Big Meeting Tonight As The Council Considers 25th Street Building Heights & Another $16 Million in Bonding - UPDATED

Batten down the hatches, folks, as Boss Godfrey spends every single dime he can borrow, and puts the city in hock unto your grand-kids' generation
Update: SE reporter Schwebke graces us with a glimpse of another ungentlemanly Boss Godfrey temper tantrum

To kick the discussion off this morning we'll provide a quick heads-up about tonight's Council/RDA meetings, wherein consideration will be given to approval of the following items, which have been topics of discussion on Weber County Forum over the course of the last several months:

1) Historic 25th Street Building Height Limit Amendment (three options):
a) Adopt Ordinance Option A as recommended by the Planning Commission
b) Adopt Ordinance Option B, which includes the Planning Commission recommendations plus additional language regarding roof top additions
c) Deny the Petition

2) Junction Hotel Project:
a) Facility Bonds of $9 Million—The City will act as conduit for the purpose of hotel construction. The developer is fully responsible for paying back the bonds.
b) Tax Increment Bonds of $2.25 Million—The RDA will issue these bonds, with backing from the City, for hotel construction ($1.5 Million) and public parking ($750,000).
c) Assessment Bonds of $2.25 Million—The City will issue these bonds to construct the public parking.
(The proposed hotel project will cost an estimated $16 Million, with $13 Million being used for the construction of the hotel and $3 Million for a parking structure.)

For those readers who plan to attend tonight's meetings, here's a link to the full Council/RDA Board packet:

• 12/07 City Council Regular Session Packet

Weirdly enough, Ogden City appears hellbent for another massive spending spree, even in a national economic atmosphere in which "the finances of some state and local governments are so distressed that some analysts say they are reminded of the run-up to the subprime mortgage meltdown or of the debt crisis hitting nations in Europe":

• Mounting Debts by States Stoke Fears of Crisis

Batten down the hatches, folks, as Boss Godfrey spends every single dime he can borrow, and puts the city in hock unto your grand-kids' generation.

We'll leave the lights on as usual, for anyone who'd like to comment before, during or after tonight's meetings.

Update 12/8/10 7:30 a.m.: The Standard-Examiner reports on the disposition of the heights limit amendement petition this morning:

• Historic 25th can reach greater heights

Standard-Examiner reporter Scott Schwebke informs us that "the city council unanimously agreed Tuesday night to stretch height limits from 45 feet to 55 feet for new buildings on Historic 25th Street," with a provision "that prohibits existing buildings on 25th Street from being increased in height through rooftop additions or additional stories unless":

• Documentation is presented establishing that additional height is within the limits of the building's historical construction.
• The addition is not visible from the front of the building or from the sidewalk on the same side of the street or across the street.

As an added bonus, Mr. Schwebke graces us with a glimpse of another ungentlemanly public temper tantrum, whereby Godfrey rudely lambasteded one Utah Heritage Foundation historical preservation expert who'd had the audacity to speak in opposition to the height ordinance amendment:

Kirk Huffaker, executive director of Utah Heritage Foundation, said that while the height amendment has some benefits, the city hasn't provided enough hard data to show it would have a significant economic impact on Historic 25th Street.
Mayor Matthew Godfrey described some of Huffaker's comments as ridiculous and derided a suggestion that the city should work more closely with Historic 25th Street businesses to help them prosper. Godfrey said the municipality is already doing that.
"You think we don't do this day in and day out and that we have never done this before?" Godfrey asked Huffaker. "Give me a break."

Hopefully Council Leadership will quickly issue an apology to Mr. Huffaker for our petulant mayor's bad manners.

Unfortunately, Mr. Schwebke provides no word on the City Council's treatment of the Junction Hotel bonding matters.

Update 12/14/10 8:00 a.m.: View the full council video, via the Ogden City website:

• 12/7/10 Council Video