Updates below:
While we are awaiting more details, we are posting a heads up to Ogden Valleyites to keep your eyes peeled for any suspicious activity such as someone with new horses. Sadly, we received this email this morning:
There were 2 horses stolen today (Friday, August 29, 2008) around 9:00 A.M. from Lori Lewis & Mike Twitchell's home on River Dr. in Eden. The horses are a pony size sorrel gelding and a small buckskin mare. They also took all of the riding gear for these horses. An eye witness saw a 2006 or so white Ford Excursion pulling a blue 2 horse trailer at Lori & Mikes home loading the horses and pulling away.
If anyone remembers seeing this rig today or has seen these horses please call the Weber County Sheriff or Mike and Lori @ 330-4607.
From another message we received:
They believe it was done by someone in the valley and hope that the horses might still be in the valley. Although the CSI team was up and did fingerprints and they are investigating, the fact is that the horses could be transported somewhere very quickly.
Please contact the Weber County Sheriff''s department immediately with any information.
Blogmeister Update - 8/31/08 @ 12:15 am
We just received the following via email:
Just so you know the Weber County Sheriff "does" know who's Ford it was and who's trailer it was. They are investigating where the horses are. I talked to them personally because it was my trailer that was borrowed. Just so you don't get everyone in an uproar the Sheriff has it under control.
Blogmeister Update - 8/30/2008 @ 1:30 PM
We just received a more detailed description:
Stolen Horses!! From North River Drive, Eden, Utah!!
17 year old 13 hand sorrel gelding, white hind sock, split right ear, and a white stripe down his face.
Seven year old buckskin mare, long mane and forelock.
Witnesses observed a white Ford Excursion pulling a blue straight load horse trailer from the home on Friday morning at approximately nine or nine-thirty. The horses may still be in Ogden Valley or may have been transported via this trailer down the canyon at some point during the day on Friday.
Please call Weber County Sheriff if you have information or Adriane at 1-801-726-9442
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Senator Bramble Goes Off On Pizza Delivery Girl
As luck would have it, after posting the Standard Masterpiece this morning in which the Editors hinted (or strongly suggested) that we should get rid of our State Legislators, we caught this story on the late news.
The ever pompous Senate Majority leader, Curtis Bramble, showed his true colors a few nights ago by going off on an innocent pizza delivery girl who informed him she could not take a check. After the tirade, the young lady made a valiant stand by blowing the whistle on this jerk and the timing could not have been better in light of the upcoming elections. She tells the story on her once quiet blog entitled "Cartoon Brick Wall," and we think the blog title may be appropriate as Bramble's reelection campaign probably hit her brick wall.
Check out the blog and comments here, as her site is heating up the blogosphere!
The ever pompous Senate Majority leader, Curtis Bramble, showed his true colors a few nights ago by going off on an innocent pizza delivery girl who informed him she could not take a check. After the tirade, the young lady made a valiant stand by blowing the whistle on this jerk and the timing could not have been better in light of the upcoming elections. She tells the story on her once quiet blog entitled "Cartoon Brick Wall," and we think the blog title may be appropriate as Bramble's reelection campaign probably hit her brick wall.
Check out the blog and comments here, as her site is heating up the blogosphere!
Friday, August 22, 2008
The Standard Examiner Steps up Again
The editorial in today's Standard Examiner is right on point once again
regarding the Powder Mountain issue with Weber County. We appreciate the
unbiased assessment provided by the editorial staff.
No one knows where this saga will go next, but the citizens of Weber
County and Ogden Valley can take heart at the fortitude recently
displayed by the Weber County Commissioners and the Standard Examiner.
Larry and Sharon Zini
Ogden Valley
Blogmeister Update 8/22/08 @ 9:28 am
This is a classic Editorial and we would be remiss not to include some of its passages for all to view front and center. Of course, just click on the link above embedded within the original post to read this masterpiece in its entirety. Here are some classic quotes chosen at random:
regarding the Powder Mountain issue with Weber County. We appreciate the
unbiased assessment provided by the editorial staff.
No one knows where this saga will go next, but the citizens of Weber
County and Ogden Valley can take heart at the fortitude recently
displayed by the Weber County Commissioners and the Standard Examiner.
Larry and Sharon Zini
Ogden Valley
Blogmeister Update 8/22/08 @ 9:28 am
This is a classic Editorial and we would be remiss not to include some of its passages for all to view front and center. Of course, just click on the link above embedded within the original post to read this masterpiece in its entirety. Here are some classic quotes chosen at random:
- The utter freakishness of the town-incorporation law passed by the Legislature in 2007 continues to defy common sense in Weber County.
- Their [Commissioners] reasoning: Maybe it’s possible to put a shine on this lump of ... coal.
- ...only one Top of Utah incumbent legislator, Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, did not vote for House Bill 466 — she wasn’t present when the vote was taken. Every other member of the House and Senate in the Top of Utah voted in favor of this bill.
- ...HB 466 was such a grotesque piece of legislation, it allowed significant manipulation by petitioners/developers
- Commissioner Jan Zogmaister’s sarcasm was apropos when she remarked that if those people [Powder Mountains list for Mayor and Council] were appointed, a family reunion could constitute a quorum of city government.
- This process is a joke. The developers are taking advantage of the oneyear gift provided by a developers’- lapdog Legislature.
And the best saved for last, with our emphasis added:
- What we’d like to know about the whole affair is this: Did all the lawmakers who voted in favor of this bill get something in return from the developer lobby? Or did they vote in favor of it because they were too incompetent to understand what they were doing? Either way, are these the people voters want representing them at the Capitol?
We at the forum have said it before, but if someone in the private sector had created a mistake such as the Legislature did for us, they would be kicking sand all the way to the unemployment line.
The November elections are rapidly approaching, and we say throw the bums out!
UPDATE @ 10:05 am
Our old friend Rudi has been busy this morning. Don't miss his take where he states, "Std-Ed editorial board launches a no-holds-barred editorial barrage..."
Thursday, August 21, 2008
FROM THE POWDERVILLE NEIGHBORHOOD
Like all of our Ogden Valley friends, we salute Commissioners Dearden, Zogmaister, and Bischoff for their courageous decision to refuse to appoint a Town Council not representative of the citizens of the potential town. It’s nice to see our elected officials truly represent us!
Those of us who live in “Powderville” care about our neighborhood and all of our neighbors. We care about what the actions of the past few months could do to destroy our sense of community. To that effect, we request that a distinction be made between the petitioners and the petition sponsors.
The petitioners are the 22 individuals who signed the incorporation petition, including 8 who live in the neighborhood. Motivations of these individuals have been speculated upon ad infinitum, and none of us will ever know exactly what was going through their minds. Had the neighbors not signed the petition, it would still have been a “qualified petition”. Since the petition has now been approved by the Weber County Commission, the petitioners are no longer players in the story, except as potential mayor/council members and citizens with rights to have and express their opinions.
The petition sponsors are 3 individuals: Mark E. Arnold of Layton, Lee A. Daniels of Park City, and Edward F. Bates of Salt Lake City. None of the 3 is a resident of the “town” or a registered voter in Weber County. Kimball Wheatley’s excellent post reveals how much they pay in Weber County property taxes. The commission has refused to appoint from the very limited list(s) provided by the non-local petitions sponsors, and it is the petition sponsors and their hired guns who have publicly challenged the commissioners’ actions.
In our efforts to protect citizens’ rights to be meaningfully involved in the process, we should exercise extreme caution to respect the rights of those who disagree with us. We in the neighbourhood would appreciate it if negative comments be directed at the petition sponsors and not at our neighbors.
Thank you again for your continuing involvement and support.
A Guest Post by
Darla Van Zeben
Those of us who live in “Powderville” care about our neighborhood and all of our neighbors. We care about what the actions of the past few months could do to destroy our sense of community. To that effect, we request that a distinction be made between the petitioners and the petition sponsors.
The petitioners are the 22 individuals who signed the incorporation petition, including 8 who live in the neighborhood. Motivations of these individuals have been speculated upon ad infinitum, and none of us will ever know exactly what was going through their minds. Had the neighbors not signed the petition, it would still have been a “qualified petition”. Since the petition has now been approved by the Weber County Commission, the petitioners are no longer players in the story, except as potential mayor/council members and citizens with rights to have and express their opinions.
The petition sponsors are 3 individuals: Mark E. Arnold of Layton, Lee A. Daniels of Park City, and Edward F. Bates of Salt Lake City. None of the 3 is a resident of the “town” or a registered voter in Weber County. Kimball Wheatley’s excellent post reveals how much they pay in Weber County property taxes. The commission has refused to appoint from the very limited list(s) provided by the non-local petitions sponsors, and it is the petition sponsors and their hired guns who have publicly challenged the commissioners’ actions.
In our efforts to protect citizens’ rights to be meaningfully involved in the process, we should exercise extreme caution to respect the rights of those who disagree with us. We in the neighbourhood would appreciate it if negative comments be directed at the petition sponsors and not at our neighbors.
Thank you again for your continuing involvement and support.
A Guest Post by
Darla Van Zeben
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The PERPS of Powderville Act III
Guest Post by Kimbal Wheatley
In Act I (January), the investors who bought Powder Mountain Resort decided to create a town and force some of our neighbors in Eden to be part of it. Because the town would have a puppet government explicitly designed to bypass the laws, rules and regulations all of the rest of us have agreed to live by, the good people of Ogden Valley refer to it as Powderville, a “company town” where conflict-of-interest is the norm, robber barons are in charge and the residents are unimportant . It is hard to find a printable name for the people perpetrating this hard-to-believe scenario, so I have come to simply call them the PERPS, although lately I have seen a name I may like better…Powdervillans…kind of rolls off the tongue.
This all started when the PERPS bought a resort zoned for a reasonable 1180 housing units and proposed 2500 instead. When the Planning Commission balked for health, safety and welfare reasons, the PERPS moved to form the town of Powderville to bypass Weber County planning and zoning processes and ordinances. But they could only execute their scheme by trampling on the voting rights of Powderville town citizens which, as you can imagine, caused a bit of an uproar…enough that Powderville residents are threatening disruptive action and the Utah legislature immediately reversed the flawed law that allowed it to happen.
In Act II (July), the County Commissioners asked the PERPS to delay forming the town and instead to work with them to reach some sort of compromise they were sure could be mutually beneficial. The PERP idea of compromise was to present an absurdly one-side Development Agreement the Commissioners simply couldn’t stomach. It might have been some of the whereas clauses extolling the virtues of the PERPS and their development plans…or maybe it was the part about exempting them from all county development and building rules…or maybe it was the bit about raising property taxes to finance the infrastructure instead of using their own money. Whatever, the commissioners did the right thing, saying “no, go ahead and form your town.”
By the way, the idea of raising property taxes to finance the extensive road and utilities structure for the town is particularly interesting since the PERPS don’t pay much property taxes on their 7200 acres ski resort…not even as much as just one house in the town. I diverge…
Back to the story – Act III (August) is where the commissioners select [click here to continue]
In Act I (January), the investors who bought Powder Mountain Resort decided to create a town and force some of our neighbors in Eden to be part of it. Because the town would have a puppet government explicitly designed to bypass the laws, rules and regulations all of the rest of us have agreed to live by, the good people of Ogden Valley refer to it as Powderville, a “company town” where conflict-of-interest is the norm, robber barons are in charge and the residents are unimportant . It is hard to find a printable name for the people perpetrating this hard-to-believe scenario, so I have come to simply call them the PERPS, although lately I have seen a name I may like better…Powdervillans…kind of rolls off the tongue.
This all started when the PERPS bought a resort zoned for a reasonable 1180 housing units and proposed 2500 instead. When the Planning Commission balked for health, safety and welfare reasons, the PERPS moved to form the town of Powderville to bypass Weber County planning and zoning processes and ordinances. But they could only execute their scheme by trampling on the voting rights of Powderville town citizens which, as you can imagine, caused a bit of an uproar…enough that Powderville residents are threatening disruptive action and the Utah legislature immediately reversed the flawed law that allowed it to happen.
In Act II (July), the County Commissioners asked the PERPS to delay forming the town and instead to work with them to reach some sort of compromise they were sure could be mutually beneficial. The PERP idea of compromise was to present an absurdly one-side Development Agreement the Commissioners simply couldn’t stomach. It might have been some of the whereas clauses extolling the virtues of the PERPS and their development plans…or maybe it was the part about exempting them from all county development and building rules…or maybe it was the bit about raising property taxes to finance the infrastructure instead of using their own money. Whatever, the commissioners did the right thing, saying “no, go ahead and form your town.”
By the way, the idea of raising property taxes to finance the extensive road and utilities structure for the town is particularly interesting since the PERPS don’t pay much property taxes on their 7200 acres ski resort…not even as much as just one house in the town. I diverge…
Back to the story – Act III (August) is where the commissioners select [click here to continue]
Weber County Commission refuses to act on Powder Mountain list! -- Ogden Valley Exclusive - audio of today's meeting.
UPDATES Below
In what must have been a stunning move to Powder Mountain, the Weber County Commission refused to act today on the Powder Mountain petition to name the Powderville town council and mayor.
To say that the Weber County Commissioners were a little put out by the revised list of names submitted by Powder Mountain would be putting it mildly.
Powder Mountain refused to include any names other than their original selection plus 3 spouses and two new individuals on the town council list presented to the Commissioners. Interviews of numerous other qualified residents were jointly conducted by the Commissioners and a representative from Powder Mountain. The two new individuals' names were not previously submitted to the commissioners nor were they interviewed. A good question is why don't all of Powder Mountain's selected candidates for the town council have to go through the same interview process as other candidates?
Commissioner Bischoff said he was "Offended" by the new PM list after all their discussions and interviews. Commissioner Zogmaister said that the petitioners could have a "family reunion and probably have a quorum" if they used the list submitted by Powder Mountain. Commissioner Dearden said that every attempt was made to work with Powder Mountain to help make the list more representative of the town's people, yet Powder Mountain came back with the same list that also added three husband and wife pairs.
The Weber County Commissioners repeatedly asked the Powder Mountain representatives what criteria was used by Powder Mountain to exclude all other qualified candidates from consideration and the three Muses (see no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil) had no logical response. Their refusal to explain the Powder Mountain reasoning seemed to increase the frustration of the Weber County Commissioners.
Commissioner Bischoff stated "It may be time for a Judge to decide the issue". The three Weber County Commissioners decided not to act on the Town Council petition but told the Powder Mountain representative that they would be willing to meet with Powder Mountain to discuss the list and all the qualified candidates.
We think the Weber County Commissioners deserve our thanks for standing up to Powder Mountain on this town council issue.
In other business, the Weber County Commission appointed Gary Alllen to replace the resigned Jamie Lythgoe on the Ogden Valley Planning Commission. Gary has served on the OVPC during the previous several years.
Go to the VCRD Website www.vcrdutah.org for a complete list of OVPC members and contact numbers.
Blogmeister update: In an Ogden Valley Forum Tuesday night exclusive, we offer a recording of this morning's landmark decision of the County Commission to take no action at all. We applaud them for taking the stand. The recording is not perfect and subject to some background noise, as we could not fit our Denon Audio system inside the chamber, but you can certainly crank up the volume and hear it unfold. We have included only the Powder Mountain agenda item, which took the last 25 minutes of the meeting. Hearing Powderville's project manager, Brooke Hontz, tap dance is well worth your time as she was definitely out of her league this morning. The commissioner's questions get interesting at the 11 minute mark if you wish to fast forward.
In a second audio clip, Eden Resident and GEM Committee Chairman Steve Clarke asks a poignant question of our Commission and legal staff. (6 minutes)
Lastly, be sure to read Kristen Moulton's Tribune article, and as always, check out the discussion on Rudi's award winning Weber County Forum.
What say ye Ogden Valley citizen's?
In what must have been a stunning move to Powder Mountain, the Weber County Commission refused to act today on the Powder Mountain petition to name the Powderville town council and mayor.
To say that the Weber County Commissioners were a little put out by the revised list of names submitted by Powder Mountain would be putting it mildly.
Powder Mountain refused to include any names other than their original selection plus 3 spouses and two new individuals on the town council list presented to the Commissioners. Interviews of numerous other qualified residents were jointly conducted by the Commissioners and a representative from Powder Mountain. The two new individuals' names were not previously submitted to the commissioners nor were they interviewed. A good question is why don't all of Powder Mountain's selected candidates for the town council have to go through the same interview process as other candidates?
Commissioner Bischoff said he was "Offended" by the new PM list after all their discussions and interviews. Commissioner Zogmaister said that the petitioners could have a "family reunion and probably have a quorum" if they used the list submitted by Powder Mountain. Commissioner Dearden said that every attempt was made to work with Powder Mountain to help make the list more representative of the town's people, yet Powder Mountain came back with the same list that also added three husband and wife pairs.
The Weber County Commissioners repeatedly asked the Powder Mountain representatives what criteria was used by Powder Mountain to exclude all other qualified candidates from consideration and the three Muses (see no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil) had no logical response. Their refusal to explain the Powder Mountain reasoning seemed to increase the frustration of the Weber County Commissioners.
Commissioner Bischoff stated "It may be time for a Judge to decide the issue". The three Weber County Commissioners decided not to act on the Town Council petition but told the Powder Mountain representative that they would be willing to meet with Powder Mountain to discuss the list and all the qualified candidates.
We think the Weber County Commissioners deserve our thanks for standing up to Powder Mountain on this town council issue.
In other business, the Weber County Commission appointed Gary Alllen to replace the resigned Jamie Lythgoe on the Ogden Valley Planning Commission. Gary has served on the OVPC during the previous several years.
Go to the VCRD Website www.vcrdutah.org for a complete list of OVPC members and contact numbers.
Blogmeister update: In an Ogden Valley Forum Tuesday night exclusive, we offer a recording of this morning's landmark decision of the County Commission to take no action at all. We applaud them for taking the stand. The recording is not perfect and subject to some background noise, as we could not fit our Denon Audio system inside the chamber, but you can certainly crank up the volume and hear it unfold. We have included only the Powder Mountain agenda item, which took the last 25 minutes of the meeting. Hearing Powderville's project manager, Brooke Hontz, tap dance is well worth your time as she was definitely out of her league this morning. The commissioner's questions get interesting at the 11 minute mark if you wish to fast forward.
In a second audio clip, Eden Resident and GEM Committee Chairman Steve Clarke asks a poignant question of our Commission and legal staff. (6 minutes)
Lastly, be sure to read Kristen Moulton's Tribune article, and as always, check out the discussion on Rudi's award winning Weber County Forum.
What say ye Ogden Valley citizen's?
Commission Meeting Reminder
Just a brief Tuesday morning reminder of the Weber County Commission meeting this morning:
10:00 am
Weber County Commission Chambers
2380 Washington Blvd
Ogden, UT
The agenda was finally available Monday on the County web site, even though it is dated August 14, 2008 and the county site states that it will be posted by the Friday prior to a meeting. We think it is a fairly important meeting that should be posted more than the minimal 24 hour state required public meeting notice, especially since it appears to have been available last Thursday. Time and time again, important agendas are not available for public viewing and we all should demand answers from our County Leaders.
Our tantrum aside, two important Ogden Valley issues stand out on the tardy agenda (we will paraphrase for brevity):
10:00 am
Weber County Commission Chambers
2380 Washington Blvd
Ogden, UT
The agenda was finally available Monday on the County web site, even though it is dated August 14, 2008 and the county site states that it will be posted by the Friday prior to a meeting. We think it is a fairly important meeting that should be posted more than the minimal 24 hour state required public meeting notice, especially since it appears to have been available last Thursday. Time and time again, important agendas are not available for public viewing and we all should demand answers from our County Leaders.
Our tantrum aside, two important Ogden Valley issues stand out on the tardy agenda (we will paraphrase for brevity):
- ...appointing a member to the Ogden Valley Planning Commission.
- ...appointing a Mayor and Town Council for the town of Powder Mountain.
Now two mysteries abound - which planning commissioner is being replaced mid term? Certainly it would not be 'no conflict' Jamie?
And who will lead our company town - the town we call Powderville.
Be the first to find out and see you in the chamber!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Long Road Out Of Eden
It is a slow news day as we prepare for the Tuesday County commission meeting (once again the agenda is not posted on the county's web site), so we will post one of our favorites we have been saving for a few months.
The cover photo may resemble the Sahara desert, but we think it is a computer enhanced view of Geertsen a few years after our greed monger Powderville Perpetrators have created their two championship golf courses, leaving our high mountain desert valley desolate and baron.
Certainly Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmit wrote this incredible song with our Powderville Perps in mind. Yes, it is a long road out of Eden, but don't let the door hit you in the backside as you leave town, Mr. Arnold, Daniels and friends!
Be sure to read Kimbal Wheatley's latest incredulous post below and see you Tuesday morning at the Weber County Commission chambers as the mystery Powderville Mayor and Town Council will be revealed.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Please tell me it isn't so
Blogmeister UPDATE 8-17-08 @ 11 am: We have added a link to the pdf tax file mentioned by Doc Wheatley. Also, don't miss the conversation on the topic over at the Weber County Forum.
A guest post from Kim Wheatley
Before you toss this as just one more rant from Dr. Wheatley, you ought to read it. I realize Powderville will likely come into existence and I realize the majority of the town council put forward by the commissioners will likely support the town turning into a high-density resort. We have mostly accepted that a corrupt legislative process is what it is and did what it did. So, we are moving to the next phase…how to get the town up and running.
In preparation to support the people of Powderville, who are about to have a town they are not at all ready for, I began wondering what kind of tax revenue they will have to work with. The county has a wonderful on-line tool where you can get the tax history and detail on every parcel in the county, so I began to add up the taxes paid on the properties in the town, starting with property owned by Eden Heights LLC (1520 acres) and Eden Heights II LLC (97 acres). This is the property that surrounds the existing homes in Powderville, on both sides of the highway, and was added to the Development Agreement proposed to the county commissioners, bumping the number of dwelling units up by 1100 (from current zoning of around 50). The county assessor says the property has a fair market value of $18,640,390 or $11,530 per acre, which passes the smell test if you consider how steep a lot of it is. They also say 2007 taxes totaled $255.18, WHICH DOESN’T. Yes, that’s two hundred and fifty five dollars; with taxes on every parcel ranging between 15 and 17 cents per acre….wow, the taxes on the property my home sits on is 2400 times higher!
Next I tallied up the tax contributions of Western America Holding LLC, the people I generally refer to as the PERPS. County tax records show they own 6188 acres with a fair market value of $9,012,201 or $1456 per acre (fails the smell test). Their 2007 taxes added up to $7,565.67, which stinks to high heaven; total property taxes paid on two 80 acre parcel are $4.46 and $4.55. Of the total, only a quarter of an acre is taxed above $12 per acre (paying $334 per acre), and only 40 acres is taxed above 23 cents per acre. Unless there is another mechanism for collecting taxes on buildings and facilities that I’m not aware of, these taxes also include the lifts and lodges and other improvements at the resort.
Based on my own tax notice, only 18% goes to the county general fund and I assume this is the piece of the pie the town gets to run their government and provide services to their citizens. Bad news for the town as they ramp up…they can only expect tax income of about $45 from the Eden Heights bunch and another $1362 from Western America.
Just to put this into perspective, I added up the property taxes paid by one three-generation family in the town who have three homes (the homes of grandparents, parents, child). You guessed it. In 2007 they paid $12,556…1.6 times the property taxes the combined resort owners paid on a major ski resort and 7200 acres of land. A reasonable estimate is the people in the town will be paying at least 95% of the taxes to support it.
How in the world we ended up in a taxing situation like this is beyond me. I’ve tried, but I just can’t see how one can reconcile all the inconsistencies in this mess. The “fair market” valuations don’t make sense and the “taxable value” makes even less sense. HB466 (the law that allowed the town to be forced on the people without a feasibility study, hearings or vote) was based on fair market valuation, but fair market valuation apparently has little to do with taxes actually paid and revenues the town can expect to operate with. And now, in addition to a town that at least 55% of the people don’t want (15% are in favor and rest don’t care or are undecided) they are about to get stuck with a town council hand picked by PERPS that don’t pay enough taxes to even be on the radar screen.
I guess the good new in all this is now we can add a blatantly unfair taxing system to a blatantly unfair town-making system as this mess makes its way into the press and the courts. Our elected representatives have succeeded in allowing a bunch of greedy, ruthless perpetrators, who don’t even pay a fraction of their fair share of taxes, to take away people’s right to vote for an elected government…and all of this in a place that used to be called Eden.
IT MAKES ME SICK AND EVERYONE INVOLVED IN LETTING IT HAPPEN SHOULD BE ASHAMED.
Kimbal Wheatley, Ogden Valley
PS. If you have a hard time believing all this, you can study the PDF attachment where all the tax information described above is summarized or, better yet, go to the county website and verify my numbers.
A guest post from Kim Wheatley
Before you toss this as just one more rant from Dr. Wheatley, you ought to read it. I realize Powderville will likely come into existence and I realize the majority of the town council put forward by the commissioners will likely support the town turning into a high-density resort. We have mostly accepted that a corrupt legislative process is what it is and did what it did. So, we are moving to the next phase…how to get the town up and running.
In preparation to support the people of Powderville, who are about to have a town they are not at all ready for, I began wondering what kind of tax revenue they will have to work with. The county has a wonderful on-line tool where you can get the tax history and detail on every parcel in the county, so I began to add up the taxes paid on the properties in the town, starting with property owned by Eden Heights LLC (1520 acres) and Eden Heights II LLC (97 acres). This is the property that surrounds the existing homes in Powderville, on both sides of the highway, and was added to the Development Agreement proposed to the county commissioners, bumping the number of dwelling units up by 1100 (from current zoning of around 50). The county assessor says the property has a fair market value of $18,640,390 or $11,530 per acre, which passes the smell test if you consider how steep a lot of it is. They also say 2007 taxes totaled $255.18, WHICH DOESN’T. Yes, that’s two hundred and fifty five dollars; with taxes on every parcel ranging between 15 and 17 cents per acre….wow, the taxes on the property my home sits on is 2400 times higher!
Next I tallied up the tax contributions of Western America Holding LLC, the people I generally refer to as the PERPS. County tax records show they own 6188 acres with a fair market value of $9,012,201 or $1456 per acre (fails the smell test). Their 2007 taxes added up to $7,565.67, which stinks to high heaven; total property taxes paid on two 80 acre parcel are $4.46 and $4.55. Of the total, only a quarter of an acre is taxed above $12 per acre (paying $334 per acre), and only 40 acres is taxed above 23 cents per acre. Unless there is another mechanism for collecting taxes on buildings and facilities that I’m not aware of, these taxes also include the lifts and lodges and other improvements at the resort.
Based on my own tax notice, only 18% goes to the county general fund and I assume this is the piece of the pie the town gets to run their government and provide services to their citizens. Bad news for the town as they ramp up…they can only expect tax income of about $45 from the Eden Heights bunch and another $1362 from Western America.
Just to put this into perspective, I added up the property taxes paid by one three-generation family in the town who have three homes (the homes of grandparents, parents, child). You guessed it. In 2007 they paid $12,556…1.6 times the property taxes the combined resort owners paid on a major ski resort and 7200 acres of land. A reasonable estimate is the people in the town will be paying at least 95% of the taxes to support it.
How in the world we ended up in a taxing situation like this is beyond me. I’ve tried, but I just can’t see how one can reconcile all the inconsistencies in this mess. The “fair market” valuations don’t make sense and the “taxable value” makes even less sense. HB466 (the law that allowed the town to be forced on the people without a feasibility study, hearings or vote) was based on fair market valuation, but fair market valuation apparently has little to do with taxes actually paid and revenues the town can expect to operate with. And now, in addition to a town that at least 55% of the people don’t want (15% are in favor and rest don’t care or are undecided) they are about to get stuck with a town council hand picked by PERPS that don’t pay enough taxes to even be on the radar screen.
I guess the good new in all this is now we can add a blatantly unfair taxing system to a blatantly unfair town-making system as this mess makes its way into the press and the courts. Our elected representatives have succeeded in allowing a bunch of greedy, ruthless perpetrators, who don’t even pay a fraction of their fair share of taxes, to take away people’s right to vote for an elected government…and all of this in a place that used to be called Eden.
IT MAKES ME SICK AND EVERYONE INVOLVED IN LETTING IT HAPPEN SHOULD BE ASHAMED.
Kimbal Wheatley, Ogden Valley
PS. If you have a hard time believing all this, you can study the PDF attachment where all the tax information described above is summarized or, better yet, go to the county website and verify my numbers.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Important Meeting for Ogden Valley Residents
This is a call for all Valley residents to attend the Weber County Commission meeting on Tuesday, August 19th at 10:00AM. It appears that the Weber County Commissioners will name the makeup of the Powderville town council.
It will be noteworthy to see if they name a representative council, or a town council packed with Cobabe family members and employees from Powder Mountain.
Since there are so many potential conflict of interest issues with the original list submitted by Powder Mountain, we will find out how much intestinal fortitude our Weber County Commissioners are willing to display.
Larry and Sharon Zini
It will be noteworthy to see if they name a representative council, or a town council packed with Cobabe family members and employees from Powder Mountain.
Since there are so many potential conflict of interest issues with the original list submitted by Powder Mountain, we will find out how much intestinal fortitude our Weber County Commissioners are willing to display.
Larry and Sharon Zini
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Run For Josh Pack Saturday
It will be a big weekend in Ogden Valley with the Balloon Fest and the Xterra Race, but we think the most important event will be the "Run For Josh."
Here's the scoop:
5K Run / Walk
Saturday, August 16th
Eden Park
All proceeds will go to defer medical costs
Blogmeister's note:
Lifetime costs incurred by SCI (spinal cord injury) individuals average $900,000 and can reach as high as $2.7 million depending on the level of injury.
Keep up on Josh's progress here AND drop him a note.
Here's the scoop:
5K Run / Walk
Saturday, August 16th
Eden Park
All proceeds will go to defer medical costs
Blogmeister's note:
Lifetime costs incurred by SCI (spinal cord injury) individuals average $900,000 and can reach as high as $2.7 million depending on the level of injury.
Keep up on Josh's progress here AND drop him a note.
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board Finally Weighs In On The Powderville Debacle - Powder Mountain Investors Beware!
It seems as though the local papers are jumping on the anti Powderville Incorporation band wagon. Yesterday, we highlighted an excellent Standard Examiner editorial on the topic and today the Tribune chimed in.
Also, be sure to read Curmudgeon's insightful post on the topic.
What say ye humble Ogden Valley supporters?
We say it's time for all residents, Valleywide, Countywide and Statewide, to support our Powderville residents in a lawsuit to defend their Constitutional rights.
Any takers? Or givers?
Also, be sure to read Curmudgeon's insightful post on the topic.
What say ye humble Ogden Valley supporters?
We say it's time for all residents, Valleywide, Countywide and Statewide, to support our Powderville residents in a lawsuit to defend their Constitutional rights.
Any takers? Or givers?
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