After reading the article, I mentally reeled off a short list of the factors that I would consider, if I were a well-heeled ski-industry executive, looking for a new place to locate my corporate headquarters:
- A few minutes drive to the slopes,
- Nearby freeway transport access,
- Ready, willing and able young local work-force always looking for new ways to connive a ski-pass,
- Plush local homes for well-paid executives to reside,
- Stunning mountain setting,
- Great restaurants, night-spots and other extravagant community amenities,
- Annual opportunity to mix and hob-nob with leading lights in the film industry, (who knows, maybe a ski exec could even pick up on some young "starlets" now and then)
- Reasonably good Utah skiing at my doorstep,
- Close proximity to other 4-season recreation,
- International panache and prestige.
"Yes, Park City would be an excellent locale for a ski company re-location," I thought. "Hey wait a minute; why did I not become a ski industry executive myself?". (I actually worked for a time in the ski industry in my youth. Talk about missed career opportunities!)
The news of Rossignol's corporate relocation has not set well with some in our local Ogden city community, however, as this morning's Scott Schwebke article attests. Both the Mayor and the Descente Geigers are hopping mad about the way this deal was brokered. They're crying foul, and blaming Governor Huntsman's economic development bureaucrats for pulling the rug out from under Ogden City. They seem to be charging that state bureaucrats steered Rossignol, a powerhouse ski-business "big fish," to another competing "resort community" -- just when they may have thought they had it on the hook.
One of the Geigers was so upset that he even wrote an angry letter to Std-Ex editor Don Porter about this, (although he appears to miss the point when he attributes the problem to community "negativity.")
There's been rumor floating here and other places about a tense recent meeting between Mayor Godfrey and Governor Huntsman's state economic development people, wherein Mayor Godfrey "showed" at least one of them "the door" -- something about Huntsman's people demanding an accounting of Mayor Godfrey's ski industry "prospects." It's all been pretty vague though, and Scott Schwebke doesn't shed much light on it, even though he mentions it in his article. I'm sure many of us would like to get a deeper grasp of the facts on this.
And I think Mayor Godfrey may have a pretty good point, when he complains about the Governor's apparent policy conflict, whereby Governor Huntsman promotes the concept of developing "industry clusters" on the one hand, while giving at least lip-service to the concept of treating all Utah communities "non-preferentially," on the other.
What about our gentle readers? Do you have any thoughts about this? Did meddling State economic development people literally pull the rug out from under our Mayor, and local ski industry people, by luring the Rossignol headquarters away from "the Hub?" Did officials from the Governor's office actually "hustle away" one of Mayor Godfrey's legitimate re-location" projects?" Are we in Ogden City merely getting the usual "red-headed-stepchild" treatment that the politicos in Salt Lake City have always given Ogden city, going back to the days of Brigham Young? Did the Governor's economic development bureaucrats play unfairly in the Rossignol re-location, or does Rossignol's choice for their new HQ site merely reflect the fact that ski industry executives like to live the "life of Reilly" at fancy ski resorts?
And help us out, gondola fanatics. Some of you claim to be well-connected with the locally-situated ski industry. Is there anybody who reads Weber County Forum who can give is the straight and unadorned story on this purported "meeting" that was ostensibly held in Mayor Godfrey's office a short time ago? Opie? UTmorman? Do either of the Geiger boys ever silently "lurk" here? This thread's open for full discussion of this topic. How about we get going on this?
15 comments:
All I know is what you have here. It seems like Schwebke didn't want to ruffle feathers in his article so he just left it vague while saying something like the economic director wouldn't comment on the Mayor's response to that meeting. Like I said, I've heard exactly what you have here; but if this happened, than my fists are clenched and ready to go (figuratively speaking of course)! I would not stand for my hometown getting the "treatment" from the state yet again (see freeways, college funding), and I hope that even those of you out there who disagree with me on a regular basis would feel the same way. After all, we all just want our town to be a success and a good place to live, even though we may not agree on how to get it done. I sure hope the Trib or AP snatches up this article.
It just will never make sense to me how a company would want to move somewhere where the prices for everything are more than double. You can get pretty much the same thing in Ogden (even part of the Sundance Film Festival) for half of the price and much less than half of the snooty attitude. Heck, even Warren Miller is here every once in a while. Many companies in Park City end up finding that their employees have to live in Sandy or somewhere like that because they can't afford to live in PC. No matter how you look at it, this is sad for O-Town.
This utmorman just doesn't get it. He apparently has blinders on, along with the Geiger guy who wrote the letter to the editor.
Do they really believe that anything other than what the blog writer said drove this decision?- (ie ski honcho's making this decision based on those criteria)
It would seem pretty basic to unbiased free thinking people that the reason the company went to Park City had more to do with what is right about Park City than it did with a bureaucrat pitching one place over another. It is pretty simplistic to think that this multimillion dollar company didn't look at all the options regardless of what city or state hucksters told them.
How stupid do they think these people running Rossignol are? They went where the money is! They went where their Executives want to live. They went where their customers want to visit. They went where their stock holders will most profit.
They went to where the action is, and they didn't do it because of any state policy on grouping industries.
They didn't go to an old run down industrial city with huge social and infastructure problems. They didn't go to a city who's leaders treat their minorities and poor with distain and abuse.
They didn't go to where the mayor has run the city into the ground to the tune of $76,000,000 and has nothing to show for it but a bunch of bankrupt or non-performing projects, a $30,000,000. toxic site, and maybe a gondola if he can hood wink enough people long enough.
What big shot ski mogul would choose to hang his hat in Ogden rather than Park City? Hello - any body home?
Obviously, because smart businessmen like paying double for everything.
So much for the gondola's influence, eh? The Ski company obviously wanted to go to a "ski resort," not some fictitious "city beneath the tram."
Wish we could have landed them, but we didn't. Maybe it's the Mayor's attitude that helped defuse this deal. The guy from the Governor's Office obviously was offended during the meeting, as so many industrialists and business folk are.
The good news is that Mad Matt hired Stu Reid to get everything back in order at BDO. Everything, it seems, is now well in hand....
I agree that the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development does not control the minds of ski executives, or any other businesses seeking to relocate in Utah.
Besides, this part of Geiger's letter gives pause:
"When we introduced Rossignol and Dynastar to the Utah economic commission, thinking they would help us relocate these companies to Ogden, we lost contact until they resurfaced with other plans!"
Lost contact? Shouldn't someone in Ogden---our own economic development people, or other ski businesses, or Descente itself, since it managed the introduction---have aggressively pursued this if it meant so much? Did Park City's economic development people aggressively pursue, perhaps?
Or are there rules that once State Economic Development is involved, cities can no longer aggressively pursue?
Don't know, but there is one fact the Geigers seem to be missing here. The current citizens of Ogden, whom they accuse of "negativity," did not
run the city into debt, leave a trail of unfihished RDA projects, willfully contaminate the mall site, provoke lawsuits from developers, get taken to court by the US Army for improper diversion of funds, or have really any responsibility at all for these "negative" things besides the casting of their votes for those currently in charge.
These problems in Ogden will be reported in the media whether the locals speak out or stay silent, and executives of ski companies and others will read them, especially if they are thinking of relocating in Utah. And accusing the Utah Economic Development people of being no friend to Ogden, and accusing the citizens of Ogden of being negative, and seemingly blaming both for the loss of Rossignol are not, in my opinion, especially positive actions conducive to harmonious relationships.
I do wonder, however, at one part of the Rossignol deal. From Rudi's linked article:
"Additionally, Quiksilver noted that it has received a generous offer of up to $2.5 million in tax incentives from the State of Utah. "
State tax incentives? I read all the time of the dealings of Ogden City where it is offering City and County tax dollars. Not Utah State ones. This makes me think the Geigers may have a point. Shouldn't these be Park City tax incentives? Or are they? Does anyone know?
I think the president is full of bolagna, and needs to get off his hairy butt, he does't know what he talking about.
"They didn't go to an old run down industrial city with huge social and infastructure problems."
Geez Frank, with incites like that, you should be leading the Chamber of Commerce in the drive to attract business to Ogden.
If this site attracts as many outsiders as Rudi says, they you must be one of our leading pitchmen. "Go Ogden"
P.S. the word "incites" was used instead of insights on purpose.
People, Ogden is what it is....basically a run-down former industrial city that lost the railroad, Swifts, and other big businesses.
On the other hand, Park City is a hip, vibrant, reborn community with the neavue riche locating there, ski runs outside the hotel lobby, and all the bells and whistles that make it one very desirable place in which to put a business.
What's the matter with Ogden? I don't think it's the people....we'd like to see a change, some growth, a return to better times. But with our present leadership, everyone playing the blame game, not following through and pointing the finger at the State, gives me pause jthat things will improve.
Free enterprise is the way out, with the City greasing the skids and being ultra friendly when the get a feeler from a business who is looking for a place to locate.
People, it's just plain, simple BUSINESS. Nothing else. And the City Administration shouldn't be involved, except to help them with a friendly "Welcome" mat, and I don't mean Godfrey.
"On the other hand, Park City is a hip, vibrant, reborn community with the neavue riche locating there, ski runs outside the hotel lobby, and all the bells and whistles that make it one very desirable place in which to put a business."
I really like that comment because of course, Ogden could never be "reborn." Park City was never an old run down mining town, was it?
Ya still don't get it Utmo....I'm talking about RIGHT NOW, Dude, not a "reborn" future Ogden. Rossignol was dealing in "today," not in some futuristic realm wherein there might be a Tram to Malin's Basin and a downtown gondola leg to the college. We are what we are....PRESENT TENSE! That is what Rossignol was dealing with. Hopefully, you know the difference, both in diction and in physical reality.
Ogden needs good, clear minded private citizens to dig it out of its malise, not a Mayor and City Council who really are out of their realm when it comes to creating and building business. Hell, these guys don't even know the basic tennant of Due Diligence....if they did, we would not be facing this 9th delay at the Mall, which maybe will save us from making another huge mistake in building the Wreck Center. Only problem is, they've sunk 30 million into the dirt now, and recoupiong that is going to be one tough road to hoe.
Lift Ogden shrieks that we must seize upon this incomparable opportunity to transform our Junction City, abracadabra, into a cutting-edge place, leap-frogging us ahead of mere mortal metropolises that don't have gondolas. But if gondolas could really attract stampeding tourists, wouldn't this solution have occurred to other, hipper cities long ago? Could it be that gondolas have nothing to do with effective, realistic public transportation?
That's the problem with the city leg of this gondola system....public transportation. What, with Godfrey cutting back its utility to service the Intermodal Hub and Weber State University, with most passengers being skiers that want to catch the Tram and students who drive in from outlying areas, where does the public fit in? How does the lady who works at Home Depot and lives on 26th and Quincy get to work? How does the father, who lives on 30th Street, take his kids to the doctor who has his office in the north part of Ogden? I can't see that they can accomplish this, if the gondola only serves those 2 On/Off stations. My understanding is that the gondola is suppossed to be a public mass transit transportation system that serves the ENTIRE p[opulation, not a couple of elite groups, and to expend $25,000,000 on this is foolhearty and is a slap in the peoples face.
Godfrey and the City Council want this gondola for a "link" from downtown to Malin's Basin, where it really should be a link between the population and their various points of travel, just like they can have with the present bus system.
But a couple of buses for EVERYONE, instead of spending $25 milllion for an elite few.
Bob Geiger
I would still like to know how many total employees are included in the 4 ski companies the mayor has brought to Ogden? You say you have seen him close 5. Who is the 5th? And why couldn't he land the only big one that has come along - Rossignol?
Also are you telling us it was the mayor who lured your family back to your home town?
And what is your take on the string of failed projects and seventy or so million bucks in the hole the Mayor has been in charge of?
Just wondering and hopin that some one from your circle will have the honesty to start answering the real questions that surround the whole big picture the Mayor is painting for Ogden.
"Where's the beef"
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