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Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Laura Warburton Appointed To Replace Tryge Simpson on the Ogden Valley Planning Commission

Congratulations to Laura Warburton who today was appointed the the Ogden Valley Planning Commission.

The agenda for today's Weber County Commission meeting stated:
Rescind previous appointment and make appointment to the Ogden Valley Township Planning Commission
A Weber County staffer informed us today that Mr. Simpson resigned.

Rescind means to take away or take back
Resign means to give up one's office or position

One can only wonder if Mr. Simpson resigned or if the County Commission rescinded his position.

17 comments:

Tiny Britches said...

Oh, let me be the first to congratulate the Ogden Valley Planning Commission. You have just added a member who knows everything! Getting Laura Warburton as a member will be like a root canal for all the other members.

It is wonderful that she will be sharing her overwrought thought process with the other commission members instead of the rest of us.

We predict many contentious discussions among the battered planning commission members.

Greg Anderson said...

I attended the County Commission meeting this morning and there was no public comment during their discussion of this appointment. I voiced my concerns afterward, when public comments were allowed but the voting was already over.

The commissioners mentioned the idea of starting the whole application process over or just choosing from the two who weren't appointed last week. They quickly decided to just choose from the two who'd been passed over last week.

(An Ogden Valley resident in attendance raised her hand and wanted to suggest they start over, but the commissioners wouldn't acknowledge her at that time.)

Commissioner Zogmaister then suggested that, since Sharon Holmstrom had already served on this planning commission in the past, they should choose Laura Warburton so that someone new could have a turn.

That's it! No deeper discussion of why to choose one person over another and, presto! They all voted to appoint Laura Warburton. It's no surprise, I suppose, that they took little thought before appointing Tryge Simpson last week.

I still wonder about the exact circumstances of the "withdrawal" of Mr. Simpson.

Blogmaister said...

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Catherine Parr said...

Well said Frankie!

The key to all of this is to make changes in the Weber County Commission. They appoint these Ogden Valley Planning Members such as Jamie Lythgoe and Trgve Simpson without regard to conflict of interest or the people of Ogden Valley.

Vote for Dew Johnson and Amy Wicks this November for the County Commission if you wish to end the feckless leadership in Weber County.

Machster said...

You have to ask yourself whether these Commissioners are worth $85K each a year? I would suggest both Amy Wicks and Drew Johnson just might actually earn our tax dollars as Commissioners.

And for Ogden Valley Planning Commission might I humbly suggest that Larry Zini and/or his wife Sharon would do very well as appointees. Also Frank Cumberland and/or his wife would be good choices.

Teri said...

Why should any one vote for Drew Johnson and Amy Wicks? Or any of the candidates for that matter.

I recently wrote to all candidates for the WC Commission, excluding the incumbent, requesting their position on the FV3 zoning change (Green Valley Academy) presently making its way through the process. Although the Ogden Valley Planning Commission states that they are not allowed to talk about a parcel, it is, in fact, about one piece of property and the chairman has a huge conflict of interest. It is obvious that the Ogden Valley Planning Commission will recommend this zoning change to the Weber County Commissioners, which will change all of FV3 in the valley forever.

Now back to the results of the request. Only one (Morgan) responded. He stated that he was out of town, and would get back to me on his return. He did state that he was against zoning changes for one piece of property. He however did not get back to me to discuss this in detail. None of the others even bothered to respond. The email listed from the 2010 Voter Guide that led me to Drew's website, listed an email address that doesn't even exist.

Should one assume that because he is a valley guy that he is a "good guy"? That is what many assumed about Gage Froerer. This would be the same Gage that attended the concerned citizens meeting at the Huntsville library, and proclaimed that he was pretty sure that the Green Valley Academy wouldn't get far. And, although, he wouldn't be participating in the fight, we should all just relax. If the residents of the valley are tired of elected officials not listening to us, then we better demand a little more out of the candidates. If you remove the politics, why aren't Drew and Gage more involved as valley citizens? Just asking. This rezone is a big deal and the FV3 area is a large chunk of real estate.

rider said...

I agree with the bizarre "I don't think this will go through, just relax" comment from Gage Froerer during the meeting at the library. It sounded as if we should just let the process take place with the understanding they (GVA) will probably go away. I also think some of the key folks working on this were not advised well by Gage Froerer who said it was too soon to hire council. This is dirty politics at its best.

I think the citizens of OV should demand a response from the commissioners and it should be made public on this blog spot. What do you think?

Machster said...

Teri and Rider

I checked the petition to stop the rezone and Green Valley.

Could not locate Gage Froerer, or Amy Wicks, nor Drew Johnson's name on it.

Are they telling us how they feel by remaining silent on this issue?

Could be wrong but somehow I think they are not supporting those who they are asking for support from...

You make good points about alternative choices and "assumptions". Seems to me were I running for office it would be important to answer such crucial questions.

Larry Z. and Frank C. certainly would. If they were indeed campaigning for office.

Danna said...

Thank you Teri for looking into the candidates. The lawyer I spoke to said we had three choices. One of which was to make the GVA a political campaign issue. I attended the Gem meeting in the Huntsville Library last night and listened to Jan Zogmaister speak and answer questions. I have been reading past Commission Meetings and saw she is very consistent in her choices. From listening to her answers she appears to be committed to the Ogden Valley Master Plan. I saw she is smart, a quick thinker and definitely is a hard worker. When I think of all the time I have spent in the last month on one issue, I honestly can’t see how she does it. I have heard many negative comments about her, however, what ever your politics I believe she is who we need to assist and educate about this issue. If you really are passionate about this concern go to the Weber County Meetings and let her know what you think. I was very disappointed in how many people attended the July 6 meeting.

Tiny Britches said...

Danna, Zogmaister is a smooth politician. She says what people want to hear when she is not in a formal commission meeting. Just look at how she and the other commissioners folded on Powder Mountain's MOU with not even a whimper of concern for the OV Master Plan. Watch what she'll do when the Eden Heights rezone request is before the commission. It will be more give away of density numbers to the developers and the valley be damned!

Did Zogmaister definitely commitment that she will vote against Green Acres when it comes before the commission? I'm sure not!

Zoggy must go said...

Danna,

I felt the same way about Zogmaister 4 years ago as you do now. Unfortunately, her actions have spoken much louder than her hollow words.

I suggest you look at her (and all of the commissioners) voting records on valley related issues. Her voting record will not be easy to find as you will have to go through every set of minutes and the minutes are typically 1-2 months behind in getting posted on the county's web site.

Weber county needs a watchdog in office who has some guts to stick up to developers and others.

While I appreciate Zoggy's efforts, she needs to be replaced.

Ron Gleason said...

I posed two specific questions and scenarios to Commissioner Zogmaister on Wednesday;

1 - If the OVPC denies the GVA request and the appeal to the county commissioners how will you vote on it?

2 - If the OVPC passes the GVA request and recommends approval to the county commissioners how will you vote on it?

For both scenarios she stated 'based on what I know at the moment I would not vote for the GVA request.'

She also stated that she believes the question to be focusing on is 'is OV an appropriate location for such facilities'

Ron Gleason

Frankie Machine said...

Danna, you obviously have not been paying attention to Zogmaister's actions or voting record. She is consistently pro developer and anti homeowner for Ogden Valley. She is in the pocket of the Gage Froerer and Real Estate people. She was in favor of the large rock crusher in the middle of Eden a few years ago until she saw that her fellow members would vote against it.

speak up said...

Frankie is right.

With all due respect, many of us have been involved with Valley issues for years. Others are new to advocating when something they don't like is proposed "in their back yard." By the time it is proposed, it is often too late.

We all need to band together moving forward and stay involved so they can't discount the few vocal ones as "not representing the wishes of the valley."

The VCRD is a good avenue for Valley Advocacy and if you are not a member, then you should send in your measly $10 asap.

A strong citizens group will be heard.

I agree said...

I couldn't agree more. It is "normal" to not want to get involved with heated issues in a small town. There are always consequences (both negative and positive) for speaking up! I think we should ALL be involved in this process because it will impact ALL of us. This is NOT an isolated concern. What is on the table is a MAJOR change of zoning. Even if you agree with the idea this treatment center should be in the valley, clearly it doesn't belong at the proposed site. PLEASE folks, don't expect the few with loud voices to pull your weight. GET INVOLVED. Write letters, make calls, send emails.

And I will send in my measly 10 bucks!

FrankC said...

OK, I can no longer curb my fingers. So many subjects, so little time and space.

OVPC Members: the vast majority of the time, the commission appoints friends, or political clones, or friends of contributors. Every once in a while they screw up and make a truly sensible appointment, unwittingly. Keith Rounkles was one, and we all know what happened to him.

Sam Bellarosa and I once applied for the OVPC and we were both rejected without even an acknowledgement of our apps. We were told confidentially that we had "conflicts of interest." What a cruel joke. See Tryge Simpson, Jamie Lythgoe, Greg Graves, Jim Banks, et al, et al, et al. By the way, I attended that GEM meeting, too, and heard commissioner Z hold forth about the many safeguards in place to counter conflicts of interest. Yeah, well, first you have to be able to recognize one, lady.

Zogmaister: speaks platitudes, screws public EVERY TIME. Do not trust her; do not support her; do not vote for her. I have a buck says she'll vote for the Academy when the time comes. She is a shallow political hack, a shill for the development lobby, an intellectual lightweight, and a waste of county money.

Green Valley: what an interesting way to allow commercial development in a residential zone! I was at first sympathetic to the project because of its purpose, but it has huge problems in addition to the admittedly nimby concerns: 1)it is spot zoning; 2)it has the unintended consequence of allowing commercial enterprises in residential zones (not that that has ever stopped our developer-commissioners before); and 3)isn't there a directly competing ordinance specifically prohibiting a business in a residential zone other than an at-home business? There probably are areas here in the Valley where this thing fits, right now. Why screw up the zoning scheme (again) for this one project? We will be signing the petition today.

Me as candidate (for anything): not happening. I can perform as valuable a function from the outside, shedding light on the evil on the inside, without having to fret about being in the minority for my entire term. Don't need the limelight; don't need the fawning supporters; don't need the lobbyists' "favors"; don't even need the salary and perks.

The VCRD: a good thing. Full disclosure--I'm on the board. It will take more that just a few individuals to cure the hot mess that is Weber County politics. The VCRD is a start. Support it. Maybe it will be able to make a difference.

Last: wake up! Stand up! Speak up! The Weber County Commissioners are either delusional enough to believe that people actually approve of what they're doing to this Valley because the people don't call them out, or they know what they're doing to the Valley, know that underneath it all people don't like it, and they just don't give a damn. Either way, it will keep happening until they are stopped, and not of their own accord.

I know, I know: just my opinions, and I could be wrong. But I'm not.

Vermel said...

Hmmm I thought these people in a position of responsibility were supposed to represent views of the Valley residents.

Mr. Simpson creating a vacancy so that he can sell his property after creating an avenue to do so and now it will not look so suspicious of a conflict of interest.

Mrs. Warburton already has a conflict of interest as to where her money comes from. Not to mention her idiotic rants in "The Ogden Valley News". What a peach to have in this position. But then from the method that Mrs Warburton got slammed in by Mrs. Zogmiester it would seem that someone is trying to pad thier position on any given vote. Or could it be that someone has some pictures of someone doing something strange to a dog? Outside of these points I can not see why some get appointed to positions o interest.