Interesting Standard-Examimer article this morning , wherein the Godfrey-lackey Std-Ex, aka the Boss Godfrey House Propaganda Organ, once again reprises the Boss Godfrey message that the Mt. Ogden Golf Course is losing money, and thus must impliedly be ultimately sold to Godfrey crony Chris Peterson.
Annual revenue losses, combined with original construction costs, have pushed the course’s debt to more than $2 million, he said. The city subsidizes the course deficit through its annual operating budget. From the article:We're in the midst of conducting Real-life frenzied Political business right now, so we'll skip our usual microanalysis.
Godfrey promised not to sell the golf course and hopes to meet soon with the city council to discuss options to help it financially break even.
He declined to specifically disclose those options, but said a tax increase approved by voters or a course redesign could be among the strategies.
“It’s really getting out of control,” Godfrey said of the debt. “We have to decide how to address the problem.”
Godfrey also hopes the public will offer suggestions during the town meeting, for which a date and location have not been set.
We invite our gentle readers to provide that.
The floor is open for reader comments.
9 comments:
On the golf course story and Mt. Ogden Golf Course's [alleged] $250,000 a year deficit. The SE, sadly, once again, simply prints the Mayor's assertion that it is in fact losing that much annually. It would be nice if my Home Town Paper did a little digging into the matter and let its readers know if that is in fact true, and if it's not, why not. May be true; may not. I'd like to know. Being the old fashioned print reprobate that I am, I think that's the sort of thing home town papers are supposed to ferret out and explain, rather than just taking the government at its word. Que no?
Rudi:
You wrote: We're in the midst of conducting Real-life frenzied Political business right now, so we'll skip our usual microanalysis.
Organizing a move to deny Rob Bishop the Republican nomination for Congress I hope? We got his latest campaign flyer [paid for by the taxpayers, of course] in which he comes out in favor of making the Bush tax cuts permanent, and lowering taxes even more, and of cutting spending to balance the budget. Then in the flyer he goes on to support more spending for health care for children, more spending for border control, more military spending, and brags about how much pork he's brought home. Since he wants to lower taxes even more, and increase health care, border and military spending, and rely on spending cuts in other areas to balance the budget, he'd have to cut something north of 250 billion a year from existing programs to do what he claims he wants to do.
Does he, anywhere, in the flyer, so much as mention a program he wants to cut? Much less $250 billion worth of program cuts? Nary a one. And he running as a fiscal conservative.
Bush record: massive tax cuts [mostly for the wealthy], huge spending increases [military and domestic], massive deficits, surging national debt, a collapsing dollar and a burgeoning recession. And Rep. Bishop's promise if he's re-elected? More of the same.
Please tell me the Utah Republican Party, which is oft reported to believe fiscal conservatism is a core principle of its members, is not planning to re-nominate Bishop again.
Please?
Here somthing interesting, Curm.
Rob Bishop now has an apparent challenger:
Thank Goodness - Bishop's Opponent
Remember... you read it here first.
Appears to be yet another sacrificial lamb to me; but who knows?
Rudi:
Ah, but the challenger is a Democrat. I figure you guys are responsible for cleaning up your own party. I have my hands full keeping mine on the straight and narrow. Surely someone in the Republican Party who really is a fiscal conservative will challenge Bishop for the Republican nomination... won't they?
Ya just gotta know in your heart of hearts that the Little Lord has some scheme up his sleeve with this "town meeting" BS. He has been plotting and scheming of ways to spin the Mt. Ogden Park into his great ego monument for at least two years or more. His campaign promise to preserve the park is not worth the hot air that passed over his lyin lips as he made it.
My guess is that he will manipulate any "town meeting" he has to support his secret plan. And you better believe he has a secret plan.
If this "town meeting" idea gains any traction I hope that any one that has real knowledge about the true numbers come forward and educates the public to the truth about the Golf Course. Of course The Little Lord and his ace economic team are very cleaver about juggling the books in such a way that they become almost incomprehensible to any one that is not a forensic accountant.
Hopefully this will flush out the truth about the Golf course finances and back fire on the lyin little dick.
Spring is here! Time to replant your SmartgrowthOgden signs! Maybe it'll help those who supported the Mayor after he promised to leave the golf course alone to hold him to his promises!
Why is the Mayor so incompetent? He says the golf course is losing money, then he should take responsibility for be the manger over all the assets of the city. Why oh why mayor can't you do the job of turning a profit when all the other muni courses do.
If the little Peckerwood really wanted to save the couple a hundred grand a year he claims the course is losing he could simply get rid of any one of his crack development team members. Each one of them cost the tax payers of Ogden about that amount every year and we get absolutely nothing of value in return.
Hells bells, by the looks of it that damn noisy and flashy rec center is losing ten times what the golf course does and it isn't even pleasant to look at.
On the golf course and Hizzonah:
The story is mixed, seems to me. Hizzonah can take credit for trying to turn the course around to some extent. He removed the long time golf pro/manager and installed another, tasked to improve business there. Some considerable effort went into course grooming to make it more playable. [I think that's the term. I'm not a golfer.]
On the other hand, Hizzonah was for a time [just as he was trying to magnify the course's alleged losses to justify sale to his real estate developer crony, Mr. Peterson] going to the news media declaring Mt. Ogden "not golfer friendly." Instead of promoting one of Ogden's significant tourist assets --- which is seems to me part of his job --- he was running it down in public and discouraging people from coming here to play the course. Very odd behavior in a Mayor, unless of course he had other motives... e.g. running the alleged deficit up to justify sale of the course to his developer cronies.
He's going to hold a public meeting to get input [he says] about what to do about or with the course. I don't really believe that, since our Mayor has announced repeatedly that we don't live in a democracy and that public opinion does not and will not affect his policies [outside of election season, of course]. I suspect his cronies will be there to "spontaneously" present to the input meeting whatever new plan he has for the Mt. Ogden course.
But, presuming he's sincere about wanting public input, he might consider this for openers: he might begin as Ogden's very visible mayor to promote the course whenever he gets the chance, instead of dissing it. I wonder what might happen to the number of rounds played per year if the Mayor spent even half the time promoting the Mt. Ogden course that he does promoting Ogden "attractions" that don't exist. Like the ice tower.
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