Taking a closer look at the proposed Midtown Development transaction
In yesterday's article we highlighted this Scott Schwebke story, announcing the percipient plan of Larry Myler, an Orem real estate developer, to contruct a $100 million highrise hotel on the downtown Junction property. Among the reported terms of the proposed transaction are a zero interest loan and a deferred purchase price payment, all favoring Mr. Myler. Whether tax increment financing would also be part of this deal... Boss Godfrey and his minions aren't yet saying.
Being the curious type, we did a quick google, and came up with some interesting information about Mr. Myler, contained within an earlier Standard-Examiner story. As it turns out, Mr. Myler was a major donor to Boss Godfrey's 2007 re-election campaign, according to this October 30, 2007 Ace Reporter Schwebke report. And from this report, we incorporate the following text:
"Much of Godfrey’s recent campaign contributions came from individuals. Some of his largest donors include Larry Myler, an Orem developer, who gave $9,000... ."
Whether this 2007 campaign donation is evidence of a quid pro quo we do not know; however , we believe the sequence and timing of the donation and post-election announcement could reasonably suggest that.
And what say our gentle readers about this? Is this campaign donation on the up and up -- or are there more sinister forces afoot? Any way you cut it, we'll volunteer, it certainly smells "fishy" to us.
The cyber-world awaits our readers' ever-savvy comments.
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25 comments:
Rudi:
You wrote: Prospective Hotel Developer Turns Out to be a Major Godfrey Campaign Donor
What? No! Surely not! You must be mistaken. The Godfrey administration would never recommend sweetheart deals involving city land and public money for its cronies. Why, Mr. Lesham, Mr. Peterson and Mr. Reid have all assured us so. You must be mistaken....
Pay to Play
How are the Geigers going to benifit from the RDA property under consideration at 23rd and Lincoln?
There's another example of less than sound government in this morning's SE. Link here. The story has to do with the Weber County Commission's refusal, so far, to add back .05 percent [that's five one hundredths of one percent] sales tax county by county to make up for the money UTA lost when the legislature cut the overall sales tax on food significantly. Here's the background:
A tax cut on unprepared food, which went into effect Jan. 1, took a 10 percent bite out of UTA’s budget, said John Inglish, UTA manager.
To get that money back, the Legislature has allowed municipalities to individually levy a 0.05 percent sales tax increase.
The other counties in UTA’s coverage area — Salt Lake, Utah, Tooele and Box Elder — have all passed the supplemental funding, but Weber and Davis officials are hesitant to implement anything that residents might perceive as a tax increase.
The poor government issue comes in in re: why the County Commissioners here are refusing to approve the restoration of that small fragment of the tax [and so risking serious cuts in UTA bus and Frontrunner Service to Weber County as a result]. From the story:
Both counties received many complaints as skyrocketing property values increased the tax burden on their constituents in 2007.
At a recent meeting between UTA and the Commission,
Mick Crandall, UTA’s deputy chief for planning and programming, broke out a whiteboard and some dry erase markers so he could work through the numbers assuming a 5.5 percent sale tax revenue increase. His calculations showed a 2008 shortfall in the neighborhood of $15 million.
How much would restoring the five one hundredths of one percent sales tax cost the average Weber County resident? Not much:
Before the Legislature cut the tax, Inglish said, the average taxpayer was paying about $52 a year. The supplemental tax would restore the portion of that money that went directly to the UTA.
“It amounts to only about $7 per person,” Inglish said of the proposed tax. “It’s not an increase, because people were already paying it before. It’s a replacement, if you will. It results in a net decrease of $45 in taxes per person.”
But:
Davis County Commissioner Louenda Downs said taxpayers might not see it the same way. “To our citizens, they’re finally getting this money back, and so they will see it as a tax increase,” she said.
Here's the problem: Weber and Davis Co. commissioners have, as the story notes, been scorched by constituents complaining about rising property taxes, and those with dreams of higher office [as Ms. Zogmeister clearly has] want to polish their "no tax/low tax" credentials every chance they get. But the Weber/Davis problem with the property tax --- and it is a problem --- should not be a reason to refuse to implement the UTA-make-up-for-lost-revenue tax the legislature authorized counties to make. If Ms. Zogmeister and others have problems with the property tax, then fix the property tax. Taking millions from UTA's hide in the name of appeasing residents boiling over huge property tax hikes is just bad government. And that does seem to be what's going on.
So we run, right here in Weber County, the risk of seriously reduced UTA bus and rail service this year when the financial pages are predicting $3.50 a gallon gas by this summer, so Zogmeister and the rest can try to ease public anger over the property tax rise which has exactly nothing whatsoever to do with the UTA minuscule tax restoration. If the property tax is the problem, Ms. Zogmeister, then fix it. That will do you a lot more good as you craft your plan for higher office than having to tell voters as their gas bills soar and bus and rail service are cut back "but... but... but... I saved you $7 a year on your grocery tax!"
Of course, Ms. Zogmeister is a Republican, as is the entire Weber County Council, and as such, "tax cut" --- sensible, or not, wise or not, fiscally responsible or not, with beneficial results or not --- seems to have become her favorite mantra of late --- mantra, of course, being a substitute for thought.
Good Old (?) Curmudgeon:
I agree with you in principle, but I wouldn't trust that moron jackass Inglish with my Coke money at lunch: he signed a contract with Lying Little Matty Gondola Godfrey to spend $275K in federal grant funds to study an aerial cableway, AKA THE URBAN GONDOLA TO NOWHERE. What a jerkoff. Have he and this Myler shyster passed the eighth grade? No, I think not.
Let's not forget that newly elected Councilman Blain Johnson received nearly $9000 in anonymous contributions for his campaign, laundered through an entity called "Friends of Northern Utah Real Estate". Could those contributions have come from Myler or some other developer? We'll probably never know.
Well Dan, it's nice to know that this same bunch wasted $10,000 on blockhead royal eccles. They didn't buy everything.
In spite of what I said yesterday, it is nice that somebody wants to spend $100 putting up a building downtown. I just keep wondering how I’m going to end up subsidizing it.
And this might be a good time to admit that I’ve thought about it and I feel having a Wal Mart downtown will be a good thing. It will give people who live there a place to shop for a variety of products at good prices, possibly within walking distance of their homes.
So often, one finds himself in a motel room with nothing to do short of getting in a car. In Ogden, there is getting to be a lot to do all within a walking radius. Lot’s of new stuff and still the old stuff is there for the most part.
Note that Godfrey is still saying the city isn’t going to build the gondola. This (and committing that the golf course and park and bench will not be sold) is what won him the election and if he sticks to it, people could start warming up to him again.
danny,
Godfrey is a master of shell games. Whether it's RDA debt or downtown real estate or funding for gondola studies, he can move money and assets around so many times that nobody knows who's truly paying for what. And of course, sometimes he just outright lies. So when he says that the city won't build the gondola, don't assume that he means your taxes and mine won't be funneled to it somehow.
According to the January 2008 issue of Ski Magazine, page 74, "Plans call for a gondola to link Ogden to a parcel of private land known as Malan's Basin, site of a proposed four-season resort."
danny,
There are two problems with Walmart downtown. One is that the profits all go to Arkansas. The other is that I've never seen a pedestrian-friendly Walmart.
Maybe the first problem can't be solved: locally owned shops that sell everyday items like groceries and lightbulbs and bluejeans are a thing of the past. (I'm not convinced this is true, but I'll concede that it might be.) Even so, you gotta solve the second problem before it'll make sense to put a Walmart downtown. If it's a sprawling, one-story shed surrounded by an ocean of parking, it'll discourage pedestrians and just bring more traffic jams. Design it like the Fred Meyer in downtown SLC and perhaps I could go along.
Dan S.
I myself used to shop at Sherwood Market. Remember it? It was a small mom and pop grocer up Harrison north of Ben Lomond High. Such places are nice. But most people don't seem to "vote with their feet" and shop in such places like I do.
But Wal Mart is a store that has what people want, cheap. It's all in one place, and it saves time.
For it to work downtown it would have to front on Wall so the people who live downtown could walk to it. Parking would have to be in the rear. And they'd have to design it so it didn't have the hellish look of most Wal Marts.
The traffic is an issue I hadn't considered. But I think it could be a big plus for downtown living if done right.
Danny,
I appreciate the fact that I may be winning you over, at least a little. Hopefully, I can continue to earn your trust. I want you to know that I swear on all I hold dear, that when I say I won't sell the golf course, the park, or the bench land, and won't use city money for the gondola, I mean it. May I burn in Hell for eternity if I ever make a damnable liar out of myself for going back on this promise that I have made time and time again, including signing my name to it in writing.
Thank you again for your kind comments.
A WalMart in downtown Ogden would only end up being like the Harrisville WalMart. Basically a dump. The store had to go through significant remodel after being open only a few short years. I get an uneasy feeling being in that store. Both the Riverdale store and the Brigham City stores are much nicer, cleaner and there are not so many scary customers.
No matter what time you go into Harrisville store you are sure to find your white-trash people yelling at their 5 kids under 5 years old running around the store in loaded pampers who look like they have not had a bath in weeks (both parents and kids). You will also find your share of Hispanic parents yelling (in Spanish) at their kids.
The caliber of people shopping at the Harrisville WalMart probably has a lot to do with the crappy low income housing across Washington Blvd (Ogden City no less (thank you Ogden Housing Authority, haha))
WalMart in Ogden City (proper) will only bring some money back into Ogden from Harrisville. That will only be from people who drive from inner city Ogden to Harrisville. I suspect within only a few short years of an Ogden WalMart it will be worse than the Harrisville store.
Sorry if I sound harsh and/or not politically correct.
The logistics of one stop shopping at Wal-Mart and other big-boxes require abundant adjacent parking. Until a home delivery system is initiated or even mandated in downtown installations these stores are not appropriate in downtown areas. I would be all for a downtown Wal-Mart with delivery despite my reservations over Wal-Mart in general. There is no getting away from the big-box business model. It is now set in stone. The stock acquisition and distribution infrastructures are solidly entrenched based on the demand for low prices. Now we can force Wal-Mart to deploy a delivery system if they want access to our centralized and beautiful downtown.
A delivery service would allow people to ride the bus to wal-mart and still enjoy downtown without lugging all the goods back home allowing one to enjoy downtown and spend more time and dough there.
Oh No, Danny's been nipping some of the lying little matty Kool-aid, there's no known sure fire antidote. The only hope lies in some old folklore, traditional healing, shamanism and possibly small amounts of Voo_Doo and Santaria.
Danny, you must act fast, seek the cure or one day you awake with a potato for a nose or worse yet looking like G-train.
You'll start seeing gondolas and Wallmarts everywhere, surrounded by sprawling low cost rental housing units.
You'll start spending all your time in neon bowling alleys and trying to climb any vertical object you see.
You'll seek nothing but the next adrenaline rush which will never satisfy your desire, you'll become a slave to artificial high adventure experience.
And dear Danny, that most saddening and devastating symtom, you'll waste the rest of your life trying to be something and someone you are not. Seek the CURE.
waterboy,
At least the Harrisville BoxMart has self-serve checkouts that for some reason are not at Riverdale. I'll go to Harrisville sometimes for the option to circumvent standing behind some obese-atroid in the check-out line ringing up cartfuls of swill-a-mite and stretch pants. Your characterization of the clientele at Harrisville could be translated to most any AllMart I have visited.
Tech, Allmarts have a place, and Harrisville's a fine location. I buy toilet paper there, fine Malaysian and Phillipino lumber.
It's a myth that everything is cheaper, unless you're talking about the poor quality and selection. But they do sell toilet paper cheap.
Bill,
Actually Harrisville is an awful location as is Riverdale for us who live in Ogden proper. I would probably ride transit more if there was a comprehensive local delivery service serving any downtown bigbox to locals only. This would be for Ogden city only. People who live in areas of lesser density will be forever relegated to commuting hell. Thos of us who choose to live in cities of moderate density deserve the leadership to get this done. It would contribute greatly to our quality of life and help to resurrect the inner city. In fact, a neighborhood BigBox would fit nicely at 24th and Monroe, right smack in the center of the city. Force them to build a 3 or 4 story fully stocked store reducing their overall footprint and include a delivery loading dock for instant home delivery. This kind of thing is what could eventually actually reduce inner city traffic if people knew they could leave the car at home when they do not require any cargo capability while they shop in Ogden.
If we'd only elected Ms. Van Hooser. We could have overted this $100 million hotel and got something better using her extensive contacts, vision and business experience.
$100 million hotel!!! Peanuts!
A publicly funded park would have been better. Who needs the tax revenue anyway. Certainly not our schools and our city's infrastructure.
Phewy to Ms. Van Hooser. We should have elected Hansen! He would have rejected the $900,000 in state grants for the reconstruction of the Amer Sports building, tossed out Gadi Lesham and put the screws to these jerks who are bringing their $100 million hotel/monstrousity!
We actually should have elected Bill Glasmann.
He would have given all you idiot ravers some downers and quietly gone about the business of cleaning the whole mess up with minimal fuss.
Neither Godfrey, Hansen or Van Hooser was right for the job. What is needed is someone with some intelligence, ambition, savvy and integrity. All these candidates have one or two, but none have all four.
Ogden will wallow along until a real leader emerges.
True:
Just like to note that as of the moment, we don't have 100 million dollar hotel downtown. We have a developer's stated intention to build one. With some public funding, and... maybe... with a whole lot more if it can be arranged. Many a slip, as they say, between cup and lip.
Why I recall not too many years ago... two to be exact... when Godfreyistas were crowing about the... what? Something around $300 million dollars Mr. Peterson was going to bring to Ogden, investing "his own money" for the good of our fair city. Much excitement downtown, just like now.
Except that it turned out that money was to come from his being sold Ogden's biggest public park for development. Then it turned out that wouldn't work, the Mayor now says, because the parkland is too steep to build on... though blood-curdling polling on the public dislike of the park-sale plan in his strongest precincts during the campaign might have played some role in Hizzonah's suddenly noticing the hills in the park. Imagine that.
We'll have to wait a bit and see what develops. Sometimes big projects are announced by developers that are never completed, or that, if completed, don't turn out as was expected. Like, oh, say for example the downtown Ogden City Mall.
Assuming the completion of a developer's project on the day it's announced is a dicey business. It may all work out and be a great boon to the city. I certainly hope that's how it turns out. But we're not there yet.
Tec,
Unfortunately Harrisville WalMart has eliminated the self check out. They changed it over to a couple more express lanes (15 items or less or whatever the number is).
I have to disagree about the clientele being the same at all WalMarts. The Brigham City one is actually very nice. I have never seen spandex worn in the store. No belly rolls out the bottom of shirts, no filthy kids crying and running around unsupervised wearing fully loaded pampers. People with full sets of their own teeth are the norm not the exception. If it were not for the cost of gas I would shop there more than Harrisville. Actually I prefer not to shop at any of them, but my wife likes em.
Going back to something Dan S. said above:
According to the January 2008 issue of Ski Magazine, page 74, "Plans call for a gondola to link Ogden to a parcel of private land known as Malan's Basin, site of a proposed four-season resort."
Deadlines for Mag editorials, national tourist / travel mags like Ski Mag, are 1.5 mo before pub date. In this case, 11.15.07. Possibly even earlier than that. The Ski Mag writer might have been working off a publicity kit, sent in as early as AUG or SEPT. And the writer did not bother to update any info.
Tourist mags do not really give you info that is up to date, unless you check their blog. Most people would use a site like TripAdvisor.com, to fact check before planning a trip.
Having Ski Mag publish an article, with language like: "plans....for....gondola....link to..Malan's Basin, ....proposed resort...".....means bubkus.
Yesterday's news.
As Curm said, as long as Petersen is coming up with his own money to do something on his own land, which does not create mudslides...etc., or involve public lands,.........who cares. As long as he air lifts all his materials in, as well as his resort attendees..............Where did his plans say his access road was?
So now that Petersen is divorced from Earl's money (wife / divorce) and Mayor Godfrey refuses to give him the Mt Ogden Lands for a dime, has Petersen other plans for fund raising?
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