HB 218 Update - Updated

A call to action for "Powdervile" and other Utah citizen activists (so-called) whose political activism seems lately to be limited to "sitting on the sidelines"

Surprise of surprises, we just talked with Rep. Froerer. In answer to our pointed query, Gage frankly informed us that he took the HB 218 matter off the committee calender today, because the Powder Mountain Developers and other real estate developer interests have plowed massive money into UTAH GOP Leadership (so-called), to defeat H.B. 218 in that committee. He believed the House Government Operations Committee had been "poisoned" (my words - not his) by GOP Leadership, and that he believed he needed more time to properly "educate" a new House committee, to which this bill will soon be re-assigned. He played it smart in our opinion; and wouldn't let HB 218 suffer an early death in an already "stacked" committee.

Rep. Froerer also expressed his discomfort that the many hundreds of WCF and OVF readers who've expressed their displeasure about the Powder Mountain mess over the years haven't even lifted a finger to sends their emails, phone calls and letters to support Rep. Froerer's current efforts, with respect to H.B. 218. According to Gage, despite our most recent efforts to rally the troops, he's received only a small "handfull" of supportive emails.

Let's get our asses in gear, Weber County Forum readers. As Gentle Reader Jennifer Neil noted in her previous post on this subject, the Powder Mountain political power grab effects ALL OF US in Weber County.

Let's get those supportive emails going, gentle readers:

• Gage Froerer's legislative email addy

And here's a link to Rep. Froerer's legislative profile page, for those readers who'd prefer to contact him by other means:

• Gage Froerer - District 8

If the people of Weber County downstream from Powder Mountain want to live in a virtual cesspool as a result of their own inaction, that's their considered choice, we guess.

For our part, we urge all Weber County residents who like clean water and air to send encouraging email massages to Legislative 8 House Representative Gage Froerer right now.

At bare minimum, tell Rep. Froerer that you unequivocally support HB 218, and that you'll do whatever's necessary, to make sure this bill is ultimately passed. Encourage him to pass on your email to all Government Operations Committee members.

Update 2/2/10 9:15 a.m. MT: We spoke last evening with Rep. Froerer, who urged us to put up a link to contact all members of the House Government Operations Standing Committee, who will again find this matter back on their agenda on Friday. In that connection we've put together this bulk email contact link, which will allow readers who are concerned about passage of this bill to register their support in one single email:

• 2010 House Government Operations Standing Committee Contact Links

We've been railing about disenfranchisement of Ogden Valley citizens for several years. Let's not let this bill now fail through our complacency. C'mon, gentle readers. Let's get those emails flowing now. We'll also suggest that those who've already sent emails to Rep. Froerer should send duplicates to the full committee via our newly-coded bulk contact link.

House Bill 218: Live Audio From This Morning's Committee Session - UPDATED

Rep. Froerer's HB 218 bill returns to the House Government Operations Committee calender
UPDATE - H.B. 218 is successfully passed out of committee with a UNANIMOUS favorable recommendation!

Once again we provide an audio link to this morning's House Government Operations Committee hearing, wherein Rep. Gage Froerer's H.B. 218 (Municipal Disincorporation Revisions) has been re-set from Monday morning to item #3 on this morning's committee calender. If all goes according to plan, the below audio link should automatically go "live" around 8:30 a.m.:

• realPlayer Audio
• MP3 Audio

We'd also like to thank our many readers who submitted their supportive emails to Rep. Froerer and HGOC Committee members during the last few days. After a sluggish start, thanks to your vigorous efforts, the volume of correspondence finally picked up quite substantially.

Listen up , folks; and monitor the results of your handiwork!

We'll definitely be sitting on the edges of our seats.

Update 2/5/10 9:41 a.m. MT: After some very brief testimony and discussion of issues, and upon the motion of committee member House Legislative District 9 Representative Neil Hansen, the Committee UNANIMOUSLY passed H.B. 218 out of committee with a favorable recommendation!

Next stop: Full deliberation and debate on the House Floor.

Update 2/5/10 4:00 p.m. : The above"live" audio link has now been replaced with recorded audio from today's hearing, in realPlayer and mp3 formats. The HB 218 sequence begins @ approximately 50:41.

Powder Mountain Update: Weekend Time Out

But first... several additional budding developments which have come to our attention since our last WCF posting on this subject

As we enter into the weekend, we'll temporarily put the Powder Mountain story to rest, until at least next week. Before we do that however, we'd like to inform our readers about several budding developments which have come to our attention since our last WCF posting on this subject:

1) Regarding the pendency of Rep. Froerer's HB 218, we received this voice message from Senator Allen Christen, the bill's Senate sponsor, which indeed confirms that the Powder Mountain Developer and the County Commission seem to be on the verge of a settlement deal:

The bill [HB 218] is stalled in committee. It's not dead; it's not gone. But we have at least temporarily,we have a letter from the developer saying that they will stand down, not try to to incorporate, run everything back through the planning commission, and essentially do the same thing. They just don't want to have this done to them. I've seen the letter; the Commissioners still have to agree to it, and if that's amenable to them, then everybody's going to back off, and hopefully let this thing go away.

We subsequently spoke with Senator Christensen by phone, who further confirmed, to our considerable initial disappointment, that despite its offer to "stand down," the Powder Mountain Developer has unfortunately not yet offered to permanently relinquish its right to later resume its action for Powder Mountain Town incorporation. Inasmuch as we've as yet been unable to obtain an electronic copy of this letter, we'll thus offer no commentary on whatever substantive terms may be contained therein.

2) We've been informed by a reliable source that the Weber County Commission had at some recent point set a public hearing for March 16, to discuss a mysterious "Memorandum of Understanding" (MOU), but that this hearing has now been taken off-calender. Presumably it'll be returned to the calender for public hearing, once Commission and Developer legal eagles have dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's.

3) We've also been informed by several independent sources, gentle reader Laura among them, that Senate Government Ops Committee members McAdam and Robles have responded to lumpencitizen persuasion, and are prepared to vote in favor of recommending that HB 218 be advanced to the Senate floor for deliberation and debate, in the event that the committee would re-convene to re-consider the matter. Of course that's all hearsay; so take it for what it's worth.

4) We also had a short conversation with Rep. Froerer late yesterday afternoon, wherein he reconfirmed that he remains ready to "pull the trigger" and continue, if necessary, to push his bill forward for a full Senate vote. In this context however he also offered the cautionary admonition that a sizable number of the key players in this battle, including some litigants in the Powder Mountain citizens lawsuit, are expressing concern about throwing the bill in front of the Senate, where strong opposition forces continue to oppose HB 218. Rather than taking the risk of a Senate "crapshoot," an influential faction of the prospective "Powderville" residents are therefore apparently leaning in favor of the "negotiated" settlement, an outcome which indeed appears to be in the works.

5) Last but not least, Ogden Valley Forum has an interesting guest commentary up on its blogsite this morning, speaking to the issue of the continuing "back room" negotiations. We accordingly invite all interested WCF readers to take a look:

• Guest Post From Frank C. - HB 218 Questions

In closing we'll say that while we still maintain the position that the "Powderville" problem will never be permanently solved until the Powder Mountain Town Incorporation issue is unequivocally and irrevocably taken off the table, we'll nevertheless resist the temptation to forcefully editorialize on this point this morning, but instead defer, at least for the time being, to the hopefully sound judgment of those parties who are far more intimately involved in the negotiations than we.

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," as the old saying goes. So we'll recognize the possible wisdom in this old folk ax, cool our jets at this juncture and wait to see how it all shakes out in the days to come. The very last thing we'd like to see at this stage of this exceedingly fragile existing situation, would be to find ourselves being blamed for throwing a wrench into the works.

And what say our gentle readers about all this?

House Bill 218: Live Audio From This Morning's Committee Session

Today's committee discussion of Rep. Froerer's HB 218 bill is inexplicably taken off-calender by the bill's House sponsor

For those closely following the ongoing Powder Mountain brouhaha, and as a followup to our WCF article of 1/29/10, we're semi-pleased to offer a pre-recorded audio link to this morning's 8:30 a.m. House Government Operations Committee hearing, wherein Rep. Gage Froerer's H.B. 218 (Municipal Disincorporation Revisions) had been the third item on the committee's agenda:

• realPlayer Audio
• MP3 Audio

Listen Up , Folks! Listen to the part where HB 218's own sponsor takes his own bill off today's committee calender!

Update 2/1/10 8:48 a.m.: According to the audio, Rep. Froerer has requested that agenda item #3 be moved back on the calender. Unfortunately, It's now unclear whether he's taken the matter entirely off-calender for re-scheduling on another date, or simply moved it to the back of today's calender.

Update 2/1/10 11:00 a.m.: Having listened to the full audio podcast, we'll confirm that Rep. Froerer's H.B. 218 matter has been removed from today's committee calender on sponsor Gage Forerer's own motion, without an even on-the-record rescheduling to a later date. We'll update this article as soon as possible, once we've had an opportunity to speak with Rep. Froerer for an explanation of his reasoning and rationale concerning this.

We're also pleased to note that our friends at Ogden Valley Forum have now sounded off on this subject, with their own call to action, directed toward their own OVF reasdership.

House Bill 218: Live Audio From This Morning's Senate Committee Session - UPDATED

Listen up , folks; and monitor the results of your handiwork, as Rep. Froerer's HB 218 bill appears as the first item on this morning's 8:00 a.m. Senate Government Operations and Political Subsdivisions Standing Committee agenda
UPDATE: Bad News... HB 218 stalls in committee by a tied 3-3 vote

For the benefit of those readers who'd like to listen in on this morning's Senate Government Operations Committee hearing, wherein Rep. Gage Froerer's H.B. 218 (Municipal Disincorporation Revisions) is item #1 on the committee calender, we're once again pleased to offer a live audio link. If all goes according to plan, the below audio link should automatically go "live" around 8:00 a.m.:

• realPlayer Audio (Pre-recorded)
• MP3 Audio (Pre-recorded)

(We've now replaced the "live" link with the above recorded copies, for those who'd like to listen in after the the hearing is completed.)

We'd also like to again thank our many readers who submitted their supportive emails to Rep. Froerer and SGOPS Committee members during the last few days. Thanks to your vigorous efforts, the a hefty volume of correspondence reached the desks of the six committee members.

Listen up , folks; and monitor the results of your handiwork!

Update 2/25/10 9:00 a.m.: Bad news, people. After considerable lengthy testimony and discussion, this bill has now stalled in committee. Senator Liljenquist's motion to hold the bill for further study failed, due a tied 3-3 vote. Senator Greiner's subsequent motion to pass the bill on to the full Senate then likewise failed by the same vote tally. According to Chairman Knudsen however, there will be one final opportunity to bring this bill back for further committee deliberation during the current legislative session, which means that we citizen-lobbyists have further work cut out for us.

The three Senate committee members who voted in opposition to moving this bill forward... Liljenquist, McAdams and Robles.

Looks like it's back to the drawing board, folks.

Standard Examiner: Powder Mountain Issue Still VERY Far From A Resolution

Our psychic sense tells us we'll be hearing something very crabby from Gentle Ozboy on this topic very soon

The Powder Mountain dispute is back on the front page of the Standard-Examiner this morning with this Dan Weist story, which is the first report we've gotten since yesterday's Rep. Froerer sponsored HB 218 public information session on Capitol Hill:

• Powder Mountain issue still far from a resolution

This morning's story offers little information that we didn't already know, except for the following:

Rep. Gage Froerer, R-Huntsville, brought the proposal back this year, and the bill again is waiting for possible action in the remaining days of the session.
But Froerer told about 15 residents and others at a Thursday meeting in the Capitol that this year was even more of an uphill battle.
To start with, the legislation never left committee after a tie vote.[...]
Froerer said some statehouse leaders want the people involved to settle the issue privately and not resort to legislation.
He was joined at the Capitol meeting by two other lawmakers who explained the complicated maneuvering to put the bill into motion.

Up until this point we'd assumed that Rep. Froerer had already worked out the procedure to move his bill forward to the Senate floor, notwithstanding its earlier failure in the Senate Government Operations Committee because of a tied 3-3 vote. Regular readers will of course no doubt recall our short 8:24 a.m. update of February 26, where we offered this comment from Rep. Froerer, in response to our inquiry about the bill's removal from the committee calender that morning:

Not on the agenda for this AM. We are expecting a letter from the Developers that would stay the litigation and the incorporation if this does not happen we will request to go directly to the Senate Board.

Being concerned that Froerer's bill might be blocked from moving onto the Senate floor for procedural reasons related to the committee proceedings, we contacted Rep. Froerer this morning, and he assured us that his bill could be moved to the Senate for a vote with relative ease. But that's not the real problem he was alluding to in the upper quote, he said.

Get ready, folks... here's the kicker:

The real problem, Rep Froerer pointedly explains, is that the real estate development lobby has poured "at least $100 thousand" into killing this bill in the legislature; and that in order for his bill to succeed in the Senate, his bill's opposition will have to be met with commensurate lumpencitizen push-back. And here's the not so esoteric message Rep. Froerer delivered to us this morning, information that SE reporter Dan Weist did not report:

Ogden Valley citizens should be prepared to pony up at least $25 thousand to hire their own lobbyist; and this needs to happen very soon. Without the aid of a well-connected lobbyist, Rep. Froerer tells us that HB 218 is quite possibly toast. Email campaigns and repeated dunning phone calls won't cut it at this stage of the game either, Rep. Froerer informs us. The need for hard cash is the "unmentionable" element to which Rep Froerer was apparently referring, when he hinted about "more of an uphill battle," and "complicated maneuvering" it seems. Unfair as it is, that's how the "system" works, he candidly reveals.

That's your Utah civics lesson for the morning, gentle readers. We hope nobody loses their lunch.

Whether Ogden Valley citizens are at home this morning cracking open their piggy banks even at this moment, we do not know.

But our psychic sense does tell us we'll be hearing something very crabby from Gentle Ozboy on this topic very soon.

Update 3/5/10 9:11 a.m.: Ogden Valley Forum also has its own article up on this topic this morning, delivered with a slightly "chirpier" tone:

• HB 218 - The Meeting At The Capitol

Update 3/5/10 10:58 a.m.: The above-linked OVF article has now been updated, with the addition of an interesting "tactical analysis" by prospective Powdervillian Steve Clark.

The World Wide Blogosphere of course awaits your ever-savvy comments.

Gage Froerer's HB 218 is Finally Assigned to Senate Committee

If ever you are to chime in on the "Powderville" situation... the time should be NOW!

Okay, Gentle Weber County Forum readers:

Query: What do we like @ WCF more than hard-core political activism?
Answer: MORE hard-core political activism! Doh.

And speaking of that, here's the latest news about Rep. Gage Froerer's HB 218:

Gage's bill has now been assigned to the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Standing Committee, for 8:00 a.m, on Thursday, which committee hearing will be the last procedural hurdle before it's moved onto the Full Senate, for an up/down vote.

It's a pretty favorable committee assignment for Rep. Froerer, actually, we believe, with the likes of Weber County-friendly Senators Jon Greiner and Scott Jenkins sitting on the committee. But considering serious neoCON Senate opposition to HB 218, this committee assignment still remains far from a Gage Froerer slam-dunk.

Those of us who'd like to restore voting rights to the harried "Powdervillians" therefore can't take anything for granted, even at this juncture. The last thing we'd like to see would be to have this bill killed in Thursday's committee hearing.

So... we'll once again call upon our faithful readers, the Utah lumpencitizens, just as we successully did before, to once again chime in on this subject, and to lodge with this Senate Committee your ever-savvy comments on this subject.

In that connection, here's our new Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Standing Committee contact link page which we've put together for that very purpose:

• 2010 Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Standing Committee contact link page

Don't let the cat get your tongues, O Gentle Ones. Even if you think you're sometimes internet tongue-tied... please don't hesitate to click on the link and throw in your own two-bits this go-round.

If we sit on our thumbs at this juncture, the "Powdervillians" will predictably be screwed.

If ever you are to chime in on the "Powderville" situation... the time should be NOW!

Have at it, O Gentle Ones.

One More Pitch For Rep. Froerer's H.B. 218

Have at it folks! Let's get those legislative switchboards and email inboxes lit up!

You're either part of the solution or part of the problem.

Eldridge Cleaver
Eldridge Cleaver Quotes
August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998

With the end of the Utah legislative work week fast dwindling to a close, we'll take one last crack at trying to entice our readers to offer their input on the matter of Rep. Gage Froerer's H.B. 218 (Municipal Disincorporation Revisions) bill, which has been re-set for hearing before the House Government Operations Committee at 8:30 a.m. on Friday.

During the course of the past week, this topic has dominated the Weber County Forum front page; and as a result of our laborsome appeals to our concerned readers, we have managed to generate a fair number of emails to Rep. Froerer and HGOC members, urging the committee's passage of this crucial remedial legislation. Nevertheless, neither Rep. Froerer nor your blogmaster are as yet satisfied that we've managed to tap the full breadth of our readership's political activism. Frankly, we'd like to see Rep. Froerer waltz into Friday's hearing with a wheelbarrow full of supportive emails, rather than the handful he has as of now.

So as a consequence, we'll once again re-post the email links and other contact data which will conveniently allow readers who haven't yet chimed in on the subject to get in touch with the folks who'll decide whether this bill will be a) killed in committee, or b) passed on to the full House for debate and deliberation... where the bill belongs:

For those who'd like to contact Gage Froerer directly to register support for this bill, we provide his legislative profile page and email addy below:

• Rep. Gage Froerer -- gfroerer@utah.gov

Rep. Froerer also strongly suggests that our readers contact the full HGOP Committee, to demonstrate that this bill isn't merely a parochial "backwoods" issue, and that its passage has broad support not only from citizens in the Ogden Valley area, but statewide, too. We've therefore put together a bulk email link for this purpose, for the benefit of those readers who'd like to contact the full committee via a single email:

• 2010 House Government Operations Standing Committee Contact Info

Let's get crackin' folks. Time's now running out. We've been following this issue for at least two years. And what a disappointment it would be, we believe, if Rep. Froerer's remedial bill, which would restore the voting rights of a substantial group of Ogden Valley residents who were innocently clobbered by a bone-headed legislative mistake, were to die an untimely death this week in committee.

For those readers who need a refresher course on the historical dynamics which led to Rep. Froerer's introduction of H.B. 218, check out the brief summary article below:

• Introduction to the Powder Mountain Town Voting Rights Issue

Have at it folks! Let's get those legislative switchboards and email boxes lit up!

Powder Mountain Update: Important Public Information Session Set For The State Capitol on Thursday - UPDATED

In a very real sense, the ball is now decidedly "in the citizens' court."

As regular Weber County Forum readers are well aware, over the course of the period since Rep. Froerer's HB 218 stalled in the Senate Government operations Committee by a 3-3 vote, the Powder Mount Developer, the Weber County Commission and representatives of litigants in the Powder Mountain citizens' lawsuit have been engaged in intense negotiations, in a last minute effort to arrive at an agreement which would settle issues in contention, take the Powder Mountain town incorporation proceeding off the table and render Rep. Froerer's remedial voter rights legislation moot. Unfortunately, it's now evident that these negotiations have broken down, according to information which we received via email yesterday from Rep. Froerer:

I just got off the phone with Comm. Dearden and he communicated too me that they are not going to sign any deal at this late hour.... Let me make myself clear there will be no deal before the end of the session. If this is something the citizens in Ogden Valley want done now is the time to pull out the stops and put the energy into passing my bill...

Within yesterday's email, Rep. Froerer also informed us that he has scheduled a public information session at the State Capitol for Thursday, the details of which Rep. Froerer provided to us in a telephone conversation late yesterday evening:

What: Public information briefing and question & answer session on the subject of HB 218 and related matters.
Where: Senate (East) Building, Utah State Capitol, Room #215
When: Thursday, March 4, 2010, 12:00 p.m. (noon)
Formal Agenda: AGENDA - HB 218 – Disincorporation of Powder Mt. Town

Rep. Froerer further informs us that both he and Commissioner Dearden will be present to provide updates on Rep. Froerer's bill and the status of negotiations between the various adverse parties, as well as information about how Ogden Valley citizens (and indeed Utah citizens in general) can now (and once again) assist Rep. Froerer in his effort to push his bill toward passage in the Senate.

We'd also like to salute Rep. Froerer and Comm. Dearden for their continuing efforts to permanently resolve this matter one way or another, and for scheduling a public meeting which will add much-needed transparency to the process and hopefully alleviate the most recent lumpencitizen heartburn.

We likewise urge citizens who are interested in this matter to put Thursday's meeting on their calenders and make a special effort to attend this important event. In a very real sense, the ball is now decidedly "in the citizens' court."

We'll have our own WCF reporter in attendance, of course, and will accordingly report back upon the conclusion of the meeting with details and proposed citizen-activist strategies.

That's it for the moment, Gentle Readers.

Who would like to offer their comment?

Update 3/2/10 3:01 pm.: We've now updated this article with the specific assigned committee room number, and added a link to the Formal Meeting Agenda above.

Gage Froerer's H.B. 218 Passes in the House By a Stunning 63-0 Vote

The next big battle (the biggest one yet) will be in the Senate, where the evil neoCON forces in the legislature have vowed to kill this bill in Senate Committee

Good news for the prospective "Powderville Town" residents today, as House Rep Gage Froerer's H.B. 218 passes in the House, by a unanimous 63-0 Vote!

So far, so good.

Check out the audio of today's House floor "debate" (such as it was):

• H.B. 218 House Floor Debate Audio (realPlayer audio)

Having passed the bill now in the House, the next big battle for Rep. Froerer (the biggest one yet) will be in the Senate, where the evil neoCON forces in the legislature have vowed to kill this bill in Senate Committee.

It's time to gird up our loins right now, gentle readers. We'll be calling for another vigorous citizen email onslaught very soon, just as soon as we find out which particular Senate Committee will be considering this bill.

As we did before, we'll also post and circulate a bulk Senate Committee email link, once this bill is assigned to a particular Senate Committee.

Gage has promised to keep us up to speed on this; and he makes it no secret that he'll need our further "steely-eyed" help.

More Powder Mountain Ink... This Time From the Deseret News

We don't know why some folks still don't "get it;" perhaps they just don't want to get it

The Salt Lake print media devotes more ink to the Powder Mountain Saga this morning, with this Deseret News story, which briefly summarizes the facts leading to the introduction in the legislature of Rep. Gage Froerer's HB 218, which (as DNews reporter Rebecca Palmer aptly notes) seems to be "held up on Capitol Hill [the Senate] despite hard lobbying by the local state representative and support from county officials":

• Developers pushing to create town in Ogden Valley

While this morning's story in many respects reflects a respectable gum-shoe reportorial effort, with its sizable collection of presumably hard-gotten and pithy lumpencitizen quotes, we believe the Deseret News nevertheless misses the main point. Whereas Rep. Froerer has carefully framed his bill narrowly, as remedial legislation to cure a gross legislative error and to re-establish citizen voting rights, the tone of this morning's story not-so-subtly drifts back to that tired old theme, which seems to pop up so regularly in stories written by reporters who've only superficially covered the "Powderville Town" issues... i.e., that this is a garden variety "Developer v. Environmentalist" story.

Exhibit "A": Check out the photo in the center column, which carries this hopelessly misleading notation:

Jim and RuthAnn Halay are members of a group of approximately 120 home-owners and residents who are resisting the development of their Weber County area by Powder Mountain Resort.

We've said it before and we'll reiterate: Rep. Froerer's HB 218 is a voter rights bill, and NOT an anti-development bill! We honestly don't know why some folks (even hard-working reporters) still don't seem to understand the issues at stake.

Perhaps Ms. Palmer (and others who still don't seem to "get it") ought to check out the audio from the 2/5/10 House Government Operations Committee hearing wherein Rep. Froerer carefully spells it all out:

...by most estimates, by most estimates I've seen, if this incorporation was to take place, and would require those citizens to wait two years, the infrastructure that would be necessary to be put in place, we all know the cost to set up city government, would increase the property tax burden on a very small group, approximately a hundred people, somewhere between fifty to seventy-five percent, unless some deal was made by the incorporator. So what you're saying, by forcing them to wait the two year period of time,you could very well see property tax averages for this small group of people, right now on their single family homes, that probably average between twenty five to three-thousand, to increase to five thousand to maybe up to seven thousand dollars for that same home, just because of that incorporation, not because of additional services that would be provided by that community.

Significantly, this morning's DNews story didn't even mention the economic issues which are ever so closely tied to the "right to vote."

Yes, it's all about voting rights, people; but we mustn't forget that voting rights stem fundamentally from the core American principle that there shouldn't be "taxation without representation." (This aforementioned principle is of course even more primarily derived from the common sense "core" American notion that "hapless property owners ought not have their tax bills capriciously jacked up 'between fifty to seventy-five percent' by their self-absorbed, greedhead neighbors, without at least having some say in the matter.")

We don't know why some folks don't "get it;" perhaps they just don't want to get it.

Take it away, O Gentle Ones. It's been uncharacteristically quiet here at Weber County Forum over the past few days.

Lame Std-Ex headline: Will Powder MTN dissolve?

The real question: What will Weber County's Senator Jenkins, the #2 man in the State Senate do?

Although we've been tied up with pressing personal business this morning, we didn't want the day to completely slip by without at least commenting in this morning's Dan Weist front page story, which chirpily dwells on a possible (and yet nebulous) memorandum of understanding, which "might," possibly, theoretically, and in concept be consummated (if all parties keep bargaining in good faith) to solve the Powder Mountain Township Mess:

• Will town of Powder Mtn. dissolve?

Here's our take on this morning's story, which we believe possibly reveals Mr. Weist's political naivete, as revealed by this prize paragraph from Mr. Weist hisself:

The potential agreement, a memorandum of understanding, could end a two-year legal dispute

"Could" is the magic word here people. The key point is that no settlement has as of yet been reached between the warring parties. Let's keep working on this, folks. Let's not let down our guard until a signed-on-the dotted-line agreement is reached. Get ready to gird up for another lumpencitizens' WCF grand email assault on whichever State Senate Committee receives and considers Gage Froerer's HB 218 Bill, once it's (predictably, we think) passed from the House to the Senate.

And here's an interesting twist on this subject:

Assuming for sake of argument that Froerer's HB 218 is passed in the house... how will Senate Leadership treat it?

Boss Godfrey's cousin, GOP Senator Scott Jenkins, now the #2 man in Senate "Leadership," is holding all the cards on this wethinks.

What will Senator Jenkins do? Will he back up his Weber County Republican House colleague, Rep. Froerer? Or will he use his "high-power" political influence to feed Ogden Valley citizens to the developer wolves, and assist on assigning Froerer's bill to a Senate committee which will surely kill it?

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

Powder Mountain Update: Time For The Lumpencitizens of the "Demo" Persuasion To Unleash "The Full Court Press" - UPDATED

Its time to edumacate a couple of seemingly backward UTAH Demo Senators/Senate Committee Members who are seriously confused about the local "Powderville" issue, wethinks

For those readers who are just logging on to Weber County Forum right now, you probably haven't heard the bad news. As we reported in our earlier WCF article of this morning, Gage Froerer's politically bi-partisan HB 218 got stalled in committee today, when the two Democratic Party Senators on the committee, (of all people whom we'd assumed would would naturally "cross the aisle" and approve this bill in committee, and vote in support of Sen. Jon Greiner's motion to give the bill a favorable recommendation, and to move it forward,) inexplicably pulled the rug out from under the "Powdervillians, and stalled this bill with their mind-boggling "nay" votes.

Time's running short here, People. Rep. Gage Froerer informed your WCF blogmeister this afternoon that HB218 will again return to the the Senate Government Operations & Political Subdivions Committee for a new vote again tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m.!

In this connection we'll urge all Utah Democrats amongst our WCF readership to chime in now on this subject... Yes RIGHT NOW. Be sure to trot out your official Demo credentials, especially if you serve as a Demo Executive Committee Member, or as a state or county DEMO delegate, or as any other Democratic party Mucky-muck.

Its time to edumacate a couple of seemingly backward UTAH Demo Senators/Senate Committee Members who are seriously confused about this local issue, wethinks:

Here are the contact links to Democratric Party Mssrs. McAdams and Robles, the ones who blindly missed (or ignored) the "Powderville citizens' call to action" in re today's committee vote, and in an extremely cowardly and "bootlicking" way, joined forces with neoCON GOP "develop at all costs" leadership"in taking the legs out from under" Rep. Gage Froerer's HB 218:

• Ben McAdams (Democrat, so-called)
• Luz Robles (Democrat, so-called)

Don't let the cat get your tongues, our Utah Democratic Party-affiliate friends.

Be sure to contact Mssrs. McAdams and Robles, and "splain to them exactly 'wha'sup.'"

Update 2/26/10 8:24 a.m.: We just received this somewhat cryptic missive from Rep. Froerer, re the scheduling of today's followup committee hearing, (for which we'd hoped to provide more live audio this morning):

Not on the agenda for this AM. We are expecting a letter from the Developers that would stay the litigation and the incorporation if this does not happen we will request to go directly to the Senate Board. I am waiting to hear from the County.

We'll have to confess we don't quite know what to make of this. Perhaps however, that heretofore elusive "settlement/development agreement" -- (the one which would "resolve" this whole kerfuffle) -- is hastily coming to fruition in some obscure Weber County Commission back room... even as we speak [wink].

Salt Lake Tribune Editorial: Powder Mountain - Let the Citizens Have a Say

Time for the State Senate to finish "cleaning up" the Powderville voter disenfranchisement mess

... HB466, passed with little discussion at the end of the 2007 legislation... "was a major screw-up."

Salt Lake Tribune
Rep. Kerry Gibson, R-Ogden
February 22, 2008

So far this [HB 218] is the only legitimate bill I've read about this year. Pass it immediately.

Salt Lake Tribune
Powder Mountain Editorial
Salt Lake Tribune reader comment #2
February 19, 2010

We're delighted to direct our readers' attention to this morning's strong Salt Lake Tribune editorial, urging the State Senate to finish the job of "cleaning up the mess" which the legislature created in 2007 with its "misguided" SB 466, and to relieve the civil rights injustice heaped upon the prospective Powderville" residents, "who were wrongly roped into the new town of Powder Mountain without their consent":

• Powder Mountain -- Let the citizens have a say

We've remained mystified that this story has for the most part escaped the attention of the Northern Utah media over the past three years (the Standard-Examiner excepted); so we'll therefore offer a Weber County Forum Tip O' The Hat this morning to the SLTrib for devoting important editorial page space this morning to endorsing a bill which at least one SLTrib reader has characterized as "the only legitimate bill I've read about this year."

Nice work, Salt Lake Tribune.

Hopefully, most State Senators had a chance to thoughtfully consider this strong and persuasive editorial over a nice hot cup of breakfast cocoa this morning, and that each of them will "choose the right," (just as their House legislative collegues already and unanimously did), now that this too-long-delayed remedial bill has been once again introduced for deliberation in the Senate.

Standard-Examiner: New Company Pushes With Powder Mountain Incorporation

Pay attention folks -- let's not let this one get out of hand just because we don't live in The Valley

By Jennifer Neil

OK, the new Powder Mountain company: Pronaia, based in Las Vegas, took over management six months ago, according to today's Standard-Examiner story:

• New Company Pushes with Powder Mountain incorporation

Joseph Pierce, executive VP & partner said they have "an open mind and ... [want to] negotiate ...reasonable entitlements for ownership." What the heck does that mean? PM is at the "top" of Weber County, and people with $$$ use the facilities and live there ... do they realize Weber County stretches clear out to the lake? What happens "up there" affects everyone "down here". I know I've said this before, but I think it is even more important now that the U.S. Supreme Court has given corporations (such as Pronaia) the same rights as individuals in elections where campaigning and financing are concerned!

The area of Ogden (i.e. "down here") has had rights to the water "up there" for many many years, and if this goes forward, who can say if the Vegas based company can buy a legislator or two with influence in the State Water Board to give away Ogden's water rights? My family specifically actually owns water shares for our property, as do many other Weber County residents. Will Pronaia be using something similar to Eminent Domain to take away our shares and deprive us of water for the sake of the few rich who would buy a summer condo, or build a $5M home they intend to sell in 3 years ... Those of us "down here" take umbrage at such disregard and dismissal of the American tradition of settling in and raising and sustaining one's family in a secure place to call home. And that is putting it lightly!

I think I read something somewhere about Nevada wanting to divert water from us to build more homes in their desert, too ... So, if they can get our water for Powderville, where does it stop?

Pay attention folks -- let's not let this one get out of hand because we don't live in the valley - it affects us as much or more than the folks who live "up there".

Sign the petition, folks!

Editor's addendum: 1) The above-linked Di Lewis story mentions Rep. Gage Froerer's H.B. 218 (Municipal Disincorporation Revisions), which the new Powder Mountain managing partner, Pronaia, admittedly opposes, notwithstanding Mr. Pierce's curious double-speak assertion that his company "doesn't want to disenfranchise the citizens of that area." In that connection, it's come to our attention that Rep. Froerer is moving right along with this bill, and that it's already set as the third agenda item for consideration by the House Government Operations Committee on Monday, Febuary 1, 8:30 am. Hopefully a few of our steely-eyed readers will plan to be in attendance, torches and pitchforks in hand. You can bet your bottom dollar Mr. Pierce's own people will be there.

(For those readers who can't make the meeting, we'll post a live committee meeting audio link in a new WCF article on Monday.)

Update 2/1/10 8:34 a.m.: Althought we promised to feature a live audio link to this morning's committee meeting, such a link has not yet come online. We'll update with anew story as soon as the audio is availaable.

Utah Citizens' Initiative Petition Update

You know what to do... Do it on the internet

Red meat news is a mite skimpy this Tuesday morning, so we thought we'd take the opportunity to make yet another pitch for the Utahns For Ethical Government Ethics Reform Petition Initiative drive, which has a little over a month remaining before the April 15, 2010 signature submission deadline.

Weber County Forum readers got a pretty harsh dose of reality regarding the depth of ethical problems in the Utah Legislature just last week, of course, when Rep. Gage Froerer candidly informed us that elements within the Utah Senate were putting the arm on the Ogden Valley citizens for a cool 25 Grand... you know ... to hire a lobbyist to grease the skids for his HB 218 [wink-wink]. It's in that context that we thought UEG's new TeeVee commercial might strike a lumpencitizen nerve, and spur on any readers who haven't yet signed the petition to get to it right now:

And for those readers who might require a little extra convincing, check out the two most recent Standard-Examiner editorials on the subject:

• OUR VIEW: Utah House nixes spending limits • OUR VIEW: More legislative ethicsphobia

Here's the link to the UEG electronic petition; and here are the links to the other two petitions (including Fair Boundaries) which are still in circulation and in need of your signatures.

You know what to do.

Do it on the internet.

Standard-Examiner: Powder Mountain Town Issue on Two Dockets

Three reported news developments (actually)... and a further call to citizen action

Thanks to this morning's Di Lewis story, we learn from the Standard-Examiner that there are three important new developments in the Powder Mountain Greedhead Developer v. Ogden Valley Lumpencitizen Saga:

1) Now that the Powder Mountain lawsuit has reached the Utah Supreme Court on appeal, final briefing is reportedly due to be complete by the end of the week, and oral arguments will evidently be conducted under an expedited schedule. Even in a best case scenario however, we believe it's fair to speculate that a final Supreme Court decision won't be issued for at least several more months, so the pending litigation does provide additional breathing room for accomplishment of the second news development mentioned in this morning's story:

2) As regular WCF readers are already aware, House Legislative District 8 Representative Gage Froerer will be soon introduce legislation (Senator Allen Christensen is the Senate co-sponsor) designed to remove the requirement for a 24-month waiting period prior to a municipal disincorporation election, allowing the voters of the town to decide immediately whether or not a town is in the best interest of the majority of citizens and property owners. This may prove to be the best solution for prospective "Powderville" citizens in a practical sense, provided that Mssrs. Froerer and Christensen can rustle up the necessary votes. For those readers who'd like to chime in with their support for this legislation, we'll offer several avenues by which our readers can take action.

a) If you haven't already signed the Citizens' Electronic Disincorporation Petition, please click on the preceding link and take a minute of your time to do so now.

b) If you'd like to directly contact the bill's sponsors, here are Representative Froerer and Senator Christensen's contact links:

• Gage Froerer - House District 8
• Allen M. Christensen - Senate District 19

c) For those Utah residents who reside in other House and Senate Districts, be sure to check out the full Utah House and Senate Rosters:

• Members of the Utah House of Representatives
• Members of the Utah Senate

In this connection, we remain astonished that the Powder Mountain disenfranchisement issue hasn't gained much public traction outside Weber County; and with that in mind, we'll urge our readers across the state to let their own legislators know this isn't merely a "backwoods" local issue.

d) As an added bonus, we also provide a handy link to this little online utility, for the benefit of those readers who may have forgotten which particular districts within which they reside:

• Utah Legislator Lookup

For those who decide to directly contact their legislative representatives, we encourage you to specifically urge a vote in favor of Representative Froerer's H.B. 218, Municipal Disincorporation Revisions. Also be sure to include your true name and address. And for those readers who'd like to pad it out a little bit with some powerful argument and rationale, here's a handy refresher course regarding the issues and history involved in this situation:

• Introduction to the Powder Mountain Town Voting Rights Issue

Let's get to it gentle readers. The last time this identical bill was introduced in the legislature, it received a decidedly cool reception from developer-friendly Utah legislative "leadership." Let's not let this happen again. Today is the first day of the 2010 legislative session . Lets get those legislative email in-boxes boxes filled up, and those legislative telephones ringing off the hook.

3) In mid-August we announced the the Powder Mountain jackals were turning on each other. Sadly, we learn from this morning's Std-Ex story that an apparent settlement between the formerly warring Powder Mountain ownership factions, and a re-alignment of ownership between these interests hasn't defused their heavy-handed, anti lumpencitizen attitude even a little bit:

Froerer had been trying to work out a compromise between the parties to avoid legislation or further litigation, but the parties are too far apart to reach an agreement, he said.

A complete meltdown betwixt and between the predatory developer carnivores who apparently own Utah Legislative leadership was a little to much to ask, we suppose. Of course an amiable settlement between the "Economic Wolves and Sheep" was something that we never reasonably expected to be in the cards either.

Who will be the first to comment?

Wednesday Morning Emerald City News Roundup

Who's ready to toss in their own 2¢?

Three items which caught our attention this morning whilst we somewhat unsuccessfully Googled the net for interesting red-meat political news:

1) Bad news this morning for Weber County lumpencitizens who appreciate elected officials with a strong work ethic, community dedication, ethical integrity and common sense. Weber County Commissioner Craig Dearden, one Commissioner who definitely hasn't been a real estate development industry "shill," announces this morning via the Standard-Examiner that he'll be retiring from the County Commission upon the end of his current term of office:

• Weber County Commissioner won't run again

Commissioner Zogmeister is right. Dearden's "stability and wisdom" will be greatly missed.

Sodden prediction (based upon a little insider info): Expect a locally prominent Realtor candidate, one strongly supported by the the "Biggest and Baddest PAC in the Land" to file for Dearden's soon-to-be-vacated commission seat before month's end.

2) In a tangentially-related story, the Standard also reports that "Former Republican Utah legislator Dan Liljenquist announced Wednesday that he's going to run for the U.S. Senate in Utah and will challenge six-term Sen. Orrin Hatch":

• Liljenquist officially enters US Senate race

Unlike the soon to be departing Commissioner Dearden, Senate candidate Liljenquist IS a real estate development industry shill. As our long-term WCF readers will recall, Senator Liljenquist was one of the real estate industry-backed legislative bagmen who worked feverishly to kill Rep. Gage Froerer's 2010 HB 218 (Disincorporation of Powder Mt. Town), an effort which ultimately forced the above-mentioned Commissioner Dearden and the rest of the Weber County Commission to abandon Weber County's carefully crafted zoning rules and to adopt the Powder Mountain Developer's self-serving "Development Agreement," a process which at least one Weber County Forum commentator labeled as "extortionate".

No, we're not big fans of Orrin Hatch; but replacing Hatch with an unabashed corporate shill like Liljenquist would be a big mistake for Utah voters... something akin to jumping outta the frying pan into the fire, wethinks.

3) If only for the sake of archival consistency, we'll direct our readers attention to this morning's Alan Hall guest commentary, which appears on the S-E editorial page this morning. Filled as it is with vague "political platitudes" we're not sure exactly what Mr. Hall is getting at. We've read the article over a coupla times, and despite (or perhaps due to) its rambling "wordiness," we're unconvinced that Mr. Hall (whom we do deeply respect) provides much useful guidance for "elect[ing] the right political leaders" or spending more (already "tight") money on "consumption," for that matter. Nevertheless, we previously vowed to follow Mr. Hall's series of S-E commentaries, so here's the latest, (for what its worth):

• Our problems are fixable if we choose right leaders

There is one of Mr. Hall's points which we do consider encouraging, wherein he urges Utah voters to elect "leaders" who'll "...avoid the pressures of lobbyists." It's refreshing to hear something like this from a "Captain of Industry" like Mr. Hall, don'tcha think?

That's it for now O Gentle WCF Readers.

Now, who's ready to toss in their own 2¢?

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Valley Residents Complain About Heli-skiing Noise - UPDATED

Seems to us the Powder Mountain Developers may have borrowed their ham-handed public relations skills from the Boss Godfrey Administration

The Standard-Examiner reports that there's more friction between Ogden Valley residents and the Powder Mountain developers, as the Weber County Commission considers a proposal this morning to ratify a Planning Commission exception to conditional use permit requirements, to allow the resort developer and a local helicopter service to operate a helicopter shuttle to the Powder Mountain back country from Wolf Creek Resort's Red Moose Lodge:

• Ogden Valley residents say noise from heli-skiing choppers annoying

Ogden Valley residents have been complaining about the noise and illegality of this new and already functioning heli-ski operation since it's start-up early in February, and at some point the Planning Commission did issue a cease and desist order, which was then subsequently rescinded by the issuance of an Planning Commission ex-parte exception last week. Our friends at Ogden Valley Forum have reported fairly extensively on this; and for readers who'd like to bone up on the operative facts, OVF offers a couple of informative articles here:

• Helicopters In Ogden Valley?
• Helicopters in the Valley Part 2!

Without offering our editorial comment on the merits of the heli-sking permit issue, we will note in passing that it seems that the Powder Mountain developers are once again providing an illustration of what lousy neighbors they've become since they moved into the neighborhood, and that we're yet again getting a preview of things to come if "Powderville Town" is allowed to come to fruition. The Powder Mountain developers couldn't possibly do more damage to the relations between themselves and their Ogden Valley neighbors if they'd intentionally set about to do that. It's as if they've borrowed their ham-handed public relations skills straight from the Boss Godfrey Administration, it seems to us.

We'll update this article of course, once the results of this morning's 10:00 a.m. commission meeting are available.

Update 2/17/10 11:00 a.m.: The Standard-Examiner reports this morning that the Weber County Commission formally ratified the aforementioned conditional use permit exception and scheduled a further hearing before the Ogden Valley Township Planning Commission for 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 23, 2010, in the Commission Chambers in Ogden:

• Weber commission stands by exemption to ski helicopter service

We're encouraged that the Commission is moving cautiously and deliberately in re this matter, inasmuch as Gage Froerer's H.B. 218 remains pending in the State Senate; and we believe it's paramount that the Commission avoid taking any action which might be perceived within Senate ranks as even remotely hostile to the Powder Mountain developer's economic interests, while Rep. Froerer moves this bill forward for an up/down Senate vote.

Smart strategy on the County Commission's part, we think.