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.That's right... door to door... and the meeting is scheduled for tonight.
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.
If the calendering of this meeting seems a mite
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.
11 comments:
The Real Estate and Development interest in the Utah Legislature is almost as appalling as the Powder Mountain proposal. Thank you for link to Stowell's bill, Rudi, although for reasons expressed above I'm not as confident it will sail through the legislature as you may believe.
So 5 people can force 95 other people to form a city with them. And this bill passed without a single no vote? Curm, where were your Democrats on this one?
cato
Good Question! Just where were those righteous Democrats when this abortion sailed through the legislature? Perhaps they were at a Jazz Game with their big guy from Price - good old situational ethics Demitri? ("I never saw a bribe I didn't like Mike"
I think this is a good example of the slew of new laws that are passed every year by a group of legislators that do not understand what it is that they are passing.
With 1200 new bills before the legislature this year alone, coupled with the state law that requires every legislator in attendance to vote on every law, there are literally hundreds of new laws passed by representatives that do not have a clue about what is in them. For the most part our legislators in Utah vote the way their party leaders instruct them, especially the Republicans. In essence, Utah is in the strangle hold of of a very small handful of NeoCon power brokers. There are about 10 people in the whole state that control virtually every thing that moves.
The law that allows this Powder Mountain fiasco is obviously a huge blunder by last years legislature. However ill conceived and researched it was, it is still the law and these developers are completely in their rights to pursue their interests under that law. Going for the gold is after all a very American thing, as long as the existing laws are honored.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the majority of the people in the unincorporated Eden area, those who are being included in the deal to get to a 100 residents, react at their as yet venue-less meeting. Seems to me that it could be a very dangerous move for the developers if they are able to incorporate because of these 100 residents if they are unfriendly to the idea, especially if they are of the same mind set as the guy quoted in the news article. The developers could end up with a very hostile city council that worked against their project in every way they could.
Ozboy -
You are right on with your statement that a handful of people control everything that happens in the Utah legislature.
The handful consists of righteous legislators who also want to make a financial killing with their own personal interests in more and bigger developments of Utah properties.
Look at what the Mayor of West Jordan and UTA's lawyer were able to accomplish in hoodwinking the Speaker of the House into promoting their mass transit bill before the House members to get it passed very quickly.
Everyone was in such a hurry to get the bill passed at this time last year that they passed a bill that multiplied instead of divided pertinent financial figures.
So now taxpayers are going to pay for that mistake for 50 years.
Months after the Bill passed, when the Audit Report on the transit project was presented to the Audit Committee, the Speaker realized what he had supported that had been really passed.
I was present at that meeting and I heard the House Speaker publicly state in that meeting that he had been "snookered" when he finally realized what the legislature had passed for the UTA and West Jordan.
I pray he pays a little more attention to facts and figures this session before he helps push any bill through.
How about the Ice Climbing tower? The City wants to use RAMP funds towards the darn thing. I could have sworn that just a few months ago John the Snake Patterson said it would be funded by private donations. Would that be private tax donations in the way of RAMP taxes?
Hmmmm....
I wish Ozboy was right. The fact of the incorporation is Powder Mountain will be able to select the town council and will also provide the name for the planning commissioners to the Weber County Commission. Does any one think they will select activitsts to be in those positions? Did you ever hear of a "Company Town"? That is what you are looking at here. They will have all the influence required to make sure things go their way on all issues.
The insidious part of this is this "town" could effect the lives of so many in Ogden Valley and Weber County that will have no say in the development.
I find it interesting that the folks that want "less government" are the ones that are wining, when there is "less Government."
By the way. You wining republicans that voted for Huntsman. Well there is your Economic Development for ya....
democrat
That is a pretty stupid generalized statement. What do you base it on?
For starters you have no way of knowing who exactly it is on this blog that wants "less government", and you have no way of knowing who would be "wining" (sp) when there is "less government". Your witty little post is just plain moronic.
If you are not already a Godfreyite, I suggest you sign up right away. They are always looking for a few new dumb asses to join.
Lionel:
Generally, those who bray loudest about wanting "less government" also want a much larger military... all of whose members are, of course, government workers. Go figure....
Cato and ozboy:
Oz wrote:
I think this is a good example of the slew of new laws that are passed every year by a group of legislators that do not understand what it is that they are passing.
I think you've nailed it, Oz. To Cato's question, which is certainly a valid one, I offer no defense of "my Democrats." I suspect they voted for what they did not fully understand, and I'd bet that was not the only time they did it.
In partial... but only partial... expiation, I'd point out that the Utah Legislature has an odd rule that does not permit legislators not to vote. They cannot simply vote "present" or "abstain" --- they must vote yea or nay on all the comes before them. Or so I've been told. And I'd note, in further expiation, that "my Democrats" have exactly no control over what bills come to the floor for a vote in the Utah House or Senate. So, Cato, Republicans get full credit, if that's the word, for bringing that flawed bill to the floor, and for providing the majority that passed it. "My Democrats" will have to take the rap for not casting symbolic, but wholly ineffective "nay" votes against it. Which, I agree, they should have done.
PS to Cato: Did I mention that our Republican Governor signed it into law? And he has an entire staff to vet all bills and tell him exactly what those bills will do. Imagine that.
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