By Curmudgeon
Since questions about the Ogden City administration's commitment to "green" has come up as a topic on Weber County Forum, thought I'd mention a story posted on the Standard-Examiner website this afternoon.From the story:
OGDEN -- When it's raining and city parks' sprinklers are on, it can take all day for three plumbers to turn off the water lines in 42 separate parks....Sounds like a good idea to me, both environmentally and financially.
That's why Ogden City has been trying to implement the Maxicom Central Control Systems to help save water, which becomes especially important with recent drought restrictions...
The new system will save an estimated 92 million gallons of water a year, more than half of the amount used now on parks lawns and fields. That will translate into the city saving tens of thousands of dollars each year. [Link added]
Editor's addendum: So, gentle readers... what about it? Does this latest effort on Godfrey's part to draw favorable headlines, and to deal with the constant and ridiculous daily running water problem in our public parks entitle him to label himself green"... or not? Will three hard-working Ogden City plumbers be summarily "laid off?" How much will this new system cost the taxpayers, exactly? Will this mayoral effort at publically displayed "economy" offset his "visionary" commitment to the energy wasteful Ice Tower effect?
Thankfully, our gentle readers are always able to provide intelligent answers to questions such as these.
We'll offer our observation that do find it somewhat encouraging to find the Boss Godfrey Administration dealing with infrastructure issues -- albeit only occasionally.
Have at it, WCF readers.
8 comments:
The efforts by Jay Lowder to conserve water in the parks are commendable.
We live in a dessert, it probably should have been look at for implementation years ago, but I will give kudos for at least making the changes now.
Even though the City is making attempts to conserve water, there is still a lot of waste, including the give aways to Boss Godfreys' croneys. The Ice Tower is another, and the list goes on.
I am not too sure if the Boss will ever convince me that he is a conservation minded person.
He does strike me as the type of guy who would attempt to recycle condoms.
Ah'm confused.
From my own experience (on my Ogden city property), I've found electonic watering systems to be unreliable and "buggy". Low Voltage Electonics don't seem to stand up to our locally-corrosive water very well.
I have my doubts whether Godfrey's new computerized system will actually work from year to year.
I do hope Ogden City will keep the three plumbers on the city payroll, just as it's kept Curt Geiger's wife, Cami, on the government payroll.
Nobody's ever figured out exactly what Cami does to earn her high five-figure salary, by the way, except for the fact she's the wife of Godfrey crony Dumb Curt.
Did the computer system and programming come from someone who made substantial contributions to Godfrey's mayoral campaign?
Rudi:
The answer, to the question "Godfrey: Green or Not?" is "both." His administration has supported some green programs. He was, for example, a strong advocate of the Frontrunner commuter rail. The Fresh Air Friday program and buying some of Ogden's power from the Blue Skies windpower source at Rocky Mountain Power are two other examples. And his administration has worked in cooperation with Weber Pathways for example on important trails projects in Ogden.
On the other hand, he's been dragging his feet on the trolley transit route from downtown to WSU and McKay Dee in order to service his gondola obsession. And he was willing to sell Mt. Ogden Park to a vacation village developer to service the same idea. And he's been a no-show on proposals to have the forest service designate areas above Ogden as wilderness" --- which would certainly be a "green" project, not to mention a project likely to increase outdoors tourism locally. I suspect his reluctance stems from a desire to "save" forest service land access for the Malan's resort will-o-the-wisp which he needs to justify [yet again] his gondola obsession.
So the record is mixed. But I see no reason to slam the administration when it supports good ideas, merely because it also supports bad ones, environmentally speaking. Like it or not, it's going to be a Godfrey Administration for another three and a half years. The course of wisdom, seems to me, is to support the Mayor when he's on the right side of environmental matters and programs, and oppose him when he's on the wrong side. But opposition and criticism of everything his administration does, simply because its his administration that does it, seems not a policy likely to benefit Ogden City in the long run.
I wish the Mayor understood that it would be best for the city he leads and will lead for some years down the road for him to find matters on which he and we agree, and on those matters, to find ways work together for the good of the city. Doing so will not commit him, or us, to cooperate on matters on which we strongly disagree.
So, Rudi, the answer is "yes" and "no."
We will soon all be green.
Gasoline today is $3.39 per gallon WHOLESALE with tax. That's what the gas stations are paying. They should be charging at least $3.56.
Food, energy, metal, everything our economy takes from the Earth is going way, way up.
New supplies are not coming on line.
The oceans are being depleted.
Mankind will have to become green or we may be forced into it, if we're not being forced already.
Where do people get the money to drive these SUVs and pickup trucks as commuter cars to SLC? Credit cards?
Curm,
You mentioned Godfrey's support of environmental programs such as Blue Sky and Fresh Air Friday. He may be the guy in front of the camera accepting credit for those, but in truth, he fails to provide support where it is despritely needed.
In fact, Godfrey has failed to provide a budget this year for the Sustainable Ogden Committee, which is the group responsible for the earlier mentioned programs and many others that benefit the environment. Without funding, programs like Fresh Air Friday are likely going to fall apart. This is very unfortunate.
Just how much does Godfrey support the environment. The truth is that he doesn't because it doesn't fit into his agenda.
Green Lobbiest:
Isn't the Sustainable Ogden Committee a volunteer advisory committee? Do such committees [like the recently purged Ogden Trails Committee] have budget lines as a rule? I don't know. I'm asking.
I think I'll ask my Council members about the Committee and its status [and funding] going forward. Thanks for the heads up.
Curm,
The Sustainable Ogden Committee is a volunteer advisory committee, but if I have heard correctly, there is someone on staff at Ogden City who is paid to perform the committee's tasks. The word is that the committee had asked Godfrey to fund that staff position for an additional year, and he refused.
To me, that is just a slap in the face for environmental issues. It shows that Godfrey is not willing to actively pursue environmental improvements in Ogden.
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