By Smaatguy
What started out as an $800k project is now $2 mil. Interesting... money falling from helicopters in the sky... Makes ya think Ben Bernankster was in town.
Showing posts with label Business Depot Ogden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business Depot Ogden. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Standard-Examiner: Ogden Council Resolves to Give $100,000 to Mobile App Lab
Money falling from helicopters in the sky?
By Smaatguy
According to this morning's Standard-Examiner, it looks like the Ogden App Lab is getting another $100k, from Busness Depot Ogden (BDO) retained earnings:
What started out as an $800k project is now $2 mil. Interesting... money falling from helicopters in the sky... Makes ya think Ben Bernankster was in town.
By Smaatguy
What started out as an $800k project is now $2 mil. Interesting... money falling from helicopters in the sky... Makes ya think Ben Bernankster was in town.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Standard-Examiner: Two Companies Expand in N. Utah
Good news for the Ogden economy and something to cheer about... or something else?
Red meat political news is again in desperately short supply this morning, so we'll turn to the trusty WCF back burner to scrape up a SE story/puff piece which didn't quite make the cut over the weekend:
Friday's Standard-Examiner breathlessly announced that the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) has successfully "greased the skids" with sufficient taxpayerpayoffs incentives to motivate the imminent arrival of two new businesses to Northern Utah, one of which will be an 80,000-square-foot HomeDepot.Com "online customer service center in Business Depot Ogden that will employ 691 workers":
We dunno about the rest of ya's, but Boss Godfrey's certainly crowing about landing the Home Depot phone bank gig:
Red meat political news is again in desperately short supply this morning, so we'll turn to the trusty WCF back burner to scrape up a SE story/puff piece which didn't quite make the cut over the weekend:
Friday's Standard-Examiner breathlessly announced that the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) has successfully "greased the skids" with sufficient taxpayer
We dunno about the rest of ya's, but Boss Godfrey's certainly crowing about landing the Home Depot phone bank gig:
Mayor Matthew Godfrey said the recruitment of The Home Depot is a major economic development accomplishment for Ogden.So what about it O Gentle Ones? Good news for the Ogden economy and something to cheer about? Or just more crappy, Godfrey-style, lo-pay call center jobs?
"We couldn't have been more impressed with The Home Depot team and are thrilled they selected Ogden," Godfrey said in a prepared statement. "We are confident our work force will exceed their expectations and help them achieve the success for which they are renowned. It's been a pleasure working with them, and we look forward to a very long-term relationship."
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Standard-Examiner: Hearing on BDO Lease Funds Extended
You're all invited to examine Boss Godfrey's proposed $1 Million Wish List, and offer your own takes on which items are (or are not) legit
At the suggestion of one of our gentle readers, we'll put the spotlight on the following back-burner Standard-Examiner news item, which is probably deserving of at least some Weber County Forum reader discussion.
Scott Schwebke sets forth the essential facts in his opening paragraphs, wherein he describes the full panoply of expenditures which would be funded by the diversion of a cool $ 1 mil of BDO lease revenues into the administration's hot little hands:
For a (slightly) more detailed description of the Administration's request to expend a cool million bucks toward Boss Godfrey's most recent wish list, check out last Tuesday's full September 27, 2011 Council Packet:
We've given Godfrey's list a quick once over, and we'll volunteer that what we're seeing is a full declension of proposed expenditures, running from those which would be designated for obviously legitimate public use items such as "sidewalks, curb and gutter, and water utility improvements," to some highly questionable public funds expenditures, such as "refurbish[ing] or reus[ing] existing homes that are in poor condition or, in some cases, build[ing] new dwellings on lots." So with respect to the range of the proposed expenditures (vaguely) included in the Administration's request, we'll ask out gentle readers to chime in below, to offer their own opinions as to which items on Boss Godfrey's list are legit... and which are not.
We had the opportunity to speak with Council woman Amy Wicks this morning by the way, to inquire about why the Council put this matter over for later action. Frankly, we'd already reviewed the above council packet over the weekend, and had fully expected the current council, which pretty much bends to the will of the Godfrey administration when it arrives at the council door looking for a handout, to robotically give this proposal the usual "rubber stamp." To our great delight, Ms. Wicks informed us this morning that the council was uncomfortable with the vague language of the administration request, had suffered some heartburn about the concept of doling out $1 Million in taxpayer dough to the Little Lord with virtually no strings attached, and therefore unanimously decided to continue the matter for further public hearing to November 1, 2011, and in the interim, to set the council staff to work formulating a full set of firm and specific guidelines, defining how these funds would be administered by the spendthrift Godfrey Administration, (if they are to be so administered at all).
That folks, is a suddenly conscientious City Council firing on all cylinders, wethinks. Frankly we didn't know they had it in 'em.
So in closing, you're all invited to examine Boss Godfrey's proposed wish list, and offer your own takes on which items are (or are not) legit.
Have at it, O Gentle Ones.
At the suggestion of one of our gentle readers, we'll put the spotlight on the following back-burner Standard-Examiner news item, which is probably deserving of at least some Weber County Forum reader discussion.
Scott Schwebke sets forth the essential facts in his opening paragraphs, wherein he describes the full panoply of expenditures which would be funded by the diversion of a cool $ 1 mil of BDO lease revenues into the administration's hot little hands:
OGDEN -- The city council decided Tuesday night to continue until Nov. 1 a public hearing on a request from the administration to use about $1 million in Business Depot Ogden lease revenues to help revitalize east central neighborhoods.Read Tuesday's full Standard-Examiner story here:
The continuance is needed to allow the city council more time to study the request, said Bill Cook, the council's executive director.
Specifically, the administration is requesting $550,000 for its infill housing program, which would refurbish or reuse existing homes that are in poor condition or, in some cases, build new dwellings on lots.
The administration also wants $250,000 for its unit- reduction program, which aims to reduce or eliminate rental units in single-family homes to stabilize neighborhoods.
In addition, the administration is seeking $287,000 in BDO lease revenue for infrastructure improvements in east central Ogden, including new sidewalks, curb and gutter, and water utility improvements.
For a (slightly) more detailed description of the Administration's request to expend a cool million bucks toward Boss Godfrey's most recent wish list, check out last Tuesday's full September 27, 2011 Council Packet:
We've given Godfrey's list a quick once over, and we'll volunteer that what we're seeing is a full declension of proposed expenditures, running from those which would be designated for obviously legitimate public use items such as "sidewalks, curb and gutter, and water utility improvements," to some highly questionable public funds expenditures, such as "refurbish[ing] or reus[ing] existing homes that are in poor condition or, in some cases, build[ing] new dwellings on lots." So with respect to the range of the proposed expenditures (vaguely) included in the Administration's request, we'll ask out gentle readers to chime in below, to offer their own opinions as to which items on Boss Godfrey's list are legit... and which are not.
We had the opportunity to speak with Council woman Amy Wicks this morning by the way, to inquire about why the Council put this matter over for later action. Frankly, we'd already reviewed the above council packet over the weekend, and had fully expected the current council, which pretty much bends to the will of the Godfrey administration when it arrives at the council door looking for a handout, to robotically give this proposal the usual "rubber stamp." To our great delight, Ms. Wicks informed us this morning that the council was uncomfortable with the vague language of the administration request, had suffered some heartburn about the concept of doling out $1 Million in taxpayer dough to the Little Lord with virtually no strings attached, and therefore unanimously decided to continue the matter for further public hearing to November 1, 2011, and in the interim, to set the council staff to work formulating a full set of firm and specific guidelines, defining how these funds would be administered by the spendthrift Godfrey Administration, (if they are to be so administered at all).
That folks, is a suddenly conscientious City Council firing on all cylinders, wethinks. Frankly we didn't know they had it in 'em.
So in closing, you're all invited to examine Boss Godfrey's proposed wish list, and offer your own takes on which items are (or are not) legit.
Have at it, O Gentle Ones.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Ogden City Council/RDA Meeting Heads-up
Remember... the world wide blogosphere is sitting on the edge of its seat, waiting to find out what our gentle WCF readers think
In accordance with our regular practice of providing advance notice of pending Council/RDA Board agenda items, we'll provide a heads up concerning several items of interest coming up for tomorrow night's Council/RDA meetings:
1) BDO Bond refinancing. According to tomorrow night's council packets, the Administration will be delivering reports at both a Special RDA Meeting and the regular Council Meeting, concerning an Administration-proposed refinancing of Business Depot Ogden (BDO) bonding. For your convenience, we'll display both council information packets here:
At first glance, the Administration's proposal seems innocuous enough. Although the principal loan balance will increase to around $6,150,000 from the current $5.79 mil after the refi, with interest reductions the whole deal is projected to save the taxpayers around $120 thousand.
So what about it gentle readers? Is this a good deal for the taxpayers... or are we missin' somethin'?
2) Capital Improvement Rules Revamp. Among other things, the Administration proposes to raise the threshold for discretionary Administration capital expenditures from the current $10,000 to $30,000 before the administration is required to go to the City Council for permission to spend additional taxpayer dough. Another troubling feature of the Administration proposal... the establishment of an array of "slush funds," a frightening proposition, given the Little Lord's well demonstrated "spending propensities," we believe. How about it gentle readers? We invite you to read the applicable City Council packet, and tell us what you think about this:
3) Non Discrimination Ordinance. In the wake of last month's chirpy announcement that Boss Godfrey was finally onboard with Ogden City's long-awaited anti-discrimination ordinance, it seems that the Administration has now thrown a wrench into the works. As set forth in the Council Work Session Packet (linked directly above), the Administration has now suggested amended language to the still in-the-works ordinance, which would create a legal loophole for "moral or religious" objections.
Rather than go through he whole rigmarole, we'll link to this gay activist website, which forcefully (even if not elegantly) explains the main issue which now seems to be on the table:
Here's the suspect language in Boss Godfrey's newly-proposed ordinance text:
We do hope our City Council is careful with this. Boss Godfrey's newly proposed ordinance "exception," would render the new ordinance entirely unenforceable as practical matter, wethinks. It would be a real shame to see a council which has been working on an ordinance for almost a year, to ultimately enact one with no teeth.
Please don't hesitate to chime in on any of the subjects relating to tomorrow night's Council RDA meetings.
Remember... the world wide blogosphere is sitting on the edge of its seat, waiting to find out what our gentle WCF readers think.
In accordance with our regular practice of providing advance notice of pending Council/RDA Board agenda items, we'll provide a heads up concerning several items of interest coming up for tomorrow night's Council/RDA meetings:
1) BDO Bond refinancing. According to tomorrow night's council packets, the Administration will be delivering reports at both a Special RDA Meeting and the regular Council Meeting, concerning an Administration-proposed refinancing of Business Depot Ogden (BDO) bonding. For your convenience, we'll display both council information packets here:
At first glance, the Administration's proposal seems innocuous enough. Although the principal loan balance will increase to around $6,150,000 from the current $5.79 mil after the refi, with interest reductions the whole deal is projected to save the taxpayers around $120 thousand.
So what about it gentle readers? Is this a good deal for the taxpayers... or are we missin' somethin'?
2) Capital Improvement Rules Revamp. Among other things, the Administration proposes to raise the threshold for discretionary Administration capital expenditures from the current $10,000 to $30,000 before the administration is required to go to the City Council for permission to spend additional taxpayer dough. Another troubling feature of the Administration proposal... the establishment of an array of "slush funds," a frightening proposition, given the Little Lord's well demonstrated "spending propensities," we believe. How about it gentle readers? We invite you to read the applicable City Council packet, and tell us what you think about this:
3) Non Discrimination Ordinance. In the wake of last month's chirpy announcement that Boss Godfrey was finally onboard with Ogden City's long-awaited anti-discrimination ordinance, it seems that the Administration has now thrown a wrench into the works. As set forth in the Council Work Session Packet (linked directly above), the Administration has now suggested amended language to the still in-the-works ordinance, which would create a legal loophole for "moral or religious" objections.
Rather than go through he whole rigmarole, we'll link to this gay activist website, which forcefully (even if not elegantly) explains the main issue which now seems to be on the table:
Here's the suspect language in Boss Godfrey's newly-proposed ordinance text:
This chapter shall not be construed to limit or prohibit the expression of a person’s moral or religious beliefs, opinions or views. Evidence of a person’s moral or religious beliefs, opinions or views, or expression thereof, shall be inadmissible to prove violation of this chapter.At risk of seeming overly long-winded, here's our additional take on this new wrinkle in the anti-discriminitation ordinance story. The above carefully-crafted language would unfairly prevent a complainant from offering evidence of moral or religious bigotry to prove discrimination under that ordinance; yet there's nothing in the proposed language to prevent an accused respondent from offering the same evidence to prove any act of discrimination does not fall within the ordinance. That's our interpretation, in any event. In legal parlance, the ordinance as proposed, would allow the respondent to use the ordinance "as a shield," while a complainant would be prevented from citing an incidence of moral or religious discrimination "as a sword."
We do hope our City Council is careful with this. Boss Godfrey's newly proposed ordinance "exception," would render the new ordinance entirely unenforceable as practical matter, wethinks. It would be a real shame to see a council which has been working on an ordinance for almost a year, to ultimately enact one with no teeth.
Please don't hesitate to chime in on any of the subjects relating to tomorrow night's Council RDA meetings.
Remember... the world wide blogosphere is sitting on the edge of its seat, waiting to find out what our gentle WCF readers think.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Standard-Examiner: Ogden Wants to Extend BDO Projects
A vote by the Taxing Entity Committee to approve the BDO RDA extension would constitute a flagrant breach of the fiduciary duties owed by committee members to the taxpayers of Weber County
In Thurday's Weber County Forum writeup and analysis, Dan Schroeder reported that the proposed extension of a then unspecified redevelopment area "would divert property tax revenue from the various taxing entities to the field house project" and that the an extension of such an RDA area "would presumably require a vote of the Taxing Entity Committee, whose members represent several of the larger taxing entities."
Today's Standard-Examiner story now identifies the particular RDA area which would be subject to Boss Godfrey's knuckle-headed financing scheme and reports that $15 million would come from a 5-year extension of tax increment collection from Business Depot Ogden (BDO) beyond its scheduled expiration in 2019:
BDO tax income is about as reliable a source of tax revenue as any taxing entity could hope for; and in our view these taxing entities would have to have rocks in their heads to give up five years of reliable tax revenue and go along with Boss Godfrey's BDO-based RDA extension scheme. In our never humble opinion, the approval of a five-year extension of the BDO area RDA would not serve the best interests of these taxing entities; and a vote by the Taxing Entity Committee to approve such an extension would constitute a flagrant breach of the fiduciary duties owed by individual committee members to the taxpayers of Weber County.
Although Ogden City Community and Economic Development Director Richard McConkie suggests that the $15 million in lost tax revenue "could ultimately be offset and surpassed by taxes generated by downtown development sparked by the field house," it's not the role of tax entity committee members to gamble with taxpayer money on "iffy projects."
That's our opinion and we're stickin' with it.
And what say our gentle readers about all this?
In Thurday's Weber County Forum writeup and analysis, Dan Schroeder reported that the proposed extension of a then unspecified redevelopment area "would divert property tax revenue from the various taxing entities to the field house project" and that the an extension of such an RDA area "would presumably require a vote of the Taxing Entity Committee, whose members represent several of the larger taxing entities."
Today's Standard-Examiner story now identifies the particular RDA area which would be subject to Boss Godfrey's knuckle-headed financing scheme and reports that $15 million would come from a 5-year extension of tax increment collection from Business Depot Ogden (BDO) beyond its scheduled expiration in 2019:
BDO tax income is about as reliable a source of tax revenue as any taxing entity could hope for; and in our view these taxing entities would have to have rocks in their heads to give up five years of reliable tax revenue and go along with Boss Godfrey's BDO-based RDA extension scheme. In our never humble opinion, the approval of a five-year extension of the BDO area RDA would not serve the best interests of these taxing entities; and a vote by the Taxing Entity Committee to approve such an extension would constitute a flagrant breach of the fiduciary duties owed by individual committee members to the taxpayers of Weber County.
Although Ogden City Community and Economic Development Director Richard McConkie suggests that the $15 million in lost tax revenue "could ultimately be offset and surpassed by taxes generated by downtown development sparked by the field house," it's not the role of tax entity committee members to gamble with taxpayer money on "iffy projects."
That's our opinion and we're stickin' with it.
And what say our gentle readers about all this?
Monday, September 06, 2010
Rubber-Tire Trolleys, Downtown Business Loans, and Leshemville Demolition
Heads-up on this Tuesday’s City Council agenda
By Dan Schroeder
Update 9/8/10 8:00 a.m.: Both the Standard-Examiner and the Salt Lake Tribune report that the Council has allocated $545,000 in Business Depot Ogden lease revenues to demolish the derelict Leshemville residential structures, and that further "burns" are off the table:
By Dan Schroeder
The Ogden City Council agenda packet for this Tuesday, September 7, contains some items that are sure to interest Weber County Forum readers:
1. Allocation of the $175,400 that WACOG granted the city last month to operate a rubber-tire trolley system circulating around downtown Ogden.
Officially this project is a “study”, to assess the feasibility of someday building a genuine streetcar along the same circulating route. The cost of such a system would be in the tens of millions of dollars, so it would compete for funding with the far more important transit line between downtown and WSU. The $175,400 grant comes from the 1/4-cent sales tax fund that we approved three years ago for “regionally significant” transportation projects. Because the downtown circulator is not a regionally significant project, it was actually illegal for the Weber Area Council of Governments to grant the funds for this purpose. It did so, in part, because the Wasatch Front Regional Council wrote a letter last April blessing the circulator project, and even calling it a “portion” of the WSU line. Anyone who doubts that Mayor Godfrey has political clout should consider how he coerced WFRC into telling this outrageous lie and thus got the money he wanted out of WACOG.
Now that the money has been handed to Ogden City, of course, it would be foolish for the council not to approve spending it. But it would be equally foolish for the council to hand it to the mayor with no strings attached, as they’re apparently about to do. At this time neither the city nor WFRC has any written protocol for how this “study” is to be conducted, or even a list of specific questions that the study is supposed to answer. We can be sure that under these circumstances, the mayor will declare the study a “success” no matter what the outcome. To make matters worse, the administration intends to outsource the vehicles’ operation to Downtown Ogden Inc., a nonprofit organization that is wholly controlled by the mayor but immune from public records requests.
2. Creation of a new Tenant Improvement Loan Program for downtown retail businesses, and allocation of $315,000 of BDO revenue to this program.
The high vacancy rates for retail space at The Junction and along Washington Blvd. are a continuing embarrassment for the city in general and for Mayor Godfrey in particular. This latest attempted remedy would provide incentives in the form of loans to tenants for finishing or improving the interior of retail spaces. Such a program sounds reasonable, though I question whether the administration can be trusted to award the loans fairly.
I also have a more immediate concern: Why is the loan program being created through a resolution, rather than by ordinance? Whereas an ordinance carries the weight of law, a city council resolution is merely an expression of opinion, with no teeth. Thus, if the loan program is created as currently planned, the administration would apparently be free to change the terms and conditions of the program at any time.
Of course, the houses need to be torn down. But I seriously doubt that Mr. Leshem or his associates will ever reimburse the city for this expense, so we should chalk this up as yet another subsidy for this black hole of a project (over $7 million spent so far, and counting).
The good news is that the city council has put a restriction into the proposed ordinance, allowing no more than $25,000 of the funds to be used to clean up sites where the homes were intentionally burned. But it’s not at all clear that this restriction is sufficient. The administration could still use additional money to prepare houses for incineration, by removing the asbestos and so on. If the council wishes to stop the city from burning more of the houses, it should stipulate that no funds be used on sites of intentional burns, other than the two that have been burned already.
In summary, this city council meeting will be an important one—and there are plenty of reasons to lobby the council to improve these proposed measures before passing them.
To see the full city council agenda packet (10.7 MB), click here.
For an abridged version of the agenda packet, including all the items discussed in this article (2.4 MB), click here.
Update 9/8/10 8:00 a.m.: Both the Standard-Examiner and the Salt Lake Tribune report that the Council has allocated $545,000 in Business Depot Ogden lease revenues to demolish the derelict Leshemville residential structures, and that further "burns" are off the table:
• Ogden won't burn other vacant homesUnfortunately, there's no word on the Council's treatment of either the $175,400 WACOG grant or the proposed $315,000 Tenant Improvement Loan Program. Perhaps one of our readers who attended last night's meeting can help us out with these latter two issues.
• Ogden mayor: Halt plan to torch vacant homes
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Standard-Examiner: Business Depot Ogden Revenue is Fuel for Godfrey's Schemes Dreams
It'll be quite interesting to compare Boss Godfrey's priorities with those of the Council on Tuesday night
Notable story on the Standard-Examiner front page this morning enumerating the various projects included in Boss Godfrey's 2011 capital improvements"wish list":
"Godfrey estimates there will be $777,985 in carry-over BDO lease revenue from fiscal 2010 and $2.8 million in new funds for fiscal 2011," but despite these optimistic revenue predictions, Ogden CAO John Arrington concedes that "[h]e (Godfrey) knows it and I know it that we can't pay for everything on that list." Godfrey further admits "[t]here is no way we can get all of the projects done in 12 months,"
Notably, Mr. Schwebke emphasizes that there's one large and persistent fly in the ointment. Once again in 2011, a large chunk of BDO "cash cow" lease revenue, (about $600,000 in 2011), "is expected to go for bond debt service at The Junction." Remember folks, in the upcoming year, just as in all years since the construction of The Junction, (the project which Boss Godfrey promised would "pay for itself," and "never put the taxpayers on the hook,") another large wad of BDO revenue will once again be swirling down the Junction Money Pit drain. It's one hell of an expensive monkey Boss Godfrey placed on the taxpayers' back, indeed. This should serve as a reminder to the Council to do avoid taking Godfrey's word for anything... and above all... to do their own due diligence.
Mr. Schwebke reports that "[t]he council will hold a public hearing Tuesday to consider amending its Capital Improvement Plan for some of the projects proposed by Godfrey, including full funding for home demolition in the river project."
Here's the full packet for Tuesday's Council meeting, where you'll find a $3,321,379 Capitol Improvement Budget Opening as item 8 on the agenda:
And what thinks you, O Gentle Ones?
Notable story on the Standard-Examiner front page this morning enumerating the various projects included in Boss Godfrey's 2011 capital improvements"wish list":
• Business Depot Ogden revenue is fuel for Godfrey's dreamsHelpfully, the SE provides this graphic, which reels off these projects in convenient table form:
"Godfrey estimates there will be $777,985 in carry-over BDO lease revenue from fiscal 2010 and $2.8 million in new funds for fiscal 2011," but despite these optimistic revenue predictions, Ogden CAO John Arrington concedes that "[h]e (Godfrey) knows it and I know it that we can't pay for everything on that list." Godfrey further admits "[t]here is no way we can get all of the projects done in 12 months,"Notably, Mr. Schwebke emphasizes that there's one large and persistent fly in the ointment. Once again in 2011, a large chunk of BDO "cash cow" lease revenue, (about $600,000 in 2011), "is expected to go for bond debt service at The Junction." Remember folks, in the upcoming year, just as in all years since the construction of The Junction, (the project which Boss Godfrey promised would "pay for itself," and "never put the taxpayers on the hook,") another large wad of BDO revenue will once again be swirling down the Junction Money Pit drain. It's one hell of an expensive monkey Boss Godfrey placed on the taxpayers' back, indeed. This should serve as a reminder to the Council to do avoid taking Godfrey's word for anything... and above all... to do their own due diligence.
Mr. Schwebke reports that "[t]he council will hold a public hearing Tuesday to consider amending its Capital Improvement Plan for some of the projects proposed by Godfrey, including full funding for home demolition in the river project."
Here's the full packet for Tuesday's Council meeting, where you'll find a $3,321,379 Capitol Improvement Budget Opening as item 8 on the agenda:
• City Council Packet - Regular Session (8.9 MB PDF)It'll be quite interesting to compare Boss Godfrey's priorities with those of the Council on Tuesday night, wethinks.
And what thinks you, O Gentle Ones?
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Retort to This Morning's Standard Examiner Editorial
Our home town newspaper's chirpy optimism spills over into babbitry and boosterism
By Curmudgeon
The Sunday Standard Examiner's lead editorial this morning lauds Ogden's "upbeat local economy." It speaks of new businesses spawned and fledged at the Business Depot Ogden now moving out to expanded quarters and business. It speaks of other Top of Utah businesses doing well... ATK, Alliant Technologies, etc... and it even pats itself on the back for being one of the few dailies in its size category not downsizing and losing circulation.
And then this:
However, in order to be credible in its praise of the local economy, and the Mayor's role in it, the Std-Ex needs also to recognize some of the problems created by the "local leadership" and the questionable [to say the least] calls it has made. Dividing the city for years and sinking tens of thousands of public money into promoting his personal [and foolish] flatland gondola obsession is but one example. Campaigning to sell the city's largest park to a real estate developer to pay for the flatland gondola is another. There are more, mostly involving the debt the city has taken on under his leadership, and the consequences of that debt if major elements of the development the mayor has sold to the Council and the citizens don't pan out as hoped, and if city tax revenues continue to shrink in the deepening recession.
Was down at Sonora Grill yesterday [it's arrival at The Junction was a good thing for Ogden, as was the arrival of Iggy's Sports Bar at the same location], and noticed a realtor's banner on the unfinished Earnshaw Building at The Junction, which was to be the first of several condo developments coming on line. The banner said simply "Available." I did some checking and found Kristin Moulton's article in the SL Trib dated June 22 this year, reporting that: "Unfortunately, lease revenue from the rest of the mall has fallen short, he said. On Tuesday, the City Council will be asked to tap into the flush coffers of Business Depot Ogden to help cover $819,000 more of The Junction's debt payments. Already, the city was using $750,000 in BDO funds to pay mall debt this year. Arrington said some of the shortfall was in property-tax revenue since development of Phase 1 has been slow. "
Ms. Moulton also reported in the article that "The first owners of condos in the tallest building - the six-story Earnshaw Building - should be able to move in later in the summer, according to developer David Earnshaw."
Here it is, mid-November, and the building is not finished and is not occupied so far as I could see. Ms. Moulton also spoke to the owners of the groundfloor retail space in the Earnshaw Building:
And the Well's Fargo office block at the Southeaat corner of The Junction is not yet fully leased, after being open for the better part of a year. That's the building the Mayor asked the city council to add another floor to, at the city's entire risk for construction and leasing, because the Mayor thought Ogden lacked sufficient good office space. [By a one vote margin, the Council spared the city that continuing drain on its coffers.] One thought to be signed restaurant for The Junction has pulled out.
So there seem to me to be reasons for some concern that ought to temper the Editorial Board's optimism and confidence in the business judgment of the current administration, and reasons to question the Std-Ex's certainty that we have "the system in place" to handle increasing economic adversity. What "system" would that be, I wonder? Congratulatory editorials are fine, as are editorials expressing confidence in the city's economic future. But such editorials, if they are to be credible, must also take into account the evidence on the other side, so that they reach in the end... and take their readers along on the trip... reasonable and balanced conclusions. When an Editorial Board looks only at the upside, and ignores the downside, when it looks only at successes and ignores failures, or when it cavalierly counts not-yet-proven-projects as successes already achieved, then it risks slipping over from exercising sound editorial judgment into Babbitry and Boosterism. We have a Chamber of Commerce infatuated with flatland gondolas for that. We expect... and Ogden needs... better than that from the Standard Examiner editorial board. We're not getting it.
By Curmudgeon
The Sunday Standard Examiner's lead editorial this morning lauds Ogden's "upbeat local economy." It speaks of new businesses spawned and fledged at the Business Depot Ogden now moving out to expanded quarters and business. It speaks of other Top of Utah businesses doing well... ATK, Alliant Technologies, etc... and it even pats itself on the back for being one of the few dailies in its size category not downsizing and losing circulation.
And then this:
The Economist, a respected British magazine, recently did an article on why Utah's economy is soaring above its neighbors in the West.... The article also cites local and state leadership as a plus, singling out Gov. Jon Huntsman and Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey for their corporate recruiting skills. "Ogden, until recently a decaying railway town north of Salt Lake City, has quietly become the world centre of winter sports equipment," the article states. "Mike Dowse, who oversees brands such as Atomic and Salomon for Amer Sports, gives three reasons: 'the mountains, the mayor and the money.'" While we understand recent developments, including the announcement of budget cuts by Godfrey, indicate that Top of Utah isn't immune to the economic turmoil affecting the rest of the country. However, how well the state has been weathering the storm so far is reassuring. If things do get worse before they get better, we have the system in place to best handle the challenge.Let's clear away this first: Mayor Godfrey's effort to attract outdoors-oriented companies to Ogden, and to try to rebrand Ogden as an outdoor tourist destination were both good ideas, and have had some good results for the city, and he deserves credit for that. And I've no problem with the Std-Ex providing the occasional and deserved pat on the back to Hizzonah.
However, in order to be credible in its praise of the local economy, and the Mayor's role in it, the Std-Ex needs also to recognize some of the problems created by the "local leadership" and the questionable [to say the least] calls it has made. Dividing the city for years and sinking tens of thousands of public money into promoting his personal [and foolish] flatland gondola obsession is but one example. Campaigning to sell the city's largest park to a real estate developer to pay for the flatland gondola is another. There are more, mostly involving the debt the city has taken on under his leadership, and the consequences of that debt if major elements of the development the mayor has sold to the Council and the citizens don't pan out as hoped, and if city tax revenues continue to shrink in the deepening recession.
Was down at Sonora Grill yesterday [it's arrival at The Junction was a good thing for Ogden, as was the arrival of Iggy's Sports Bar at the same location], and noticed a realtor's banner on the unfinished Earnshaw Building at The Junction, which was to be the first of several condo developments coming on line. The banner said simply "Available." I did some checking and found Kristin Moulton's article in the SL Trib dated June 22 this year, reporting that: "Unfortunately, lease revenue from the rest of the mall has fallen short, he said. On Tuesday, the City Council will be asked to tap into the flush coffers of Business Depot Ogden to help cover $819,000 more of The Junction's debt payments. Already, the city was using $750,000 in BDO funds to pay mall debt this year. Arrington said some of the shortfall was in property-tax revenue since development of Phase 1 has been slow. "
Ms. Moulton also reported in the article that "The first owners of condos in the tallest building - the six-story Earnshaw Building - should be able to move in later in the summer, according to developer David Earnshaw."
Here it is, mid-November, and the building is not finished and is not occupied so far as I could see. Ms. Moulton also spoke to the owners of the groundfloor retail space in the Earnshaw Building:
"The largest retail space in The Junction, the ground floor of the Earnshaw building, has not yet been leased. But Dan Musgrave, who bought the space with two other Ogden investors, Bill Hancock and Gordon James, said he expects to have it leased in 90 days. The partners are talking to health-food stores, day spas, doctors and restaurants, he said. When he bought the property, Earnshaw said he wanted to attract a grocery store.The partners are talking to health-food stores, day spas, doctors and restaurants, he said. When he bought the property, Earnshaw said he wanted to attract a grocery store."Yet as of October 25th, the ground floor, all 18K square feet of it, was being listed for sale [not leasing] on LoopNet [which lists commercial properties for sale].
And the Well's Fargo office block at the Southeaat corner of The Junction is not yet fully leased, after being open for the better part of a year. That's the building the Mayor asked the city council to add another floor to, at the city's entire risk for construction and leasing, because the Mayor thought Ogden lacked sufficient good office space. [By a one vote margin, the Council spared the city that continuing drain on its coffers.] One thought to be signed restaurant for The Junction has pulled out.
So there seem to me to be reasons for some concern that ought to temper the Editorial Board's optimism and confidence in the business judgment of the current administration, and reasons to question the Std-Ex's certainty that we have "the system in place" to handle increasing economic adversity. What "system" would that be, I wonder? Congratulatory editorials are fine, as are editorials expressing confidence in the city's economic future. But such editorials, if they are to be credible, must also take into account the evidence on the other side, so that they reach in the end... and take their readers along on the trip... reasonable and balanced conclusions. When an Editorial Board looks only at the upside, and ignores the downside, when it looks only at successes and ignores failures, or when it cavalierly counts not-yet-proven-projects as successes already achieved, then it risks slipping over from exercising sound editorial judgment into Babbitry and Boosterism. We have a Chamber of Commerce infatuated with flatland gondolas for that. We expect... and Ogden needs... better than that from the Standard Examiner editorial board. We're not getting it.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Economic News That's Truly Sweet
Economics lessons to be learned by hangin' out with grownups
Great economic news for Emerald City in this morning's Standard-Examiner, with this morning's announcement of a new addition the our city's business community. And no, it's not another ski company, with a skeleton crew of ski apparel salesmen operating from the attic of Bernard Allen's law office, or a fly-by-night airplane maker, doomed to liquidation in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. This company is solid, with 104 years' international business experience. It's even publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. We'll let the Std-Ex's Marshall Thompson give you the gist of it, with a few of today's key paragraphs:
We'd like to heartily congratulate Governor Huntsman and Boss Godfrey for landing this trophy economic fish. We've looked at the charts, and won't expect to see Hershey locking out its employees and customers late some snowy Sunday night, and popping up in Bankruptcy Court on Monday morning.
We believe that it's sound companies like Hershey that we need to attract, if we seek Emerald City's true economic revival. Perhaps Boss Godfrey should think about devoting more time to doing his recruiting at big-league trade conventions, and forget the Vegas ski trade show altogether. Lord Godfrey would probably amaze himself at what he could accomplish, if he were inclined to associate with grownups.
And for those who are scratching their heads wondering how Hershey fits into Boss Godfrey's "High Adventure Recreation" theme, we'll remind you that chocolate is a product made from a vegetable, and is thus a health food product. As a matter of fact, one of Hershey's early advertising slogans capitalized on this aspect with the catchy phrase: "a palatable confection and a most nourishing food.” And no, we are not making this up.
Who knows? If Godfrey keeps this up, we may form a Boss Godfrey Fan Club. Stranger things have been known to happen.
And what say our readers about all this?
Great economic news for Emerald City in this morning's Standard-Examiner, with this morning's announcement of a new addition the our city's business community. And no, it's not another ski company, with a skeleton crew of ski apparel salesmen operating from the attic of Bernard Allen's law office, or a fly-by-night airplane maker, doomed to liquidation in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. This company is solid, with 104 years' international business experience. It's even publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. We'll let the Std-Ex's Marshall Thompson give you the gist of it, with a few of today's key paragraphs:
OGDEN — The Hershey Company, which manufactures some of America’s favorite chocolate treats, accepted Utah’s economic incentive Thursday to set up a distribution center at the Business Depot Ogden.Strangely... nary a word about gondolas -- oh my!
The incentive plan, which the Governor’s Office of Economic Development approved in October, gives Hershey $2.6 million over 10 years to operate a $38 million distribution hub out of Ogden. The GOED expects the center to employ 123 workers and generate $13 million in new revenue for the state in the next 10 years.
“Our productive work force, superior location and transportation infrastructure, along with an unparalleled quality of life, will continue to keep Utah in the forefront as one of America’s best states for business,” Gov. Jon Huntsman said in a news release. “Hershey will be a great addition to the growing and vibrant Ogden community.” [...]
“They plan to break ground in early March,” said Dave Harmer, Ogden’s community and economic development director. “Their target completion date is in October or sometime in the fall.”
Harmer added that many businesses are attracted to BDO because of its easy access to an interstate highway and rail service.
We'd like to heartily congratulate Governor Huntsman and Boss Godfrey for landing this trophy economic fish. We've looked at the charts, and won't expect to see Hershey locking out its employees and customers late some snowy Sunday night, and popping up in Bankruptcy Court on Monday morning.
We believe that it's sound companies like Hershey that we need to attract, if we seek Emerald City's true economic revival. Perhaps Boss Godfrey should think about devoting more time to doing his recruiting at big-league trade conventions, and forget the Vegas ski trade show altogether. Lord Godfrey would probably amaze himself at what he could accomplish, if he were inclined to associate with grownups.
And for those who are scratching their heads wondering how Hershey fits into Boss Godfrey's "High Adventure Recreation" theme, we'll remind you that chocolate is a product made from a vegetable, and is thus a health food product. As a matter of fact, one of Hershey's early advertising slogans capitalized on this aspect with the catchy phrase: "a palatable confection and a most nourishing food.” And no, we are not making this up.
Who knows? If Godfrey keeps this up, we may form a Boss Godfrey Fan Club. Stranger things have been known to happen.
And what say our readers about all this?
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Ogden Ink in Today's Std-Ex
By Curmudgeon
Some interesting Ogden ink in today's Standard-Examiner. First, a nearly full page color ad here touting the downtown Farmer's Market [where hopefully more farmers and more produce will begin appearing; the SL Farmers Market is awash in fresh produce and farmers there told me their crops came in early this season]. And highlighting up-coming show at the Amphitheater ["A Cappellastock 2007"] and touting "Ogden's First Annual Paddle Festival" scheduled for Pineview's Middle Inlet Beach on 25 August.
Next, some really good ink, an article on Barnes Aerospace's breaking ground on its new facility at BDO. From the story:
Some interesting Ogden ink in today's Standard-Examiner. First, a nearly full page color ad here touting the downtown Farmer's Market [where hopefully more farmers and more produce will begin appearing; the SL Farmers Market is awash in fresh produce and farmers there told me their crops came in early this season]. And highlighting up-coming show at the Amphitheater ["A Cappellastock 2007"] and touting "Ogden's First Annual Paddle Festival" scheduled for Pineview's Middle Inlet Beach on 25 August.
Next, some really good ink, an article on Barnes Aerospace's breaking ground on its new facility at BDO. From the story:
OGDEN — Officials marked another milestone in their efforts to expand the aerospace industry in the Top of Utah when they broke ground Wednesday on a 165,000-square-foot building at Business Depot Ogden that will be the new home of Barnes Aerospace.Finally, a story headlined "Godfrey issues drought order." Here are the opening graphs:
Barnes executives, local community and business leaders, and local Barnes employees were on hand for a ceremonial tree planting to mark the facility to be built on the northwest corner of 1050 South and Depot Drive. Barnes will relocate its 175-employee operation from 1483 W. 2550 South to a 120,000-square-foot space in the new building after it is finished in early 2008.
OGDEN — Consumers who use large amounts of culinary water could see their bills increase 20 percent under an administrative order issued Wednesday by Mayor Matthew Godfrey to address local drought conditions. The order is the first of its kind since the city council enacted an ordinance two years ago giving Godfrey authority to raise water rates to encourage conservation in drought conditions. The ordinance allows Godfrey to issue a drought order when the annual rate of precipitation affecting the Weber River watershed drops to a level of 70 percent or less of normal.[This is one time when Hizzonah's being a Republican works to his advantage. If he were a Democrat, then today's story would no doubt draw a blast from Cong. Rob "The Lemming" Bishop with a headline like this: Democrat Mayor Plans Higher Water Taxes .]
Monday, June 11, 2007
Yet Two More Municipal Election Issues
Big-spending Boss Godfrey poses as a debt-reducer; Emerald City police warn lumpencitizens to lock their doors and buy a dog
By Curmudgeon
There are two SE stories this morning worth noting. The first describes Mayor Godfrey's call to shift more BDO revenues to bonded debt reduction and to build a "rainy day fund" for Ogden. Here are the opening graphs:
Anyway, two points to keep in mind, I think: (a) the plan is based on anticipated revenues from BDO. I seem to recall at a Council meeting some months ago, the Council was informed that revenues from BDO for the previous quarter were in fact half what had been projected. So I wonder if the Mayor's projections on which his plan is based are sound ones or not. And (b) Mayor Godfrey has been in office for seven years. He has, by some accounts, hugely increased the bonded debt of Ogden City. And now, seven years into his tenure and only five months before the election he is expected to run in, now he's looking for ways to fix the city's finances? The cynic in me wants to mumble something about "where have you been the previous seven years on this, Mayor?"
Nevertheless, suspicions about the Mayor's pre-election sudden interest in fixing Ogden's finances aside, his plan deserves to be examined on its merits. I like the rainy day fund idea [all cities, all states should have substantial ones to help smooth out funding disruptions created by the business cycle... especially in this state where Republican legislators treat every surplus by assuming the good times are going to roll forever, and so use them to cut taxes, which inevitably creates a severe funding shortfall the next time the business cycle tanks... as it will, as it will.] So a rainy day fund is a good idea, so is putting the city's capital improvements budget on a sounder footing, and so is reducing the city's bonded indebtedness. The questions we need to look into, then, are these:
Second, there is a front page story on a topic I suspect will play no small part in the coming election in Ogden. Here's the opening lede:
By Curmudgeon
There are two SE stories this morning worth noting. The first describes Mayor Godfrey's call to shift more BDO revenues to bonded debt reduction and to build a "rainy day fund" for Ogden. Here are the opening graphs:
BDO revenues may cut Ogden debtSince I suspect the level of city debt might be an issue in the election this fall, I'm not surprised Godfrey is being preemptive in addressing it before his challengers do. Thus he can shape the discussion that follows. Wise of him. And too bad challengers didn't get out on this ground first.
Mayor: $150K a year could eliminate it by 2016
BY SCOTT SCHWEBKE
OGDEN — The mayor is seeking $150,000 annually from Business Depot Ogden revenues to accelerate a payment plan aimed at eliminating the city’s $21.5 million general fund debt by 2016.
Mayor Matthew Godfrey has requested the ongoing funding as part of Ogden’s fiscal 2008 budget that will be considered Tuesday by the city council.
The proposal will require fiscal discipline that will ultimately free up money to create a permanent funding source for capital improvement projects, Godfrey said.
It would also establish a "rainy day fund" that could be used by the city in financial emergencies, he said.
Anyway, two points to keep in mind, I think: (a) the plan is based on anticipated revenues from BDO. I seem to recall at a Council meeting some months ago, the Council was informed that revenues from BDO for the previous quarter were in fact half what had been projected. So I wonder if the Mayor's projections on which his plan is based are sound ones or not. And (b) Mayor Godfrey has been in office for seven years. He has, by some accounts, hugely increased the bonded debt of Ogden City. And now, seven years into his tenure and only five months before the election he is expected to run in, now he's looking for ways to fix the city's finances? The cynic in me wants to mumble something about "where have you been the previous seven years on this, Mayor?"
Nevertheless, suspicions about the Mayor's pre-election sudden interest in fixing Ogden's finances aside, his plan deserves to be examined on its merits. I like the rainy day fund idea [all cities, all states should have substantial ones to help smooth out funding disruptions created by the business cycle... especially in this state where Republican legislators treat every surplus by assuming the good times are going to roll forever, and so use them to cut taxes, which inevitably creates a severe funding shortfall the next time the business cycle tanks... as it will, as it will.] So a rainy day fund is a good idea, so is putting the city's capital improvements budget on a sounder footing, and so is reducing the city's bonded indebtedness. The questions we need to look into, then, are these:
- Is the Mayor's plan solidly grounded in real-world projections of revenues, etc?
- And if it is, will the plan he's proposing achieve what he says it will achieve?
Second, there is a front page story on a topic I suspect will play no small part in the coming election in Ogden. Here's the opening lede:
OGDEN — A steady increase in daytime burglaries has police asking residents to be more cautious and keep an eye out for suspicious activities in their neighborhood. Detective Chris Bishop said teenagers and young adults, about 14 to 20 years old, are working in groups to break into houses and steal jewelry, cameras, computers and other small, valuable items.The cyber-world eagerly awaits our gentle readers' comments.
While the burglaries are happening in areas all over Ogden, police have seen an increase in Shadow Valley and Ogden’s east bench, Sgt. Kyle Bosgieter said.
Friday, May 04, 2007
More Good Ink for the Land of Oz
By Curmudgeon
More good ink for Ogden in today's Standard-Examiner. First, a new much-touted industrial training center located at BDO is about to open. Here's the opening graph:
More good ink for Ogden in today's Standard-Examiner. First, a new much-touted industrial training center located at BDO is about to open. Here's the opening graph:
OGDEN -- More than 700 tons of high-tech machining equipment is installed and ready to go in a new manufacturing training center at Business Depot Ogden, which is being billed as the first of its kind in the nation. The 53,000-square-foot training center, at 550 S. Depot Drive, is a unique public-private partnership between Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College and jet engine manufacturer Williams International.Second, a front page story announcing that the folks who ran the summer XTERRA games in Ogden last year will be running winter games at Snow Basin next summer. Here are the opening graphs:
OGDEN — Team Unlimited, a television events and marketing company, announced Thursday the first-ever Xterra Winter World Championship will be held March 8-9 at Snowbasin Ski Resort.Rumors that Mayor Godfrey, following the XTERRA winter games announcement, was heard throwing paper weights against the wall in his office and muttering curses because the XTERRA people had been so stupid as to choose the Ogden area for their winter games when it does not have a flatland sky-ride to carry contestants, staff and spectators between downtown and Weber State University have not yet been confirmed.
The championship is expected to draw as many as 300 athletes from around the world who will compete in a new multisport event that combines cross-country skiing, mountain biking, running and snowshoeing, said Tom Kiely, chief executive officer of Team Unlimited.
Media exposure and local spending by event organizers, athletes and their families for meals and lodging and other expenses could eventually be worth an estimated $5 million to Weber County’s economy, he said.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Meetings, Meetings, and More Meetings
Council Notes: 11.28.06
By Dian Woodhouse
Those who looked at the agendas in the Standard Examiner this past Sunday will have noted that most of the third column was occupied by Ogden City business. "Ogden Council/Redevelopment Agency, 5 PM work study session" was followed by "Ogden Redevelopment Agency 6 PM work session," which was followed by a 15 point Ogden City Council agenda, followed by a closed executive session. Following this, the Council would reconvene at a Special Redevelopment Agency meeting, one found out tonight, and the newspaper evidently combined the items in that agenda under the 5 PM work session in Sunday's agenda notices. All this not to commend the individuals involved, but instead to say that this is a back-breaking workload. And if I may, I will state as I have before that the RDA should not be made up of Council members, but instead be a separate body of people from the community. And the aforementioned workload is only one of the reasons why.
Editorial comments aside, the Council meeting convened at 6 PM with all members present. Mark Johnson was sitting next to the Mayor and John Patterson was absent. The meeting began with Councilwoman Jeske reading a resolution honoring the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 1481. The list of why this organization should be honored was a lengthy one, and everyone, not just the Council, stood and applauded when the presentation was made.
Next, Bob Bushell accepted a Good Neighbor Award on behalf of Home Depot for the West Ogden Park renovation.
Then the minutes of the Closed Executive Session of October 24th, 2006, were approved on the basis of review by Councilwoman Van Hooser.
Next were three Common Consent Items: Appointments to the Ogden City Arts Committee, an appointment to the Weed and Seed steering committee, and an Honorary Street Name at BDO, such street to be designated "Andrews Way."
This last item was struck from the Common Consent items via a motion by Councilman Stephenson, who informed us that the street to be designated had changed somewhat from the original request, and that therefore this should not be approved at this time. The other two items, however, passed unanimously.
Members of the Ogden City Arts Advisory Board now are: Tami Crowley, Travis Pate, David Wolfgram, Kent Jorgenson, and Richard Scott, all reappointed, and new appointees are: Kate Bruce, Larry Wayne, and Margaret Favero.
Also approved was the appointment of Councilwoman Susan Van Hooser to the Weed and Seed steering committee.
Next were two public hearings, at which no one from the public spoke. The first dealt with moving $360,000 from the Capital Improvements Plan to the Junction Project. This was explained by John Arrington, who stated that this money was appropriated "from potential revenue that will come from BDO." This money was originally designated for CIP on 24th Street, but since that project is not on time, it was decided to instead use that money for The Junction. The street money for it will be used instead for streets in The Junction, as well as sidewalk and curb money with the exception of curb and sidewalk money for sites by schools.
One council member asked if what this did was eliminate the CIP project and put its money in the mall, and it was answered that yes, that was the case for this year. Understood was that next year the 24th Street project could be reinstated.
Proposed Ordinance 2006-73 to move this money to the Junction site was adopted unanimously.
The next public hearing dealt with the medical bonus for the employees outlined in last week's notes. Mr. Arrington noted here that the bonus will be distributed to the employees through the payroll department. Councilman Safsten asked if this were going to be an ongoing thing, and Mark Johnson responded that this was an option, that an agreement could be made with the insurance company to do this. It was also revealed that there were 88 employees who would not be eligible for this, as they had opted out of the insurance program, and there were also some new employees, in whose cases the bonus would be pro-rated.
Councilwoman Jeske stated that the deductible for a family might be too high, and was immediately contradicted by other council members who said that their personal deductibles were higher, that other family deductibles were higher, etc., etc.
Councilwoman Van Hooser requested that if this is indeed to be an ongoing program, the Council should be informed of what was to transpire with it in writing. "...maybe you didn't understand it," Mr. Arrington said, going on to say that the matter had indeed been previously discussed. At this point Chair Garcia stated that having something for the Council in writing, as Councilwoman Van Hooser had suggested, would be a good thing, and the vote began.
The motion to adopt Proposed Ordinance 2006-74 to amend the budget in order to make these medical bonus disbursements possible passed with Councilwoman Van Hooser and Councilman Stephens dissenting. Councilwoman Van Hooser made it clear that she was not "against" city employees, nor was she against giving them money. "I didn't like the way it came down," she said, "Going to the media first and not the Council." Councilman Stevens also made it clear that his vote was not "against" the city employees, but rather that an option had been available to have a portion of the insurance rebate ($150,000) go to the city and a portion ($157,000) go to the employees. Characterizing this option as "a win/win situation," he stated that there were many areas in which that money could have been used beneficially had the city obtained it.
Next, there was a presentation by Greg Montgomery regarding signs, always a hot issue in Ogden. Proposed Ordinance 2006-77, which passed unanimously and had no public comment, will amend Section 18 of the Ogden Municipal Code. "The city must follow state law," Councilman Safsten said, and hoped that "if we have new signs, they are more appropriately placed."
Next, under Administrative Reports, was some departmental reorganization. The background to this was presented as follows by Mr. Binford: In June of 2003, Engineering was moved from Public Works to Community and Economic Development. Building Services was then moved to Engineering. What Proposed Ordinances 2006-78 and 2006-79 will basically do is put things back to the way they were before June of 2003. The Ordinances will also eliminate two positions.
"It's the same people doing the same job reporting to a different person," Mr. Binford said. Also mentioned briefly was the fact that Mr. Harmer "is including the development community," meaning, one assumes, feedback from it, in this reorganization, in order, one assumes again, to ensure that it will be a satisfactory method for that community to work with the city.
"It's important to be always looking for ways to do things more efficiently," Councilman Stephenson said, and the motion to adopt both these ordinances passed unanimously.
The final item under Administrative Reports was Proposed Ordinance 2006-80, which revised fees for the Fire Department Reports that are sent to insurance companies. It will be $15 for a normal report and $25 for an investigative one, and it was mentioned that these fees had not been raised in thirteen years. The ordinance passed unanimously.
Under New Business, it was brought up that the Council might wish to consider canceling its regularly scheduled meeting which fell on December 26th, 2006. This the Council did, considering and canceling in record time.
There were no public comments, but there were some from Administration, Staff, and Council.
Mayor Godfrey addressed the mention of the perception that Ogden was a business unfriendly city. "We are not satisfied with the perceptions that are out there," he said, and went on to state that he did not wish people to think that Ogden was unfriendly to business. On the contrary, he wished Ogden to be a leader in facilitating businesses, and the reorganization of the departments mentioned above was a step in that direction.
Council Executive Director Bill Cook made mention of the passing of John Wolf, a former Ogden City Council Member.
Councilman Stephens spoke in favor of the reorganization, stating that it "shows we have an innovative city." He also wished to pay tribute to those who organized the Christmas Parade, stating that our ushering in of the holiday season was one of the top in the state.
Councilwoman Jeske agreed with this last, and also wished to commend the staff who put lights on the trees and made the municipal gardens look so beautiful.
The meeting then adjourned into Closed Executive Session.
Not having stayed through this to attend the subsequent Special RDA meeting, I shall post its salient agenda items here:
Mall Parking Structure Phase II. Proposed Resolution #2006-18 approving the Planning Commission recommendations for Phase II of the Ogden Entertainment Center Parking Structure. (...roll call vote.)
Mall Plaza Design. Resolution #2006-20 approving the design of the Ogden Entertainment Center Plaza. (...roll call vote.)
Public Hearing: Budget Opening for Mall Parking Structure and Plaza. Proposed Resolution 2006-17 amending the budget for the Fiscal Year July 1 2006 to June 20, 2007, by increasing the anticipated revenues and transfers for gross increases of $14,810,213.00 from sources as detailed in the body of this resolution, and increasing ther appropriations for a gross increase of $14,810,213.00 as detailed in the body of this resolution. (...roll call vote.)
Public Comments, etc.
Perhaps someone will write in and tell us how that went.
Update 11/29/06 9:55 a.m. MT: Scott Schwebke writes in with his 2¢.
By Dian Woodhouse
Those who looked at the agendas in the Standard Examiner this past Sunday will have noted that most of the third column was occupied by Ogden City business. "Ogden Council/Redevelopment Agency, 5 PM work study session" was followed by "Ogden Redevelopment Agency 6 PM work session," which was followed by a 15 point Ogden City Council agenda, followed by a closed executive session. Following this, the Council would reconvene at a Special Redevelopment Agency meeting, one found out tonight, and the newspaper evidently combined the items in that agenda under the 5 PM work session in Sunday's agenda notices. All this not to commend the individuals involved, but instead to say that this is a back-breaking workload. And if I may, I will state as I have before that the RDA should not be made up of Council members, but instead be a separate body of people from the community. And the aforementioned workload is only one of the reasons why.
Editorial comments aside, the Council meeting convened at 6 PM with all members present. Mark Johnson was sitting next to the Mayor and John Patterson was absent. The meeting began with Councilwoman Jeske reading a resolution honoring the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 1481. The list of why this organization should be honored was a lengthy one, and everyone, not just the Council, stood and applauded when the presentation was made.
Next, Bob Bushell accepted a Good Neighbor Award on behalf of Home Depot for the West Ogden Park renovation.
Then the minutes of the Closed Executive Session of October 24th, 2006, were approved on the basis of review by Councilwoman Van Hooser.
Next were three Common Consent Items: Appointments to the Ogden City Arts Committee, an appointment to the Weed and Seed steering committee, and an Honorary Street Name at BDO, such street to be designated "Andrews Way."
This last item was struck from the Common Consent items via a motion by Councilman Stephenson, who informed us that the street to be designated had changed somewhat from the original request, and that therefore this should not be approved at this time. The other two items, however, passed unanimously.
Members of the Ogden City Arts Advisory Board now are: Tami Crowley, Travis Pate, David Wolfgram, Kent Jorgenson, and Richard Scott, all reappointed, and new appointees are: Kate Bruce, Larry Wayne, and Margaret Favero.
Also approved was the appointment of Councilwoman Susan Van Hooser to the Weed and Seed steering committee.
Next were two public hearings, at which no one from the public spoke. The first dealt with moving $360,000 from the Capital Improvements Plan to the Junction Project. This was explained by John Arrington, who stated that this money was appropriated "from potential revenue that will come from BDO." This money was originally designated for CIP on 24th Street, but since that project is not on time, it was decided to instead use that money for The Junction. The street money for it will be used instead for streets in The Junction, as well as sidewalk and curb money with the exception of curb and sidewalk money for sites by schools.
One council member asked if what this did was eliminate the CIP project and put its money in the mall, and it was answered that yes, that was the case for this year. Understood was that next year the 24th Street project could be reinstated.
Proposed Ordinance 2006-73 to move this money to the Junction site was adopted unanimously.
The next public hearing dealt with the medical bonus for the employees outlined in last week's notes. Mr. Arrington noted here that the bonus will be distributed to the employees through the payroll department. Councilman Safsten asked if this were going to be an ongoing thing, and Mark Johnson responded that this was an option, that an agreement could be made with the insurance company to do this. It was also revealed that there were 88 employees who would not be eligible for this, as they had opted out of the insurance program, and there were also some new employees, in whose cases the bonus would be pro-rated.
Councilwoman Jeske stated that the deductible for a family might be too high, and was immediately contradicted by other council members who said that their personal deductibles were higher, that other family deductibles were higher, etc., etc.
Councilwoman Van Hooser requested that if this is indeed to be an ongoing program, the Council should be informed of what was to transpire with it in writing. "...maybe you didn't understand it," Mr. Arrington said, going on to say that the matter had indeed been previously discussed. At this point Chair Garcia stated that having something for the Council in writing, as Councilwoman Van Hooser had suggested, would be a good thing, and the vote began.
The motion to adopt Proposed Ordinance 2006-74 to amend the budget in order to make these medical bonus disbursements possible passed with Councilwoman Van Hooser and Councilman Stephens dissenting. Councilwoman Van Hooser made it clear that she was not "against" city employees, nor was she against giving them money. "I didn't like the way it came down," she said, "Going to the media first and not the Council." Councilman Stevens also made it clear that his vote was not "against" the city employees, but rather that an option had been available to have a portion of the insurance rebate ($150,000) go to the city and a portion ($157,000) go to the employees. Characterizing this option as "a win/win situation," he stated that there were many areas in which that money could have been used beneficially had the city obtained it.
Next, there was a presentation by Greg Montgomery regarding signs, always a hot issue in Ogden. Proposed Ordinance 2006-77, which passed unanimously and had no public comment, will amend Section 18 of the Ogden Municipal Code. "The city must follow state law," Councilman Safsten said, and hoped that "if we have new signs, they are more appropriately placed."
Next, under Administrative Reports, was some departmental reorganization. The background to this was presented as follows by Mr. Binford: In June of 2003, Engineering was moved from Public Works to Community and Economic Development. Building Services was then moved to Engineering. What Proposed Ordinances 2006-78 and 2006-79 will basically do is put things back to the way they were before June of 2003. The Ordinances will also eliminate two positions.
"It's the same people doing the same job reporting to a different person," Mr. Binford said. Also mentioned briefly was the fact that Mr. Harmer "is including the development community," meaning, one assumes, feedback from it, in this reorganization, in order, one assumes again, to ensure that it will be a satisfactory method for that community to work with the city.
"It's important to be always looking for ways to do things more efficiently," Councilman Stephenson said, and the motion to adopt both these ordinances passed unanimously.
The final item under Administrative Reports was Proposed Ordinance 2006-80, which revised fees for the Fire Department Reports that are sent to insurance companies. It will be $15 for a normal report and $25 for an investigative one, and it was mentioned that these fees had not been raised in thirteen years. The ordinance passed unanimously.
Under New Business, it was brought up that the Council might wish to consider canceling its regularly scheduled meeting which fell on December 26th, 2006. This the Council did, considering and canceling in record time.
There were no public comments, but there were some from Administration, Staff, and Council.
Mayor Godfrey addressed the mention of the perception that Ogden was a business unfriendly city. "We are not satisfied with the perceptions that are out there," he said, and went on to state that he did not wish people to think that Ogden was unfriendly to business. On the contrary, he wished Ogden to be a leader in facilitating businesses, and the reorganization of the departments mentioned above was a step in that direction.
Council Executive Director Bill Cook made mention of the passing of John Wolf, a former Ogden City Council Member.
Councilman Stephens spoke in favor of the reorganization, stating that it "shows we have an innovative city." He also wished to pay tribute to those who organized the Christmas Parade, stating that our ushering in of the holiday season was one of the top in the state.
Councilwoman Jeske agreed with this last, and also wished to commend the staff who put lights on the trees and made the municipal gardens look so beautiful.
The meeting then adjourned into Closed Executive Session.
Not having stayed through this to attend the subsequent Special RDA meeting, I shall post its salient agenda items here:
Mall Parking Structure Phase II. Proposed Resolution #2006-18 approving the Planning Commission recommendations for Phase II of the Ogden Entertainment Center Parking Structure. (...roll call vote.)
Mall Plaza Design. Resolution #2006-20 approving the design of the Ogden Entertainment Center Plaza. (...roll call vote.)
Public Hearing: Budget Opening for Mall Parking Structure and Plaza. Proposed Resolution 2006-17 amending the budget for the Fiscal Year July 1 2006 to June 20, 2007, by increasing the anticipated revenues and transfers for gross increases of $14,810,213.00 from sources as detailed in the body of this resolution, and increasing ther appropriations for a gross increase of $14,810,213.00 as detailed in the body of this resolution. (...roll call vote.)
Public Comments, etc.
Perhaps someone will write in and tell us how that went.
Update 11/29/06 9:55 a.m. MT: Scott Schwebke writes in with his 2¢.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Another Letter the Std-Ex Refused to Print
Contrary to what the Mayor says, Stuart has been an extremely incompetent asset to Ogden
From: Tom Owens
To: Don Porter
editorial page editor
Standard-Examiner
I am writing in response to the Sunday op-ed piece written by Mayor Godfrey wherein he defends the indefensible giving of forty some thousand tax payer dollars to his failed economic director Stuart Read as a going away present, and his subsequent re-hiring of him at big dollars to "manage" the already privately and competently managed business depot.
Stuart, after being rejected by the Salt Lake City voters, came to Ogden with the great promise of turning our city around economically. He had been turned away, in his ill fated attempt to become mayor, by the capital city voters in favor of Ogden's own Rocky Anderson. This after his controversial tenure as the Salt Lake economic director. Had he actually been successful in SLC he most likely would have become mayor there or found his way up the development career latter to a larger city with expanded duties and pay. That not being the case, he landed here on our door step as the proverbial big fish in the little pond.
The Mayor's implications that Reid was somehow responsible for Salt Lake's light rail, American Stores and Gateway is really quite laughable. Sam Skaggs, Utah's legendary grocery and drug store giant, was the force behind the American Stores building. Gateway was the product of the Boyer company and DeDee Corridini, and the light rail was a long term undertaking spearheaded by several generations of Salt Lake mayors and UTA chiefs. Stuart Reid had very little to do with any of them other than being around when they finally came to fruition. Seems like the Mayor never lets the truth get in the way of his fanciful stories.
The Mayor would also have us believe that Stuart was turning down big paying jobs so he could come to Ogden for far less money because he could see all the potential here. This is very illogical in the real business world as the position he took here was a government job that did not involve him participating in any potential profits. So even if he did have any success here, which of course he didn't, how could he have any potential of making up the difference of what he allegedly was supposed to make in the private sector? If Reid actually had any big paying offers why didn't the Mayor give us any specifics as to who made those offers and how much they were for?
If Stuart's original agreement with Ogden really did contain a provision for a generous severance package why was it a verbal side deal and not part of his written contract? Why was the city council not informed or involved with this so called "verbal deal"? How many of the other highly paid members of the Mayor's "brain trust" have these verbal side deals to waltz out the door with tens of thousands of public dollars? The Mayor seems to be saying that "there are others with the same package".
The Mayor says that "There is a price that has to be paid if we are going to get the best. We could choose to hire the second rate people for less money and we can expect that kind of performance" I submit that the citizens of Ogden have indeed paid the price for the best but in fact got second rate performance as evidenced by the sorry string of losing projects that he and Stuart have been responsible for. Examples include but are not limited to: The 25th street condo fiasco that Ogden citizens most likely will lose two million dollars on, The American Can fiasco that has cost tax payers eight million dollars so far with not a dollar of profit in sight, The immoral attempted land grab to benefit Wal-Mart which failed, The two condo developments that have done nothing but lose money, and of course the notorious Mall scheme that has gone on for many years and twenty plus millions with no end in sight and nothing to show for it but a toxic mud hole in the middle of town. There are many more examples, but the bottom line is that the Mayor and Stuart, in their incompetence, have failed at most every thing they have touched, and have driven the city of Ogden to the brink of financial ruin.
Mayor Godfrey goes on to compare his failed team to the private sector in his attempt at justifying his gifting of forty some thousand Ogden tax payer dollars to Reid. I don't think there is any real comparison here. If this team was in the private sector they all would have been fired three or four years ago for incompetence. Private enterprise requires profitable results. This group cannot point to one single profitable project that they have been the authors of.
Contrary to what the Mayor says, Stuart has been an extremely incompetent asset to Ogden. Under their leadership we have deteriorated and languished and the city is near bankrupt with all of the unfinished and failed projects. Meanwhile the infrastructure is falling apart under our feet; the fire fighters are under-staffed, under-equipped and under-paid; the police are under-appreciated, under-paid and over-worked; and the maintenance department doesn't have the money to keep the pigeon droppings off the streets and the shoes of the tourists.
If the Mayor was really telling us the truth he would give us specifics, not general platitudes. He would tell us what each of these projects cost and how much money they are making. He would show us a real balance sheet and P&L on each project. He would tell us just exactly what project of Stuart's made the phantom three point two million dollars. Instead he gives us a bunch of mumbo jumbo ending with the biggest joke of all:
"I hope this community will realize how fortunate we have been to have Stuart Reid working for Ogden. He earned every penny we paid him many times over, but as importantly as remuneration, we owe him our appreciation for his competent, dedicated service and amazing results".
With lines like that I think these guys could make it on TV as a comedy actS.
---------
Editor's note: This is just another instance, in a long line of instances, where the Standard-Examiner editors have started off the discussion of an issue, and then abruptly shut discussion off, once they've given their preferred editorial position "the last word."
Mr. Owens made numerous attempts to persuade Ogden city government house propagandist, Don Porter, to publish a legitimate retort. I've seen all the emails. Don Porter is one stubborn neoCON b****d.
The Standard-Examiner editors are a disgrace to journalism, in my not so humble opinion. They're barely fit to publish a monthly church newsletter, I think. Turn in your journalist cards, Don Porter, Ron Thornburg and Andy Howell, before your fellow journalists bring out the tar and feathers.
I'm not going to lay blame on the Suits from Sanduskey this time, either. I seriously doubt they care a whit about who fills the Ogden council seats for the upcoming council sessions. All they want to do is book advertizing and sell newspapers.
Well, it's the Std-Ex editors who shut off the debate. It's they who will have to account to the Sandusky Suits, when they try to mealy-mouth and explain their shutting-down of the debate, for the sake of "protecting" our present extremist government.
As always, Weber County Forum will remain an open conduit for ALL THE INFORMATION THAT'S FIT TO PRINT, though, without regard to the question of where the chips may fall.
GOOD STUFF, TOM OWENS! I'm hoping other outraged citizens will similarly speak up!
Reader-submitted articles are welcome here as always. Submit yours via my contact address. You too can become a published writer, with a returning readership numbering in the thousands, and running coast-to-coast.
And don't forget to use the little email icon at the bottom of the page, to email this article to all your friends.
Unlike Don Porter, all my readers can read and write and actually think for themselves.
Email this, and any other articles you like to ALL your email friends.
It's time to take our wonderful city back.
 |
| Matt & Stuey Histerical Archives |
To: Don Porter
editorial page editor
Standard-Examiner
I am writing in response to the Sunday op-ed piece written by Mayor Godfrey wherein he defends the indefensible giving of forty some thousand tax payer dollars to his failed economic director Stuart Read as a going away present, and his subsequent re-hiring of him at big dollars to "manage" the already privately and competently managed business depot.
Stuart, after being rejected by the Salt Lake City voters, came to Ogden with the great promise of turning our city around economically. He had been turned away, in his ill fated attempt to become mayor, by the capital city voters in favor of Ogden's own Rocky Anderson. This after his controversial tenure as the Salt Lake economic director. Had he actually been successful in SLC he most likely would have become mayor there or found his way up the development career latter to a larger city with expanded duties and pay. That not being the case, he landed here on our door step as the proverbial big fish in the little pond.
The Mayor's implications that Reid was somehow responsible for Salt Lake's light rail, American Stores and Gateway is really quite laughable. Sam Skaggs, Utah's legendary grocery and drug store giant, was the force behind the American Stores building. Gateway was the product of the Boyer company and DeDee Corridini, and the light rail was a long term undertaking spearheaded by several generations of Salt Lake mayors and UTA chiefs. Stuart Reid had very little to do with any of them other than being around when they finally came to fruition. Seems like the Mayor never lets the truth get in the way of his fanciful stories.
The Mayor would also have us believe that Stuart was turning down big paying jobs so he could come to Ogden for far less money because he could see all the potential here. This is very illogical in the real business world as the position he took here was a government job that did not involve him participating in any potential profits. So even if he did have any success here, which of course he didn't, how could he have any potential of making up the difference of what he allegedly was supposed to make in the private sector? If Reid actually had any big paying offers why didn't the Mayor give us any specifics as to who made those offers and how much they were for?
If Stuart's original agreement with Ogden really did contain a provision for a generous severance package why was it a verbal side deal and not part of his written contract? Why was the city council not informed or involved with this so called "verbal deal"? How many of the other highly paid members of the Mayor's "brain trust" have these verbal side deals to waltz out the door with tens of thousands of public dollars? The Mayor seems to be saying that "there are others with the same package".
The Mayor says that "There is a price that has to be paid if we are going to get the best. We could choose to hire the second rate people for less money and we can expect that kind of performance" I submit that the citizens of Ogden have indeed paid the price for the best but in fact got second rate performance as evidenced by the sorry string of losing projects that he and Stuart have been responsible for. Examples include but are not limited to: The 25th street condo fiasco that Ogden citizens most likely will lose two million dollars on, The American Can fiasco that has cost tax payers eight million dollars so far with not a dollar of profit in sight, The immoral attempted land grab to benefit Wal-Mart which failed, The two condo developments that have done nothing but lose money, and of course the notorious Mall scheme that has gone on for many years and twenty plus millions with no end in sight and nothing to show for it but a toxic mud hole in the middle of town. There are many more examples, but the bottom line is that the Mayor and Stuart, in their incompetence, have failed at most every thing they have touched, and have driven the city of Ogden to the brink of financial ruin.
Mayor Godfrey goes on to compare his failed team to the private sector in his attempt at justifying his gifting of forty some thousand Ogden tax payer dollars to Reid. I don't think there is any real comparison here. If this team was in the private sector they all would have been fired three or four years ago for incompetence. Private enterprise requires profitable results. This group cannot point to one single profitable project that they have been the authors of.
Contrary to what the Mayor says, Stuart has been an extremely incompetent asset to Ogden. Under their leadership we have deteriorated and languished and the city is near bankrupt with all of the unfinished and failed projects. Meanwhile the infrastructure is falling apart under our feet; the fire fighters are under-staffed, under-equipped and under-paid; the police are under-appreciated, under-paid and over-worked; and the maintenance department doesn't have the money to keep the pigeon droppings off the streets and the shoes of the tourists.
If the Mayor was really telling us the truth he would give us specifics, not general platitudes. He would tell us what each of these projects cost and how much money they are making. He would show us a real balance sheet and P&L on each project. He would tell us just exactly what project of Stuart's made the phantom three point two million dollars. Instead he gives us a bunch of mumbo jumbo ending with the biggest joke of all:
"I hope this community will realize how fortunate we have been to have Stuart Reid working for Ogden. He earned every penny we paid him many times over, but as importantly as remuneration, we owe him our appreciation for his competent, dedicated service and amazing results".
With lines like that I think these guys could make it on TV as a comedy actS.
---------
Editor's note: This is just another instance, in a long line of instances, where the Standard-Examiner editors have started off the discussion of an issue, and then abruptly shut discussion off, once they've given their preferred editorial position "the last word."
Mr. Owens made numerous attempts to persuade Ogden city government house propagandist, Don Porter, to publish a legitimate retort. I've seen all the emails. Don Porter is one stubborn neoCON b****d.
The Standard-Examiner editors are a disgrace to journalism, in my not so humble opinion. They're barely fit to publish a monthly church newsletter, I think. Turn in your journalist cards, Don Porter, Ron Thornburg and Andy Howell, before your fellow journalists bring out the tar and feathers.
I'm not going to lay blame on the Suits from Sanduskey this time, either. I seriously doubt they care a whit about who fills the Ogden council seats for the upcoming council sessions. All they want to do is book advertizing and sell newspapers.
Well, it's the Std-Ex editors who shut off the debate. It's they who will have to account to the Sandusky Suits, when they try to mealy-mouth and explain their shutting-down of the debate, for the sake of "protecting" our present extremist government.
As always, Weber County Forum will remain an open conduit for ALL THE INFORMATION THAT'S FIT TO PRINT, though, without regard to the question of where the chips may fall.
GOOD STUFF, TOM OWENS! I'm hoping other outraged citizens will similarly speak up!
Reader-submitted articles are welcome here as always. Submit yours via my contact address. You too can become a published writer, with a returning readership numbering in the thousands, and running coast-to-coast.
And don't forget to use the little email icon at the bottom of the page, to email this article to all your friends.
Unlike Don Porter, all my readers can read and write and actually think for themselves.
Email this, and any other articles you like to ALL your email friends.
It's time to take our wonderful city back.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Emerald City Playhouse Stages Rasputin Encore Performance
Here's another Ogden City political story for your "truth is stranger than fiction" files, Weber County Forum readers. For those who are delicately-disposed, perhaps it would be best to be seated before you read this. According to a John Wright story in this morning's Standard-Examiner, a new manager has been contracted to manage Ogden's BDO, and you're not going to believe your eyes when you find out who it is. Well, he's not really new; he's actually an Ogden city re-tread. Yes, you remember him, gentle readers; it's that guy who "retired" from his position as Ogden city economic development director a brief two months ago, with a fat five-figure severance package in his pocket. As you'll recall, it was reported at the time that he was leaving for the green pastures of the private sector, his noble public service impulses having been fulfilled.Believe it or not, Mayor Godfrey, in his infinite wisdom, has contracted with the bumbling Stuart Reid, whose idea of entering the private sector seems to be forming his own Utah LLC, and getting straight back onto the Ogden City public teat. I'll leave it to John Wright to provide the mind-boggling details:
The city has outsourced management of Business Depot Ogden to former Community and Economic Development Director Stuart Reid.Now, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has doubts about this latest development. As Mr. Schwebke's's June 30 article notes, Mr. Reid was the grand schemer responsible for the planning of that downtown Recreation Center project, which is presently mired in a sea of contamination and financing issues. And he's the genius who rammed the now-languishing upscale Union square condo project down the city's throat, a full four years before the arrival of the rail transit system that was supposed to create a market for downtown residential condos. And his fingerprints are all over the Wal-Mart fiasco, where our ham-handed city government became the poster-child for eminent domain abuse, requiring the Utah legislature to intervene, by stripping the condemnation power from our overly-aggressive Ogden RDA. Surely, with 6.5+ billion people now residing on this planet, there must have been some competent person, other than the obviously incompetent Mr. Reid, whom Mayor Godfrey could have chosen to act as the city's interface with The Boyer Company, the de facto "manager" of the Ogden BDO.
Reid stepped down as community and economic development director July 15, after 5 1/2 years with Ogden. During that time, he worked on controversial redevelopment projects, including the downtown mall site and a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter.
On Aug. 29, his company, S.C. Reid LLC, entered a one-year renewable contract with the city to manage BDO for $77,828 annually, according to records obtained by the Standard-Examiner from the Recorder's Office.
Reid will take over the duties of Kevin Ireland, who was earning $67,319 when he stepped down in August to become director of Ogden's George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park.
As community and economic development director, Reid was paid $102,497 annually when he left the city.
Mayor Matthew Godfrey said Reid's familiarity with BDO will be an improvement, as the facility has had three managers in the last 2 1/2 years.
"There was no continuity out there at all," Godfrey said. "Part of the benefit of Stuart is continuity. ... To get him back at this price is a real coup, from my perspective."
Reid could not be reached for comment.
As BDO manager, Reid will be charged with representing the city in its partnership with The Boyer Co. in marketing and developing the 1,118-acre business park near Interstate 15.
Reid has a long work history at The Boyer Co., from its development of the Sugar House District and Gateway projects when he was business manager for Salt Lake City in the 1990s, to the downtown mall site and BDO in Ogden.
"Obviously, we welcome Stuart," said Blake Wahlen, general manager of BDO for The Boyer Co. "He has a great background, and his relationship with the city is great."
City Council Chairman Rick Safsten said council members have not yet received responses to several questions they submitted to the administration after learning the BDO position was being outsourced.
"Stuart is an extremely capable, energetic, passionate person, and that's a good thing, but I don't know the answers to those questions, and until I have those answers, I'm not ready to give a full response," Safsten said. "Maybe this is the greatest idea since sliced bread, but no one's explained it to me as why that would be the case."
BDO is a former military installation that was transferred to the city in 1997. It has more than 6.5 million square feet of industrial and office space.
BDO is 70 percent full, Wahlen said, with 60 to 70 tenants employing more than 2,500 people.
And what about the $78,000 no-bid contract that has been awarded Mr. Reid's new shell company? What exactly will Mr. Reid do for the citizens of Ogden city that The Boyer Company isn't already doing? Somebody please tell me, why does Ogden city need to have a city executive getting paid the big bucks, essentially to look over the Boyer Company's shoulder, while the Boyer Company does what it does with such demonstrable competence?
And what about that fat severance package? Will Mr. Reid now be required to pay it all back? It's my understanding that Ogden city has a policy against re-hiring fired workers. If Mr. Reid wasn't actually fired, why did he receive a severance package at all? I received a tip on this story late last week, by the way. The administration "responses" that Chamber of People's Deputies Chairman Safsten refers to in today's John Wright article pertain precisely to this question, I am told. In a nutshell, some city council members believe that the the "re-hiring" of Mr. Reid is violative of city policy, and they've formally asked the mayor's office about this. It seems to me that in this situation, the council should stand firm, and refrain from approving Mr. Reid's contract, especially if such a non-re-hire policy actually exists. Perhaps the Ogden council will take this opportunity to demonstrate, two weeks before the municipal primary election, that they're not the completely spineless "rubber stamp" that they've heretofore appeared to be.
What say you, gentle readers? Should the Emerald City Playhouse give Mayor Godfrey's "rasputin" an encore performance? Does the bumbling Stuart Reid deserve another prolonged "feed" at the Ogden city "public trough?"
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Another Spoke Added to the Hub
There's business-development good news for Ogden City this morning, gentle readers. There had been rumors floating about that another ski industry oriented equipment manufacturer was ready to move operations to Ogden City; and it appears this is exactly what will happen. According to this morning's Jeff Demoss front-page Std-Ex story, Scott USA has inked a pact to relocate its Clearfield distribution operation to Business Depot Ogden. Scott is a venerable recreation equipment manufacturing warhorse, with sports gear ranging from apparel to high-tech hardware. This is the kind of company that will give Ogden City real credibility in its quest to turn itself into a ski industry hub; and I believe congratulations are in order for the people who put the deal together. Notably, the BDO property is owned by Ogden City, but administered by a private developer/manager. Unlike the troubled Ogden City mall-site, where government officials are attempting to manage things in a true do-it-yourself fashion, the BDO project is run by an experienced property management/development professional, The Boyer Company. While Mr. Demoss's story doesn't provide any details about the negotiations that led up to Scott USA's decision to relocate to Ogden, I think its fair to infer that the process was relatively straightforward and seamless:
Steve Waldrip, BDO project manager for The Boyer Co. and the key figure in negotiations with Scott, said the building project will probably cost from $12 million to $13 million. He said no tax breaks or other incentives were needed to lure the company.Ogden City officials are naturally elated over this world-class business "catch." They're patting themselves on the backs, as reports Mr. Demoss in a second business section story -- and rightly so, I think. They should justifiably congratulate themselves, and we should all give them a tip of the hat, for showing the good sense -- in the BDO instance at least -- of hiring professionals to do a professional's job.
"This is a pretty straightforward deal," Waldrip said. "They made the decision to come here based on its own merit."
One wonders what could happen in the case of the Ogden City Mall site, if our city officials were to toss out Stuart Reid's grandiose central-planning master-scheme, put Boyer or some other professional developer in charge, and allow the downtown property to be professionally-developed, according to the dictates of the free market's "invisible hand".
And what say our gentle readers about this?
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Open Letter: "The Std-Ex RDA Fiction"
By Don Porter
The Standard-Examiner
In reading a response to your blog today, I was reminded of something Walcott Gibbs once wrote about someone else: "He wasn't exactly hostile to facts, but he was apathetic about them." I strive to be neither, but I do enjoy a good story.
I'm guessing that love of delicious irony has colored some of the discussion about the Standard-Examiner's editorial stance regarding Ogden's Wal-Mart RDA. The first I heard it was a month or so ago, in a letter from a reader who made the accusation that the newspaper favored the RDA because, she said, the S-E had benefited from an RDA when it relocated to Business Depot Ogden.
A fun story, but completely untrue.
While I was not involved in the negotiations, I do know a few things that might be of interest to those who love to believe the worst about my newspaper.
When then-Publisher Scott Trundle and our owners decided to buy a new printing press and expand our operations, they spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to do it in place at the 23rd and Adams. We loved being downtown. But no matter how we tried to configure the necessary 100,000-square-foot-plus Top of Utah PrintWorks building, an office structure which needed to be two or three times our current footprint, expanded parking and the need for a rail spur to more efficiently deliver our newsprint, etc., it was obvious we needed to either start purchasing more property adjacent to our existing facility -- that option proved too expensive, since most who were willing to sell wanted more than their property was worth, and not everyone wanted to sell -- or move off-site. (I’m pretty fuzzy on this, but I think there was also some concern that the geology of the downtown site, involving water underground, precluded building the necessary foundation for our extremely heavy presses.)
That decision made, Scott looked at every piece of commercial land in Ogden and Weber County, I think, and we finally decided to exchange -- straight across -- our downtown location for the BDO parcel where we are now. The upshot: Ogden got a chunk of downtown real estate it's been redeveloping, and we got everything we needed. We have title to the land and structures at our BDO site, and Scott told me he never would have considered an RDA (in fact, I doubt one was ever offered); we knew we would be continually writing about various redevelopment projects all over the Top of Utah in the decades to come, and didn't want to taint our news coverage or our editorial positions by having benefited in an RDA ourselves.
I hope this finally puts to rest the rumor that the Standard-Examiner was involved in an RDA. But don't take my word for it; the public record will confirm what I've written here.
Sincerely,
Don Porter
editorial page editor
Standard-Examiner
dporter@standard.net
The Standard-Examiner
In reading a response to your blog today, I was reminded of something Walcott Gibbs once wrote about someone else: "He wasn't exactly hostile to facts, but he was apathetic about them." I strive to be neither, but I do enjoy a good story.
I'm guessing that love of delicious irony has colored some of the discussion about the Standard-Examiner's editorial stance regarding Ogden's Wal-Mart RDA. The first I heard it was a month or so ago, in a letter from a reader who made the accusation that the newspaper favored the RDA because, she said, the S-E had benefited from an RDA when it relocated to Business Depot Ogden.
A fun story, but completely untrue.
While I was not involved in the negotiations, I do know a few things that might be of interest to those who love to believe the worst about my newspaper.
When then-Publisher Scott Trundle and our owners decided to buy a new printing press and expand our operations, they spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to do it in place at the 23rd and Adams. We loved being downtown. But no matter how we tried to configure the necessary 100,000-square-foot-plus Top of Utah PrintWorks building, an office structure which needed to be two or three times our current footprint, expanded parking and the need for a rail spur to more efficiently deliver our newsprint, etc., it was obvious we needed to either start purchasing more property adjacent to our existing facility -- that option proved too expensive, since most who were willing to sell wanted more than their property was worth, and not everyone wanted to sell -- or move off-site. (I’m pretty fuzzy on this, but I think there was also some concern that the geology of the downtown site, involving water underground, precluded building the necessary foundation for our extremely heavy presses.)
That decision made, Scott looked at every piece of commercial land in Ogden and Weber County, I think, and we finally decided to exchange -- straight across -- our downtown location for the BDO parcel where we are now. The upshot: Ogden got a chunk of downtown real estate it's been redeveloping, and we got everything we needed. We have title to the land and structures at our BDO site, and Scott told me he never would have considered an RDA (in fact, I doubt one was ever offered); we knew we would be continually writing about various redevelopment projects all over the Top of Utah in the decades to come, and didn't want to taint our news coverage or our editorial positions by having benefited in an RDA ourselves.
I hope this finally puts to rest the rumor that the Standard-Examiner was involved in an RDA. But don't take my word for it; the public record will confirm what I've written here.
Sincerely,
Don Porter
editorial page editor
Standard-Examiner
dporter@standard.net
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