More Strange Stories From the Emerald City Money Pit
By Gentle Reader Sharon
I see that the Standard-Examiner Editorial Board is finally asking questions of the elusive Chris Peterson.
Their earlier editorial appears to have been successful in shaking loose Decaria''s investigative results. Let's see if this brings Chris out of his hiding place Hopefully, the SE Board will be as interested in reporting the attempted rape of our public lands, and the foreplay being the changes in the zoning ordinances of the General Plan.
Well, everything we hoped wouldn't happen, has developed at the 'developing' Junction. according to this morning's Scott Schwebke story.
I thot the parking garage already had 1.5 mil dumped into its security system? Now, it will gobble up about 2 million more for a security system and elevator. Should have torn the bloody thing down in the first place. Besides, it's ugly. Could be colorful tho, when the gangbangers get thru using their paint cans on it.
And how about that plaza?? Sandstone benches of 'varying heights' under a 'grove of trees', a 'water feature' (of what?), and a 'bronze sculpture of a mountain climber and belay'....all this giving the tired shoppers at the yet unnamed retail stores a dazzling view of Neilson's climbing wall!!
This makes me think of a carnival barker hawking the fat lady and two-headed calf inside the tent! Who the blazes wants to sit under a grove of trees and look into Neilson's gym to watch a couple kids climb a wall?
Heck, most harried mothers could charge the public to come see HER climb her walls!
How much will we love seeing that bronze sculpture of a mountain climber after the climbing wall, flow rider and other thrilling delites fail??
And, aren't Godfrey and Geigers' selling Ogden as a SKI capital??
Using road improvement monies for the Junction is a baaaaad idea. When Godfrey was pushing the rec center down our throats, he wanted everything done NOW....everything with this guy has to be done NOW...that's his MO. Unfortunately, thoughful long-range planning doesn't seem to be a part of his MO for any of his projects.
I SUGGEST HE THROW A BLACK TIE DINNER FOR ALL HIS WELL-HEELED GADFLY FRIENDS, AND RAISE THE FUNDS HE NEEDS FOR A PLAZA AND SECURITY CAMERAS.
Since the weather will turn cold in a couple weeks, a hot chocolate stand might be as successful as that taco stand in front of the municipal building.
Pray that our roads don't further erode if we have a wet winter.
Update 11/6/06 10:20 a.m. MT: An alert reader gives us a heads-up on a transportation planning meeting/open house which is being held today, at the downtown Weber County Government Center.
"Please attend!!! and let them know how you really feel about transit and other transportation issues in the city," Gentle Reader Junebug admonishes.
Details:
Monday, November 6, 2006
Weber County Government Center , southeast entryway, 2380 Washington Blvd. , Ogden
3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
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30 comments:
A critter with many hearts....
I notice from the SE story that those advocating more city funding for the mall plaza design have announced that the plaza is, really, the "heart" of the project.
Not too long ago, I seem to recall, as a key vote came up on the Council, that the Rec Center was pronounced to be the "heart" of the project.
And when a vote was wanted on building more office space than Boyer recommended be built at the Mall redevelopment site, we heard that the office space development was the "heart" of the project, and necessary for the whole thing to succeed.
And of course we have heard repeatedly that the "heart" of downtown Ogden's rejuvination [of which The Junction is a part] will be the Mayor's gondola.
Seems to me a critter with that many hearts is worthy of some wider notice. Has anyone called the Guiness Book of World Records yet?
Hearts, hearts hearts... hearts WITHIN hearts.
Oddly enough, the author of the ubiquitous and all-purpose Emerald City "heart metaphor" lacks either a heart of his own...
or a soul.
Anybody aware of this transportation planning meeting/open house being held today? Has this already been posted? Anyway, here is the information for it. Please attend!!! and let them know how you really feel about transit and other transportation issues in the city.
--------------------------------
Monday, November 6, 2006
Weber County Government Center , southeast entryway, 2380 Washington Blvd. , Ogden
3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Thanks, Junebug!
We've added your info to the front page as an update, as you can see.
A familiar story. Council commits to project, THEN mayor comes back and tells them he'll need just a little more money for it to work. Happened with the previous mayor and Lindquist Field. Sure to happen with the gondola if that ever goes forward. The recipe always works, because after investing so much, the Council can't possibly say no now.
Whether the project itself is worthwhile is an entirely separate question. I really like Lindquist Field, even though I'm not much of a baseball fan. I like the overall design for the Junction, though I remain skeptical of the gimmicky high-adventure theme. Even when the end is worthy, though, it doesn't necessarily justify the means.
Note to the Council: Whether or not you go along with it this time, remember on every future project to get the mayor's commitment in writing that he'll never come back and ask you for more money.
Just about a year ago the RDA board, at the direction of the Executive Director Mr. Goddfrey, diverted a substantial amount of Federal HUD money to the parking garage.
This was Federal grant money that was supposed to go to low income housing. The RDA's rationale was that even low income housing needs parking, therefore it was proper for them to put this housing money into the Mall parking structure because there was ultimately going to be housing in the mall project! Sort of the parking before the housing type of idea.
Completely ignored in the whole sordid episode was that the housing proposed for the mall is not, and will not be, for low income families!
One more reason that Ogden is known as the land of Oz! The wizard's logic never fails to amaze!!
Marion,
I implore you to write/call the SE now, and give them that 'sordid' story indeed. Maybe we'll make them investigative reporters after all!
Curm...that many harts does belong in the Guniess Book o f Records...or the AMA Journal.
So many beats for big time cheats.
Marion,
You are either lying (assuming you know what you are talking about) or do not know what you are talking about.
A large percentage (approximately 50%) of the housing units in The Junction qualifies under Federal guidelines as low income housing. That, however, is irrelevent to the question about HUD Funds expended in The Junction.
The HUD Funds that were used were NOT/NEVER required to be spent on low-income housing.
Please stop spreading the lies/misinformation. Please learn the facts, first.
Sharon,
If the parking structure were torn down, where would the cars be parked?
As hokey as it may seem, from what I have seen, HUD money can be used for downtown parking structures (look at the debacle in Spokane, WA for an example). Somehow it is justified. Nonetheless, generally speaking, I think Ogden should be applauded for how they have used HUD money. They have some good programs and have kick-started a lot of important reinvestment is some areas of Ogden that have truly needed the help.
Also,
Why does everybody get so bent out of shape over parking (or lack-there-of) in cities? When is the last time you've visited a great city and remarked "wow, what ample parking?" My fave cities I've been to (NY, Chicago, San Fran, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Savannah, among others) all have at least one thing in common--very limited parking. Parking garages and surface parking lots make for bad urban areas.
As I recall, from last summer through fall the HUD low income grant money that was spent on the mall project was around $4,000,000.
It seems like the number $2.3 million was ear marked for gym equipment for the high tech center, and another very large amount of money was spent on the parking garage under the senario that Marie mentioned above. If memory serves me, it was around $800,000 although it could have been more.
I was at the city council meeting where they anguished over the propriety of spending this low income grant money on the parking structure. It seems like Wicks and Garcia were the only ones voting against it.
In the beginning there was some talk about low income housing being an element in the new mall. However, considering the prices that are being now talked about, it is pretty difficult to imagine that there really will be any low income people that will be able to afford it. It is also unlikely that Mayor Godfrey is going to want to have any low income people living there, especially considering how mean spirited he has been to these people in the past.
So all in all Marie, I support your assertions on this misdirected federal money.
Hitchin posts and livery stables is what we'll be needing in Junction City soon, once the effect of peak oil kicks in, and even car culture diehards realize goin' downtown by automobile makes no sense.
Stock tip of the week:
Hay, alphalfa and oats producers
Is it really necessary that there be a low-income element to the mall plan? How much more low-income housing does Ogden need? If they City promised low-income housing, then it should stick to its promise. Otherwise, it shouldn't be an issue. Low-income housing is essential in every community, but in Ogden it is already more than available.
If the Neo Cons stay in power we will all be needing low income housing.
That is except the politicians and their best friends who will all be cutting a fat hog in the ass!
Looks like we are going to go round and round on this one. Time to ask a member of the City Council or city staff to track down some definitive answers on low income housing in re: the mall project. [Is a certain percentage of it so designated? Must a certain percentage be? Was HUD money used on/diverted to mall parking improvements?]
By the way, housing financing under various programs is positively byzantine in its complexity. Makes unravelling the Gordian knot seem like untying shoelaces by comparison, so I am not the least bit surprised that there are multiple understandings of what happened, what was required under the regs to happen, etc. The answers to the questions above could all be different, depending on which particular housing program the money was linked to.
But it would be nice to know, definitively, what went down and why. I'll see what I can dig up.
It does seem very unlikely to me, though, that given the elevated expectations for the downtown mall development [remember, Hizzonah has his precious gondola transiting the mall development, dropping off Paris Hilton and her entourage at a five star hotel there, so she and the gang can shop Prada in the mall shoppes....] I doubt very much that heavily subsidized low income housing is or ever was part of the plan. However it is possible a certain proportion of downstream revenues expected to be [hoped to be] generated by the redevelopment project have been committed to low income housing.
Let me see what I can find out.
RE: Curm's comment on 'a critter with so many hearts'
The humble earthworm has five pairs of hearts. Maybe our mighty mouse mayor is really a worm?
Seems to me that the road money was given for ROADS! Why does the RDA have any road money at all - I thought their funds derived from tax increments! Is this diversion even legal??
Ozboy, while you're digging up stuff, get the answer to Armysarge, eh?
5 PAIRS of hearts? Does that mean 10 or 5 hearts? Either way, mice and worms....call Perkins Pest Control!!!!
Tell every person you meet....VOTE
Our Blogmeister has really put together an exceptional blog and archive on WCF. Kudos and Hats Off! are more than indicated.
If you want to research these issues, like the one above--whether HUD money went to the parking garage instead of low income housing--you can start right here at WCF.
At the right of the main page in a yellow box is a search bar. Just mark WCF, type in a term, like HUD, or parking, and you will see links to previous articles and posts with gems like this:
....spend, spend, spend, divert funds from their intented sources to fuel his grandiose schemes (HUD dollars meant for low income housing diverted to the parking garage at the mall that will be used by those who want to buy those $150,000 to $190,000 condos),...
Wealth, Poverty, and Blithering Idiots, 9/2005
and:
...Now it seems that, even with Ogden City one the line, and $2.3,000,000 diverted from HUD funds for low income housing to buy gym equipment for the wreck center, and all else on the table including the building and property, Wells Fargo needs more than that to back the funding for the $18.5,000,000 bonds that will pay for Godfreys bowling alley/arcade. So, they pledge the BDO monies, just in case this thing goes belly up, and now the council is somewhat timidly asking the mayor to explain this. Godfrey can't be bothered so Harmer steps up, and the rest is history. The taxpayers are holding the bag on this one too.
What If Things Go South, 11/2005
There are also links in the archived blog pieces to the newspaper articles about these issues. Unfortunately, the SE's no longer link well, but all of Kristen Moulton's do. It's really a good way to look things up.
(It does look like the HUD funds were diverted, does it not? To something other than low income housing.)
Very nice archive, Rudi! More than very nice. Superlative. You should be very proud of this.
We're happy you took our new WCF-optimized search engine for a test drive, Dian. This new utility is superlative for searching this blog, as you've found. It burrows right down to keywords in the comments sections, unlike Google's generic search engine.
With tthe help of our gentle readers we've compiled a quite robust historical archive here at WCF during the past 19 months, and the new optimized search is indeed a fantastic way to get at it.
90% of the credit goes to Google for making the tool available, but we'll claim the other 10% ourself.
We're also in the process of updating the expired links (Std-Ex & others) that you mentioned, BTW, even though it's been a fairly labor-intensive project.
We'd planned to formally unveil this project in a future "housekeeping note," but there's no reason to refrain from using it now.
It beats the header searchbar by a long mile in its effectiveness...
And YES, we ARE quite proud of it.
Thanks!
Dian and Rudi:
First, Dian, thanks for the heads up, and Rudi, it is a nice feature. I went looking and just re-read KM's piece from the SL Trib on the Rube-Goldberg financing structure Hizzonah and the Council cobbled together to keep the Rec Center development afloat.
Now about HUD funds and their alleged "diversion". HUD = Housing and Urban Development. Not all HUD funds are intended to house the needy. That HUD monies were dedicated to the project does not necessarily mean they were diverted from projects to house low income folks. [The conotations of "diverted" here are pejorative, suggesting that the money was intended to help low income folk but then was wrongly allocated to another use.] Possible. I don't know the details. But also possible the HUD money was not earmarked for low income housing but for other elements of urban development, and so was properly [if not necessarily wisely] used for Rec Center funding. I still want to track down, if I can, more detail on the origins of the HUD funds, their original intended use in Ogden City, etc.
Did anyone attend the debate or presentations by Mary Hall and Bob Geiger tonite? Sponsored by the Weber County Womens' Legislative Council?
I don't know where it was held. If you did go, please give a recap.
Thanx..
I agree with Junebug. Parking is way over-emphasized. If there was less parking more people would ride transit. This is another example how our auto-centric building codes have gotten in the way of serious transit based development. Even the lack of developable parking in the area of Peterson's proposed foothill base is used as a strong justification for the town gondola system. Can we just get over the damn cars and the obsession with front row parking.
I forgot to add that my big city experiences are always enhanced when I leave the car elsewhere and ride transit. Cars are a huge hassle in the bigger cities. San Francisco, New York, Chicago, LA, Seattle are all auto headaches, yet surprisingly friendly when going sans.
TT from MM:
I know I'm spitting into the wind here, but if folks would give the UTA a chance, they'd discover how good the service really is in Ogden. The obvious fact that Americans are funding the other side of the Iraq war through their petrol purchases just doesn't register with otherwise patriotic folks. My pioneer-venerating, handcart-idolizing relatives are aghast whenever I ride the Weber Industrial Park bus and then walk the rest of the way to visit them.
I agree that UTA service in Weber County is adequate, I really do like UTA and ride UTA Monday thru Friday. They can improve in certain areas, though, and definitely will need to expand and enhance to handle future ridership.
It's funny how people's perceptions of mass transit, much like your relatives, changed for the better in SLC after TRAX was installed. I assume the same thing would happen here in Ogden if a streetcar or other viable system was put in order.
Moroni and June:
Absolutely. I ride the buses every workday. To work, back to a coffee shoppe, or downtown if I have business there, or a lunch date with Mrs. Curmudgeon. Then back. Down to the Wasatch Front Regional Council tranist open house at the Weber County Center, then back. Mid afternoon, the bus had standees from the stop at Weber HS all the way to the WC Library stop. With folks boarding and dropping off all along the route.
I came from a city, about Ogden size, maybe a bit bigger, with absolutely awful public transit. UTA service in Ogden is, compared to what I found elsewhere, damn good.
But it will not remain good, or even adequate, given population increases that are expected, without improvements. And it seems that nearly every city along the front has seen the future and is clammoring for either light rail or streetcar transit now. Oh, except Ogden, of course, whose Mayor has suggested to the WFRC that it removed the downtown to WSU/MacKay Dee corridor as a priority transit corridor [needing investment for improvement] from the WFRC transit plan to be revised this coming year.
We could have been two years into the funding process for federal matching funds and UTA preop for a trolley system over that route already. Except for the Mayor wanting to abandon the whole idea because it might not be beneficial for his plan to sell Mt. Ogden park to his buddy for real estate development so he can build his pie in the sky gondola that won't take people to Snow Basin over the same route.
This is what passes for "leadership" in Ogden these days.
Anonymous said...
Weber County Planning Commission Meeting today at 4:30 pm at 2380 Washington Blvd.
Workshop on drafting new ordinances to regulate development on sensitive lands, allowing for transfer of development rights and regulations on resort development.
Sounds to similar to what Ogden City is considering to be a coincidence.
Anyone able to attend?
I apologize; the Weber County Planning Commission Work Session is tomorrow afternoon (November 8th) at 4:30 not today.
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