By Curmudgeon
Three items of some news interest in this morning's Standard Examiner.
First, a piece by Mr. Schwebke on Tuesday night's Council Work Session regarding the proposed ice tower. It seems that matters did not go as smoothly as Mayor Godfrey and had hoped. The Std-Ex reports that four members of the Council [Stephenson, Johnson, Stephens and Garcia] are willing to pony up $100,000 as a one-time grant to help fund the tower. But apparently there is no majority for a $200,000 grant. An unhappy John Patterson, Mayor Godfrey's chief administrative officer, told the Std-Ex that he's "unsure whether $100,000 would be enough to leverage additional contributions from donors waiting in the wings. " Perhaps "allegedly waiting in the wings" or "perhaps waiting in the wings" might have been a more accurate way to put it, since later in the story, we find this: "Patterson has said $200,000 is needed to demonstrate the city’s financial commitment to the ice tower so that private foundations will also be inclined to contribute." Un-named donors only inclined to contribute? And then only if the city ponys up $200,000?
Council members Wicks and Gochnour said they could support a one-time $50,000 grant, but not more, and Councilwoman Jeske said she did not favor additional public funding.
The Std-Ex reports that there is a majority on the Council for tying a condition to any grant that none of it actually be spent "until there are sufficient funds from other sources to complete the ice tower." The Council, in short, has not rolled over, sat up and wagged its tail on command as the Mayor had hoped.
Second, the Std-Ex reports that the 21st Street Pond has received a promotion, as well as a new name. It's no longer a pond. It's now a lake. Goode Lake. While the city continues to own the new lake, Goode will operate it as a water-skiing venue, and will buy and additional four acres to expand the lake to a size sufficient to hold water ski tournaments. Goode hopes that the expanded lake will permit Ogden to host the World Championships some day.
The story also discusses a planned amphitheater complex for the new lake area. It's been touted before, but has not appeared in the news much of late. Here is the update:
Following the expansion of Goode Ski Lake, Ryan McEuen, president of Incandescent Entertainment, based in Salt Lake City, hopes to move ahead with construction of an adjacent $18 million amphitheater that would hold as many as 13,500 spectators.Finally, we find an article on the Std-Ex sports page, reporting on the Raptors season opener which we discussed on Monday.
The amphitheater would have retractable walls and about 3,500 fixed seats, allowing performances year-round.
McEuen said he is working with investors for the project, but declined to identify them. It hasn't been determined when construction on the amphitheater may begin, he said.
McEuen envisions booking premier rock, country, folk, blues and pop acts along with Broadway touring companies and attracting spectators from throughout the Intermountain West
The city's only significant investment in the amphitheater project would be the installation of infrastructure such as water and sewer lines, John Patterson, Ogden's chief administrative officer, has said.
