I've been recieving numerous emails wondering whether I'd somehow fallen off the face of the earth or something, inasmuch as I haven't posted anything "new" in the last couple of days.
Patience, gentle readers. I've been involved in a personal Real Life project that's tied me up for a couple of days, and is now successfully resolved. Rest assured I've been keeping a watchful eye on this place all the while.
I've been dutifully and constantly watching over this forum, and have actually refrained from posting several articles within the past two days...mainly because I didn't want to seem to be "changing the subject" on the exceptional previous "Location, etc." ROD post that's sponsored something like 150 comments to date.
I'm only posting this now, because this excellent "Toad Hall" comment raises some interesting questions about possible alternatives in the further course of Ogden City development.
"Toad Hall" posted a thought-provocative comment today, which I've placed in the WCF comment archives.
Howbout we take a look at this?
It's an interesting outline proposition.
Informed comments are invited, as always.
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7 comments:
This is what a blog is all about: good discussion, the sharing of ideas, robust debate, thought provoking possibilities, and all done in a respectful attitude toward each other and the blog itself.
Toad Hall has gone above and beyond with his new plan. It's articulate and worthy of discussion. There must be some people thinking along the same lines, as I recall reading in one of Realtor on Deck's posts his thoughts about rejuvenating downtown with the old Ogden Street Festival. Political Observor wrote a lengthy post wherein he advocates the City placing a moritorium on any new projects, rehabilitating and finalizing those under way, parceling out some of the mall into small sites that private business would buy, and embracing the atmospheric past that is Ogden's culture. He names some families (I would include the Feeny family with those mentioned)who have been a positive influence in Ogden as examples of what private citizens and provate enterprise can achieve, without the direction of City government.
Again, my thoughts echo those of Toad Hall, and I would only hope that the current administration end it's reckless developmental aspirations and concentrate on governing the city's affairs.
As Toad says, we have overcome adversity in the past, we can overcome adversity in the present. It may just have to start by overcoming some of the sitting council members and replacing them with some new and fresh individuals who know how to listen and lead.
Not to drift off course, but this mornings op/ed, "PROGRESS, OGDEN-STYLE," in the Standard Examiner, which dealt with the property owner hold-outs at the Riverfront project, ended with this, "They should drive a hard, fair bargain with the city. But they should not impede progress simply because they can."
I have to take issue with that statement because of what I read, and what I've seen in other eminent domain type projects, about those property owners earlier this week. These people have, to my way of thinking, a very justifiable reason why they don't wish to sell. And it isn't "because they can" impede progress.
I've heard this tired line from the City Council and the Standard over and over again. Maybe they should ask these people the reason why they wish not to sell. Maybe it's because of fear, not wanting to be uprooted from their homes, financial purposes, whatever. But to summarily dismiss these home owners as halting progress "because they can" is showing a lack of regard for our inalienable rights as property owners and discriminating against these people who merely wish to live in their homes.
It is this pervassive attitude that makes me understand why we have difficulty downtown and why our City administrators enjoy their reputation as uncaring and hard to work with.
November, here we come. Hopefully, the Standard will get it right then. Maybe they should try to hire Cathy McKitrick back, as she was a reporter who did her job the way it is supposed to be done.
I'll tell you why they won't sell, in ROD's simple three words "location, location, location."
These people own riverfront property in downtown Ogden. Waterfront property in urban areas is about the most desirable type of property in such a setting that you can own. It's unique and irreplaceble -- and it's perfectly understandable that some of them wouldn't want to pull up roots in almost any circumstance. There's no way a smart property owner in the Riverwalk project would part with such property for anything close to "appraised" value. The city will have to do much better than that. These "holdouts" may not be rich (not yet, at least,) but they certainly ain't dumb.
These proprties' high desirability is why that SLC developer wants to get its mitts on them in the first place, of course.
I'll probably post a main article on this later on this morning. In the meantime, it would be interesting to hear others's thoughts on this subject.
I cannot say how much I agree with Toad's plan----especially the part about "weaning Ogden from Federal funds." It is my view, albeit it a presently unpopular one, that sometimes "helping" a city or people in this manner removes the incentive citizens otherwise would have had to create a thriving economy for themselves.
But the question here is....once that happened, will individuals take that freedom created by the removal of that crutch and be able to run with it? Is it possible for us to again become a boomtown solely because of the enterprises we as private citizens create? If people want to maintain the right to own a business, own a home, and proceed with freedom, they can no longer spend all their time whining incessantly that their government is not doing enough to help them. That's the trade-off.
To be honest, even if it were found that the majority of people have become so used to taking from the government instead of working for themselves, I would still advocate backing off of taking the government's money unless absolutely necessary. I view this government "help" as partially promoting the breakdown of us as a strong society.
It's very simple----when government takes over the functions families, blocks, towns, neighbors, communities, churches, and civic organizations used to provide, it robs those entities of part of their reason to exist. For example, do we feel the need to support each other as much as we used to? Or do we not do that anymore, because there is State Assistance, there are Programs, there are Counselors, all funded by tax dollars, so our thought is, perhaps, that people in need should go there to make paying taxes worth our while, maybe. We turn our backs on each other because others' welfare is no longer our concern---the government is doing something about that.
In my opinion, this is an example of something originally done with the best of motives creating the worst of unforseen consequences. I do think that all this emphasis on what we are all going to do with all this "free" federal money has taken time and energy better spent, perhaps, deciding what we are going to do for ourselves.
We can call this "free money" program that Dian has written about, "The Frankenstein Program," for indeed we have created a monster. Greed is the driving force, as evidenced by the "post facto" tax increment money thrown out to the developer who built his "through the fence" project. Not many happy people about that one.
"Own in Ogden" is a program that supplies money for home buyers at a low interest rate, with some good strings attached if the buyer takes it. It serves a purpose, for it helps people, who may qualify for a loan but don't have the cash for down pmt and closing costs, buy a house. This is a good government money program that maybe could be restructured in a commercial vein.
If private enterprise needs a little help kick-starting a project, and some money is available without all the BS that the RDAs utilize, then a helping hand, with the money paid back, is most likely OK.
But when it's tossed around to anyone who follows the government lead, and if the tax payers are at risk, and the private enterprise doesn't contribute some up front cash and thereby share the risk (Gold's Gym and Fat Katz comes to mind), something else needs to be done.
It's out of control these days and it is the first card in the House of Cards that Enthused Citizen speaks of. The Gang of 6 is on a roll, on a tear, and they, along to all of the liberal government money gie-away programs, need to be reigned in, before the well runs dry.
Private Citizens did much by themselves when the town was taking root. One only has to look at what they did: arms manufacturing, banking, media, medical, construction, clothing/tailoring, just to mention a few, and if my sources are to be believed, they did it themselves, without all this mumbo-jumbo crap that flows so freely from the Gang of 6 and their co-horts.
I don't know about you people, but checking the blog the first thing in the morning has become habit, the trait joining the other traits that are "morning routine."
Generally, there are fresh post to read, sometimes, like today, they are none. I'm one of those who knows how many posts are attached to each thread and my spirits soar when the number rises, fall when the number stays the same.
And now, it's come to this: I'll post something to try and get the thing rolling again. This one might not go too far, as it's really just ramble, a "blog fix" if you will (these post as of late have been dynamite, well crafted, well structured, well thought out, toughly argumentative, and civil (non of that idiotic name calling from those "you know who" clowns-glad to see that they've been sanctioned, "grounded" permanently I hope, because of their juvenile behavior, WARNINGS went unheeded and they (he) has been sent to the corner with a dunce cap on their head-relief much needed).
Blogging is as much a part of my morning as coffee and the newspaper. But this weekend it's been pretty slow, although I've yet to read the first section.
I'll take heart though, because filing deadline is soon and then....da-da....the campaign season. I can't wait to see that show. This blog will be absolute madness. Wonderful.
Thanks fellow bloggers & Rudizink. It's certainly my pleasure. You all have a nice day and get something on the blog (can you believe the action from the "Eureka" thread....ROD, Ozboy, Fran, Rudi, AMY WICKS (brains & beauty), Dian....good on ya, people.
Thanks for checking in and making WCF part of your daily routine, Politico Observer. Once you get around to reading your morning daily, you'll understand why it's slowed down around here a little bit. There's been something of a dearth of breaking news the past couple of days -- not much "red meat" to use as a springboard to lively discussion.
And let's face it... ROD's wednesday expose article was a pretty tough act to follow.
Please check back later. I have several articles on the front-burner.
Rudizink is enjoying a leisurely Sunday morning right now, but he'll probably have something useful to post later on today.
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