Godfrey Administration Attempts to Defend Water System Plans

4/7/09 City Council Work Session Report

By Dan Schroeder

After its very short regular meeting last night, the city council held a work session to discuss the ongoing water projects, and especially the plans to put two new tanks above the top of 36th Street. I don't have time to write up a full report but here are a few notable points:

• The planned system will be adequate to provide sufficient water pressure to the entire east bench, up to the Bonneville Shoreline, above WSU and the golf course.

• Pressure to the highest bench areas will be provided by a new 1.25 million gallon tank whose site is yet to be determined. The engineering consultant's report shows this tank just north of Strong's Canyon, a little above the Bonneville shoreline on a corner of Chris Peterson's property. But the administration staff said they're now thinking of putting it south of Strong's Canyon on WSU property, to be accessed from the end of Beus Drive. In any case, it's clear that they haven't actually decided on a location yet and they indicated no intent to consult the city council regarding the final site selection.

• The city council pointed out that north of Strong's Canyon, the undeveloped bench areas are either city park land, or zoned as open space, or outside the city limits. The administration responded that they're designing a system to last for generations and we can't predict who might want to develop some of this property in the future. The city council also pointed out that having the water infrastructure in place will increase the likelihood of someone wanting to develop the property.

• When asked specifically about the golf course committee's plans for condominiums on city park land near Strong's Canyon, the administration staff said they didn't know any more about that proposal than what was in the newspaper, and that the water system was being designed without any specific development proposal in mind.

• Nobody asked outright why current Ogden water customers should be paying for a totally new water tank that won't be needed for decades. Yes, WSU eventually plans to build as high as the Bonneville shoreline, but not any time soon. North of Strong's Canyon, development high on the bench is prohibited by the Mt. Ogden Community Plan. The estimated cost of this tank, incidentally, is $1.6 million.

Ed. Note: Special thanks to Dan S. for the detailed writeup.