Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Council Overrides Mayor's Veto - Updated

No more continuous searchlights in Ogden, Yahoo!
Update: Teenybopper "dance club" manager sez: "Screw You"

For those readers awaiting a followup to Friday's WCF article, wherein Dan Schroeder provided a heads-up concerning a council agenda item calling for an override of Boss Godfrey's searchlight ordinance veto, we just received this information from gentle reader very skeptical, who attended tonight's council meeting:
Searchlight ordinance was overridden by the council. 7 for 0 against.
No more continous searchlights in Ogden, Yahoo!
A Weber County Forum Tip O' The Hat to the Ogden City Council for stickin' to their guns on this.

Update 4/28/10 6:49 a.m.: You're definitely not going to want to miss Scott Schwebke's Std-Ex writeup below, which includes (as an added bonus) dance club owner Laron Zaugg's candid admissions concerning a newly-hatched plot to solicit local neighbors to join in a criminal conspiracy to willfully violate the council's brand new light pollution ordinance:
Spotlight ordinance to stay
Rules are only for the little people, of course. As everyone in Emerald City knows, the law which regulates the behavior of most of us is wholly inapplicable to Friends of Matt.

29 comments:

Dan S. said...

very skeptical:

I'm tempted to adopt your name myself. Are you trying to tell me that Brandon Stephenson voted to override a Godfrey veto? Hell has frozen over.

Great news, though!

very skeptical said...

Dan, Brandon Rubberstamp Stephenson did vote to overide, I was amazed also after all of the him hawing that he did.

And hell has not frozen over for all of those who still believe in global warming.

Laron Zaugg is an a&$hat said...

http://m.standard.net/topics/politics/2010/04/27/spotlight-ordinance-stay


If this fine club owner wants to skirt the law and pollute our community with his very intrusive advertising tool, I can think of several ways to take out a light.

Dan Schroeder said...

So Zaugg intends to enlist other nearby businesses to help him evade the 12-day per parcel limit, eh? What a fine, upstanding citizen he is. Let's hope that his neighboring business owners refuse to go along with his obnoxious scheme. Otherwise, I suppose the city council will have to tighten the ordinance.

Interesting that Zaugg says nobody told him about the ordinance until today.

law breaker not law maker said...

Like I said that laws were only made for the democrats.
And even though it was overridden, the mayor will not obey. so there.

Bob Becker said...

Not a major matter, but a good result none-the-less. Even Stephenson. Whoda thunk it? [Do you suppose now that John McCain has announced he is not, and never claimed to be, a maverick, that Stephenson has decided to go for the title?]

ozboy said...

Does anyone here ever recall an instance where Stephenson has ever ever ever voted against Godfrey on any thing in the years he has been in office?

Is he going to catch holy heck in the next priesthood meeting for this apostasy?

Or has the talk of Jeske running against him in the next election caused him to pause and think outside the Godfrey box for the first time in his dismal tenure?

On the other hand it does seem a shame for him to break such a long and sorry assed record of lackeyism and boot licking.

Biker Babe said...

From the This Makes You Wonder Dept:

Did Mr Zaugg receive advice on how to skirt the ordinance from Godfrey? One can only wonder since the Mayor hisself vowed to disobey the last veto override, so he don't want to go on record as having a habit of such disregard for the laws and rules ...

Makes ya wonder ...

js,
BB

Southsider said...

Interesting that someone who runs a business for teens serves as such a great role model by announcing his plans to circumvent the law.

And then we wonder, what's the matter with kids today!

Ray said...

BB: I had the same thought regarding Hiz Honor advising Mr Zaugg on how to skirt the law. After all we've seen many instances of similar advise over the years (ie: Greiner Hatch Act violations)among others. Small devious minds, act in small devious ways.

blackrulon said...

What is the penalty for failure to obey the spotlight ordinance? Who will enforce non-compliance violations of the ordinance?

sluggo the clown cat said...

"Small devious minds, act in small devious ways."

Perhaps everyone should park their cars, turned towards the mayors house one evening, and turn on the highbeam headlights.

David S said...

This is a wonderful outcome.

The city council acted in the interest of the citizens on an issue of importance, and did so in the absence of action from the administration.

Godfrey vetoed the ordinance, offering a few throw away lines but no substance on the reason for his veto.

The city council overrode the veto, saying in effect, "We thought this was a good idea, and we still do."

It puts Godfrey on notice that he must carry the day in terms of facts and reason, not just because it is what he wants.

And it reminds us that the city council is still thinking and objective, which is great news.

Anonymous 1 said...

sluggo the clown cat,
Great idea you have! I like the idea of lighting the Mayor’s house up! Those halogen construction lights could be used by those who don’t want to be seen, lose their job or harassed by the Code enforcers (at the Mayor’s orders).
If Zaugg is successful in getting other businesses to light the skies, there is also another way to deal with the law breakers – BOYCUT their businesses! Parents of teens who frequent Zaugg’s place, could let their teenagers know what a fine upstanding citizen he is (sarcasm), and suggest that they find other places to spend their time. Just hit these merchants where it hurts – in the profit column of their books.
Zaugg is denser than he looks, if he really didn’t know about the ordinance. My guess is that he also has learned how to lie very effectively from Godfrey.
David S., the Council gave Godfrey the opportunity to say why he vetoed the ordinance last night. Because it is a Council ordinance, it is a dumb, unnecessary, over-regulating ordinance adding more bureaucracy to Ogden City government. Makes you laugh, doesn’t it, when we consider the ordinances which he has had his henchmen asked the Council approve? As Jeske said, “it’s like the pot calling the kettle black.”

Pops said...

As the parent of a teenager, I have a bigger concern regarding the Vault than a business owner who shows pompous and utter disregard for fellow citizens in the community where his business is located and throws out threats to disregard a sensible law regarding use of lights. My concern is this: Mr. Zaugg runs a club that caters to teenagers. He is well over twice the age of all of his young patrons as well as the 19 year old girl he is currently seeing. Do you think this "adult" cares about creating a safe and healthy environment for young people in our community? Is there an age limit imposed for patrons of his club?.

I'm sure as hell not allowing my daughter to frequent the place.

ozboy said...

Pops

The best way to get your daughter, or any teenager, to frequent this joint is to forbid her not to. Now if you started telling her how great the place was, maybe hang there yourself once in awhile, she wouldn't go near the joint.

And what's this stuff about our FOM having a teenage gal pal? How does that tie in with the apparent rancorous divorce that he cites as a reason for trying to sell the building? (see his for sale ad for the building)

Inquiring minds want to know. So do all the rumor mongers amongst us. We just luvs the gory details about adult Godfreyite men and pubescent gorls!

Kevin G. said...

Where is this club again?
Admission is limited to teenagers?
Anyone wanna go hot-tubbin'?
I'll bring the Dom Perignon

ho-hum said...

talk about grasping at straws. so much written about something like this makes me wonder where the priorities are.

cripes! is this all you've got? no wonder its such a wheel spin out there.

Danny said...

Ho-hum is a member of the Godfrey administration, trying to diminish the importance of a unanimous veto override, the importance of which cannot be impugned.

And a suggestion to Laron Zaugg:

When you plan to break the law, don't make a big deal about that fact in the media, as you did. What does telling everyone that you're going to do it get you, other than a harsher sentence?

Sluggo said...

Reminds me of when a child is told that they cant go running around in the street, they go stand in the middle of the street and scream, "Screw you, Dad, I am NOT running around. Nah nee nah nah nah nah."

Oh hell, grow up.

Oh wait, you run a place with rampant "club drug" usage, and have a hands-on approach to hiring and management.

I get it.

Concerned Parent said...

Here's what I want to know. Is "The Vault" a "rave club?" It sure sounds like it is:

About Rave Clubs

As an Ogden parent of three teenagers, I demand to get the answer to this question.

nicely done said...

I call bull on the statement that they don't aim it at the mountains....answer me this...if that is the case, how come it is beaming into Ogden Valley....not just being seen over the Wasatch?....

Do the police ever pop into that place to see how it going?....as they do with other clubs?

Maybe a check of police records on visits there might be in order.....

Elder Wein said...

Does it make it any less creepy if the club owner in question served a mission in the decade before his teenage lovely was born?

Unknown said...

Mr. Zaugg is actually a pretty good guy. He has done a lot for the community. The spotlight suggestion actually came from the Junction. They thought it would help bring people downtown on the weekends. He had absolutely no idea that people had an issue with it. From what I understand his beef is with how they went about the ordinance. He showed up at the meeting and they did not let him speak until after they had voted. He has every right to explore his legal options in the matter. K.C.

Dan Schroeder said...

"The spotlight suggestion actually came from the Junction. They thought it would help bring people downtown on the weekends."

Since The Junction is a city-sponsored project, does this mean that the searchlight suggestion came from the city? Or are you referring specifically to the Salomon Center tenants or Larry Miller theaters or the Sonoran Grill? All of them have been working closely with the city administration so one way or another, you're suggesting that the administration was involved.

"He had absolutely no idea that people had an issue with it."

And my partying, smoking neighbors, immediately outside my open bedroom window last summer, had absolutely no idea that I was trying to sleep and breathe.

"He showed up at the meeting and they did not let him speak until after they had voted."

Gee, that's only happened to me at city council meetings about a dozen times. Look, the ordinance has been under consideration for several months, making its way through the Planning Department and Planning Commission, so I'm highly skeptical that someone as well-connected as Mr. Zaugg knew nothing about it. And even if the administration really did decide to keep him in the dark, you'd at least think he or someone he knew would have seen the article that appeared on this blog last Friday. (Surely he knows that you can't keep informed about Ogden City matters just by reading the Standard-Examiner!)

nicely done said...

Store.....you seem to know alot about Mister Zaugg and his laser beam....

Answer me this....

What's all the good that he's accomplished?

Who at the Junction suggested it?

If the "Junction" thought it would help bring people downtown, why didn't the "Junction" put one up of thier own? The south side 24th and Kiesel isn't really helping the Junction is it?

As far as him not knowing people had issues with it....pull my other finger...

Card Sharp said...

An anonymous person on a popular local blog saying "he is a pretty nice guy" means absolutely squat.
If you are going to attempt a personal reference for a local owner of a drug-soaked petting zoo for teenagers, who is publicly hissy-threatening to attempt to circumvent local ordinances in a petty and quite slap-down'able manner, you need to identify yourself, so that your own character can be weighed with those who you attempt to bolster.

I also know the guy, and think what he really needs is a thorough audit of his books from the last 7 years.

See, that means absolutely nothing.
What he really needs is to grow up, and be a good neighbor, not an excuse-laden high-school skirt troller. K.C.

I'm on Kiesel 2 said...

Store,
You must be using too much of the E that runs rampant through The Vault.
Maybe local enforcement has been told to look the other way but the State and Feds won't.
They will also ask about taxes! (hint,hint)
Please make us privy to all the wonderful things you say Zaugg has done. He's a weirdo. Ask Heather or Roni.

Bob Becker said...

Store:

I was going to post something in re: Mr. Z to the effect that hell, the guy was trying to promote his business, and there was no spotlight ordinance limiting use, so he went ahead. No need to trash the guy for that. The matter's been dealt with in a new ordinance. Cut the guy some slack.

Then I read his comments to Mr. Schwebke, regarding a way to get around the ordinance and vowing, ordinance or not, his spotlight will not go away.

That put paid to the post I was planning.

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