Sorry folks, due to personal calender business, it's taken a little longer this day to discuss this morning's red-meat Standard-Examiner story, which reports that the city council and the Godfrey administration are once again at odds, because Boss Godfrey has again unilaterally decided to divert council earmarked funds toward another of his pet projects. This time he's misappropriating $275 thousand taxpayer dollars, which had been designated by the council to pay for storm drain improvements along Harrison Boulevard, which were to be funded by the most recent Ogden City bonding for water system and related improvements.
Read Mr. Schwebke's full story here:
• Council questions project funds / $275,000 in storm water cash to go to Ogden River restorationSame ole garden variety Boss Godfrey dealing behind the scenes in secrecy scenario, we think... but the that's not the whole story at all. There's MORE:
Adding insult to injury, your blogmeister has talked today with several property owners along the Ogden River whose properties would be affected by the million in dollars that the Godfrey Administration seems to have tentatively reeled in, at least prospectively, in federal stimulus funds.
According to riverside property owner Ray Jensen, he doesn't know a single Ogden riverside property owner who would be willing to "go along" with the the grand Ogden River Remodeling Scheme, which would transform the Ogden River into a beachfront for soon to come tourist kayakers, river surfers and other touristy types. According to the proposed maps Mr. Jensen and other riverside property owners have been studying over the past few weeks, the proposed encroachment upon his and other riverfront properties would gobble up 60-70 feet or more upon their own properties from the present riverbank.
In order to receive the $1 million grant, and in order to implement Boss Godfrey's scheme
to turn the Ogden River into another MattGodfreyVille amusement park feature, he'll have to bring property owners whose properties directly abut the Ogden River owners into line.
That's one of the several explicit conditional criteria for the the awarding of that $1 million dollar grant, by the way.
So far the Godfrey administration has already lied about this, and misrepresented to the state officials who administer the stimulus funds that all property owners are "on board," notwithstanding that none whom Mr. Jensen knows are actually "in the bag." Sounds like the same old broken Godfrey record, dunnit? So what else is new?
How will Godfrey accomplish this and make it all come true? Will he make these aggrieved property owners a fair offer at taxpayer expense; or will he resort to the power of eminent domain?
Nothing ever changes in Ogden City, where our administration officials will lie like rugs to rake in a little more grant dough.
This story will be a fun one to watch as it develops.
We''ll be standing back watching development of this story with glee.
And what say our gentle readers about all this?
Who will be the first to comment?
15 comments:
Rudi:
Well, if there is a problem with those riverside landowners, the solution is simple, really. There's this California business man who's reputed to be a real whiz kid on amassing riverside properties at low cost for development. Why, they just seem to fall right into his lap, I've heard. His name is Gaddi Lesham. I'm sure the Mayor, who last we heard assured us he still had full confidence in Mr. Lesham, can bring him in to deal with the problem lickety-split.
Fascinating paradox. Godfrey's "chickens that haven't hatched," are weirdly now coming home to roost.
Hilarious!
Godfrey is no better than a thief.
And if the council fails to make sure that the funds that they appropriate to go to the specific projects which they designate, the council becomes a willing accomplice in the act of taxpayer theft.
Someday in a future time the ace S-E reporter will learn to verify the claims made by the mayor. Is emminent domain action far behind?
I have a concern that I stated in our work meeting last night and that is: The mayor will now look at the bond money that we have as a new revenue source and use it for whatever project he fancies (as he did with the BDO - Business Depot Ogden - revenue).
Dan S. has an interesting comment up on the SE website attached to the Schwebke article. It notes the number of times the Godfrey Administration's story about where funding for all this will come from has changed, and it notes that the "private contributions" that the Administration once said were going to fund much of it seem to have entirely disappeared from Pureheart Patterson's latest version of the funding plans. No mention at all now of how much Mr. Lesham, once touted by the Administration as a major contributor, is going to donate to the project. Imagine that.
Dan's post on the SE site is well worth a careful read:
dan s. @ 08/28/2009, 6:39 AM
Déjà vu?
Godfrey gets money from county for ice tower by lying. When county finds out they pull money.
Godfrey gets federal funds to clean up river by lying. When feds find out they . . .
Just tryin' to look stupid, are we?
Curm,
I asked the question last night whether Gadi Leshem would be contributing to the river clean up because his Renaissance Village will benefit greatly. I was told that we could not single out one property owner, and although the property owners were delighted that the river was being cleaned up, they saw it as the city's contribution/responsibility to getting things moving.
Do you buy it? Sounds to me like some "spur of the moment" rationalization.
Dorrene:
Odd how the story keeps changing every time they're asked to give it. But I'm sure their "hearts are pure." They told us so....
Dorrene,
It sounds like the "river cleanup" is a way to legally divert taxpayer money to Gadi Leshem and other Godfrey cronies.
Private real estate + taxpayer money = big windfall to property owners + campaign contribution to Godfrey.
Basic math.
This sure seems similar to the attempted diversion of $250,000 UTA funds to the thorazine addled vest sporting build me a gondola dude. Just when is this considered a crime?
On another topic, did anyone notice today's editorial (and the accompanying cartoon)?
Somehow the SE is up in arms when the Mayor of Kaysville uses a city newsletter to promote her reelection, but it's OK when Godfrey does the same thing. They even published Godfrey's lies in the Ogden City info pages they print.
dont forget channel 17
I know for a FACT that all property owners are NOT "on board" with this project! I happen to be in possession of the Storm Water and River Easement contract that Ms. Caroline Bradford is sending to the property owners along the river. There is no protetion for the land owners along the river. There is no financial benefit for the landowners along the river. the city will take the proerty, build their River Parkway and expect the proerty owners to maintain it. The S. E. has been lied to by Mini Mayor Man. The survey crews are out staking the boundries of the project without permission from the property owners. All the easements need to be in place by the end of September as they are scheduled to start the bidding process for the project by October 1st.
In the email that I received it states that if you have any questions to call Justin Anderson in the Engineering Dept. or Mark Stratford as he is the asst. City Atty.
The $275,000.00 is designated for Harrison Blvd. improvments and as a taxpayer I say that is where it needs to be used. How much longer can the current administration rob the taxpayer before he himself is charged with theft?
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