By Jason Wood
Via Standard/Net
Std-Ex Guest Commentary
The full-time, publicly paid mayor of my town is a spokesperson for a private developer. Or so it would seem, if you were to read anything about the antics of Matt Godfrey the last few months.
As a taxpayer and homeowner in Ogden, I expect the mayor to serve as a protector of the people's trust, one who safeguards our shared resources and acts an administrator of city government. Instead, Godfrey fancies himself a private-venture entrepreneur, who spends an inordinate amount of his time as the point man for a questionable land deal.
I've covered county and municipal government for many years and, from what I can gather, the elected chief executive should attempt to shepherd development according to how a community has been planned, or to improve its collective welfare without overextending it financially.
Never have I seen a mayor act like a carnival barker in an attempt to trade a public asset for a personal fantasy.
Our land is the most valuable thing we own in Ogden, and there is likely no acreage worth more than the east bench. Mt. Ogden Golf Course and the trails that surround it belong to us, the taxpayers in Ogden city, not to the mayor. In his attempt to fund what he thinks will revitalize a depressed economic center, Godfrey is proposing to give our golf course and highly trafficked trails away to a business person whom he fondly refers to by his first name. And he is using every available public pulpit to preach the gospel of this golf-for-gondola idea that is doomed to fail -- at our expense.
Not only is he taking on the unenviable role of corporate shill when he should be representing our interests, Godfrey and his administrators are spending city time and money to create the very proposal that would rob us of our golf course and our mountains.
Neither Godfrey nor Peterson can explain why the course wouldn't lose money if it's privately operated, they only say it will be reconfigured and improved. No one can detail these nebulous "improvements" to the course; no one has hired an experienced golf course architect to redesign the holes around these half-million-dollar homes that are sure to flood every spring; no one has looked at the feasibility of extending this mountain course farther east; no one can offer a reasonable explanation of how Peterson's going to get water to fairways and greens above the walking paths that cannot be serviced by any conceivable pump or drainage system; and no one has bothered to raise the issue that once the golf course is zoned for residential uses, there's little to stop this so-called developer from ruining the property or plowing the whole thing under after a year or two when it's found that revamping it is an untenable business proposition.
All we have are Godfrey's platitudes, his patronizing about how change is painful, and that he and his magnanimous partner will change our fortunes with a golden gondola from Wall Avenue to Weber State University.
As a professional skeptic, I have my doubts. But I do have an idea of two people this deal will benefit. And they like to call each other Matthew and Chris.
Wood, an Ogden native, works in marketing. He is a freelance correspondent for the Standard-Examiner covering Farmington and Hooper. He is a member of the Mt. Ogden Golf Course Men's Association.
What about it, gentle readers?
© 2005 - 2014 Weber County Forum™ -- All Rights Reserved
27 comments:
A timely post. Sitting in my friendly neighborhood coffee shoppe this morning, reading Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics, "Modern conservatives are long on sales and marketing and short on effective governance."
Long on PR; short on accomplishment. Hard to think of a better thumbnail description of the NeoCon Godfrey administration than that. And pretty much in line with the op ed piece you just posted.
It is too bad that the standard examiner does not have a full page dedicated, just to print blogs on it so the whole community can see how and what people are thinking and feeling about all this. they could print it as the freedom of speech of the american citizens here in ogden. what say ye. if they don't print maybe the trib or the d-news would do it. or all three.
My Voice.....how about YOU taking this on? Great idea.
Leaving the Newgate Mall/Tinsel Town Theatre tonite, we bumped into a .......GONDOLA CAR!!!
There it is, parked rite across from the jewelry store and in front of Sears. It is flanked by a poster of PR points...FIRST URBAN CENTER CONNECTED TO A MNTN RESORT BY GONDOLA
FLY INTO AN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND TRAVEL TO A SKI RESORT BY GONDOLA
The excellent article by Jason Wood and SmartGrowth facts need to be placed right next to the 'car', and under lock...so that people could access a copy of facts and truth...but yet, the LO's can't steal them.
If any of our Council members read this...is the city (we taxpayers) being charged a space rental fee to park that gondola car in the mall???
Mr. Wood...you are right....no one has seen a mayor so blatantly ignore the needs and wishes of the taxpayers.
We have been saddled with a little man whose massive ego and frantic search for a legacy will bankrupt this city.
At this rate, no business will want to invest here, nor will those well-heeled retirees sign up for one of Peterson's 400 footprints in his gated community.
At that point...Ogden will be a ghost town. No cowboys roamin' the dusty streets. But, we'll have those rusted towers and sagging cables to remind us of the days when King Godfrey reigned and ruined our fair land.
Hmmmm.....
Doesn't that mean the gondola car is being displayed outside a movie in Riverdale, not Ogden?
Riverdale wants the gondola, I say they are welcome to it.
Good for you, Curm....
It WOULD alleviate those traffic jams along Riverdale Road.
However, we should be so lucky to have all those people jamming our boulevards spending money in OUR stores.
Oh, what a wonderful problem.
Well, Sharon, yes and no. I don't think reproducing the traffic mess in Riverdale would necessarily be a good thing for Ogden. And certainly not for downtown Ogden. It's an example of bad urban planning [or none]IMHO.
And as for Riverdale [the town] itself, there doesn't seem to be much there there, outside of a shopping strip. One of the reasons we moved to Ogden [and not Layton or Riverdale etc] is that Ogden did have a downtown, did have an historic and identifiable center. That is not important, I realize, to many. It was to us.
Turning an Ogden thoroughfare like Washington into Riverdale might well be good for the city's coffers. I have my doubts it would be good for the city overall in the long run. Clearly, though, a matter on which folks can, and do, disagree.
Aw, Curm....I was just envying all that dough going into Riverdale's coffers.
Very interesting piece in this morning's SE on Davis County mayors studying public transit to move people within the county once the communter rail system begins operating. A few excerpts from the article:
WEST BOUNTIFUL — Transportation officials and Davis County mayors are considering more mass-transit options for the southern part of the county.
Legacy Highway and the FrontRunner commuter rail may ease traffic traveling through the county, but more is needed, said West Bountiful Mayor James Behunin....
The commuter rail and highway will be used for taking people across the county, but not into city centers, Behunin said.
A study on what types of mass transit are feasible for the southern part of the county is expected to begin at the end of this summer....
Options for mass transit could be anything from a streetcar to bus rapid transit to light rail.
Syracuse Mayor Fred Panucci said that while the study focuses on the southern part of the county, cities in the northern part of the county need to also be supportive.
“We’re all interlocked and interdependent on one another for transit issues,” he said during a Council of Governments meeting Tuesday night where the plan was briefly discussed.
Imagine that. Davis County mayors having studies done to decide on mass transit options to serve the needs of their residents. Amazing what public officials can find the time to do when they're not spending their days and nights flogging real estate speculations for their friends, isn't it?
It seems pretty outrageous to me that the mayor is spending most of his time acting as a pitch man for a private developer who appears to be his buddy.
It is even more over the top that he is spending a lot of tax payer money to promote this private developer.
The most disgusting of all is that he is using the city web site and TV to spread false, misleading and unsubstantiated "facts" about the gondola in the phony FAQ's page and the endless TV spot featuring Mr. Peterson and Mr. Geiger stroking the mayor's and each others ego's. Nowhere will you see any serious or substantial questions addresed in this publicly paid for PR.
"Amazing what public officials can find the time to do when they're not spending their days and nights flogging real estate speculations for their friends, isn't it?"
Do you think that could be one of the reasons that Ogden isn't getting its share of businesses that are moving to Utah? I understand it was the Mayor that caused the LaGaussi (or whaterever the company's name is) development at Monroe and 24th block to pull out of Ogden with its proposed $400,000. of sales tax revenue and $400,000. of other revenue. Why doesn't someone thump the little bobble head on the head to wake him up? HE is the reason Ogden is struggling! And he's doing again to Boyer what he did to the previous mall developer and was the reason they pulled out of Ogden -- micromanaging the mall construction! I hope Boyer can tolerate his medling.
Now he wants the City's taxpayers to pay for his latest nightmare -- add two stories to the building to be built at 24th and Washington! Boyer won't touch it -- their studies show that there is not and won't be enough economical growth to warrant the additional office space. I recall hearing of feasibility studies that were done for the first mall before 1980 and when the Newgate Mall was to be built -- "The economic base is not here to support" as large a mall as built in 1980 and then to also support the Newgate Mall. When are our "know-it-all Mayors going to realize that these feasibility studies are done for a reason, have more knowledge than they do, and take an impartial, realistic view of economic factors in the area and DO HAVE A PURPOSE OF GIVING A TRUE AND CREDIBLE PICTURE? Ogden has paid dearly for the follies of our egotistical mayors. I hope the new Ogden City Council is wise and strong enough to stop the plundering of the Ogden City citizens by Godfrey! The citizens need to get off the couch, let go of their apathy, and become involved in Ogden! Let the Mayor know it's time to stop the spending and bring REAL BUSINESS with hundreds of employees to Ogden's Industrial Park, Business Depot Ogden and retail to downtown so people shop in Ogden again! Where are all these businesses that we keep hearing are interested in moving to Ogden? Are they being snubbed so Godfrey can promote Chris Peterson's land grab? I have never in my life seen a Mayor behave so UNPROFESSIONALLY!! Using taxpayer money and his time and image to promote a project, let alone such a hair-brained, poorly planned idea!
marvin g, your comments must have posted about the time I started to write mine. It's more than a coincidence that we were thinking the same thing about the same time. It adds credibility to our statements. What we need is a leader to organize the citizens of an organization to put a stop to the Mayor's inappropriate use of tax payer dollars!
"The government's view of the economy can be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, SUBSIDIZE IT." - Ronald Reagan
"Trust the people. This is the one irrefutable lesson of the entire postwar period contradicting the notion that rigid government controls are essential to economic development." - Ronald Reagan
Kudos to Davis County and its very smart leaders!!
Yes, one of the reasons we see Layton, especially, experiencing an economic and population boom is because of the leadership! Also the business friendly atmosphere.
Attend one of Layton's CC meetings and be amazed at the community friendly and welcoming, respectful attitude of all the CC members, mayor and city manager.
Some issues ago in the SE, Mark Johnson called on the public for ideas on how to handle the city's finances.
Well, I suggested at Tu nite's CC meeting that ONLY the FireFighters and Police should receive a raise. They are the ones who sacrifice for us daily.
I suggested that no other city employees receive a raise and that the mayor and all city administration take a 6% DECREASE in salary.
Also, like many other governments, we need a car pool. Any official driving his own car could be reimbursed for gas and the mileage rate allowed by the IRS.
Otherwise, sign out for a car, and check it back in. The odometer is checked after each use. NO personal use....or off roading!!! Where they go in those cars IS our business!
Other than a rare trip to the Capitol to lobby for the mayor, or dash to a Rotary luncheon to schmooze the group, why do these people NEED a taxpayer funded car??
This administration has caviar tastes and a rootbeer pocketbook.
Marie Antoinette dismissed the rabble with 'let them eat cake.'...I suggest the administration have some cake and wash it down with a glass of the rusty orange water pouring out of the pipes above 23rd street.
Maybe then, the sycophants anyway, will get their heads out of ....uh.....a.... gondola car and see to the infrastructure and the real needs of Ogden.
I asked at the CC meeting, "who knows what is happening with West Liberty Foods?" I'd heard rumblings that something was up, but no one on the council, nor Patterson (who was left to represent the admin when Godfrey dashed away for his pony show), said a word about what is or isn't happening with the meat packaging plant.
Real jobs for real people, good wages, health benefits, and a source of revenue for our city.
Did Godfrey go after West Liberty?? Or did he do his rude and arrogant welcome to any business that doesn't have ski industry 'glamour' on it??
I'm heartsick when I see Godfrey's time and energy expended on Chris Peterson's dream of panning gold in them thar hills instead of taking care of the city's real need for safe water and sewer lines.
I wonder if Boyer will find it cheaper in the long run to walk away from their contract than to put up with King Godfrey micromanaging the construction for the Junction.
A hard hat on the little guy will have the same effect a helmet had on Dukakis standing in that tank. Goodbye presidency. Goodbye, Matt.
The bottom line is that the chicken shit little mayor ducked out on the Policemen so he could go to a pep rally for the lift Ogden crowd. Just goes to show you what he is really all about.
He is one sorry excuse for a man if you ask me.
Ozboy, he's even a worse excuse for a mayor! Have you ever seen a Mayor who drives business away if they're not golden ski businesses? Or not Chris Peterson? Have you ever seen a Mayor who only cares about his ideas? Have you ever seen a Mayor be so rude to some citizens and to the City Council members?
He's a poor excuse for a human being!
Attended an extraordinary [or, some said "emergency"] meeting of the City Planning Commission last evening, called on short notice for 4:30 PM in the Council Chamber. The reason for the short notice extraordinary session was a proposal by the Mayor and City Planning Office to start their proposed process for developing a Mt. Ogden Community Plan and for revising the City General Plan to accommodate the Peterson proposal [as yet not on the table but known to be coming]immediately.
The representative of the City Planning Office, a Mr. Greg Montgomery I think, suggested that the first "community input" meeting for the Mt. Ogden Community plan be held on 30 and 31 March, "before school lets out" so that folks are still here, and not scattered on vacations, etc. This would have given the Planning Commission scarcely a week to get out notice of the meetings, and the meetings would be held just after the Memorial Day holiday weekend when many families are out of town anyway.
Nevertheless, the Mayor spoke to the Commission of the importance of holding the meeting before the end of school.
That rationale however disappeared when Mr. Montgomery proposed that the first city-wide public meeting on revising the General Plan to accommodate Mr. Peterson's real estate development scheme for Mt. Ogden Park Golf Course be held during the second week of June. [Why folks being away on vactaion after school for that meeting was not a problem he did not explain.]
The Planning Commission was not buying it. The Commission concluded that trying to hold an important public input meeting with barely a weeks notice during the last week of school at the time of a holiday weekend was likely to guarantee a very low turnout [which I suspect was the Mayor's goal all along] rather than the reverse.
The planning commission decided instead to hold the Mt. Ogden Community public input meetings on June 13 and 14, permitting three weeks for public notice of the event. And further, the Commission decided that the purpose of the meeting would be to collect public input only. That it would not lock in now, or by that meeting, any particular process or timetable for developing a Mt. Ogden Community Plan or for considering a revsion of the General Plan to accommodate Mr. Peterson's real estate development plans for Mt. Ogden Golf Course, and that it would meet with the City Council [at the Council's request] to exchange ideas about the best process to follow for both matters.
All told, I was impressed by the Planning Commission's refusal to be stampeded into the accepting the Mayor's and his Planning Staff's timetable and process recommendations. And I was impressed by the Commission's evident determination to maintain its independence as a policy recommending body from both the Mayor's office and from the Council.
There was another matter of some disagreement at the meeting. Mr. Montgomery kept insisting that "the general plan should drive proposals, proposals should not drive the general plan." [He made that argument in response to suggestions that since Mr. Peterson has, as yet, made no proposal to the City, it might be premature to be considering revising the General Plan.] At least one member of the Planning Commission was not willing to let Mr. Montgomery's excursion into sophestry go unremarked. He pointed out, in blessedly plain language, what everyone in the room knew: "The only reason we are considering changing the general plan is to accommodate the Peterson proposal. The proposal is driving the plan." [If that is not a verbatim quote, and it probably isn't, it is close.]
At least one other member of the Planning Commission expressed some annoyance that the Commission had pretty much been "kept in the dark" about what the Mayor's Office had in mind with respect to all this. [The Mayor presented his "process" to the City Council just before Tuesday's meeeting, and then an "emergency" meeting of the Planning Commission was asked for to accommodate the just announced Mayor-endorsed process. In short, the usual: long months of keep-em-in-the-dark silence followed by a request for immediate action.]
Since it seemed clear that the Planning Office was not an impartial arbitor in the matter of changing the general plan to accommodate Mr. Peterson, a spokesperson for Smart Growth Ogden suggested that the Planning Commission engage a consultant [that is, an outside arbitor with no stake in the outcome] to conduct the information gathering process to insure that it was a fair, open and unbiased process. Mr. Montgomery objected to the idea, because, he said "the planning staff will do all the work, and the consultant will get paid for it." Members of the planning commission disagreed about the wisdom of using a consultant, some seeming to side with the SGO member's suggestion, some with Mr. Montomgery's view. The matter was left unresolved, as part of the "process" still to be decided on following the June meeting with the City Council.
[My own view is that it is important that the process not only be fair, but that it be seen to be fair. The Mayor's Office and his planning staff office have now, for me, zero credibility insofar as their committment to running a fair information gathering and decision process. They are both backing the Peterson proposal and they will rig the outcome if they can, I think. That seems, sadly, but plainly evident to me. Given that, any process that is largely administered by the City Planning Office will be looked on by a great many --- ok, ok, by me at least --- as a tainted process by mere fact of the Planning Office administering it. Given that, it seems to me it would be in the best interests of the City to have someone without a dog in this fight administer the process.]
From what I saw Friday night, Ogden has a Planning Commission which values its independence and which is reluctant to being manipulated by other public entities [Mayor, Planning Office, or City Council]. For example, they made it clear they would meet with the Council to hear, and exchange, ideas about the process to be followed in considering revisions to the General Plan to accommodate Mr. Peterson, but they would not accept direction by the Council on the matter. Exactly right.
I am not easily impressed, I think, by public bodies. I was generally impressed with the Planning Commission's determination to think things out, to not be unduly influenced by the Mayor's Office or the Planning Staff or the Council, to try as best they can to devise a fair public process and time table for both developing a Mt. Ogden Community Plan and for considering a change in the city's General Plan.
Mr. Curm,
Excellent post! Thank you.
We all know that the mayor's MO is to go into a panic "crisis mode":
The rec center....changing the city's general plan....selling Mt. Ogden Golf Course....adding two stories to the Boyer built bank bldg.
He tried so hard...thru Harmer...to bully the council into okaying this expensive, assinine, "2 more stories" idea. "We have to give them the go-ahead TOMORROW"....
Of course, the FACT that Boyer said it's a lousy idea and will cost US nearly $400,000. bucks a year for empty office space means nothing to this delusional gang.
Thank you for letting us know how the Planning Commission had the good sense and guts to stand up to the mayor's other bully, Montgomery.
Now, we have to lobby that they will NOT allow the Gen'l Plan to be amended.
Have y'all checked out the gondola car at Newgate Mall? AND, the blatant misleading 'facts' on the poster next to it?
Curt Landes has a letter in the SE today. Ridiculous. First he says Ogden has a historic downtown, beautiful mntns, trails, etc..and then says we need the &^%$#!@$%^& gondola so 'we can tout' all these special beauties about Ogden!!!
All those things are seen and enjoyed by thousands NOW, and Ogden is known as the historic place 'where the railroad came together' (a quote from a New
Zealander in his home country!!) to one of our Ogdenites.
He'd never heard of a gondola running down Harrison Blvd. Yet he knew our history. Nature lovers come here because of the beauty and diversity and because they can hike the trails, ski close by, visit our beautiful Union Station, etc....and all WITHOUT A GONDOLA!
BTW....Where is West Liberty
Foods?????? Oh, I know...it isn't glamorous to package lunch meat, but that pay check can buy a little glamour for the worker and his family. It can purchase movie tickets, take a family bowling or even a ride on a flow rider. Those paychecks to 625 workers will put money back into the economy.
What was done with the petition that Mike Vause turned into the Council Tu. nite?
HEY, WHERE IS EVERYONE????
Lord Godfrey had us all rounded up in the middle of the night and we are being held in a secret "behavioral modification camp" on an island in the Great Salt Lake.
I was able to smuggle this message out thru an ex missionery who smuggles Postum in.
I'm sending this to you by my trained dolphin.
Are you getting lots of M & M's as a reward as your behavior and thinking is "modified??"
Hey, Curm, I was at the "Emergency Meeting" of the Planning Commission Friday night, also. You did a great job reporting everything except that the Mayor seems to have one of them in his pocket just like he has a couple of the Council members. She kept wanting to have the meetings with the public before school was out. Thank goodness cooler heads ruled.
I agree that we can't trust the City's Planning Dept. to give an unbiased and fair look at this Peterson deal. There are some big stakes in this venture and you can bet that those department heads know it's their job if they foul up on this.
It is interesting that there is no information as to the feasibility of even building homes where Peterson is proposing. I understand that the Mayor says a feasibility test has been, but the results are not public information. Why is that? Is the little weasel trying to keep the truth from everyone? That as many of us suspect, this development is not viable? I read with interest of the building the highest homes on that mountain, and of the retaining walls and stabilizing reinforcements that are required, which means thousands of dollars in cost added. Is that what Peterson's homes would require?
I would like to know the results of that feasibility study, and I would think that the Planning Commission and City Council would INSIST on seeing them BEFORE even starting the whole process! The Mayor is trying to ramrod this whole thing through without ALL the facts being on the table. I would hope that the Planning Commission and City Council would dig their heels in and not budge until they had the true results of that feasibility study. As far as anyone knows, this whole process could be a waste of time. First we need the results, secondly, it's all moot if WSU doesn't sell the land. So why are we going forward until we have the answers to those two critical items?
Dear Timer,
When asked 'what do we know about Mr. Peterson's ability as a developer?'....He relied.."Don't worry, we've had a 3rd party check him out'. Unidentified, of course.
OH LORD.."COME INTO MY WEB SAID THE SPIDER TO THE FLY...YOU LOOK MIGHTY DUMB TO ME".
WHO is the 3rd party? Ed Allen? Bernie? O wait.....Bob G!
When I brought up the costs of the Portland, OR gondola...over 57 M from 5 M...and climbing, Godfrey dismissed any problems with...:"that's a tram...not a gondola". Well, according to the dictionary, both are cars suspended from cables that transport passengers....amomg other usages.
You see how disingenuous this little person is?
Did you see the article yesterday on the Sandia Peak TRAM in NM? D section of the SE. Please note that it cost 2 M 40 years ago....but, it was financed through private investors, and bank loans. They HAD to succeed because they had put up as collateral just about everything they had!!!
When using the taxpayers' money....failure is always an option.
Was it a coincidence that the article on the tram ran yesterday? I think not. Though the price and the financing was a heckuvalot different than what this gang is proposing. Granted, they built 40 years ago, but the ongoing preventive maintenance is staggering.
I doubt that Peterson, once he has his gated community in, will be interested or committed enough to keep the thing going IN OGDEN for the next 50 years!
Give me a break. This is a HUGE undertaking, and it takes maintenance and replacing parts year 'round. Like the Golden Gate Bridge. (No, Matt...you can't have that either).
Timer:
On the Albuquerque Tram article: first, I think we ought to give the SE a break on this one. The week previous, they ran a major piece on the Portland trolley, emphasizing strongly how it had been a spur to business development and economic growth [including tourism] in the city.
Second: Lift Ogden, which began its life praising the Albuquerque tram as not only a, but the model for Ogden to follow has now backed off... way off... that idea. It now says the Albuquerque tram is not an appropriate model for Ogden to follow, that an Albuquerque-style tram would not work here. If even the Lift Ogden Wired Ascent Cheerleading Squad doesn't think it will work here, I figure it hasn't got much of a chance. But who knows? The Lift Ogden Wired Ascent Cheerleading Squad changes its tune so often, "a tram will make us the next Albuquerque" may well be the next song they sing. They've sung it before.
Maybe they'll offer a medly next: Gondola to WSU, tram from WSU to Malan's Basin, helicopter rides from Malan's Basin to Snow Basin and back. And the beat goes on....
You are dead right about the feasibility studies. Hizzonah told me Mr. Peterson had had "a few" done, but that he'd chosen not to release them. Mayor also told me the general public "doesn't care" about feasibility studies, and that the folks demanding to see them want them made public "only so they can attack them." I think he's wrong about that, but even if he's not, it seems to me a sound study done by a qualified source should be able to stand up to public scrutiny.
Of course, the greater probability is, as you suggest, that if Mr. Peterson has had feasibiility studies done, that they've come out wrong [from his POV], that they've reached the "wrong" conclusions.
You can bet your bottom tax dollar that Peterson and Godfrey would be producing feasibility studies "in spades," if this bonehead project were actually feasible from an objective viewpoint.
Thus the alternative carney-style PR campaign sideshow.
YE MUST HAVE FAITH in Blessed Matthew Godfrey, oh ye wicked naysayers!
And always remember: either you're FOR THE PROPOSAL -- or FOR THE TERRISTS!
If that were my only choice, I would have to chose the terrorists! At least they are consistant.
Does everyone on this blog really believe that the Newgate Mall is in Riverdale, as stated by Curm? How long have you lived in Ogden?
Anon:
Well, only four years, actually, and I don't go down there a whole lot because of the traffic. Though I expect I'll become more familiar with it for a while since they closed the State Liquor Store nearest me for rebuilding and the one by the Mall is the closest now. Plus the two Ogden City hardware stores that used to be close to downtown have closed or moved, so Lowes is now my nearest option. Be nice if in all this wondrous planning for gondola/gondola schemes to whisk tourists up to a ski area that doesn't exist someone figured a way to entice another hardware store to central Ogden. But I know, I know, wildly visionary dreams like that have little place when practical matters like funding Tyrolean resorts on the west slope of the Wasatch is in your sights.
Guess I confused the street I use to get down by the mall when I do go with the municipality.
But I am right, it think, that it is not in Ogden? Or am I wrong about that also? If so, please correct.
New comments are not allowed.