Greed-head Developer Leaps Into Sprint Mode

He's already told his Ogden Valley neighbors to "go to hell," and doesn't have a minute to lose

Powder Mountain owner/developer Mark Arnold has has now leaped into sprint mode in the Powder Mountain town incorporation matter, according to this morning's Standard-Examiner front page story. There's a suddenly-called meeting of hand-picked and prospective Powder Mountain Town residents scheduled for tonight, although not even Mr. Arnold (the meeting organizer) yet knew the venue as of last night. For our readers' amusement, we'll incorporate Marshall Thompson's unbelievable opening paragraphs below. We swear we are not making this up:

OGDEN — Resort developers plan to meet this evening with Weber County residents who fall within the proposed boundaries of the new Powder Mountain Town, but the location for the gathering is still up in the air.

Originally, the Powder Mountain owners, who petitioned to become an independent municipality Friday, wanted to hold the informational meeting at Pineview Lodge at Wolf Creek Resort.

Officials of both Powder Mountain and Wolf Creek Resort confirmed the change of venue, but would not give a reason.

The developers had not found a new location for the meeting as of Monday evening, said Lisa Davis James, a spokeswoman for Powder Mountain, but will inform residents as soon as possible, going door to door, if needed.

That's right... door to door... and the meeting is scheduled for tonight.

If the calendering of this meeting seems a mite half-assed haphazard and rushed, there's probably a reason:

Down south on Capitol Hill, Senator Stowell has already cleared committee and is headed to the senate floor for a vote with his SB-25, which would modify the provisions of last year's flawed HB-466. If Sen Stowell's bill sails through the legislature as anticipated and becomes law prior to Powder Mountain Town's formal incorporation, Mr. Arnold's devious plan to bypass Weber County in the planning process is "toast."

The race is on; and Mr. Arnold doesn't have a minute to lose.

Grab your popcorn and pull up your barca-loungers, gentle readers. This one will be interesting to watch.

And if you're the type who'd prefer to participate, rather than merely observe, Senator Stowell's contact information is available here.

Update 1/23/08 8:35 a.m. MT: The Std-Ex provides an article this morning describing last night's "town meeting," and reports that Leg. Dist. 8 Rep. Gage Froerer is planning to introduce his own remedial bill in the legislature.