Emerald City work session notes - 3/19/09
By George K.
I was appalled when I read the article, ”A Michael Jackson nose on the hillside”, by Charles Trentelman in the Standard-Examiner this morning! Scott’s Schebke provided a separate article this morning, ”Ogden City Council to governor: Veto CO detector bill”, reporting on the issue of smoke detectors, but did not mention that council members at last night's work session were also concerned that work they had approved for the water tanks at the top of 46th Street (that service the Shadow Valley area where water pressure is extremely low) was being accomplished on the water tanks at the top of 36th Street without their knowledge and approval. Maybe he didn’t report it because he left the work meeting at a critical point of the discussion between city staff and the council. He also did not report that several council members were concerned that the work being accomplished at the top of 36th Street was also to allow the modifications to the golf course that Godfrey wants. Of course, city staff including John Patterson tried to deny or ignore the questions of some council members. Public Services Director, George Benford, was the only one who truthfully spoke of the water tanks fiasco and gave an explanation for the work on the 36th Street tanks instead of the 46th Street tanks.
The city did it to the council again – left them out of the loop and then tried to make excuses for doing so. The council had requested that Godfrey be at the work meeting to answer questions and concerns of the council and at least some members were under the impression that he would be there, but the coward was not there! No mention was made as to why he wasn’t there, but Scott Schwebke’s article gave the Mayor’s side of the work being done.
Mr. Gilbert Wallace assured that the trail system would be better than it is now after the work is done and shade trees would line the trail system again.
It was the impression of this person that it was rather disgusting how the council fell for another snow job by the administration.
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14 comments:
Thanks, George. I wasn't aware of the switch between 46th and 36th. What would I ask for if I wanted to see documentation of that?
GK:
The article you refer to --- "A Michael Jackson nose on the Hillside" --- was written by Charlie Trentelman, not Scott Schwebke. And the story did not deal with what transpired at the Council meeting. Did you confuse that article with Schwebke's headlined "Ogden City Council to governor: Veto CO detector bill"? [Link here.]
Schwebeke botched Trentleman's initial work on the article. Charlie had other commitments last night and Schwebke was in attendance for part of last night's meeting.
Dan, The Administration referenced a study performed by Caldwel/Richards/Sorenson and a proposed scope of work for preliminary design work for the Ogden City Southeast report dated Aptil 2008. Also, Capital Improvement Project # WU052, Water Storage Tank for South End mentions the 46th St. tanks. There is not a CIP # (that I am aware of) for the change in the 36th Street water tanks because it is not an approved capital imporovement project. The Administration said that they would bring an amendment to the CIP list for the 36th St. water tanks.
Curmudgeon, I failed to notice that the article referencaed had Trentleman's byline. As mentioned above, Trentleman was not at the work meeting, but Schwebke was there for part of it, thus the confusion.
GK:
You wrote: There is not a CIP # (that I am aware of) for the change in the 36th Street water tanks because it is not an approved capital improvement project. The Administration said that they would bring an amendment to the CIP list for the 36th St. water tanks.
Let me see if I understand that. The City has begun work, substantial and costly work, on the 36th Street tanks in advance of the work being placed on the Capital Improvements authorized list? And that the Administration will now, retroactively, after the work began and much money has been spent, seek to have the project placed on the capital improvement list? Sort of like what it did with the runaway budget for refurbishing the cafe/visitor center railway car at the Frontrunner Station? Work and expenditures first, authorization second? Did I read that right?
Mr. Curmudgeon
It is called SOP - Standard Operating Procedures - in the Godfreyite movement. In fact that whole huge White Elephant - AKA Junktion Center - was built using this very tactic featuring plenty of smoke & mirrors, phony "studies" and heaps of broken promises. It's the "Godfreyite method" dontcha know!
Sounds like money laundering to anyone who deals in finance. Where is the investigation?
wow.
Curmudgeon, OzBoy has it right! I'm surprised that it is taking you so long to catch on to Godfrey's operating procedure. He's been using that same SOP for the past eight years!
We need a council that has the guts to say 'STOP! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! WE'RE NOT GOING TO WORK THIS WAY!" Come on, Amy, Caitlin, Jesse, and Dorrene! We're counting on you since Godfrey has bought the other three.
Curmudgeon,
Ozboy and Wants Debt Relief are correct. Godfrey's motto is: "It's easier to gain forgiveness than approval. So go ahead and do it then ask for forgiveness."
It's really disgusting, isn't it?
GK:
What's difficult to understand is why he is permitted to continue doing it, since he does it so often. He's well past the "barefoot boy with cheeks of tan" learning stage of his first couple of years in office when mistakes of inexperience might be overlooked. I'd think the "aw, shucks, gee whiz, we went and forgot to ask for the money again" would have lost is usefulness with the council by now. If the speculation is correct, that several hundreds of thousands of dollars were shifted by Hizzonah in the capital improvements budget from a project that had been approved and funded to one that had not, it would seem to me that something more serious needs to be done than a meek maiden-auntly chiding by the Council.
If there is truly nothing that can legally be done in response to a mayor moving money from authorized projects to unauthorized ones without so much as a by your leave to the Council, then the entire city capital improvements budget process might just as well be abandoned, since there is no way to enforce the decisions the Council makes anyway.
At some point, one would think even his loyalists on the council would begin to bridle at the contempt with which he treats them and the body they sit on.
Curm, I agree if the City Council still allows such behavior they are just as guilty as he is in allowing this to continue. The city taxpayers are the losers, with money being spent, moved around, with no check or balance by the City Council that holds the purse strings.
The Mayors office budget needs to be trimmed just like most of the cities citizen budgets has been trimed in this economy. His office looks a lot like AIG and wall street, still getting bonues while driving the city onto the brink of ruin. Rewarding those who made stupid mistakes keep their jobs with a simple I'm sorry. Promises it won't happen again, well until next time.
Almost all of us have cut back on spending to keep current on our obligations. Times have changed and we need a city government to also cut back until we see some improvement, stop the madness.
WWICU and Curmudgeon,
You've hit the nail on the head! It's beyond me why the Council continues to let him get away with his contemptible behavior! Even though they claim to try to keep things under control, they are only slightly better than the "rubber stamp coundil" that we thought we had replaced in 2005. We need a council with a leadership that is as strong and as bold as Godfrey!
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