diff --git a/smartassist/src/utils.py b/smartassist/src/utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b0eff29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/smartassist/src/utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# This module contains definitions of variables, functions, classes, et cetera, that are
+# imported to more than one other module. The rational for defining these things here
+# is that it is easier to avoid circular imports when they are defined in a central location.
+import logging
+
+global log_level
+log_level = 'INFO'
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+def set_local_logger(log_instance):
+    """
+    Configure logging based on the global variable log_level
+    Logging is controlled by integer values, where DEBUG < INFO < WARNING < ERROR < CRITICAL.
+    To turn off logging completely, set numeric_log_level to at least CRITICAL + 1.
+    """
+    global log_level
+    numeric_log_level = getattr(logging, log_level, None)
+    if not isinstance(numeric_log_level, int):
+        raise ValueError('Invalid log level: %s' % log_level)
+    
+    logging.basicConfig(level=numeric_log_level)  # Set the root logger level to the configured level
+    log_instance.info('Log level set to {}'.format(log_level))  # Example usage of the logger
+
+
+def run_flask(app, fport=5005):
+    """
+    Starts the Flask server
+    """
+    # Flask endpoint for user interaction
+    logger.debug("Entering run_flask()")
+    # app.run(port = str(str(fport)), debug=False)
+    app.run(port = str(str(fport)), debug=True)
+    # app.run(port=5000, debug=True, use_reloader=False)
+    logger.debug("Exiting run_flask()")
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