By Dan Schroeder
1. Full Ogden City Council agenda packets are now online!
As we were recently promised, the City Council web site now allows citizens to download not only the bare-bones agendas for upcoming meetings, but also the full “packets” of detailed information that are provided to the council members themselves. Check out the information for this coming Tuesday’s meeting here.
The council’s main agenda item for this Tuesday is the annual Capital Improvement Plan, authorizing expenditures on major new projects and infrastructure. As you review the CIP, remember that most of it is merely an unfunded “wish list”; what matters most is the proposed budget for FY 2011, highlighted in gray on pages 34 through 60 of the agenda packet pdf file.
Some of the CIP items proposed for funding include Urban Riverway Enhancements ($50,500), Downtown Signage and Amenities ($98,950), River Run Neighborhood Park ($533,000), fire station seismic retrofits ($2,227,400), “Critical Project Contingency” ($101,000), various street and sidewalk projects, Lorin Farr Pool Drain Replacement ($139,855), MWC Pool Drain Replacement ($12,250), Tennis Court Resurfacing ($55,400), Downtown Equestrian Trail System ($2,020,000), Ogden City Velodrome ($14,140,000), airport improvements ($310,175), Renovation of Mt. Ogden Golf Course ($505,000), sewer projects ($1,043,000), and water projects ($255,750). The Ice Climbing Tower is also down for $1,500,000, but it appears that the City Council intends to delete that item based on the administration’s admission that it is “no longer a viable project” (pdf page 10).
I highly recommend that readers download the full agenda packet (2 MB), review it carefully, and discuss its details in the comments below.
2. Tour de Drome coordinator contract
Speaking of the Velodrome, I recently obtained from the city a copy of the $5000 contract with Cindy Yorgason for coordinating the recent “Tour de Drome” fundraiser. Most of the information in this contract was previously reported, but it also clarifies that in addition to paying Yorgason’s $5000 fee, the city will reimburse all documented expenses for the event. I hope to follow-up and eventually learn the rest of the financial details about this event and about the Velodrome more generally.
3. Historic Building Scavenger Hunt ends Wednesday!
Meanwhile, I’m about to head out on my bike to try to finish up this year’s Historic Building Scavenger Hunt. If you’d like to participate, you can download a pdf of the brochure here. Using the map and clues for guidance, try to find all 12 of the historic buildings shown in the closely cropped photos. Turn in your completed brochure by Wednesday, May 12, to be eligible for a prize drawing. Everyone who finds even one building is eligible for most of the prizes, but only those who find all 12 are eligible for the grand prize. This annual event is sponsored by our friends at the Ogden City Landmarks Commission and the Weber County Heritage Foundation. You can pick up a paper copy of the brochure during business hours in the Planning Department on the ground floor of the Municipal Building.
