We're delighted to note that David Smith's August 18, 2009 letter to the editor, which we previewed on Weber County Forum last week, has made the Standard-Examiner editor's cut, and landed on the Std-Ex editorial page this morning. It's a danged good letter, so we'll give it a well-deserved reprise here:
• Godfrey uses one outrage to pay for anotherThe Std-Ex's comment section is a mite light on comments so far however, so we'll encourage our readers to visit the Std-Ex site, to throw in your own 2¢.
And David's letter, which pulls no punches in condemning Boss Godfrey's outrageous attempt to hijack the City Council's Water Horizons plan, provides the ideal leadup to what we have to offer next:
Added bonus: So while we're now once again back on the subject of the 36th/46th street water tanks, and David Smith has properly set the mood, we have an added bonus for our readers this morning. Ogden resident Rob Garner has sent us a copy of his alternatative S.E. bench water system proposal, the same proposal he unavailingly presented to the planning commission earlier in the summer. Needless to say, Godfrey's in-house engineers gave this proposal a cool reception, in that it provided a relatively cost effective method to achieve the goals of the City Council's Water Horizons plan, without the "necessity" of expending millions of extra dollars for the installation of Boss Godfrey's latest pet project... the 36th street water tank boondoggle.
Here's how Mr. Garner sums it up in the conclusion to his most excellent article:
The alternative system that I proposed above will not only meet all of the original project objectives but will also save the city at least $5 million dollars in construction costs. Additionally it will give the city’s water system more flexibility and an opportunity to actually offset some of its cost through the sale of city surplus water.For those who'd like to read on, we'll just say that it's with great pleasure that we invite our readers to check out Mr. Garner's full text article:
This proposed amendment which you are being asked to approve is a deviation from the original proposed CIP budgeted project. In fact it actually fails to accomplish the intentions of the approved Water Horizon project by not addressing the immediate needs within the southeastern part of the city and then some time in the future when these needs are addressed it will be at additional costs over the original proposal. Please do not find this amendment to be in compliance with the general plan.
• Alternative S.E. Bench Water System ProposalLooks like a great plan to us. Needless to say, we especially liked the part about saving five million bucks.
Hopefully the council will hire their own independent engineer to evaluate the various proposals which are on the table, Mr. Garner's included, and be loaded for bear when they again meet to discuss the issue on September 22d.
With a little extra effort on the council's part, we believe Godfrey's effort to hijack the Water Horizons plan can be thwarted, and Ogden City can save millions of dollars in the process.
Amazing what can happen when the talents of interested and well-informed lumpencitizens are tapped, innit? Boss Godfrey should write that down so he doesn't forget it... but sadly... we know that he won't.
Take it away, O' Gentle Ones.
