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:

Standard-Examiner: GEAR:30 Opens in Ogden Riverbend Project Area

Taxpayer inducements?  A question left oddly unexplored

Encouraging news this morning on the Ogden City economic development front, as the Standard announces the arrival of a new player for the Ogden Riverfront Project.  Here's the lead:

OGDEN — While Ogden city continues to promote itself as a world- class outdoor-recreation destination, owners of a new retail store near downtown hope to ride that wave.
GEAR:30, a premier mountain equipment shop, is now open at 1931 S. Washington Blvd., positioned as one of the centerpieces in the Ogden Riverbend project, right between Kneaders Bakery & Cafe, Slackwater Pub & Pizzeria and the Bingham Cyclery.

Check out the full Mitch Shaw writeup here:

• GEAR:30 opens in Ogden Riverbend project area

“We all became kind of tired of having to drive down to Salt Lake (City) to find decent gear,” GEAR:30 co-partner Jeff Young said. “There was really no place in the entire Ogden area where you could get quality stuff, and that meant that you had thousands of dollars leaving Ogden, which is a shame.”

Looks like this new operation will fill a heretofore un-filled retail marketing niche, we'll cautiously observe; and it would appear that this new outfit won't step on any other existing busuness's toes, thank goodness.

Conspicuously absent from this morning's story, of course, is any information concerning any Ogden taxpayer subsidies or other financial inducements which might have been responsible for luring in this new business, an issue which, taking into account Ogden City's track record,  we do believe S-E reporter Shaw ought to have fully explored.

Breaking News From the Standard-Examiner: Ogden River Improvements Benefit Area Anglers, Hungry Mink

What's next for Ms. Mancuso? A membership in the Ogden Sierra Club?

Breaking news from the Standard-Examiner this morning.  Here's the lede:

OGDEN — One of the byproducts of Ogden’s efforts to make the Ogden River Parkway more welcoming may be that it has made the area more welcoming for mink.
Not mink to make coats out of. These are common, American, fish-stealing mink. They are mink so aggressive, or hungry, they’re willing to play tug-of-war for a 13-inch brown trout.
Marianne Mancuso played that game with a mink and lost. It was the fish or her tackle, she said, and the mink, all 15 inches of it — not counting the tail — won.

Here's this morning's full S-E story:

• Ogden River improvements benefit area anglers, hungry mink

Hey waitaminnit... Marianne Mancuso? Where have we denizens of Ogden City heard that name before?

O yeah... here:

• Breaking: Police Arrest Woman in Connection with Leshemville Fires

Congrats to the formerly misguided Ogden political activist Ms. Mancuso, we say. Rather than continuing to burn down the downtown Ogden Riverside neighborhood (her apparent earlier modus operandi), she's now mended her ways completely, and is volunteering to feed the ravenous minks along the Ogden River, we guess.

What's next for Ms. Mancuso? A membership in the Ogden Sierra Club?

Sidebar Reader Query: By the way, can we see by a show of hands how many of our savvy WCF brainiacs, especially those who actually angle on the Ogden River, really and truly  believe that Ms. Mancuso had a 15-inch Brown Trout ("not counting the tail," LOL) swiped from her hook by a hungry mink?

Let's just say we have our doubts... and howbout vous, O My Fellow Fishermanpeople?

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Hopes to Demolish Buildings in Effort to Revitalize Ogden River Project Area

Sodden question: If this is such a great project, why does the public have to fund it?

By Smaatguy

This just chaps my hide... here we go again. $100k to another developer to get things moving. I don't recall the city handing  me even a stick of gum when I remodeled my building:

• Ogden hopes to demolish buildings in effort to revitalize Ogden River Project area

Questions... just how much of this $100 k will remain in Ogden? With as big as this project appears to be and as "attractive" it is going to be, then it ought to be so successful that the public does not need to be funding it in ANY way.  They say "the removal of the buildings is essentially free to the city." Ummm....so the City owns the buildings?  NO...so how is that free to the city?

And here we go again with jobs lies... "creating" 30 to 50 temporary construction jobs.  How?  Are they going to tear them down with spoons?  50 guys riding a trackhoe?

As far as local developer... Google Wright Development Group and see where that lands ya.  Yup... Layton... Hilton Garden Inn... sound familiar?    Again the question...if this is such a great project, why does the public have to fund it?

I am livid beyond words.

Weber County Forum Thursday Morning News Roundup

Utah restaurant and bar owners claim lawsuit settlement "victory;" and Ogden officials seek "blue ribbon" designation for rehabbed 1.1 mile Ogden River stretch

We'll put the spotlight on several interesting items from the Northern Utah print media, as we wedge in items of local interest amidst our continuing 2012 GOP National Convention news coverage:

1) Via the Standard-Examiner we learn that "Utah restaurant and bar owners are toasting the settlement of a lawsuit in their fight to get the state to allow drink specials," as the the Utah Hospitality Association settles its federal lawsuit:

• Utah bars claim victory in drink-special fight

This morning's AP story reports that "Allen Whittle, the association’s vice president and owner of Bogeys Social Club, said the state agreed to allow establishments to change their drink prices daily, but they’re still not allowed to advertise them as specials or discounts."

Nor can can Utah hooch-serving establishments participate  that venerable tradition of American dram shops and public houses across the land: "Happy Hour."

Assistant Utah Attorney General Kyle Kaiser puts it all in context, we believe, reminding the gleeful UHA plaintiffs that "there was [actually] no victory this week, noting the only thing the association won was “peace of mind.” “We didn’t do anything. We did not change our position. We did not give them anything,” sez spoilsport Assistant A.G. Kaiser (quite rightly wethinks).

An even further reminder for the lumpencitizens of Utah, we think, that under the autoritarian thumb of the Utah nanny-state, civil liberties "victories" are usually achieved only in tiny "baby steps."

2) "Wildlife officials are thinking about naming a newly rehabilitated stretch of the Ogden River as one of the best places in the state to catch fish." "On Sept. 20, the state’s Blue Ribbon Fisheries Advisory Council will decide whether to designate a 1.1 mile stretch of the Ogden River a Blue Ribbon Fishery," according to this morning's Standard-Examiner story:

• Fishing spot along Ogden River rehabilitated with trout

Practitioners of the art of catching the wily trout-fish will immediately note that a "blue ribbon" designation would at least technically put that re-habbed 1.1 mile stretch of the Ogden River in the same class as some of the greatest trout fishing rivers in America.

Go figure.

Salt Lake Tribune: Former Nuisance Waterway Now a Prime Attraction in Ogden

A Weber County Forum  Tip O' The Hat this morning to Dan Schroeder, for once again setting the record straight

Turning to our back-burner Ogden City topical news queu on this, yet another uber-slow news day, the Salt Lake Tribune's Cathy McKitrick provides a little something for Ogden City residents to crow about as we stand mid-way through a long holiday weekend:

• Former nuisance waterway now a prime attraction in Ogden

In her possibly over-yeomanlike efforts to provide background to this story, Ms. McKitrick slips in this quote, from former Ogden City Mayor Boss Godfrey, who in truth, effectively paralyzed the economic health of the Ogden River project area with a heavy-handed Big Government-style "economic development" interference for many years:

Reached by phone Wednesday, Godfrey called the award "a great honor, especially from an organization that was so helpful in making it a reality."

"It was highly controversial at first," he said of the project he introduced a dozen years ago to redevelop several blocks around the Ogden River. "We never would have been able to clean up the river without cleaning up what was around it."

Fortunately SL Trib readers have sharp-eyed and alert Ogden City community activist Dan Schroeder to counteract the self-serving Boss Godfrey spin:

Controversial?

Yes, the redevelopment project on 60 acres surrounding the river was (and is) controversial. The city declared the area "blighted" and scheduled for demolition years before coming up with the money to actually carry out its intentions. The property owners naturally stopped maintaining their buildings, turning a marginally blighted area into a badly blighted one. Shady back-room deals with prospective developers and a continuing debt of several million dollars have added to the controversy.

But that's the redevelopment project--not the river restoration. The ex-mayor has it exactly backwards when he says that the former was necessary for the latter. In fact, most of the redevelopment project has still not happened, yet the river restoration is now complete. With hindsight, it would have made far more sense to carry out the river restoration before even attempting to begin any redevelopment.

There was also some controversy with the river restoration itself. Some of the money for it was illegally diverted from other projects without city council approval. Some of the contractors were hired without competitive bidding. These were unnecessary controversies, which a more grown-up mayor could easily have avoided. And finally, there's the fact that most of the cost of the restoration ultimately came from residents' utility bills, which are among the highest in the state. While I don't mind paying for projects like this, it would be wrong to spend that kind of money without a little controversy.

A Weber County Forum  Tip O' The Hat this morning to Dan Schroeder, for once again setting the record straight.

Saturday Morning Weber County Forum News Roundup

Several items in the Northern Utah print media news item morning queue, just to keep the local political news discussion going here at Weber County Forum

1) As a followup to last week's Ogden Redevelopment Agency Board Work Session, wherein the RDA Board discussed "a proposed purchase contract and development agreement for The Four Foods Group, LLC, in connection with the opening of a new Kneaders Bakery And Café at 1951 Washington Blvd.," The Standard reports on the outcome of this week's RDA Board seession, wherein the Ogden RDA applied the finishing touches, and "approved a property sale and development agreement with The Four Foods Group LLC, which will bring a Kneaders Bakery & Café to Ogden as part of the river project":

• Kneaders Bakery coming to Ogden

We'll chalk this up as a feather in the cap of new Ogden mayor Mike Caldwell, and as additional circumstantial proof that Ogden voters who wisely rejected mayoral candidate Brandon Stephenson's 2011 mayoral bid, didn't need an Godfreyite Ogden City Council retread to maintain the Ogden River Project's "momentum" after all.

2) Fine editorial from the Standard, duly noting that the commencement of "another legislative session in Utah brings another needed call for better ethics."

"Utah legislators have made tiny, baby steps toward ethics reform within the past couple of years, but they still fall short," the editorial board aptly observes.

• OUR VIEW: Strange 'ethics' for Utah pols

The Standard editorial reels off a short list of Utah Legislators' documented ethical misdeeds, including Rep. Jack Draxler's spending of "$500 of campaign cash for a condominium in Salt Lake City," and former Utah House Speaker Greg Curtis's slimy diversion of "more than $31,000 of his leftover campaign cash to other legislators."

While we're pretty much in agreement with the overall message of this morning's editorial, we will make one slight exception: We do believe that it's probably perfectly ethical for a political candidate who's loaned personal dough to his own campaign to reimburse himself from his campaign fund, once later donations have rolled in, so long as his disclosure forms properly disclose that that such personal monies are clearly designated as "loans" at the outset, and additionally, so long as these reimbursements don't include "accrued interest."

We'll also opine that we probably won't have to endure editorials similar the one linked above, once the UEG Citizens Ethics Reform Initiative is placed on the November 2012 ballot. We have a high degree of confidence that Utah Lumpencitizens possess the common sense and ethical integrity to set Utah campaign ethics rules aright, even though their elected representatives often don't exhibit these noble character traits themselves.

3) The Salt Lake Tribune this morning reveals that the Richard Burwash lookalike, West Valley City Mayor Mike Winder, the serial Utah civil defendant who's running under the GOP banner this year for the Office of Salt Lake City Mayor, continues to play the role of the "political loose cannon," as his county-wide mayoral campaign now sparks an internecine battle within the Salt Lake County Republican Party:

• Winder’s candidacy sparks GOP dispute

Weirdly, Winder is now attacking Salt Lake Republican Party Chair Julie Dole, who had the temerity to write Winder a letter (at Winder's original request) proposing that he keep out of the SL County Mayoral race, so that the reeking stench of his "dirty political laundry" wouldn't taint all the other 2012 GOP races. Winder contends that in doing her (unpaid volunteer) job, and trying to protect the best interests of other Utah GOP candidates, and the Salt Lake County GOP as a whole, she's "violating a party bylaw requiring officers to be neutral until delegates select candidates for office."

We'll continue to keep our eye on this story, O Gentle Ones.

Weird, innit, that a nice-looking young feller like Winder, who appears to be so danged clean-cut and acceptable (by Utah standards) could actually harbor such a warped "me, me, me" mentality and turn out to be such a self-centered and self-delusional "political dork?"

Go figure...

1/17/12 Ogden City Council/RDA Agenda Heads-Up

Several interesting items which ought to be of particular interest to our Weber County Forum readers

Here's a quick heads up concerning tonight's Ogden City Council/RDA action, wherein the various agendas contain at least a few items which ought to be of particular interest to our Weber County Forum readers:

1) Joint Study Session (5:30 p.m.). Of particular interest to our WCF readers may be one item on the agenda, the proposed vacation of a public easement/right of way along a portion of Buchanan Avenue between 28th and 29th Street. What's interesting about this otherwise seemingly routine agenda item is that although the planning commission has already reviewed and recommended Council approval with its own 5-2 vote, a very familiar face on the Ogden political scene, Chris Peterson, formally opposed this measure when it was before the planning commission, so its possible that Peterson and/or his representatives may appear at tonight's meeting, to renew his opposition during tonight's Council discussion:

• 01/17 Ogden City Council Joint Study Session

Peterson's objection centers on the fact that abandonment of the public easement would reduce public parking opportunity near the 29th street trailhead; and as one gentle reader remarked in a private conversation on this topic a few days ago, "Of course he's already using the parking area for his commercial via ferrata business, but in addition one has to wonder about the newly fenced adjacent property and the new switchbacking clearcuts he's made up the northwest face of Malan's Peak."

2) Redevelopment Agency Special Meeting. During this meeting, which begins "immediately following the Council meeting that begins at 6:00 p.m.," the Ogden RDA Board will consideration the adoption of an "amended budget for the Ogden River Redevelopment Project Area as approved by the Taxing Entity Committee on November 10, 2011.":

• 01/17 City Council-RDA Special Session

We've already discussed this item on Weber County Forum, of course. As our regular readers will recall, this is the proposal Boss Godfrey sneaked past the Ogden RDA Taxing Entity Committee "in the dead of night," and which will extend the Ogden River Project Redevelopment Area tax increment period "through Tax Year 2027 (an Additional Eight (8) Years)" This amendment to the Ogden River Project Area tax increment amortization schedule, once approved, will reduce Ogden RDA taxing entity revenue, (including that of the cash-strapped Ogden School System) to a mere 28% of the tax money to which they would otherwise be entitled in the absence of this amendment, of course.

Although it's all signed, sealed and delivered, folks, we thought you'd want to know that tonight's the night it gets rubber-stamped.

Here's a quick side note to the above item, by the way, which our readers ought to consider in light of the Ogden School District's action in cavalierly giving up 72% of its River Project Area tax revenue until the year 2027. "Five schools in the Ogden School District are using approximately $7 million in federal grants to help bring them up to a higher level and keep them out of danger of being shut down because of poor performance," according to the S-E story below:

• Hoping to avoid closure, Ogden schools use federal grants

We're having some difficulty understanding the Ogden School Board's "thinkin'" in these tight financial times, we'll confess. Howbout you?

3) Redevelopment Agency Board Work Session: During this special meeting, which also begins "immediately following the City Council and Redevelopment Agency meetings that begins at 6:00 p.m.", the RDA Board will discuss a proposed purchase contract and development agreement for The Four Foods Group, LLC, in connection with the opening of a new Kneaders Bakery And Café at 1951 Washington Blvd.:

• 01/17 City Council-RDA Work Session

We'll volunteer that this has to be interpreted, at first glance, as very good news for the otherwise moribund River Project Development area, even at this early stage in this new proposed project, although we'll also welcome our Gentle Readers' own possibly contrarian takes on this subject.

That's it for now. We'll leave the lights on of course, for anyone who'd like to comment before, during or after tonight's meetings.

Update 1/18/12 6:42 a.m.: The Standard reports this morning that just as we predicted, "[t]he Ogden Redevelopment Agency board adopted a resolution Tuesday night that will extend the Ogden River Project tax increment collection period by eight years":

• Ogden stretches River Project tax deal

Hopefully in the days to come, we'll hear no further whining from the Ogden City School District about cash shortfalls.

A Second Reminder of Tonight's Various Ogden Council/RDA Sessions - Updated

Special thanks to professor Schroeder for devoting the extra time and effort to fleshing out some of the other topics which are on the Council/RDA table tonight

As a followup to Sunday's Weber County Forum writeup, which narrowly focused on the Godfrey administration's "stealth" proposal to "extend the Ogden River Project Redevelopment Area tax increment period through Tax Year 2027," we'll issue a second reminder of tonight's various Ogden City Council/RDA sessions, which include a variety of other interesting and important agenda items, as more particularly set forth by WCF reader/contributor Dan S. in Sunday's article comments section:

Just looked over all the agenda packets for tomorrow's meetings, and there's a lot in there.

The River Project materials indicate that the project's budget has been cut from the original estimate of $105 million down to a revised estimate of $85 million. The projected tax annual tax increment has correspondingly decreased. About 28% of the tax increment is being passed on to the taxing entities, so they're not losing out completely. The debt to other city funds stands at $3.7 million and it says the city will have to shell out at least another $2 million, with "similar, if not greater, levels of public assistance" for the Lincoln-to-Wall phase.

Also on the RDA agenda is an agreement with the new anonymous owner of the Earnshaw Building for use of additional parking spaces, allocation of some parking structure space for a chiller, and an "aerial easement" for a pedestrian walkway between the parking structure and the building. It mentions that the number of condos in the building is being increased from 28 to 40.

The City Council special meeting agenda includes the long-awaited rezone of most of the city's public parks to the "open space" zone. This will provide some additional protection against any mayor who tries to sell off park land, because the land couldn't be developed without another rezone by the council.

The Council work session agenda includes a meeting with Laura Lewis, their water rates consultant, to review the current water rates and the work that went into establishing those rates four years ago. This is the first step in the process of revising the rates to address several concerns that have come up in recent months.

For the convenience of those WCF readers who'd like to dig in even a little more deeply, we link all of tonight's Council/RDA packets below:

• 12/13 City Council-RDA Work Session
• 12/13 City Council Work Session
• 12/13 City Council Special Session
• 12/13 City Council-RDA Regular Session
• 12/13 RDA/Council Study Session

Special thanks to professor Schroeder for devoting the extra time and effort to fleshing out some of the other topics which are on the Council/RDA table tonight.

In accordance with our usual practice of course, we hereby dedicate this thread to any Ogden City political wonks who'd like to comment before, during or after tonight's meetings.

Update 12/14/11 7:15 a.m.: The Standard-Examiner reports this morning that the RDA Board last night scheduled the Godfrey administration's proposed Ogden River Redevelopment Project Area Extension for a January 17, 2012 "public hearing":

• Ogden RDA sets public hearing (Updated)

We'll also extend our additional thanks to Dan S. for providing last night's real time Council/RDA real-time meeting reports.

Tuesday Night Ogden RDA Agenda Item: Ogden River Redevelopment Project Area Extension

We dunno why the Ogden RDA TEC committee "rolled over" again... maybe they were afraid that Godfrey would throw another of his "world famous" temper tantrums

To kick off this morning's Weber County Forum discussion, we'll dutifully highlight an important matter suddenly coming up, seemingly "out of the blue," on Tuesday night's 12/13 RDA/Council Study Session Agenda:

5. Reports from Administration:
b. Ogden River Redevelopment Project Area Extension. Proposed Resolution 2011-25 adopting an amended budget for the Ogden River Redevelopment Project Area as approved by the Taxing Entity Committee on November 10, 2011. (Set/not set public hearing for January 17, 2012 – voice vote)

There's an interesting notation buried in Tuesday night's RDA Board packet, revealing that the Godfrey administration has been "stealthily" working behind the scenes to make the RDA Board's scheduling of the proposed January 17, 2012 "public hearing" what will probably amount to a mere "formality":

November 10, 2011
The Taxing Entity Committee met on November 10, 2011. The TEC unanimously approved extension of the project area to 2027.

Thus the Godfrey administration has quietly succeeded in the veritable "dead of night" in persuading the RDA Taxing Entity Committee (TEC) to agree to recommend that the RDA Board extend the Ogden River Project Redevelopment Area tax increment period "through Tax Year 2027 (an Additional Eight (8) Years)"

Yesiree folks, in the waning days of the Godfrey administration, the Little Lord is tying up another "loose end." Just as in 2009, when this same committee voted to "bail out" the financially-floundering and taxpayer-burdensome Junction Project Money Pit, Boss Godfrey once again resorts to the same game plan and succeeds once again in getting the Ogden RDA TEC to meekly "roll over," thus depriving the taxing entities who depend on a reliable stream of tax revenue to defer collecting that revenue for another eight years... (thereby opening the door for yet another expensive round of Ogden RDA bond refinancing.)

Frankly, we don't know what's wrong with the members of the Taxing Entity Committee, whose primary ethical obligation ought to be the protection of the tax revenue streams of the entities whom they (theoretically, at least) are supposed to represent.

Maybe they were afraid that Godfrey would throw another of his "world famous" temper tantrums.

And while it is true that it'll be the Ogden RDA Board will have the final say on this, the proposed January 17, 2012 RDA "public hearing" will predictably be a "mere formality," as we said.

The floor's open, O Gentle Ones. Who will be the first to throw in their own 2¢?

Standard-Examiner: Riverbend Project Not Dead... Yet

Another attempt to assist our lame-duck mayor in exiting the public stage in a contrived and revisionist "blaze of glory?"

This morning's Standard-Examiner carries a story this morning reporting on the current status of the still-moribund Ogden River Project, which according to our calculations has been on the City's "drawing board" for over eight years. The project's "still alive," announces this morning's SE headline; and this morning's lead paragraphs provide what we'll characterise as "classic" Godfrey Administration optimism:

OGDEN -- The city is continuing to negotiate with a Holladay company for the construction of housing and retail businesses within the long awaited mixed-use Riverbend development formerly known as the Ogden River Project.

Millrock Development LLC is working with Gadi Leshem -- whose firm, Ogden Riverfront Development, is the main owner of Riverbend property -- to be the major partner in the project, said Jonny Ballard, the city's community development manager.

Lower down in Mr. Schwebke's story however, Mr. Ballard hedges more than a little bit, or so it seems to us:

Ballard is hopeful the city can obtain a memorandum of understanding by the end of the year with Millrock to begin work on the project.

"If something doesn't happen by the end of the year, it could be on the table for a while," he said.

So we're not quite sure what to make of Mr. Ballard's "soft" end-of-year deadline. Does Mr. Ballard mean to imply that our newly-elected Mayor, Mr. Caldwell, can be expected by the Godfrey administration to "drop the ball" on this project after he's sworn into office on January 3? If the City Council fails to ratify a Millrock Development LLC development agreement, will Godfrey's "A" Team consider the River Project Game to be over? Does this language foreshadow an upcoming last-ditch Godfrey crony development agreement proposal which will truly sell the River Project (and the beleguered Ogden City taxpayers figuratively "down the river?"

Nor are we clear about the Standard's rationale for running this "no news" story at all, unless it clumsily dovetails with yesterday's WCF topic, i.e., the apparent ongoing attempts of Boss Godfrey and his lemming-like followers to put a "positive" spin on Godfrey's accomplishments and to assist our lame-duck mayor in exiting the public stage in a contrived and revisionist "blaze of glory."

Here's the full SE story for our readers' inspection:

• Riverbend project still alive in Ogden

We're spotlighting this story this morning, by the way, mainly for archival consistency, since it really doesn't reveal much of anything new. It's not entirely devoid of useful information, however, in which connection we link this handy SE "Riverbend Project Timeline," which is embedded in the article page within the Standard's hard-copy and digital editions:


This is helpful information, we think, for those folks who might need to refresh their memories about just how very long the Ogden River Project has actually been left simmering (mostly unattended) on Boss Godfrey's back burner.

It's even more helpful, wethinks, for those mis-guided souls who might be tempted to embellish our outgoing mayor's "achievements," as the little "Wizard" behind the "Emerald City Curtain" prepares for his final curtain call.

The floor's open for our savvy readers' comments.

So many questions... so few answers...

Standard-Examiner: Dedication Set for 1.1-mile Stretch of Ogden River Project - Updated

If you have a little free time in your afternoon calenders, why not get on down to this afternoon's ribbon cutting ceremony and give the Little Lame Duck Lord a nice pat on the back?

Here's something special which our WCF readers might want to consider adding to their Friday calenders. The Standard-Examiner provides the story; and here's the lede:

OGDEN -- The city is sponsoring a dedication ceremony Friday commemorating completion of the first phase of a $6.3 million effort to clean up a polluted downtown section of the Ogden River.

The aim of the daylong celebration is to highlight the transformation taking place along a 1.1-mile stretch of the river between Washington Boulevard and Gibson Avenue.

The public is invited throughout the day to wander along paths, visit exhibit booths and participate in kayaking and fishing demonstrations on the river.

Volunteers will work on various service projects along the waterway, and Mayor Matthew Godfrey will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. on the river's banks at Childs Avenue.

Read the full Scott Schwebke story here:

• Dedication set for 1.1-mile stretch of Ogden River project

City Engineer Justin Anderson aptly describes the Ogden River Restoration Project as having "... gone from a nuisance and eyesore to a treasure right in the middle of town;" and Boss Godfrey (in a rare instance of non-hyperbolic understatement) sez that Friday's ceremony will mark "a significant accomplishment." It's in this connection that we'll speculate, of course, that the Ogden River restoration could very well prove in time to be the most significant achievement of Godfrey's entire 12-year reign of terror mayoral administration.

So if you have a little free time in your afternoon calenders, why not get on down to the ribbon cutting ceremony and give the Little Lame Duck Lord a nice pat on the back?

Update 10/7/11 7:42 a.m. (per Dan S.): The Trib also has a nice writeup, complete with a tally of how the project was funded and some historic, archival photos of Robert Kennedy and Gadi Leshem, four years ago. Check out the captions on the Leshem photos!

• Ogden river segment reopens with new trail, plants

Update 10/8/11 8:00 a.m.: The Standard carries this Scott Schwebke post-event story this morning, which describes yesterday's deliriously joyful ribbon cutting event:

• City celebrates cleanup, vibrancy of Ogden River

Check out the happy campers, folks:

Prominent Godfreyite "High Muck-a-mucks" frolic beside the Ogden River

Pioneer Days Weekend News Roundup/Wrapup - UPDATED

Plenty to discuss as the 2011 Pioneer Day Holiday wraps up, Yes?

A few semi-chewy weekend back-burner items for our gentle readers to gnaw on, as they trickle in from our L-O-N-G (and H-O-T) Pioneer Day weekend:

1) For the benefit of those folks who've been living under a rock, Ace Reporter Schwebke finally got around to reporting on Sunday the results of the July 12, 2011 Council Session, wherein the Ogden City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) Board, voted unanimously to essentially give away 6.1 acres of land in the River Project area, with an assessed value of $2.4 million, to SouthRiver LLC, for a planned development of townhouses, apartments, and retail space:

• Building to begin soon in Ogden River Project

Boss Godfrey is of course thrilled and says "it's gratifying to know that construction will finally be starting," (after languishing under his ham-handed mismanagement for the last nine years or so.) If Boss Godfrey's clownishly-executed Ogden River Project isn't a classic real-life illustration of why local gummint shouldn't get involved or even dabble in ambitious and intricate real estate development, by the way, we'll be hard pressed to find anything which could possibly be more persuasive.

2) Despite some questions about the selection process used by the Casper (Wyoming) City council, the Casper Journal reports that Casper's municipal legislative body has now cured all legal defects, and has now formally given its official approval (by a 7-2 vote) to hiring John "Pureheart" Patterson as their new city manager. It's in this connection, of course, that one of our sharp-eye WCF readers asks the obvious question:

• "Shouldn't we all go down and wish the little f***** a good bye?"

3) We're hoping you're all no worse for wear after a Pioneer Days celebration which, (taking into account the mega-tonnage of fireworks and other personal incendiary ordnance which has been blown up or otherwise ignited in our Emerald City neighborhoods over the past month)... has plainly gone on for way too long (if you know what we mean and we think you do.)

Utah's legally sanctioned "24/7/30 Annoy Your Neighbors Kit"

Update 7/25/11 3:52 p.m.: Just to flesh out as fully as possible the entire array of discussion items which we may have inadvertently failed to address over the now dwindling Pioneer Day weekend (and in the recent past), we're pleased to add this Dan Schroeder 7/23/11 WCF comment to the mix:

• Dan Schroeder 7/23/11 Comment

Plenty to discuss as the 2011 Pioneer Day Holiday wraps up, NO?

So who'll be the next WCF Reader to chime in?

Ogden Poised to Give Away Land Valued at $2.4 Million - UPDATED

River Project agreement on tomorrow’s city council agenda.

By Dan Schroeder

The Ogden City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) Board, will decide tomorrow night whether to give 6.4 acres of land in the River Project area to SouthRiver LLC for a planned development of townhouses, apartments, and retail space.

The assessed value of the land is over $2.4 million, but SouthRiver would pay little or nothing for it. Instead, the RDA would receive tax increment on the development. Tax increment is the additional property tax generated by a new development, which in redevelopment districts, for a period of time, goes to the RDA rather than the usual taxing entities.

News reports in April had indicated that SouthRiver would pay the RDA $741,000 for the property, but that has apparently changed.

The terms of the SouthRiver agreement are described in tomorrow’s 293-page RDA agenda packet, a 62-megabyte download from the city council web site. I’ve removed the many pages of architectural drawings and geotechnical studies, and compressed the rest of the packet into a 3.4-megabyte file that you can download here.

Despite its tremendous length, the agenda packet contains no estimate of the amount of tax increment that the RDA will collect from the project. Tom Christopulos, Ogden’s Deputy Director of Community and Economic Development, said he couldn’t provide such an estimate but that a detailed consultant’s report on future tax increment for the entire River Project area would be released in a few weeks.

Based on the stated value and timing of the SouthRiver development, my own best estimate is that its tax increment generation will come to a little under $1 million by 2019, when tax increment collection is scheduled to expire.

As some of us anticipated, the city intends to ask for an extension of tax increment collection on the River Project redevelopment area past 2019. The documents in the agenda packet indicate that the extension would be for seven years, which I estimate would generate a little over $1 million of additional revenue from the SouthRiver project for the RDA. The extension would have to be approved by six out of eight members of the Taxing Entity Committee. The city, Weber County, and the Ogden School District each get two votes on the committee; the Utah Board of Education gets one vote; and the last vote represents the Weber Sewer District and other smaller taxing entities.

The SouthRiver development area is shown in the map below, along with the rest of “Phase 1” of the River Project. Current assessed values are indicated for all parcels (click to enlarge).

The townhouses would be in the yellow-shaded area along 20th and Grant, referred to in the agreement as Section 1. The apartments and retail would be in the orange-shaded area along the river, referred to as Section 2. The new Bingham Cyclery building is on the blue-shaded parcel, while America First Credit Union owns the pink-shaded parcel. The two unshaded parcels along Washington Blvd. are owned by the RDA but are not part of the proposed agreement. According to Christopulos, the hope is that these two parcels can be sold for approximately their assessed values in a few years after the economy improves. (Note that this map differs from an earlier version that I created on the basis of information that was apparently incorrect.)

The 69 townhouses in Section 1 would be built in four phases, with the property transferred to SouthRiver separately for each phase, contingent on 80% completion and occupancy of the prior phases. The schedule calls for construction to begin this summer and for the entire project to be completed by the end of 2014.

If the proposed tax increment extension is approved, SouthRiver would pay nothing for the 6.4 acres of vacant land. If the extension is not approved, the terms of the agreement require SouthRiver to pay Ogden $258,952 for the Section 2 property, but to be reimbursed for most or all of this expense from whatever tax increment is later collected on Section 2.

In addition, the agreement calls for the RDA to perform “soil mitigation activities” to remediate the inadequate soil compaction in the area. Christopulos indicated that the RDA would pay either the city or a contractor to do this work. There would also be an estimated $400,000 cost for materials and fuel, which could be paid by the RDA or by the city’s Capital Improvement Fund, according to Christopulos.

Meanwhile, the RDA owes approximately $3.7 million in debt associated with purchasing and clearing the land for this portion of the River Project. A bank loan with a balance of $1.7 million was recently repaid by borrowing the same amount from a city reserve fund, according to Christopulos. The RDA also owes $2 million to the city’s refuse fund for a loan made from the proceeds of the insurance settlement from the burning of the Shupe-Williams Building in 2006. Christopulos said that both of these loans are accruing interest and that the plan is to repay them using tax increment revenue, together with proceeds from the eventual sale of the two parcels along Washington Blvd.

If absolutely everything goes according to plan, including the SouthRiver development, the sale and development of the two additional parcels, the development of the America First Credit Union parcel, and the tax increment extension, then it appears to me that Phase 1 of the River Project might barely generate enough revenue for the RDA to pay off the existing debt. If even one of these stars fails to align, it will fall upon the next administration to deal with the budget shortfall.

Update 7/13/11 9:00 a.m.: The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Council/RDA last night unequivocally voted to get moving on the SouthRiver LLC project, approving the proposed development agreement by a unanimous 7-0 vote:

• Ogden gives green light to river development

Standard-Examiner: Ogden River Project May Gain 6 Acres - Updated

The matter will be coming up for RDA discussion and public comment on July 12; and the company hopes to begin construction later in the month?

Updated with a useful plat map and eye-opening additional Dan S. explanatory commentary

The Standard-Examiner reports that SouthRiver LLC remains in the hunt to purchase and develop 6 acres within the Ogden River Project, with a proposed development agreement to be laid on the table for RDA consideration "in the next few weeks":

OGDEN -- A proposed development agreement is being fine-tuned that may enable a Salt Lake City firm to purchase about six acres downtown from the Ogden Redevelopment Agency as part of the long-awaited Ogden River Project.
The RDA is expected to consider the agreement in the next few weeks for the sale of land to SouthRiver LLC, allowing the construction of 69 townhomes and retail space, Jonny Ballard, the city's community development manager, said Monday.

Read the full Scott Schwebke story here:

• Ogden River Project may gain 6 acres

More specifically, according to the council's online Land Use and Planning Project Status Page, the matter will be coming up for RDA discussion and public comment on July 12:

• Council Land Use and Project Planning Report

Mr. Schwebke's morning story reports that "[t]he company hopes to begin construction in July," which seems like uncomfortably and possibly unrealistically tight scheduling, unless the RDA Board has already agreed (informally and behind the scenes) to rubber stamp the agreement, prior to any public comment or deliberation.

We'll keep our eyes on this story as it develops, of course.

In the meantime, feel free to throw in your own 2¢.

Update 6/21/11 11:25 a.m. (per Dan S.): Here is a plat map showing Phase 1 of the River Project, annotated with the current assessed property values (taken from the Weber County Treasurer's web site). The three parcels currently proposed for sale to SouthRiver LLC are highlighted in yellow. The RDA sold the blue shaded parcel in late 2006 for $324,975, and this parcel is now the site of the new Bingham's Cyclery building. The area shaded in pink was never owned by the RDA as far as I can tell, even though it is within Phase 1 of the River Project redevelopment area:

(Click Image to Enlarge)

On April 27, the Standard-Examiner reported that SouthRiver LLC was "under contract" to purchase the yellow-shaded parcels for $1.3 million. That's a million dollars less than the assessed value of over $2.3 million. Furthermore, the RDA was to subsidize $559,000 of the purchase price through tax increment, so the effective purchase price would be only $741,000 -- less than a third of the assessed value.

The RDA originally purchased and cleared this land using two sources of borrowed funds: a $2 million loan from the city's Refuse Enterprise Fund, consisting of the insurance settlement from the burning of the Shupe-Williams Building; and a $3 million line of credit with First National Bank. According to the minutes of the city council meeting of April 25, 2006, the former loan was to be interest-free for five years, with a 10% interest rate thereafter. According to the most recent RDA Annual Report, the bank loan had a "maturity date" of June 8, 2011.

Standard-Examiner: Construction on Ogden River Townhomes Could Begin in July

An upcoming June 14 RDA meeting will also provide an opportunity for public input

More hype for the "nine years in the making" Ogden River Project, as this morning's Standard-Examiner announces that the Ogden City "RDA, made up of the city council, will consider a development agreement June 14 for the sale of the land to Salt Lake City-based SouthRiver LLC for construction of 69 townhomes and retail space...":

• Construction on Ogden River townhomes could begin in July in long-awaited project

The above-referenced RDA meeting will also provide an opportunity for public input:

• Council Land Use and Project Planning Report

Mark your calenders folks, and chime in on this subject now, if you like.

Wednesday Morning Emerald City News Roundup

Conciliation and compromise are the order of the day

A couple of Standard-Examiner news items worthy of note:

1) Scott Schwebke reports on last night's RDA meeting, in which prospective River Project developer Steve Peterson, a principal with Millrock Capital, asked for concessions regarding the size and construction schedule for "apartments." Tellingly, they're not even bothering to refer to them as "condominiums" any longer :

• Developer asks for apartment changes

Sadly, it appears that tiny tenement-style residential rental units may now set the River Project tone.

2) After several stinging broadsides by the Standard-Examiner (and others), it appears that Chief Greiner may be adopting a more conciliatory attitude toward the Council's proposal to place a pharmaceutical drop-box within the Ogden City Public Safety Building lobby:

• Department, Ogden council can work out concerns over drop box

Yeah, Chief Greiner devotes considerable column space toward explaining why the lock box concept is a non-starter; but in the end he seems to suggest "[c]oncerns can be worked out," no?

Update 5/11/11 9:51 a.m.: Per Dan S... "Rudi, you missed at least two great articles in the Trib":

• Ogden Council agrees on streetcar up 25th Street
• Utah’s big political donors have friends in high places

Yesiree, folks. There's plenty to chat about this mornin'.

Standard-Examiner: Potential Ogden River Project Developer Hopes Unfair Advantage Won't Go to Competition

Looks like rival developers of the River Project are spittin' and feudin' already, and not a spadeful of dirt turned yet

By: Curmudgeon

Uh oh. Looks like rival developers [or would be developers] of the River Project are spittin' and feudin' already, and not a spadeful of dirt turned yet. The SE has an interesting story up this morning reporting that the development company (Millrock Capital) associated with the troubled Mr. Lesham is worried that the city may be about to give an unfair advantage to another development company that wants to buy six acres of Ogden City owned land in the River Project Area, and the Lesham-associated company is definitely not happy about it. All this emerged at a City Council work session on the proposed sale of those six city owned acres for town house development.

And Mr. Lesham his own self showed up at the work session. He said he just stopped by to be neighborly, and say "hi" to the council members. About the issue under discussion, he had no comment. [Surprise, surprise.]

The SE story can be found here:

• Potential Ogden River Project developer hopes unfair advantage won't be given to competition

The world-wide webosphere is sitting on the edge of its seat, awaiting word from our savvy WCF readers about the true meaning of all this.

Breaking: River Project Land Sale Under Negotiation

69 townhomes and commercial spaces as part of the long-awaited Ogden River Project

By: Curmudgeon

Breaking... The Standard-Examiner just put up a story detailing the latest River Project development proposal, which begins with a plan by the Ogden RDA to sell about 6 acres in the Project area to a SLC developer (SouthRiver LLC) to build town homes. Part of the purchase price will be in cash, part will rely on tax increment funding.

Full story here:

• Land sale under negotiation

Comments anyone?