Cool Hi-tech Ogden City Doins @ Tomorrow Night's Ogden City Council Meeting

Check it out, Ogden City Citizens

HAY! Check this out, Ogden City residents/taxpayers! The Ogden City Council is using the latest internet technology, to induce increased cyber-attendance at tomorrow night's Ogden City Council Meeting, wherein Ogden City's newest 2018 proposed budget will be discussed.

Read the introductory Standard-Examiner story, peeps:

• Ogden council hopes virtual town hall will spur involvement in city budget process

Here's the Ogden Council Facebook link, where you can follow Tuesday's Council discussion in real-time, folks:

• Ogden City Council Facebook Page

Check it all out tomorrow, Gentle Readers, and above all, do not hesitate to add your barbs to the respective Facebook and Weber County Forum comments sections

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Police Chief to Retire; New Chief to be Announced Wednesday - Updated

So who will Be Ogden's Next Top Cop?

BYE-bye Sheriff Arpaio

OGDEN — After more than 30 years serving the Ogden Police Department, Chief Mike Ashment is retiring and the city plans to announce his replacement Wednesday.
Ashment, who became chief in March 2012, plans to retire once the new chief is selected and approved. Though the announcement will be made this week, the Ogden City Council must officially approve the appointment during its meeting Jan. 3, 2017.

• Ogden police chief to retire; new chief to be announced Wednesday

So who will be Ogden's next Top Cop?

Sodden "prediction" from the ever-savvy Bob Becker down in the Standard-Examiner comments section

"I hear Joe Arpaio  is looking for work."

Update 12/21/16 12:46 a.m.: Looks like Jo0e Arpaio is S.O.L:

• Randy Watt named new chief of Ogden Police Department

Standard-Examiner: Ogden City Council Relinquishes Streetcar Dream For Now

Laughably, at least one UTA official attempts to paint this decision in an optimistic light

Just like clockwork, the Standard-Examiner provides a morning story which we foreshadowed earlier this month. Cutting to the chase, on Tuesday night, it seems the Ogden City Council delivered the Ogden Streetcar Project, ten years in the making, its final Coup de Grace.   Here's Cathy McKitrick's lede, folks;

OGDEN — In a 4-1 vote Tuesday, the Ogden City Council propelled the city forward on a transit path that had been scrutinized for more than a decade.
The selected 5.3-mile route will connect the city’s Intermodal Transit Center at 2350 S. Wall Avenue to Weber State University, the Dee Events Center and McKay Dee Hospital by way of 25th Street and Harrison Boulevard. And Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was chosen over streetcar as the mode of transit, mostly due to cost. While a light-rail streetcar system would run about $220 million, BRT comes in around $60 million.
“There truly was a lot of good information for either mode and route,” said Bill Cook, executive director for the City Council. “But when it came down to it, it’s viewed that this route and mode are affordable and doable.”

Read the full story, folks:

• Ogden City Council relinquishes streetcar dream for now

Laughably. at least one UTA official attempts to paint this decision in an optimistic light:

Utah Transit Authority Project Manager Hal Johnson held out the possibility that BRT could actually serve as a stepping stone to streetcar some time in the future.
“Looking at BRT versus streetcar, there’s a bigger upside with the streetcar,” Johnson said. “But it’s going to be very hard to obtain in the local and federal funding climate that we’re in.” But by moving forward with this project, Johnson said it “sets some stones across the river so we can continue to progress . . . and this can evolve into something different and more as the community changes and evolves as well.”

Our take, Ogden Streetcar fanciers?  Don't hold your breaths for an early revival. Stick a fork into it... if you take our meaning.

Ogden City Elected Officials Seek a 10% Pay Hike, Whilst The Standard-Examiner Dissents

Sodden query to the Ogden City Council:"What's the matter? Are you suffering from a self-esteem problem?"

Here's an interesting Ogden City-centered Standard-Examiner story, which we've kept on the back-burner for a week or so, as we awaited further story developments. "Ogden City thinks it’s time for their elected officials to get a raise," SE news sleuth Mitch Shaw reported last Friday.

• Ogden proposing 10 percent raises for elected officials

Specifically "[t]he city is proposing a 10 percent cost of living and merit increase for its mayor position and seven council seats. If instituted, the pay increases would go into effect January 2016, just after the November 2015 election where the mayor’s position and three council seats are up for grabs, according to Mr. Shaw's above-linked 10/31/12 report.

Cutting to the chase, "If the proposed 10 percent pay raises are approved, the mayor’s salary would increase to $119,742. The council chair would make $15,272, the vice chair would make $14,176, with remaining council members making $13,068"

Surely as the night follows the day, the Standard-Examiner editorial board yesterday followed up on this brewing story with yesterday's editorial, assuming the role of the tight-fisted Ogden City watchdog. "Ogden should not increase the salaries of its mayor and city council members by 10 percent. That is simply too high a raise in today’s economic environment," says the Standard-Examiner.

• Our View: No to a 10 percent raise

For those finicky readers among us, we provide the link to the Ogden City Council's October 28 packet, where the details of this salary-hike proposal are laid out in full.  It's an interesting read, demonstrating that city officials and staff have definitely done their homework:  

• 10/28 City Council Work Session Packet

By way of background we ran through this whole rigmarole in 2010, the last time Ogden elected officials' salary increases were on the table, with our article series treating the subject:

• 2010 WCF Ogden City Salary hike stories

Our take? As we unequivocally said in 2010, we believe "(Ogden) Council salaries... remain at rock bottom among all Utah cities which which are governed under the Utah mayor-council form."  In this respect, therefore, we differ with at least part of the SE's cautious assessment of this measure. Current Council salaries still remain "way" too low, in our opinion, and will still remain out of kilter, compared to Council salaries in other comparable Utah cities, even with the proposed new pay increases enacted in full. Thus once again, we'll ask our Ogden City Council, just as we did in 2010: "What's the matter?  Are you suffering from a self-esteem problem?"

As for Mayor Mike's current $108,856 salary (plus benefits), we think our Ogden City Mayor is doing just fine, compensation-wise.  And thus, and in that respect, we agree with the tight-fisted Standard-Examiner, in arguing that a 10% pay increase is WAY "too much, in this economy.".

So what are your own takes on this, O Gentle Ones?

The world-wide web eagerly awaits your ever-savvy comments.

Standard-Examiner: UTA Says Weber Transit Service Would Have Many Riders

We'll be keeping our eyes peeled, and fingers crossed, of course, as the UTA plods forward within the bureaucratic constraints of  this this ridiculously tedious Ogden Transit Study process

There's encouraging news for Ogden City streetcar fanciers this morning, as the Standard-Examiner's Mitch Shaw reports on the results of Tuesday's Ogden City Council Joint Work Session, wherein the Council received a a Transit Study update from Utah Transit Authority officials. Here's Mr. Shaw's lede:

OGDEN — If a public transit service between downtown Ogden, Weber State University and McKay-Dee Hospital ever becomes a reality, the Utah Transit Authority says it won’t be hurting for riders.
UTA officials met with the Ogden City Council Tuesday night to discuss progress on a nearly $900,000 transit study that is measuring the merits of a new transit system that would connect downtown Ogden to the campuses of WSU and McKay-Dee.

Here's the full story, folks:

• UTA says Weber transit service would have many riders

And here's the "kicker":

Jim McNulty, a strategic planner with UTA, told council members that by the year 2040, ridership numbers on the system could ultimately reach 8,000 per day. Ridership estimates for when the service initially begins aren’t available yet.
“We’re finding that we would have the ridership there when we open it up,” McNulty said. “We’ll have more precise information (on early ridership numbers) in about a month, but it’s looking good so far.”
McNulty said UTA’s new Sugar House streetcar system, which opened in December, is seeing about 1,000 riders each day.
“So obviously, seven to eight thousand (daily riders on the Ogden line) is a great number,” he said.

“We keep hearing streetcar, streetcar, streetcar.” “Weber State has indicated that that’s what they want, and we’ve heard that from (the public) as well,” Mr. McNulty adds.

We'll therefore be keeping our eyes peeled, and fingers crossed, of course, as the UTA plods forward within the bureaucratic constraints of  this ridiculously tedious Ogden Transit Study process.

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Council Approves (Loosened) Food Truck Restrictions

Yep, folks, the Council has adopted a cautious "wait and see" approach -- They'll be hunkering down to find out whether any aggrieved Food Truck vendor eventually files a lawsuit.

The Standard-Examiner reported Thursday on an interesting development on the Ogden City Council regulatory front.  Here's the lede:

OGDEN — The Ogden City Council will take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to deciding whether to loosen restrictions on the newly allowed mobile food trucks in downtown Ogden.
On Tuesday, the council voted to approve an ordinance that allows mobile food trucks to operate in commercial areas throughout Ogden, and most notably, the Central Business District, which is considered the area between 20th and 27th streets between Adams Avenue and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.
Prior to the ordinance being passed, food trucks were allowed only in manufacturing zones.

Here's the full Mitch Shaw story:

• Ogden council approves food truck restrictions

And here's the agenda item from Tuesday's Special City Council Meeting calender:

6. Reports from the Planning Commission:
b. Mobile Food Trucks. Proposed Ordinance 2014-34 amending Section 15-2 of the Ogden City Code to define and provide uniform standards for mobile food trucks, and to allow mobile food trucks to operate in certain zones. (Accept public input; adopt/not adopt ordinance)

We've also linked the full council packet, for those who require the full nitty-gritty (scroll to page 32):

• 08/12/14 Council Packet

Mr. Shaw refers to the Council's Tuesday action as one characterized as a "wait-and-see approach," which is probably entirely accurate, in view of a line of recent federal court decisions which seem to lean toward a fast-developing rule of  federal constitutional law providing that "the economic protection of a discrete interest group [existing 'brick and mortar' restauraunts in this instance] does not constitute a legitimate state interest under 'rational basis' [federal constitutional] review":

• Boston Law Review: The Fifth Circuit Lays Economic Protectionism to Rest in St. Joseph Abbey

As an added bonus, we'll link a couple of robust Institute for Justice informational pamphlets, providing a broad overview and guidance, concerning the direction which U.S. Food Truck and Street Vendor Regulation seems to be moving, within the current multi-jurisdictional American landscape:

• Food Truck Freedom - How to Build Better Food -Truck Laws in Your City
• Streets of Dreams - How Cities Can Create Economic Opportunity by By Knocking Down Protectionist Barriers to Street Vending

Yep, folks, the Council has adopted a cautious "wait and see" approach, alright.  They'll no doubt  be hunkering down to find out whether any aggrieved Food Truck vendor eventually files a lawsuit, we suspect.

We'll also point out that our sympathies lie with our existing "brick and mortar" Ogden restaurateur entrepreneurs, who are the real investors in our community.

So what say out Gentle Readers about all this?

City Council Notes: Ogden City Proposes the Construction of Another Parking Garage - Updated

This folks, is a project which must be closely watched

Amidst this weeks excessively slo-o-o-w local news, we've received a "hot" tip from a gentle reader concerning an Ogden City Council agenda item which, until today has been a mite "below the radar." Specifically, at tonight's Ogden City Redevelopment Agency meeting, "[t]he RDA Board will consider a Resolution authorizing the Executive Director to execute a Real Estate Purchase Contract with H&P Investments for purchase of three parcels of property located between Kiesel and Grant and 24th and 25th Streets for $1.1 million. The City hopes to construct a parking structure on the property."

Here's the RDA agenda item:

4. Reports from Administration:
a. Property Acquisition – 2423 Kiesel Avenue. Proposed Resolution 2014-11 approving the terms and conditions of a real estate purchase contract for property located at approximately 2423 Kiesel Avenue.
(Adopt/not adopt resolution – roll call vote)
b. Land Transfer and Development Agreement – 2250 Kiesel Avenue. Proposed Resolution 2014-12 approving the terms and conditions of a land transfer and development agreement for property located at approximately 2250 Kiesel Avenue. (Adopt/not adopt resolution – roll call vote)

And here's this evening's full council packet, for those who'd like to read up:

• 07/01 City Council-RDA Special Session

Curiously, this proposed  project is situated within one block of another parking structure which Ogden City blithely "gave away" to Marketstar Corporation in late 2008:

• Ogden Gives Away Parking Garage

Similarly, the City built a parking garage on Lincoln Avenue between 20th and 21st, and then promptly gave it  away to the American Can owners:

• The Junction: What Next?

Sodden questions: 

1. Is there another private company standing in the wings to benefit from a similar demonstration of Ogden City largesse? 
2. With Ogden City's new public transit plan nearing fruition, does it make sense at this juncture for Ogden City to be committing millions of dollars toward building yet another automobile-centric parking structure?
3. What's the projected cost of the final buildout?  

So many questions... so few answers.

This Ogden City Lumpencitizens, is a project which must be closely watched.

Update 7/2/14 8:15 a.m.:  The Standard's Mitch Shaw provides this post-meeting story, which reports that the RDA Board  approved the purchase of the three subject parcels last night, and that the bulk of the purchase price will be borne by the taxpayers of Weber County:

• Ogden, Weber County teaming up to buy land for parking garage

The projected cost of the final buildout? This "minor" story detail still remains a mystery.

Standard-Examiner: City Eyes $5M West Ogden Land Buy

A heartyWeber County Forum Tip O' the Hat to the Ogden City Council and Mayor Mike, for aggressively tackling the long-neglected blight problem on Ogden's West Side.

Via Standard-Examiner reporter Mitch Shaw:

The "post-apocalyptic" part of Ogden is getting a face lift. Here's the lede:

OGDEN — Though the original iteration of the concept sat dormant for 25 years, a project to develop a large portion of West Ogden is now gaining some major momentum.
Ogden City wants to purchase $5.9 million worth of land on just over 50 acres surrounding the vacant Ogden Exchange Building near the old stockyards in West Ogden. The five individual properties are sought by the city so they can begin a redevelopment project being called the Ogden Business Exchange.
The city is working with an undisclosed developer to build a light-manufacturing, industrial and business park in the area, which city officials say will spearhead growth in an area of Ogden that has been void of any major business activity for years.
The project is included in an economic development project area called the Trackline Economic Development Plan, which was adopted last year by the city council to assist with financing the OBE park.

Read Mr. Shaw's encouraging full story here:

• City eyes $5M West Ogden land buy

A hearty Weber County Forum Tip O' the Hat to the Ogden City Council and Mayor Mike, for aggressively tackling the long-neglected blight problem on Ogden's West Side.

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Council May Dump Possibly Illegal Straw-poll Voting

We'll be keeping out fingers crossed that Dr. Schroeder won't be compelled to file another remedial lawsuit, right?

As the Ogden City Council dutifully prepares to swear in our newly-elected council members, and select council "leadership" for the upcoming two years, The Standard-Examiner reports that the Council will on Monday consider procedural amendments which would would ideally bring the council leadership nomination and selection process into compliance with requirements of Utah's Open and Public Meetings Act:

OGDEN -- After being informed it may be in violation of Utah's Open and Public Meetings Act, the Ogden City Council will consider changing the way members nominate and elect council officers.
In a special meeting Monday, the council will consider amending its "rules of procedure" to abandon a straw poll voting process it had been using when selecting the chair and vice chair positions on the council.
Currently, the nomination and election of the two leadership positions takes place in a council study session, where council members indicate on a straw poll form whom they would like to nominate.
Council members fold the forms and place them in a designated container that is given to council's executive director, who determines which council members have been nominated.
After nominations have been made, voting takes place under the same straw poll format, and the individual responses are anonymous.
When the straw poll results are finalized, they are ratified in the regular council meeting.

 Check out the full Mitch Shaw story here:

• Ogden council  may dump possibly illegal straw-poll voting

"David Reymann, a Salt Lake City attorney who specializes in First Amendment and media litigation, including open records laws and access to court proceedings, recently sent the council [the below-linked] letter stating that its current practice violates the state's open and public meetings law," Mr. Shaw further reports. We've independently obtained a full copy of that letter, of course:

• David C. Reymann 12/12/13 Letter

We've been complaining about the Council's secret ballot council leadership nomination and election process since it was first initiated back in December of 2010; and the procedure has also caught editorial heat from the Standard-Examiner.

A Weber County Forum Tip O' The Hat to Ogden City Watchdog Dan Schroeder for consulting with Attorney  Reymann and asking him to write the advisory letter.  Similar kudos to Council Chair Bart Blair for promptly placing the matter on Monday's special counsel meeting agenda.

As the Standard Editorial Board opined in 2010, "it's never a good idea to try to reduce council animosity by taking away from the public decisions and rationales that they have a right to hear about. In other words, the secret straw polls should not be used as anger-management therapy."

We'll be keeping out fingers crossed that Dr. Schroeder won't be compelled to file another remedial lawsuit, right?

Update 1/6/131:30 p.m.: We now learn, however belatedly, that Perfessor Schroader is now "live blogging" from the Ogden City Council Chambers.  Be sure to tune in.  Sadly, your blogmeister is probably the last to learn about this, inasmuch as Dan S. never gave us a "heads up" about this. Nevertheless... Go Dr. Schroeder; GO!

Standard-Examiner: Downtown Ogden to See 128-unit Complex in 2 Years

A million bucks from the O-town sheeple... for temple workers???

By Smaatguy

From this morning's Mitch Shaw story:

OGDEN -- Another large set of new apartments will be built in downtown Ogden within the next two years.

The city council has approved an agreement between the city and IDG Horizons Development to bring a $15 million, 128-unit apartment development to the northeast corner of 23rd Street and Washington Boulevard, directly across the street from The Junction...

As part of the agreement, Ogden will pay IDG Horizons 100 percent of available tax increment generated by the development until December 2030.

Another taxpayer "haircut"

Read up:

• Downtown Ogden to see 128-unit complex in 2 years

More subsidies....a million bucks from O-town sheeple.... for temple workers???

Sheesh!

They cant fill the empty apartments that are there now above Deseret Book...

Comments?

Standard-Examiner: Mansions May Be Coming to Ogden's Riverside

Mayor Caldwell and the Ogden RDA: Clearly "on mission" with the primary Ogden RDA raison d'etre

Eye-opening morning story from the Standard-Examiner concerning the latest Mike Caldwell Administration/ Ogden Redevelopment Agency "tweak" to the still-struggling Ogden River Project:

OGDEN — Large mansion homes along the Ogden River? They could be coming, and the city says they would help clean up what has been one of the city’s rougher areas.
The city council last week approved a city real estate purchase of 4.16 acres at 1810 Gibson Ave. The Ogden City Redevelopment Agency bought the land from Richard L. Christiansen and paid $425,000 for it.
The parcel of land could be the starting point for a large residential development of about 10 acres along the northwestern end of the Ogden River.
As of now, the city is calling the development “Gibson Grove,” and it would feature town homes, condos and several “mansion homes” that would be tucked away at the end of a private road with immediate connection to the Ogden River Parkway.
The plan currently calls for 48 condos, 39 town homes and five mansions.

Read up, folks:

• Mansions may be coming to Ogden's riverside

And here's the kicker:

On the very site of what could eventually be Gibson Grove sits an abandoned building that provides shelter to transients. Ogden Police Officer Kevin Mann said he finds transients illegally camping out in the building on a weekly basis.
Brandon Cooper, deputy manager for Ogden’s economic development department, said the city is currently exploring options to raze the building.

"An abandoned building that provides shelter to transients?"  S-E reporter Mitch Shaw said a "real mouthful" there, wethinks.  In this connection, check out this illuminating video from and earlier S-E story on this Gibson Avenue topic:


Added Bonus:  From last week's RDA packet, we've gleaned this image, which preasumably provides a preview of what these proposed Gibson Grove "mansions" will look like, within walking distance of the newly remodeled Ogden LDS Temple:

While we suppose we could all quibble about the architectural aesthetics, we believe we can all agree that it's a heckuva lot better than the structure which is presently in place, right?
  

The primary raison d'etre for the Ogden Redevelopment Agency is to "encourage private investment in blighted areas of the community;" and Mayor Caldwell and the Ogden RDA are thus clearly "on mission" with this project, we believe. In contrast with certain other misguided Ogden RDA projects which have been clearly "off mission," Weber County Forum is delighted to give this project a giant "thumbs-up."

So what about it, O Gentle Ones? Is there anyone among our collection of Ogden political wonks who will argue that Ogden City ought not pursue this project at full throttle? 

More Corporate "Freebees" from the Ogden City Council? - Updated

Fattening the purse of the latest corporate welfare recipient developer, to the tune of $1,000,000

Interesting agenda items popping up on tonight's Ogden City Council and Ogden City Redevelopment Agency Board calenders:

Click to enlarge image

3. Reports from Administration:
a. Mixed Use Master Development Agreement – Ogden 20th Street Investors. Proposed Resolution 2013-16 approving the Mixed Use Zone Master Development Agreement for the Ogden Bend Master Planned Community for the Development of land generally located between 20th Street and the Ogden River and between Grant Avenue and Lincoln Avenue together with land between the Ogden River and 18th Street and between Kiesel Avenue and Grant Avenue.

Here's the nitty-gritty:

Developer Responsibilities:

• Complete the development in accordance with all laws,including the Riverbend Master Plan
• Phase the project and submit documents for approval in accordance with the MUMDA
• Meet all Open Space and Trails Requirements outlined in the Master Plan
• Construct all on-site public infrastructure and convey to the City
• Meet and confer regarding Development Application Denials
• Meet and confer regarding Development progress

Ogden City Responsibilities

• Bend over backwards to "facilitate" this project
• Cough up an additional $1 million in tax increment to fat-cat develper

The bottom line?

Ogden City, along with an administration-compliant Ogden City Council will apparently be fattening the purse of the latest corporate welfare recipient developer, to the tune of $1,000,000.

Projected "net value" to we Ogden City Taxpayers  after this project is completed? Well who knows?

Sodden question: If Ogden City is such a great place to invest, why do the one-trick-ponies of the Ogden City  Economic Development Department (holdovers from the Godfrey administration) find it "necessary" to continue to "bribe" these "developers" (and current property owners) into "investing" in Ogden?

Just "axin.'"

Update 9/11/13 6:30 a.m.: Looks like the Council and RDA jumped in with both feet:

Mixed Use Master Development Agreement – Ogden 20th Street Investors. Proposed Resolution 2013-16 approving the Mixed Use Zone Master Development Agreement for the Ogden Bend Master Planned Community for the Development of land generally located between 20^th Street and the Ogden River and between Grant Avenue and Lincoln Avenue together with land between the Ogden River and 18^th Street and between Kiesel Avenue and Grant Avenue. Resolution adopted, vote: 7-0

A full twenty months into the Caldwell administration, the taxpayers of Ogden are still paying through the nose to "clean up" Boss Godfrey's "messes;" and BRIBERY even now remains as Ogden City's #1 economic development tool.

Update 9/16/13 6:30 a.m.:  Via the Ogden City website, here's the video of the 9/10/13 RDA meeting:

Ogden Water and Sewer Bonding Update: Major Campaign Issue Delivered On a Silver Platter

A Weber County Forum Tip 'O the Hat to Councilwoman Wicks, the sole current council member with a lick of common sense

(Translation: Rubber-stamped)

The Standard's Mitch Shaw reports on last night's 6-1 Council vote, whereby an extremely docile and administration-compliant Council majority basically rubber-stamped the Caldwell administration's recommended new top-dollar bonding, authorizing the issuance of  some $18 million in Water and Sewer Utility improvement bonds under the following specific parameters, with council member Amy Wicks being the lone dissenting vote:

The first resolution authorizes the city to pay for a new water treatment plant at the top of Ogden Canyon by issuing $13.4 million in bonds and paying it off over 25 years. The second resolution pays for storm sewer improvements along Harrison Boulevard by issuing $4.7 million in bonds with a 20-year repayment period.

Read Mr. Shaw's full writeup here:

• Ogden finalizes water bond issue

A Weber County Forum Tip 'O the Hat to Councilwoman Wicks, the sole current council member with a lick of common sense.

Write this down...
so you don't forget it!

Congrats to council challengers Pamela Shupe Stevens, Turner C. Bitton, Stephen D. Thompson, Marcia L. White and Courtney Jon White, who've just had a major 2013 Ogden Municipal Election campaign issue delivered by the council incumbents on an engraved silver golden platter, and dropped onto their very laps.

"Opportunity knocks," Ogden City Council challengers.

Update 8/27/13 5:00 p.m.: Thanks to the helpful intercession of Ogden's own "Mayor Mike," the full August 21 Council meeting video is now available for viewing via Youtube:

Ogden City Water/Sewer Bonding Update: Live Blogging From the City Council Chambers Tonight

Ogden Mayor Caldwell: $28 mil sitting in bank; wants to borrow $18 mil more

Big doin's in the Ogden City Council Chambers tonight, as our Ogden City Council continues its consideration of  a "preferred" Caldwell administration proposal which could result in as much as $18 million in combined Water and Sewer Utility  bonding, including much-needed construction funding for a new water treatment plant for the Water Utility.  Tonight's the night that the council will hear public comments on the Mayor's preferred proposal, along with at least five other Council-requested options set forth below.  As an added bonus, O Weber County Forum political wonks, we're delighted to report that Ogden City watchdog Dan Schroeder has just now confirmed that he'll "be there and can provide some live coverage." For a brief overview of the various options on the Council table, we set forth the "essentials" below, gleaned from tonight's council packet:

The Council will hold a public hearing to accept input on issuance of  bonds to fund the water treatment plant and various water distributions projects and various storm water projects, including the Harrison Boulevard project.

Sewer and Water Revenue Bonds-Water Treatment Plant
Bond Parameters Resolution 2013-19 set the parameters for funding the2013 Series Bonds. The parameters for the bonds are as follows:

• Not to Exceed Amount: $15,500,000
• Not to Exceed Interest Rate: 6%
• Not to Exceed Term: 35 years
• Not to Exceed Discount: 3%

The Parameters Resolution set a cap on the amount, interest rate and term. However, LYRB estimates that actual bond amounts and interest rate will be much lower. The Administrative Transmittal set forth the Administration’s original recommendation. It set the actual approximate amounts as follows:

• Actual Approximate Amount: $13,700,000
• Actual Approximate Interest Rate: 4.7%
• Actual Term: 30 years

Approximate Issuance Costs: $360,000
Repayment of the debt service of $850,000 annually would come from the water utility.

At the Council’s request, the Administration provided other options for the Council’s consideration as follows:

Click to enlarge image

Storm Sewer Revenue Bonds – Harrison Boulevard Project
Bond Parameters Resolution 2013-20 set the parameters for funding the 2013 Series Bonds. The parameters for the bonds are as follows:

• Not to Exceed Amount: $5,500,000
• Not to Exceed Interest Rate: 6%
• Not to Exceed Term: 25 years
• Not to Exceed Discount: 3%

The Parameters Resolution set a cap on the amount, interest rate and term. However, LYRB estimates that actual bond amounts and interest rate will be much lower. The Administrative Transmittal indicates that actual bond issue will be as follows:

• Actual Approximate Amount: $4,700,000
• Actual Approximate Interest Rate: 4.12%
• Actual Term: 20 years
• Approximate Issuance Costs: $180,000

Repayment of the debt service, which will be approximately $340,000 annually, will come from the sewer utility.

Tonight's council meeting will kick off promptly at 6:00 p.m.  If you can't make it to the Council chambers tonight, do the next best thing, and tune into Weber County Forum for Dan Schroeder's ever-informative live blogging.

With something like $28 million in city Water and Sewer funds drawing a measly 1% interest, will the City Council nevertheless simply rubber-stamp the Mayor's "Borrow to the Max" approach?  Or will the City Council, during the 2013 Municipal Election season, avoid the ire of the lumpentaxpayers, tap into the Mayor's ridiculously bloated $28 million "slush fund," and instead adopt a more fiscally-manageable "common sense" approach?

We guess we'll find out tonight, eh, folks?

Update 8/20/13 5:49 p.m.:  Eureka, WCF readers.  Dan S. has just now logged into Weber County Forum, and is now live-blogging from the City Council Chambers.  Click "comments" to read Dan's real-time posts!

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Council to Address Bonding for Water Treatment Facility

Big Debt faces off versus Common Sense

Mark your calenders, folks. As a followup to our most recent article on the subject, the Standard carries a story this morning, announcing to its print readership, in advance, Ogden City Council's previously set public August 20 public hearing, concerning the Caldwell administration's proposed $18 million water/sewer capital improvement bonding:

• Ogden council to address bonding for water treatment facility

Borrowing "to the Max"

S-E reporter Mitch Shaw has even done some additional "sleuthing" on the subject, and reveals that despite calls for financing some portion of these repairs from some $28 million (not the mere $10 million which Mr. Shaw reports) which is sitting mostly idle in the Water and Sewer Uitility Funds' bank accounts,  the Caldwell administration remains steadfast in seeking to run up the city's prospect bond debt "to the max," at the highest possible principal loan amount, over the longest possible repayment term:

“A lower bond amount or shorter term would save the city interest over time,” reads a letter issued Thursday by the city’s Public Services Department.
“However, the benefits of such savings are currently outweighed by the capital needs of the water utility.”
Because the full amount of the bond was planned for in the city’s financial sustainability plan, the mayor and the Public Services Department believe that increasing the number of projects to replace leaking pipes and addressing other projects identified in the master plan will actually provide a better return for the water utility than reducing any debt costs associated with the term or amount of the proposed water bond.
The city council is also considering a $4.7 million storm sewer bond that would come with an interest rate of approximately 4 percent and would be paid out over 20 years.

We'll sdd that we're delighted to observe the Standard finally getting ahead of this important story, for once, at least.

Down in the lower SE comments section, we're also delighted to find that Ogden City Political Watchdog Dan Schroeder has already chimed in with his own views on this "thorny" subject:

When the financial sustainability plan was put together last year, the city's consultants predicted lower revenues, higher expenses, and lower interest rates. Now we know better: higher revenues and lower operating expenses have allowed the water fund to accumulate more cash than expected. On the other hand, interest rates have increased so borrowing money is less affordable. The city would be foolish not to adjust its plan in light of these changed circumstances. That means spending the accumulated cash and borrowing less.

Thus the stage is set; and the battle lines are drawn:

Big Debt v. Common Sense

Keep your eyes on Weber County Forum this coming Tuesday, where we'll devote a dedicated new article to the City Council arena bonding battle which is brewing between the lumpencitizen-driven forces of  Fiscal Common Sense vs. the bureaucratic advocates of Big Government Debt.

And yes.  We do believe that the current council's treatment of this issue could become an important 2013 Ogden Municipal Election issue, depending on how the council incumbents handle it.

Update 8/16/13 9:00 p.m.: Thanks to a tip from yet another sharp-eyed and alert WCF reader, we provide this online Question and Answer sheet, elaborately setting forth the Caldwell administration's surprisingly flimsy "rationale" concerning this matter:

• 2014 Water and Storm Sewer Bonds Questions and Answers

Ogden Council Set to Discuss $18 Million Utility Project Bonding at Tonight's Work Session - Updated

Ogden City Administration continues to push for bond financing of the "whole $18,921,773 enchilada" even on the eve of the 2013 Municipal Election

As a followup to our July 29 and July 31 WCF articles, wherein Dan Schroeder reported on the inexorable progress of the Ogden City Administration toward $18 million in new water and sewer infrastructure bonding, we'll provide a quick heads-up regarding tonight's Ogden City Council work session, where the council will "Discuss Various Options Proposed for Bonding," as more particularly set forth as the last item in tonight's Council Packet. Here's a screenshot of the series of water utility "options" which will be discussed tonight, with the Administration's preference prominently highlighted in yellow, presumably to keep our City Council on the legislative "straight and narrow," we suppose:

And here are the Administration's suggested parameters for the sewer bonding:

So amidst all the talk about financing some portion of our water and sewer utility improvement expenses from the $28 or so million we have sitting in the bank, drawing a measly 1% interest, the Administration continues to push for bonding the "whole $18,921,773 enchilada," at an interest rate which even our esteemed "financial advisor," Lewis, Young, Robertson, and Burningham, "estimates" could be as high as 6%.

Although these proposed bonding matters have indeed been set for additional public discussion for August 20, having observed the council's aggravating pattern of making their decisions at the "work session level," we do express our concern that a council majority will already have their minds made up even before Ogden lumpencitizens have enjoyed the "formal" opportunity to chime in on the issue.

There's no word whether Dan S. will be available for live blogging tonight; but we'll be keeping a close eye on the results of tonight's work session in any event, particularly in view of the ongoing 2013 election, wherein we have the strong sense that the financial prudence of these current bonding proposals could very well develop into an important campaign issue.

Update 8/6/13 5:59 p.m.:  Dan Schroeder is now live-blogging from tonight's Ogden City Council Work Session! Click "Comments" to read Dan's real-time posts.

Update 8/7/13 6:30 a.m.:  A public hearing on the bonds has been set by the City Council for August 20.

City Council Meeting Special: Live Blogging From the City Council Chambers Tonight - Updated

$18 million water infrastructure bonding proposal on the agenda

We just received some good news from Dan Schroeder a couple of minutes ago, regarding tonight's Ogden City Council Meeting, wherein the Ogden City Administration's $18 million water infrastructure bonding proposal, which was the subject of  Dan's WCF writeup of yesterday, will be discussed and put to a Council vote.

Just to get you all into the spirit, here's a (slightly generic) video lead, which we nevertheless believe to be a highly suitable prelude for a council meeting of such importance as tonight's Ogden City "legislative branch" meetup:


Pull up your Barcaloungers and pop up your Oville Reddenbacher's folks...

Meeting kicks of at 6 p.m. sharp!

Look to our comments section, to read Dan's realtime posts.

Happy day! We have Dan's live blogging from the Ogden City Council Chambers tonight.

Update 7/31/13 6:30 a.m.:  The Standard's Mitch Shaw provides a morning report of last night's meeting, noting, among other things, that "... for the water plant bond, both the total amount of the bond and the number of years it will be repaid could change before the bond issuance is finalized after an Aug. 20 public hearing on the matter":

• Ogden OKs bond resolutions for storm sewer repairs, new water plant

Thus there's still one more chance to lobby your council members to minimize the total debt to be bonded and interest to be accrued, people:

• Contact Ogden City Elected Officials

And with November's 2013 Municipal Election polling fast approaching, Ward 3 council challenger Turner C. Bitton demonstrates his attention to important Ogden City issues and chimes in with last evening's water infrastructure bonding-topical press release:

• Ogden Council candidate blasts proposals for water bonds

Additional thanks to Dan Schroeder for his dogged gavel-to-gavel coverage of last night's meeting.

Update 8/4/13 2:00 p.m.:  The full Council video is now available for viewing:

• Ogden City Council July 30 2013

Ogden Council Poised to Borrow $18 Million for Utility Projects

Sole purpose of new debt is to maintain even larger cash balance in case of “emergency”

By Dan Schroeder

The Ogden City Council will vote this Tuesday on the proposed bonds that were discussed at its July 9 work session. The bonds are intended to fund a new water filter plant below Pineview Dam ($11.6 million), some smaller water infrastructure projects ($1.8 million), and a series of storm drain improvements to alleviate storm water hazards on Harrison Blvd. ($4.7 million). These bonds would add to the utility funds’ existing debt of approximately $60 million.

Nobody is questioning the importance of these utility infrastructure projects. But at the July 9 work session, several council members wisely questioned the idea of paying for them with borrowed money, when the utility funds have more than enough cash already sitting in the bank. City treasurer Mike Goodwin stated on July 9 that the water fund balance was currently at approximately $11 million, while the sewer and storm drain fund was at approximately $17 million. He further stated that these cash reserves are held in a variety of investments that earn from 0.5% to 1.25% interest.

Thus, the city administration is proposing to borrow approximately $18 million at 4 or 5% interest, for the sole purpose of maintaining an even larger cash balance that’s earning approximately 1% interest.

The council’s agenda packet for this Tuesday (relevant pages excerpted here) shows a few further details and minor changes to the proposal.

First, to partially address the council’s concerns, the staff are now offering four different borrowing options for the water portion of the bonds (see Council Staff Review, page 3). The three new options would reduce the water bond amount from $13.4 million to $11.6 million, or reduce the repayment period from 30 years to 20, or both. Making both changes would reduce the total interest payments from about $11 million to only $6 million (not including the interest on the storm drain bonds).

Second, staff have provided some updated numbers for the current financial position of the water fund (see pdf page 9, numbered 4 on the page). Apparently the water fund balance stood at $10.2 million at the end of June, somewhat less than Goodwin had informally indicated on July 9. Furthermore, the city is making an emergency expenditure of $1.4 million to replace the pipeline that recently ruptured near the mouth of Ogden Canyon and temporarily closed Highway 39. (I’m not sure why this long-overdue pipeline replacement wasn’t already in the city’s near-term plans.)

On the other hand, the water fund had an operating surplus of $3.2 million for the most recent year, and another rate increase of 7%, approved in May of last year, just took effect this month. So by the time the bills for the filter plant come due in 2015, the fund should have accumulated several million dollars more.

(The council packet does not include any updated information on the cash balance of the sewer and storm drain fund—only budget projections that are now out of date.)

So again, why would the city borrow money at 4 or 5% interest, just to maintain an even larger cash balance earning only 1%?

The council actually adopted a resolution last year that endorsed the concept of maintaining large cash balances. At that time, the justification provided by the city’s financial consultant (Laura Lewis of Lewis, Young, Robertson, and Burningham) was that large cash reserves look good to investors, making it possible for the city to borrow money at lower interest rates. In other words, the reason to borrow the money, rather than paying for the projects with cash, is so the city can get a lower interest rate when it borrows the money.

Lewis did not repeat this line of circular reasoning on July 9. Instead she pointed out that if the city uses up all its cash reserves and then an emergency repair needs to be made, the interest rate on an emergency loan or bond would be relatively high. Nobody in the room gave an example of what sort of emergency expenditure they thought the city might expect to make.

Even if the city forgoes the bond and pays for the filter plant and other projects with cash, the total balance in the utility funds should should never drop below $10 million. And the city’s utility infrastructure is widely dispersed, so it’s hard to imagine an emergency that would cost more than a couple million dollars in the short term. (The $1.4 million pipeline replacement near the mouth of Ogden Canyon is an excellent example.)

I recently asked a couple of council members what sort of disaster they have in mind that might cost the city more than $10 million in emergency repairs. The only scenario they’ve mentioned is the potential failure of Pineview Dam, perhaps due to a major earthquake. Geologists estimate that major earthquakes on the Wasatch Fault occur on average every 300-400 years. In such an unlikely event, it is highly probable that Ogden’s utility systems would be eligible for federal grants that would cover at least 75% of the cost of replacement.

Lewis, Young, et al.,
Taxpayer Leeches
"Financial Consultants"

So I’m still at a loss to understand the motivation behind these proposed bonds, which would ultimately cost the city about $10 million in net interest payments (plus or minus a few million, depending on the option chosen and the actual interest rates obtained). That’s $10 million that the city could instead spend on other needed infrastructure upgrades in coming years—or refund to the citizens in the form of lower utility rates.

But it’s quite clear that the Caldwell administration is behind this bonding proposal—as is its consultant, Laura Lewis. Lewis’s firm would presumably act as the city’s “financial advisor” on the bonds, and (according to the final page of the packet excerpt) receive a fee of 0.4% of the amount borrowed, or about $70,000.

City Council Notes: Ogden Considers Water Bonds for More Than $18 million - Updated

With three Ogden Council incumbents running for re-election in the 2013 Municipal Election, it'll be fascinating to observe where the Council goes from here, won't it?

A cool $18 28 mil in the bank

As a followup to last night's Ogden City Council work session, wherein the Ogden City Council discussed the prospect of issuing a total of as much as $21 Million in new bonding to fund a proposed Ogden water treatment plant and various storm water projects, the Standard's Mitch Shaw breaks the bad news to its print readership that the Council has set a hearing on July 30, 2013 to consider going even further into hock, even though Ogden City already has a total of at least $18 28 million (in "emergency money," so-called) currently sitting idly in its water and sewer funds:

• Ogden considers water bonds for more than $18 million

Ogden City water utilities watchdog Dan Schroeder hits the nail squarely on the head, wethinks:

The elephant in the room here is that the water and sewer funds have approximately the same amount of cash, just sitting there, probably earning only about 1 percent interest,” Schroeder said. “According to the projections that (Ogden water rate consultant Lewis, Young, Robertson & Burningham) made last year, the cash as of now should be over $18 million. For the life of me I can’t figure out why anyone would borrow money at over 4 percent interest when they have the same amount sitting there in the bank earning only 1 percent.

Apparently at least some math-capable Ogden Councilmembers are also on the same page as Schroeder: "Council members Amy Wicks, Susie Van Hooser and Doug Stephens asked Laura Lewis, with LYRB, the same question," Mr. Shaw reports.

“I’m not proposing that we suck the fund dry. But if we have a lot of cash on hand, it might make sense to come to some sort of compromise where we aren’t bonding for so much,” adds the ever level-headed Councilwoman Wicks.

With three Ogden Council incumbents Bart Blair, Neil Garner and Doug Stephens running for re-election in the 2013 Municipal Election, it'll be fascinating to observe where the Council goes from here, won't it?

"Do the Math," LOL!

Update 7/10/13 12:03 p.m.:  Via the ever-diligent Ogden political watchdog Dan Schroeder, we now learn that the cash balances are actually "$11 million in the water fund and $17 million in the sewer fund," so it's a cool $28 million total which Ogden City has "parked" (nearly interest-free) in these respective City "emergency slush funds." Moreover, inasmuch as the new prospective bond is expected to be for $18.4 million, our ever-wise City Council "critters" could actually "forego the bond [entirely] and still have about $10 million left as a cash cushion against future emergencies."

Go figure, heheheh....

Standard-Examiner: Ogden OKs Transit System Study From Intermodal Hub to WSU to McKay-Dee

Dare we ask the question? Is an Ogden Streetcar system finally in our future?

At risk of coming off as a mite late to the party, we'll shine the spotlight on a story from yesterday's Standard-Examiner, reporting on the result of one agenda item on Tuesday night's Ogden City Council calender, representing what we believe to be a most significant and too-long-coming milestone in Ogden City public transit advocates' effort to establish a high-quality transit system between Ogden’s downtown corridor and the campuses of WSU and the Dee-McKay Hospital.  Here's the gist:

OGDEN — The once-stalled Ogden streetcar project is now gaining some major forward momentum.
The city council adopted a joint resolution Tuesday night, authorizing a study for a transit system connecting the Utah Transit Authority Intermodal Hub, Weber State University and McKay-Dee Hospital.
Officials said that, ideally, the study will result in a high-quality transit system between Ogden’s downtown corridor and the campuses of WSU and the hospital.
“Ultimately, we want to identify a project that can be taken to construction and built,” said Hal Johnson, UTA manager of project development.

Read the full story here, folks:

• Ogden OKs transit system study from intermodal hub to WSU to McKay-Dee

Yes, it's been a long haul. Except for one dismal and knuckle-headed distraction which took this project off-track for at least half a decade, Ogden City lumpencitizens and Northern Utah commuters might have been otherwise on the verge of enjoying the comfort and convenience of a cross-town public transit system amenity years ago.

We've sat on our collective thumbs here in Ogden for years, whilst our more aggressive and better-focused neighbors to the south now put the finishing touches on their own cross-town, high-quality transit system project, even as we speak.

A Weber County Forum Tip "O the Hat to the Ogden City Council for at last placing this project on the front burner, where it clearly belongs.

Dare we ask the question?  Is an Ogden Streetcar System finally in our future?