumbent Morgan Purser retained his council seat.

Also new to the Weston City Council is Brad Nielsen, who defeated incumbent Vaughan Daley in November's election. Born and raised in Weston, Nielsen said he considered a run for City Council for a while.

“I really love our town and want to see it succeed,” he said. “I wanted to see if I can make a difference.”

Future growth is the biggest issue he believes Weston faces. He said he would like to see Weston develop a master plan for addressing that future growth.

“We also need to be fiscally responsible and make sure we keep infrastructure up to date,” Nielsen said.

Nielsen is an assistant controller for an Ogden, Utah-based company who works remotely from his Weston home. He believes other remote workers could see Weston as a viable destination to live.

Beckstead currently works as the information security officer for the Franklin County Medical Center. He grew up in Idaho Falls but moved to Whitney, where his father grew up, to live with his grandparents after graduation and while attending college.

He eventually made his home in Weston, leaving in 2013 to pursue his master's degree at Idaho State University in Pocatello before moving to Boise where he worked for the Idaho Health Insurance Exchange. He returned to Weston in 2017.