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: Watchdog Groups Vow to Keep Pressure on Ogden School District

A Weber County Forum Tip 'O The Hat to the fine folks of Focus Ogden and the Democratic Education Caucus of Weber County, inasmuch as we Ogden City lumpencitizens have been far too complacent for far too long

Notable development concerning the Ogden School District topic, with this morning's Nancy Van Valkenburg story reporting that "two local groups that sprung up in reaction to controversial decisions by the Ogden School District are pledging to make their voices heard, on both the district and state levels":

• Watchdog groups vow to keep pressure on Ogden School District

For our readers convenience, here are the web links for these community-minded groups, for those who'd like to "stay in the loop":

• Focus Ogden
• Democratic Education Caucus of Weber County

Within this morning's story, Ms Van Valkenburg also mentions "a June 12 letter to the Ogden board, seeking information." Inasmuch as we believe the information requests contained in this letter may have important significance as these two groups move forward, we've uploaded and linked it for future reference:

• 06/12/2013 Kim Irvine Letter

Notably, among other things, this letter obliquely refers to certain School Board "fiduciary competency" questions which we've previously raised here on Weber County County Forum, so far without much real public consternation:

• Ogden City Schools - Possible Tax Increment Malfeasance - Junction and River Project Bailouts  

A Weber County Forum Tip 'O The Hat to the fine folks of Focus Ogden and the Democratic Education Caucus of Weber County for perking up their ears, fine-tuning the issues and vowing to keep our "esteemed" Ogden School Board's feet to the fire, inasmuch as, in our belief at least, we Ogden City lumpencitizens have been far too complacent for far too long.

Ogden City School District Gives Ogden School Librarians the Ax

Notwithstanding the mountain of additional evidence linking high-quality school library/media programs with heightened student achievement, it seems that the Ogden School Board stands hellbent to move full speed ahead

Bad news for Ogden City school-kids this morning, as both the Standard and the Tribune report this morning the latest bone-headed Ogden School District cost cutting action, whereby "[t]wenty media specialists/librarians were told Friday morning they would not have jobs with the Ogden School District next year," in a move which will reportedly save the OSD $930,000 per year.

• Ogden School District notifies librarians of job terminations
• Cutting costs, Ogden School District plans to end full-time school librarians

Fox 13 News is all over this story too, with this short video vignette:


Interestingly, despite the reported evidence that "[t]hree [other] Top of Utah school districts contacted Friday say they use licensed teachers in their secondary schools," Ogden District Superintendent Brad Smith nevertheless steadfastly maintains that  "the Ogden School District is the only remaining district on the Wasatch Front to employee licensed teachers as media specialists in their libraries,"according to the above Standard-Examiner story.

And notwithstanding the mountain of research data linking high-quality school library/media programs with heightened student achievement, it seems that the Ogden School Board stands hellbent to adopt ODS Superintendent Smith's strict austerity approach. “We need to look at how we can least negatively affect student achievement,” OSB member Shane Story says.

Keep in mind folks, these Ogden School District bureaucrats who are now cutting OSD school library staffs to the bone are also the very same folks who turned down between $496 and $686 thousand in projected annual tax increment dollars, when they boarded the Boss Godfrey bandwagon, and willfully (if not eagerly) participated in the the 2009 Ogden Council bailout of the financially-failing Ogden Junction project. Needless to say, we're accordingly a mite skeptical of their financial acumen in matters such as this, to say the least. Moreover, we don't believe it is unfair to suggest that the current cash-flow dilemma amounts to one of the School Board's own making.

Unhappy with the way this matter is being rolled out?  Encouraged by School Board President Shane Story's hint that "there is always a chance things can change before June"? You can contact your Ogden City School Board officials through the OSD page linked below:

• Ogden Board of Education

Don't let the cat get your tongues, whatever you do, as in dire circumstances such as this, "silence" is definitely not "golden."

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: OUR VIEW: Voters Should Decide Field House

The Standard believes a large-scale vote, possibly county-wide, would provide necessary respectability and community ownership for the project

Submitted by: ND

Say it ain't so... Standard-Examiner editorial saying voters should decide on funding the project and not fund it from pockets all over the place...

We support the idea of Ogden city officials and others in creating a multipurpose field house in Junction City.
However, extending the life of the Business Depot Ogden economic development project area to garner $15 million in tax increment money is not the best way to provide financing for the project.
In order to provide legitimacy to the field house project, as well as assurance that the $40 million project would be a success, either a bond proposal or a sales tax initiative vote should be provided.

Here's the surprizing full editorial:

• OUR VIEW: Voters should decide field house

About passed out.

RAMP Application Outlines Proposed Field House Financing - Updated

$15 million would come from taxing entities via RDA; $4.8 million from RAMP

By Dan Schroeder

The Ogden City administration is proposing to fund the $40 million field house project from a combination of public and private sources, as outlined in the RAMP grant application that it submitted Friday. The proposed funding breakdown includes:

• Extension of an RDA area: $15 million
• Private donors: $10 million
• RAMP: $4.8 million
• Ogden City: $3.2 million
• Weber County: $2 million
• Weber County School District: $2 million

The city’s RAMP application also provides itemized construction cost estimates from three sources, totaling from $33.8 million to $42.2 million. These figures include a new 416-stall parking garage but do not seem to include property acquisition or relocation of utility lines.

The proposed extension of a redevelopment area would divert property tax revenue from the various taxing entities to the field house project. Based on the $15 million total amount and the fraction of taxes that these entities currently collect, their lost revenues due to the extension would be approximately:

• Ogden City School District: $5.9 million
• Statewide School Basic Levy: $1.3 million
• Ogden City: $2.9 million
• Weber County General Fund: $1.9 million
• Weber County General Obligation Bond Fund: $280,000
• Central Weber Sewer District: $750,000
• Weber Basin Water: $430,000
• 911 and Emergency Service: $260,000
• Paramedic Fund: $190,000
• Mosquito Abatement District: $120,000
• Weber / Morgan Health: $100,000
• Library: $560,000
• Assess & Collect: $320,000

To make up for this lost revenue, the taxing entities could either raise their tax rates or cut services. The city’s RAMP application doesn’t specify the time period over which the $15 million would be collected; nor does it mention any interest on bonds that would be used to borrow against this future revenue stream.

Approval of the proposed RDA extension would presumably require a vote of the Taxing Entity Committee, whose members represent several of the larger taxing entities. In 2009 the committee approved a 12-year extension of the redevelopment area that includes The Junction.

The $4.8 million being requested from RAMP would constitute essentially all of the RAMP funds available for major projects for the next five years, until the RAMP tax automatically expires after 2015. Major projects are those costing more than $200,000, and generally account for one third of all RAMP allocations.

The city’s RAMP application provides no evidence that any funds have been pledged by the other proposed sources: Ogden City, Weber County, the Weber County School District, or the unnamed private donors.

A full copy of the city’s RAMP application is linked here (pdf, 1.9 MB). I obtained the application through a government records request submitted to Weber County on Friday afternoon, and I am grateful for the county’s prompt cooperation. In response to a similar request, Ogden City also offered to provide a copy of the application.

Update 1/21/11 7:28 a.m.: This article is also part of the discussion on Charlie Trentelman's Blogging the Rambler Blog:

• Wish I felt better about this velodrome thing

Surprise of surprises! Qualms about this nutcase project are evidently not limited to our Weber County Forum readership.

Update 1/24/11 8:00 a.m.: Per Dan S.: Today's S-E reports that the $15 million would come from a 5-year extension of tax increment collection from BDO beyond its scheduled expiration in 2019:

• Ogden want to extend BDO Projects

Gleanings from Today’s City Council Agenda Packet

Hot Tub Hotel on Hold?

By Dan Schroeder

Once again I’d like to thank the Ogden City Council for its relatively new practice of putting its full agenda packets online for all to see. Here are a couple of items that I found noteworthy in the packet for tonight’s meeting.

1. Contribution Agreement – RDA Tax Increment Bonds. Continuation for consideration of a Contribution Agreement with the Redevelopment Agency for the purpose of issuing Tax Increment Bonds, Series 2010 to facilitate the financing of the acquisition and construction of a hotel at The Junction. (Remove from agenda)

This item, if I’m not mistaken, is the final step in approving the Kevin Garn Hot Tub Hotel. Although it seems clear that a majority of the council supports this project, it hit a snag when the bank refused to accept the financing terms for the proposed parking structure. Now, it would appear, there has been another snag that has forced the council to remove this item from tonight’s agenda. Will this be just a minor delay, or is the whole project in danger of falling through? Perhaps we’ll learn more tonight.

2. RDA Annual Report.

Tonight the council (acting as RDA Board) will formally receive the Redevelopment Agency’s Annual Report for fiscal year 2010. Although the event will be completely routine, this may be the first time that a copy of the Report has been posted on the city’s web site for all to see. For convenience, I’ve extracted the Report from the agenda packet and Rudi has posted it here (pdf, 3.7 MB). The Report is a fascinating document that gives a great overview of what the RDA does. From the map on Page 4 you can see that redevelopment districts cover nearly all of downtown Ogden—and this map doesn’t even show the new district along the east side of Washington Blvd., which was designated after FY 2010 ended last summer. Be sure to bookmark this Report and refer back to it, next time the RDA and tax-increment financing are in the news!

Ed. Note: We'll leave the lower comments section open for anyone who'd like to comment on this topic before, during or after tonight's council meeting.

Big Meetings Tuesday Evening As the Council /RDA Lurches Toward Approval of the Junction Hotel Project

We're posting this info early, in order to afford WCF readers a full opportunity to digest and discuss all elements of the this proposed project, well in advance of Tuesday's Council/RDA sessions

An examination of Tuesday's upcoming Council/RDA agendas reveals that the Administration us still tweaking the details of the Junction "Hot Tub" Hotel project financing. Here's where the proposed financing stands at this latest juncture:

Proposed Project Financing
The $13 Million Hotel project will be funded using several different
financing mechanisms:
• $8.7 Million – Facilities Bonds: The City will act as a conduit
for the tax-exempt bonds. The Developer will be responsible
for the debt service.
• $1.5 Million – Tax Increment Bonds: The RDA will issue tax
increment bonds. The City will pledge the City’s Franchise
Tax as additional collateral for the bonds. Debt Service will be
derived from the tax increment generated by the development.
• $2.2 Million – New Market Tax Credits (Federal Allocation):
The Developer is still hopeful that there will be New Market
Tax Credits available for the project.

For a little background on the above-mentioned New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program, by the way, check out this link:

• New Markets Tax Credit Program

There are four main items on Tuesday's Council agenda (5:30 p.m.):

• Public Parking Assessment Area No. 2010-1
- Designation Resolution #2010-23
- Assessment Ordinance #2010-41
Determination:
1. Pull Designation Resolution from Agenda
2. Pull Assessment Ordinance from Agenda
(A Parking Structure Is No Longer Part of the Junction Hotel
Project. These Actions are Unnecessary)
• Contribution Agreement Resolution. Pledging Franchise Tax as Security for RDA Junction Hotel Tax Increment Bonds.
Determination: Table to January 11, 2011 for Final Consideration.
• Addenda to Development Agreement - The Junction Hotel
Determination: Adopt/Not Adopt Resolution
• Industrial Revenue Bonds Qualified Recovery Zone Facilities Bonds - Authorizing Resolution
Determination: Adopt or Not Adopt Resolution

View the full Council packet here:

• 12/21 City Council/RDA Joint Session

The RDA Board will also consider "approvals" relating to the operative project documents (as amended) in a Special RDA Session (6:00 p.m.):

• Reports from the Administration. Junction Hotel Development Agreement Addenda, Amended Promissory Note, and Substitute Trust Deed. Proposed Resolution 2010-15 approving and authorizing two addendums to the Development Agreement between the Ogden City Redevelopment Agency, Kevin Garn, and Western States Lodging, L.L.C., pertaining to the development of a hotel structure on parcel 01-099-0004 at The Junction in Ogden City, Utah, including approving an Amended Promissory Note and Substitute Trust Deed. (Adopt/not adopt resolution – roll call vote)

View Tuesday's RDA packet here:

• 12/21 City Council-RDA Special Session

Lots of interesting nuances here, not the least being the apparent abandonment of a plan for an underground parking garage, and the Special Assessment District which was originally "envisioned" to help finance its construction.

Another interesting element? The administration and other principals seem to believe they'll be able to "close" this highly-complicated (some would call it "Rube Goldbergesque") transaction no later than December 28, even though "final" Council consideration of the Franchise Tax pledge ($1.5 million) as additional security for RDA Junction Hotel Tax Increment Bonds has been "tabled" to January 11, 2011.

We're posting this info early, in order to afford WCF readers a full opportunity to digest and discuss all elements of the this proposed project, well in advance of Tuesday's Council/RDA sessions.

All WCF readers are therefore invited to post their savvy comments before, during or after Tuesday night's Council/RDA events.

Update 12/22/10 3:40 a.m.: Both the Standard-Examiner and the Salt Lake Tribune carry stories this morning reporting on the results of last night's Council/RDA meetings:

• Ogden City Council votes to make legal advice off-limits to public
• Ogden OKs changes scrapping underground parking at hotel

Update 12/28/10 8:00 p.m.: View the full Council and RDA videos, via the Ogden City website:

• 12/21 City Council-RDA Special Session
• 12/21 City Council Regular Session

Standard-Examiner: Ogden OKs $9M Bond for Hilton Construction

Lets all keep our fingers crossed that Garn is in better financial shape than Gadi Leshem

The Standard-Examiner finally gets around to providing a writeup on the outcome of the bond approval issues which were on Tuesday night's Council agenda, with this morning story which reports that the council approved "$9 million in facility bonds to help finance construction of a four-story Hilton Garden Inn Hotel at The Junction development downtown." Mr. Schwebke also reports that a vote on the the $2.8 million in special assessment bonds has been scheduled for next Tuesday (December 14), and that a decision whether to issue up to $3 million in tax increment bonds has been set for Dec. 21:

• Ogden OKs $9M bond for Hilton construction

It looks like Mr. Garn's Junction Hotel is a fait accompli, as the council jumps through all the formal public notice hoops, and increases the taxpayers' indebtedness by another $16 mil.

Mr. Schwebke carefully notes that "Garn will be responsible for repaying the facility bonds." With that in mind, lets all keep our fingers crossed that when the smoke clears on all this that Garn turns out to be in better financial shape than former Godfrey Moneyman, Gadi Leshem.

And to existing hotel operators like Susan Cross, assistant manager of Ogden’s Comfort Suites Hotel, who warned that " Ogden is not ready for an additional 125 rooms" ...

Tough Luck!

What the evil Boss Godfrey wants, Evil Boss Godfrey gets.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 12/07 City Council Regular Session Packet

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

• Mounting Debts by States Stoke Fears of Crisis

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

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

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

• Historic 25th can reach greater heights

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 12/7/10 Council Video

Big Ogden City RDA Meeting Tonight

Boss Godfrey is pining to get moving on East Washington Urban Renewal Project, which represents the biggest Ogden City boondoggle since The Junction Money Pit

For those readers following the pending East Washington Urban Renewal boondoggle, we'd like to provide a heads up regarding tonight's Ogden City RDA meeting, set for 6:00 p.m. in the City Council chambers, wherein the RDA Board will hold a public hearing "on The Draft 'East Washington Urban Renewal Project Area Plan' dated June 21, 2010 and on the related Draft East Washington Urban Renewal Project Area Budget." Check out the full council packet below:

• City Council-RDA Regular Session Packet

Boss Godfrey is pining to get moving on this project, which represents the biggest Ogden City boondoggle since The Junction Money Pit. Despite continuing evidence of a horribly languishing economy, there's no doubt that the Godfrey "A" Team will be putting on the full-court press tonight, to put the Emerald City taxpayers into even deeper debt. Our one-trick-pony Mayor has borrowing and spending in his blood; and the only hanging question is whether our hopefully financially prudent Council/RDA Board can be lured to go along with him.

We're getting a strong sense of deja vu on this; and we're hoping that we're not witnessing the rebirth of something similar to the notorious Gang of Six Council of 2005, which recklessly approved the Junction Boondoggle, even on the eve of being unceremoniously ushered out of office by the angry Ogden voters.

We'll devote this article thread toward a discussion of tonight's RDA meeting event; and we accordingly invite any readers who plan to attend tonight's meeting to chime in with their post-meeting observations and comments.

Update 8/11/10 7:37 a.m.: Scott Schwebke provides the lowdown on last might's RDA meeting, in which the RDA Board continued the matter to August 24, pending input from the Ogden City Redevelopment Agency Taxing Entity Committee (TEC):

• Decision on area in Ogden delayed

Yes, Gentle Readers; that's the same Taxing Entity Committee which, in the summer of 2009, allowed itself to be persuaded to forego for another 11 years their rightful share of Junction Money Pit tax increment revenue, in order to keep the Junction Project financially afloat. It'll certainly be enlightening to find out on August 24 whether this hapless TEC Committee will be prepared to meekly bend over for Boss Godfrey once again,

Standard-Examiner: Ogden City Property Confiscation Committee Declares Four-block Downtown Area Blighted

The sky's the limit when your City Council gambles with other peoples' money, we guess

Scott Schwebke reports this morning on the results of last night's Ogden City Property Confiscation Committee (RDA) Hearing, and reveals that Boss Godfrey-style right-wing crony socialism remains alive and well in Emerald City. Here's the gist:

OGDEN -- By a 5-2 vote, the city council, acting as the municipality's redevelopment agency board, agreed Tuesday night to declare a four-block area in the east-central section of the city as blighted.
City council members who voted against the designation were Susan Van Hooser and Amy Wicks.

Read the whole sad story here:

• Four-block Ogden area designated as blighted; redevelopment to renew downtown

Fasten your seatbelts and hold on tight to your wallets, folks, as our new council majority of five (Comrades Blair, Garner, Gochnour, Stephens and Stephenson) throw fiscal conservatism to the wind, pick up where the financially reckless 2004-05 Gang of Five Council left off, and embark upon yet another round of foolhardy, borrow-and-spend, tax increment-financed BIG SPENDING.

Sadly, eight short months since the taxpayers bailed out Boss Godfrey's money-losing, tax-increment financed Junction Project Scam, it's blatantly apparent that our dreamy and fleeceable City Council has learned absolutely nothing from the experience.

The sky's the limit when your City Council gambles with other peoples' money, we guess.

Update 4/14/01 12:26 p.m.: Per Dan S:

Meanwhile, a separate SE article provides more detail about what the city has in mind for part of this area: Redevelopment of four buildings on the 2300 block of Washington by an Virginia outfit called Octagon Capital Partners, and a parking garage behind these buildings. The parking garage would have 250 spaces and cost $4 million (i.e., $16,000 per space). It would be built by the city and financed by a 20-year bond, repaid through a special assessment district encompassing properties that would benefit from the parking garage. [2d link added by your Blogmeister]

Thusly, the Boss Godfrey plot sickens!

Standard-Examiner: Jeff Lee Council Presentation Report

Current economic circumstances dictate that the Council must continue to be particularly wary of any "Blue Sky" proposal which could place Ogden taxpayers "on the hook" for further bond debt

Scott Schwebke provides a quite informative Standard-Examiner story this morning, reporting on last night's Jeff Lee Council presentation, during which he unveiled his proposed River Project Master Plan, which would involve the construction of "about 1,000 residential units, including 96 single-family homes," together with "300,000 square feet of commercial and retail space as well as open space" over a projected ten-year period:

• Calif.-based firm's proposal for Ogden River Project includes 96 single-family homes

We're encouraged that Mr. Lee is approaching the council with full project details at the project's inception, and we appreciate the Mayoral Administration's apparent efforts to add uncharacteristic transparency to the process, even at this relatively early stage of the game.

Having said that, we're also keeping our fingers crossed that the council will not shirk it's obligation to conduct a proper independent "vetting process," to carefully examine Mr. Lee's company's financial capabilities and fitness for tackling an ambitious project such as this. There are some hard lessons which ought to have been learned from the Godfrey Administration's earlier blind commitment to Gadi Leshem as the project's would-be developer; and we wouldn't like to see history repeat itself in this instance.

We'll be additionally keeping our eyes peeled for any still un-mentioned "economic incentives" which Boss Godfrey may have up his sleeve to assist Mr. Lee in his pursuit of this project too, inasmuch as current economic conditions make taxpayer financing tricky at best. In the wake of the exceedingly disappointing performance of the Junction Project, we believe the Council must continue to be particularly wary of any "Blue Sky" proposal which would even potentially place Ogden taxpayers "on the hook" again for further bond debt. The days are long gone, we believe, when even the most naive Godfreyite would have the nerve to attempt to confidently assure the lumpencitizens that projects financed by tax increment financing "pay for themselves."

And while we're at it, we believe this is probably a good time to reprise one of our favorite, highly-instructive Econ 101-style videos:


We do hope our ever-attentive new city council is "listening up."

That's it for now, Gentle Readers. Howbout chiming in with your own commentary on this topic? We'd especially like to hear it from any WCF readers who sat-in on last night's City Council meeting, whilst in the illustrious company of the SE's intrepid Ace Reporter, Mr. Schwebke.

Standard-Examiner: Tax Increment District Extended

Fine tuning the facts on an otherwise good report on last night's RDA Session

By Dan Schroeder

Some responses to the details of Scott Schwebke's morning story, concerning last night's RDA session:

• Tax increment District extended

1. He never says how much money the taxing entities are losing through this deal (and the RDA is gaining). Based on McConkie's estimates, the net amount is over $12 million. Nor does he name any of the taxing entities (Ogden City general fund, Weber County, library, 911 service, paramedic fund, etc.) that will receive no mitigation payments. So I don't think most readers will realize the magnitude of this decision, or understand that their taxes will probably go up as a result.

2. Godfrey's apparent denial that he intends to use this revenue as collateral on additional debt is extremely misleading. I wasn't there to hear everything he said, but the direct quote isn't a denial at all--he's merely pointing out that this particular action doesn't create any new debt. Godfrey wasn't even there when McConkie admitted, repeatedly, that his office intends to pursue a "partnership" with a major hotel, backed by this tax increment. That's just a polite way of saying the city would take on new debt.

3. The article says that "tax increment from The Junction nearly matches projections made when the city bought the mall property", according to McConkie. I don't know what projections he's thinking of, but the actual tax increment is only about 1/3 what the city promised it would be in a newspaper ad and utility bill insert in 2007.

4. The Junction's total bond debt in 2005 was over $36 million, not $22.4 million as Schwebke claims. He's forgetting the two additional bond series for the Salomon Center. As of this year, very little of the principal has been paid off on these bonds, and there have been additional refinancing charges, so the debt currently stands at about $34 million. (These total figures omit the $2 million portion of the $22.4 million that was for the American Can district, not the Junction.)

5. Similarly, the figures that Schwebke gives for the annual bond payments are only for the largest bond series. The payments on the two other bond series totaled an additional $1.1 million (about half from Salomon Center lease payments and half from tax increment from other RDA districts).

Be Honest, Fair, and Conservative

An open letter to the Ogden RDA Board (aka City Council)

by Dan Schroeder

Dear RDA Board members:

I write concerning your agenda items for Tuesday, October 13, which call for extension of tax increment collection for the CBD Mall District and for associated mitigation payments to certain taxing entities. My concerns fall into three categories.

1. The RDA is breaking a promise.

Please refer to the attached “Ogden City Update” newspaper ad that appeared in the Standard-Examiner on May 31, 2007. In this taxpayer-funded advertisement, the city repeatedly promised that starting in 2015, the various taxing entities (including the library, school district, county, city, and smaller entities) would “begin receiving the full benefit of the tax income from The Junction.” If you pass Resolution 2009-6, you will be breaking this promise to your constituents (Click to enlarge image).

You might object that the promise was made not by you but by the mayor’s office. However, in RDA matters the mayor is actually acting as the RDA Executive Director, and answers to the RDA Board. The Board could have ordered the Executive Director not to make promises that could not be kept, or to publish a correction the following month, rescinding his unrealistic promise. Because the Board took no such action, the Board bears a portion of the responsibility for the mayor’s promise to the citizens.

2. The mitigation payments are grossly unfair.

The proposed “mitigation payments” are plainly being used to buy a bare minimum of the needed votes on the Taxing Entity Committee. In effect, these payments allow some entities to receive tax revenue from the Junction while others receive none. This redistribution of legally prescribed tax rates violates the fundamental principles of property tax collection, and sets a disturbing precedent whereby a coalition of taxing entities can “gang up” to increase their own tax receipts while decreasing that of the other entities.

In the present instance, the mitigation payments would go to the Ogden School District and three of the smaller taxing entities. No mitigation payments would go to the Ogden City general fund, Weber County, the library, the Paramedic Fund, 911 service, or the Weber/Morgan Health Department. As a result, all of these entities will either have to cut services or raise everyone’s taxes.

3. This revenue will merely encourage more debt.

If the purpose of this action were to help pay down the existing debt associated with the Junction, there would be no rush. The RDA district is not set to expire for another five years, so there is plenty of time to negotiate the terms of the extension after we have a clearer picture of the Junction’s financial situation and how much tax revenue is at stake.

However, according to the minutes of the June 25 Taxing Entity Committee meeting, this issue is coming up now because the administration wishes to use the additional revenue as collateral for additional debt. Apparently the administration is still trying to facilitate construction of a major new hotel on the vacant Junction parcel east of the Salomon Center, despite the fact that market conditions are inadequate to make such a hotel financially viable. Rather than respecting these market conditions, the administration apparently wishes to subsidize the hotel with a new taxpayer-financed parking garage and perhaps other incentives. The proposed tax increment extension would allow the RDA to borrow several million more dollars, on top of the $34 million of existing debt associated with the Junction.

Conclusion

While it might seem irresponsible for the RDA Board to turn down free money, the Board must also remember its ethical obligations as public stewards. For too long, the Board has passively allowed the administration to dictate the terms of its dealings. Now is the time for the Board to take control and direct the administration to keep its word, treat everyone fairly, and plan conservatively for the future.

Tuesday Morning Emerald City News Roundup

Selected bits and pieces, designed to provide fodder for yet another great WCF reader discussion

In the absence of any blockbuster Ogden City stories from the northern Utah print media this morning, we'll shine the spotlight on these selected bits and pieces, which nevertheless may provide fodder for further reader discussion:

1) Ace Reporter Schwebke reports that the city council will consider taking action against three "sexually oriented" Ogden businesses (strip clubs), in an apparent effort to enhance our city's new "Provo-style" family friendly image:

• Zoning changes could force businesses to relocate

A new Utah law provides that a municipality may enact by ordinance an amortization schedule for the termination of nonconforming uses over a "reasonable period of time." This statute, which was enacted by our purported "pro property rights" GOP legislature during the 2009 session, abrogates former law of long-standing in America, wherein preexisting non-conforming uses have been traditionally "grandfathered," during the entire duration of their operation. In our opinion, this new legislation, which would allow government bureaucrats to arbitrarily "amortize" the "value" private property rights, invites a constitutional law challenge if ever there were one. Maybe it's just us... but we do believe we smell an expensive potential lawsuit blooming on the horizon. Hopefully the city council will be very, very careful as they examine this issue.

2) The Standard-Examiner again seems to be horribly out of touch with current developments this morning, with the publication of this letter which criticizes the three council candidates who declined Boss Godfrey's imperial summons to appear for Boss Godfrey's botched Channel 17 sham debates:

• Debate no-shows set atmosphere for more division

The Standard-Examiner editors are well aware that all council candidates have now gotten together and planned a legitimate debate with a venue and ground rules which are agreeable to all council candidates. We thus don't understand at all why the Std-Ed editors allow the Godfrey Ticket letter machine to keep flogging this now dead horse.

3) Rachel Trotter reports this morning, a short seven weeks after signing away the bulk of its multi-million dollar Junction tax increment until the year 2026, that the Ogden City School District is even now shuffling slim resources to meet an "unexpected" increase in elementary school class enrollment:

• Ogden City School District considers its options

Mercilessly, this morning's story dwells on the manner in which the school district intends to "make do" with the resources it already owns; and there is no hint, express or implied, suggesting that the school district will be asking for more taxpayer money any time soon. This is fine with us of course. Frankly, we don't want to hear any whining about funding shortages from the geniuses at the Ogden School District until around the year 2026.

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones.

Pick up on any of the above topics, or start up a new discussion all your own.

Big Meeting Today At Noon: Will the Ogden RDA Taxing Entity Committee Roll Over, and Become Willing Investors In The Floundering Junction Project?

Time to test the Taxing Entity Committee's ethical mettle

Here's another quick reminder of today's upcoming event. The Ogden RDA Taxing Entity Committee (TEC) meets today at noon, on the third floor of the Ogden City Municipal Building, to consider whether they'll go along with the Godfrey administration's proposal to extend The Junction’s tax increment district, and allow Ogden City to to continue exploiting 100% of the project's tax increment until the year 2026.

During the last TEC meeting, the mayor's proposal was met with a cool reception, and the committee voted 7-1 to table the proposal and look for other alternatives. In the interim since the last meeting however, the Godfrey administration has been fiercely lobbying, and spreading a little money around, so it's anybody's guess how this matter will turn out if it's put to a vote this afternoon.

We've already gone on record in strong opposition to this knuckleheaded plan of course, which if approved by the TEC, would place all these taxing entities in the posture of voluntary investors in the Junction project, a position which would be in direct conflict with their proper role of service providers for the taxpayers, whom these government entities are designed to serve. As we've already pointed out, a vote in favor of this proposal by any TEC member would be adverse to the economic interests of the taxing entities whom such committee members represent. Time to test the TEC's ethical mettle, we suppose.

For those who'd like to bone up on the subject pre-meeting, we invite you to check out Dan's most excellent Special Reports.

We'll now open this article for immediate reader comments; and we'd likewise welcome any post-meeting reports from those WCF readers who may attend today's event.

Don't let the cat get your tongues.

Oh, My! apparently, and according to the most recent report, the "Brothers in Ogden" have bent down and decided to serve "Blessed Boss Godfrey."

Update 8/19/09 3:00 p.m. MT: We just received this update from one of our most reliable sources within city hall. The TEC committee did indeed roll over in spades this afternoon, and adopted Boss Godfrey's flawed bailout plan whole hog:

The Taxing Entity Committee approved the extension of the mall RDA with a 6-2 vote – Weber County did not support the extension but also did not raise concerns. The Board will be seeing an action item on this in the near future.

Chalk this up as another big win for the "good ole boyz network" in Ogden. We all know who they are.

Shame on the Ogden School District representatives, by the way. They should be looking after their already underfunded school district... but apparently real revenue isn't their top priority these days.

We obviously still have a lot of work to do in Emerald City, fellow lumpencitizens, in our ongoing effort to root out the Godfreyite trash.

Sad, very sad.

8/20/09 9:46 a..m. MT: Scott Schwebke his writeup in today's Standard-Examiner:

• Ogden RDA extends Junction tax increment district by 12 years

It's a sad commentary indeed, about the poor quality of the taxpayers' representatives on the Taxing Entity Committee.

Dunning Reminder: Ogden to Consider Reissuing Up to $32 Million in Bonds Tonite

The Std-Ex reports on another Boss Godfrey plan to put Ogden in hock up to its eyeballs

For those who may have neglected to put the matter on their calenders, we'll issue another dunning reminder of tonight's RDA and City Council sessions, wherein the Council will consider the re-issance of up to $32 million in Junction Project bonds. Although we posted an earlier article on this subject, we were at the time at a complete loss to explain the meaning of this cryptic item, which was included (in varying form) in both the RDA and Council agendas:

9. Reports from the Administration:
a. Tax Increment Revenue Refunding Bond. Proposed Resolution 2009-4 authorizing the issuance and sale of not more than $32,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its taxable revenue refunding bonds; and related matters. (Adopt/not adopt resolution – roll call vote)

Fortunately, Ace Reporter Schwebke is johnny-on-the spot this morning with a pretty decent full report:

• Ogden to consider reissuing up to $32 million in bonds

And yes indeed, our speculation in our earlier article was correct, assuming Mr. Schwebke got the facts straight. Indeed, tonight's agenda item is all about the Bank of New York's revocation of the Junction bonding letter of credit, AND Boss Godfrey's proposed tax increment bailout as well.

And here's the kicker. The substitution of Wells Fargo Bank (WFB) as the new Junction letter of credit bond guarantor will cost the taxpayers at least an additional cool $1 million:

Wells Fargo plans to provide a new letter of credit to the RDA on the reissued bonds that will not exceed $32 million.
That includes about $1 million in bond issuance costs resulting in an additional $80,000 in debt service annually for The Junction through 2030, said Mike Goodwin, the city’s treasurer.

And here's another interesting factor. WFB apparently wants to substitute as collateral utility franchise tax proceeds in place of BDO lease revenue income:

The bonds would be secured by lease revenue from the Salomon Center, tax increment funds and utility franchise tax proceeds. Lease revenue from Business Depot Ogden would no longer be used as collateral for the bonds.

Sounds like a situation made to order for our big spending mayor, as he courts that new hotel franchise which he's been pining for, over so many years. With that BDO revenue freed up, there'll be plenty of dough to generously "incentivize" a prospective new hotelier, or any Godfrey crony who might come up with another ambitious development scheme.

And one reliable source informs us that if this new bonding scheme is adopted by the RDA and Council, the principal balance of the Junction loans will jump to an amount in excess of the price of the original bonding. So if our source is correct, after four years of paying the existing bonds down, Emerald City will be in even deeper hock than we were in 2005.

Hopefully the RDA/Council will table this matter tonight, and seek outside legal and accounting advice. If there was ever a time when the council shouldn't take Godfrey's word for something... it's now.

And we're also scratching our heads wondering how the Bank of New York can lawfully pull the plug on the existing letter of credit. Letters of credit are usually irrevocable. Irrevocability is the whole point of having letters of credit, in fact. What good is a letter of credit if it can be voluntarily revoked at any given moment? In this connection, that's one more reason the council should not jump into this. Time to for the council to confer with independent legal council, we believe. The whole story smells mighty fishy to us.

The question also arises: What's the downside (if any) if our RDA/Council simply refuses to go along with this sudden "emergency" re-fi?

That's it for now. Hopefully one of our readers will show up for tonight's neetings and come back with a report.

Lots to talk about here in advance of tonight's meetings. So what say our gentle readers about all this?

Update 8/18/09 8:18 p.m. MT: For what its worth, here's a link to Scott Schewbke's Twitter tweets. Significantly, according to Mr. Schwebke, it appears that the council has decided to table the matter, and reset it for public hearing three weeks hence:

Council formally sets public hearing for Junction bond reissuance to Sept 8.

Great interim result, we think. This will give the council ample time to carefully examine the issue, and to determine independently who's telling the truth... and who's not.

Std-Ex: Ogden Juggles Junction Tax Increment Districting

Compare the numbers yourselves, then ask yourselves what some Taxing Entity Committee members have been smokin'

Eugene Hart, business administrator for the Ogden School District and also a member of the city taxing entity committee, said the mitigation payment proposal is fair.
“Anything is better than nothing,” he said. “It’s a good option.”

Standard-Examiner
Ogden juggles tax increment districting
8/16/09

Royce Van Tassell, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, said the Ogden School District should strongly oppose extending The Junction’s tax increment district.[...]
The school district isn’t getting anything in return. They are giving money away (by not being able to collect property taxes from The Junction while the RDA is effect).

Standard-Examiner
Ogden juggles tax increment districting
8/16/09

The Standard-Examiner follows up on our earlier WCF discussions, with this morning's Scott Schwebke story, reporting that the fix may be in for Boss Godfrey's proposed Junction tax increment bailout. The Ogden School board, which has been offered a $300 thousand annual "mitigation payment," in exchange for supporting the Godfrey administration's bailout plan, appears to be colluding with the Godfrey administration, splitting up its already pennies-on-the -dollar payoff, and throwing a few bones to the smaller special service districts, just to bring them along. Read all about it here:

• Ogden juggles tax increment districting

Royce Van Tassell, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, is absolutely right in arguing that the Ogden School District should strongly oppose extending The Junction’s tax increment district; and Mr. Eugene Hart, business administrator for the Ogden School District, and sitting member of the city taxing entity committee, is absolutely wrong.

We'll present a couple of graphic representations to show why Mr. Hart possibly needs to go back to school for some remedial math. Here's the graphic from this morning's Std-Ex story, which represents the proposed payoffs to the various entities whom Mr. Hughes, for unknown reasons, is apparently trying to rope into going along with the Mayor's bailout plan:


And here's a helpful table, embedded within an earlier WCF article, showing what all the taxing entities represented by the Ogden RDA TEC Committee can reasonably expect to receive once tax increment moneys begin to flow under terms of the existing junction financing, provided they don't bend over for Godfrey's bailout plan (Click to enlarge image):


Examining these numbers, we're still scratching our heads wondering how any conscientious member of the Ogden RDA Taxing Entity Committee could possibly consider the Mayor's plan to be in any way "fair," or "a good option." As a matter of fact, if any voting member of the TEC is to go along with Boss Godfrey, and accept pennies on the dollar under this knuckleheaded plan, we believe such an act would constitute a clear breach of fiduciary duty, as it would be an act blatantly contrary to the economic interests of the taxing entity he or she is appointed to represent, (along with taxpayers such committee member is supposed to competently serve.)

Compare the numbers yourselves, gentle readers; then ask yourselves what Mr. Hart (and maybe a few others) have been smokin'. Hopefully they'll all have their heads screwed on straight in time for Wednesday's noon TEC Committee meeting.

And don't let the cat get your tongues.

Spotlight On Two More Upcoming Council Agenda Items

The 36th/46th street water tanks land in the council's lap; $32 million in mysterious new bonding pops up out of nowhere

There are two more council agendas we'd like to highlight this morning. Noteworthy council agenda items seem to be falling out of the woodwork this week.

First, we'd like to alert our readers to a matter which is being taken up in a council work session next Thursday, 8/20/09. The topic? The 36th/46th street water tanks. Read the city council's press release here:

• WORK SESSION: INFORMATION REGARDING THE 36th/46th STREET WATER TANK TO BE DISCUSSED

As our readers will recall, as part of the City Council's Water Horizons project, our city council last year approved the construction of a water tank at the top of 46th St, and pumping stations along the east bench. Early in the spring however, the council learned that Boss Godfrey had abandoned the 46th street project, and had been quietly working on a $6 million tank installation at the top of 36th street instead. Ultimately the matter was sent back to the planning commission, which last week issued a recommendation to the council to approve an amendment to the City’s Capital Improvement Plan, to substitute the 36th street tank installation.

This matter has taken a long and winding road, but now finds itself squarely back in the council's lap. For those who've been following Weber County Forum's numerous numerous articles regarding this topic, Thursday's council session should prove to be quite enlightening. Moreover, the council is making an exception to the general rule that lumpencitizens have no voice at council work sessions. On Thursday night, anyone who wants to speak up has five minutes.

Next, we'll highlight an agenda item which has popped up on both the council and RDA calenders for this coming Tuesday, 8/18/09. Frankly we have absolutely no idea what this is all about, but this RDA Agenda notation definitely caught our attention:

9. Reports from the Administration:
a. Tax Increment Revenue Refunding Bond. Proposed Resolution 2009-4 authorizing the issuance and sale of not more than $32,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its taxable revenue refunding bonds; and related matters. (Adopt/not adopt resolution – roll call vote)

Read the full RDA and Council agendas here:

• 8/18/09 RDA Agenda
• 8/18/09 Council Agenda

Reliable sources inform us that the Bank of New York, which issued the original letter of credit guaranteeing bonding for the Junction, has suddenly revoked that letter of credit. Perhaps it has something to do with that. Maybe it has something to do with With Boss Godfrey's proposed tax increment funding bailout. It's fuzzy, to say the least.

While we confess we have no idea what's behind this new $32 million council/RDA agenda item, we have absolute confidence we'll soon find out. At the very least, we hope someone within our WCF readership will attend Tuesday's council session and then report back. Better yet, perhaps some of our better informed readers can fill in the blanks in our lower comments section, in the interval between now and Tuesday's RDA/Council meetings.

That's it for now, folks.

Who will be the first to comment?