Ogden Canyon Update - Open until New Years

UPDATE

·         The contractor is currently prepping the ground at the bottom of the canyon for the temporary asphalt, which will be installed in the latter part of this week.
·         Both lanes of traffic through the canyon will be opening to the public on Saturday, December 22^nd, to allow for safe and convenient holiday travel.  One lane travel will resume on January 2, 2013.
Thank you all for your patience during this project.  Your feedback is very much appreciated.  Feel free to visit the website at www.ogdencanyonh2o.com, or call the hotline at (801) 675-8198.  You may also stop in to speak with us at the project hub located at the Horrocks Engineers office at 3544 Lincoln Avenue, Suite 11, in Ogden.

Summit Group Hosts Town Hall Meeting

The Summit Group, the new managers and future owners of Powder Mountain, hosted a town hall meeting for the community on December 6, 2012.

We will overview some of the highlights below:

• Powder town (aka Powderville) is dead.  The petition to incorporate and subsequent lawsuits have been dropped.
• They have purchased several parcels during the Wolf Creek bankruptcy sale, of which a 1500 acre will remain open space.
• The previous owners had mentioned 10,000, 5,000 and 3,000 homes with golf courses and 19 lifts.  Summit feels those numbers are excessive.
• Phase one will consist of 500 smaller (4,000 sq. ft.) single family homes south of the Hidden Lake parking lot.
• They plan to preserve the existing terrain and the number of lifts will remain roughly status quo.
• They own the Wolf Barn and 80 surrounding acres.  They plan to use it for resort base parking during the ski season, then reseed and use as a public park in the off season.  Possibly soccer fields.
• They hope to revive the Balloon Festival.
• After phase one, they hope to redone much of the 10,000 acres as TR-1 - Resort Zone.
• Last year, there were 139,000 skier days at Powder Mountain.

What is your impression of our new neighbors?  

Who will be the first to opine?

Skyler Shepherd found guilty on all counts in Pineview Boating Fatality

Skyler Shepherd was found guilty on all counts in the Pineview boating tragedy in which Huntsville resident Ester Fujimoto was killed in August of 2011.

Friend Colton Raines was at the controls of Shepherd's boat when they accidentally ran over Fujimoto, who was swimming.   Shepherd took over the controls, returned to Fujimoto, then fled the scene and left Fujimoto for dead.  Robert Cole Boyer was also in the boat that hit Fujimoto.

Huntsville resident Vaughn Anderson heard Fujimoto's cries for help and rowed out to assist her in his small boat.  Anderson's testimony and a 22 minute recording of his 911 call were key elements of the trial.

The Standard offers more details:

Shepherd guilty on all counts in Pineview boating death

Sentencing is set for Jan. 23 on the charges of reckless endangerment and obstruction of justice, both class A misdemeanors, and failure to render aid, a class B misdemeanor. Maximum sentence for a class A misdemeanor is a year in county jail; maximum sentence for a class B is six months.

Further,

County Prosecutor Dean Saunders said more serious charges could have been filed if officers were able to take blood samples at the crime scene from Shepherd and Raines. According to testimony, Shepherd and Raines had been drinking that day and Raines had possibly been smoking marijuana.

The other two boaters will face trial in February.

Click here for more coverage of the trial.

Wethinks he got a slap on the wrist.  How about you?

Ogden Canyon closed Friday - Saturday -- UPDATED

Ogden canyon will be closed Friday, December 7, 2012 from 9:00 am until Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 9:00 am for unexpected construction issues.  Please plan accordingly.


UPDATE @ 4:45 pm 12/7/2012

Ogden Canyon is now open.

Summit Group Community Town Hall Meeting Thursday - New Location

Monday we posted a notice of Thursday's Town Hall Meeting presented by the Summit Group, the new managers and future owners of Powder Mountain.

The response has been so great that they have changed the venue to accommodate more people.

The meeting will still be held:

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Time: 6:00 PM

Location:

Pine View Lodge

3900 North Wolf Creek Drive

Eden, UT

The 1st building past Harley & Bucks (parking lots are connected).

Be sure to attend to see the Summit vision for our valley and have your questions answered.

Summit Group, Powder Mountain and Ogden Valley (aka Eden Valley) - What next?

Expanded Coverage of the Story that hit the airwaves yesterday

The story we broke nearly ten months ago came to fruition yesterday when Summit Group announced they had taken over management of Powder Mountain.

The announcement marks the end of the black cloud of oppression that has loomed over the mountain since 2006, when the resort was sold by the Cobabe family, who founded and developed the resort, to Western America Holdings. 

Many remember the Powderville Saga, when Western America attempted to create a company town by forcing unwilling residents into their town so the resort owners could create their own zoning rather than use the existing, more restrictive zoning.  Their apparent goal was to hold the residents hostage in exchange for extensive zone changes.  After years of negotiations, a substantial rezone was allowed and the Powderville Town petition was withdrawn on November 13, 2012.

At last, Powder Mountain resort granted substantial rezone  - Standard Examiner

From the Summit web site,

Located in the town of Eden, Utah, Powder Mountain is home to the largest skiable mountain in the United States with more than 10,000 acres of terrain. The resort will remain open to the public and Summit plans to preserve the character of the mountain.
“Instead of overpowering nature, we’re looking at how we can preserve an environment of open spaces, uncompromising vistas, and year-round adventure. Our goal is to create a place that has a positive impact not just on the residents of Summit Eden and the Ogden Valley, but the state of Utah, and the world,” said Elliot Bisnow.

We like Bisnow's statement and will remain cautiously optimistic.

Our friends at the Weber County Forum weighed in yesterday.

As an added bonus, we will include some links to videos and recent articles from other sources.

Summit promotional video

The Vision video

Summit To Buy Powder Mountain To Create Entrepreneur Community -- Forbes

Tour The $40 Million Mountain 4 Entrepreneurs Just Bought So They Could Have A Permanent Party Location -- Business Insider

New owners’ updates to keep Powder Mountain the same - Salt Lake Tribune

"We think we can do something great here," said Summit’s 27-year-old founder and CEO, Elliott Bisnow, noting the new owners have jettisoned previous plans to transform Powder Mountain with close to 4,000 dwelling units.

"Our footprint will be more modest," he added — 500 homes in a horseshoe around a village on the resort’s east side, not visible from Powder Mountain’s main facilities.

"I fell in love with every single thing you heard about the character of Powder Mountain and what it stood for. It was the last undeveloped resort," Bisnow said of his first trip to the upper Ogden Valley ski area in July 2011. "I thought, ‘What if we could take this resort and preserve what it is?’ "

Bisnow took his idea to the Summit team, who bought into the concept.

"We’re not trying to shake things up but enhance what’s here," said Thayer Walker, a Summit partner. "If we do things in a smart, incremental, sustainable fashion, we can preserve Powder Mountain’s character for years."

That’s because Summit’s mission is different than most companies, said co-founder Jeff Rosenthal. "We’re looking for a return on community rather than a return on investment."

  Incoming Powder Mountain owners to enhance resort - Standard Examiner

What say ye Ogden Valle residents and friends about latest developments in the Powderville saga?

Summit Series Group Takes Over Management of Powder Mountain - Town Hall Meeting December 6, 2012 -- UPDATED

UPDATED 12-5-2013 @ 1200 PM   --  Venue Changed to Pineview Lodge @ Wolf Creek

Guest Post/Announcement from The Summit Team

Since moving to Eden in February we on the Summit team have fallen in love with the Ogden Valley, Utah, and Powder Mountain. Today, we're proud to announce that we have taken over management of Powder Mountain and will complete the purchase in early 2013.

We'd like to take this opportunity to offer an invitation to a fun and informative town hall meeting at Powder Mountain. We're excited to introduce ourselves to those we haven't met already, outline our goals to preserve the heritage and values of Powder Mountain, and answer questions.

When: 6pm, Thursday, Dec 6, 2012.
Where:

Pine View Lodge

3900 North Wolf Creek Drive

Eden, UT

The 1st building past Harley & Bucks (parking lots are connected).
Due to capacity issues, space is limited to the first 300 people. We hope to see you there.

Gratefully,
The Summit Team

Huntsville Native Dies in Morgan Plane Crash

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Huntsville native Darren Tidwell, who died yesterday in a small plane crash.

Details from the Standard Examiner are available by clicking here.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Tidwell family.

Weber County Commissioners Consider Action on Rezone Request at Powder Mountain November 13

Guest Post by Shanna Francis

The Weber county Commission will consider action on a rezone request at Powder Mountain on Tuesday, November 13 at 10:00 a.m. in the Commission Chambers located in the Weber Center, 2380 Washington Blvd. in Ogden. 

The rezone petition is being requested by Steven H. Nielsen II (Pronaia Capital) representing Western America Holding, LLC, which is requesting a rezone to approximately 4,297 acres located at Powder Mountain Resort from Forest Residential-3 (FR-3), Forest Valley-3 (FV-3), Commercial Valley Resort Recreation-1 (CVR-1), and Forest-40 (F-40) to FV-3, CVR-1, and F-40.  In addition, they will consider a Zoning Development Agreement between Weber County and Western America Holding, LLC as part of Zoning Petition 2006-18

A staff report on the Weber County web site, found at https://miradi.co.weber.ut.us/projects/view/511_Powder provides a brief background to the petition and states the following:

“On June 1, 2010, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Weber County and Western America Holding, LLC was approved as a precursor to a formal Zoning Development Agreement between the parties regarding development at Powder Mountain Resort.  The MOU promoted the creation of a Development Agreement that would establish the basic development parameters for Powder Mountain and cause the withdrawal of the Powder Mountain Town Incorporation Petition and litigation associated therewith.  Negotiations on the Development Agreement began soon after the MOU was approved and have continued until the parties recently reached an agreement.  The agreement has been patterned after the County’s development agreement with Snowbasin Resort.

“One of the main reasons that the Development Agreement has taken so long to finalize is that Western America Holding, LLC Began negotiating the sale of Powder Mountain Resort during the Development negotiations.  The potential buyers needed additional time to review the agreement and the negotiation process slowed down to accommodate this.  The Planning Division, County legal counsel, and Western America Holding, LLC have now agreed in principle to the October 29 draft of the Development Agreement.

“Each section of the MOU is addressed in the development agreement as are many of the principles that make up the Ogden Valley Planning Commission’s 19 conditions recommended in 2007.  The County worked hard to incorporate these principles into the Development Agreement and the only conditions not addressed in some form are the number of limitations on hotel and commercial development, and the commencement of development with a multi-family/commercial village. . . a public hearing is not required to take action on this Development Agreement.

“If the Agreement is signed by both parties, all pending litigation will be dismissed, and Western America Holding, LLC shall immediately withdraw the Powder Mountain Town Incorporation Petition that had been stalled.  The county will then rezone the property as described in the application request (visit Weber County’s web site to read a copy).  This Agreement will then supersede the MOU.  If any amendments are sought by either party, they must go before the Planning Commission for a public hearing.”

The approval of a request to rezone the resort to a Destination and Recreation Resort Zone (DDR-1) would require the approval of a new Development Agreement where the developer would need to show that the resort can meet the rezone application requirements.

The Weber County Planning Commission is recommending approval of the Zoning Development Agreement.  The Agreement is based on the provisions of the MOU and takes into account most of the Ogden Valley Planning Commission’s earlier mandated 19 conditions.

Amazing Raise Saturday - Support the Ogden Valley Non-Profit Organizations

http://www.cfogdenvalley.org/

Choose Your Adventure: Day Trippin' from Ogden Valley

Guest Post By John Egan

Choose Your Adventure: Day Trippin' from Ogden Valley
Whether it's lack of funding, trouble taking time off or difficulty deciding where to go, planning a vacation can be tricky business. Luckily, there are plenty of places to play not far from Ogden Valley, making a day trip the perfect vehicle for getting away -- if only for a small while. Whether you want to explore the great outdoors, unleash your inner chef, exercise your artistic side, or just stop to smell the roses, these unique destinations promise to be worth much more than the tank of gas they take to reach.

For the Adventurer: Antelope Island State Park

The largest of the Great Salt Lake's nine islands provides beautiful backcountry trails for hiking or biking and plenty of opportunities for spotting wildlife. Keep watch for pronghorn and bighorn sheep, deer, bobcats, coyotes, waterfowl, and the island's namesake residents, as well as the 600 some bison that make their home here. Just over an hour's drive southwest from Ogden Valley, Antelope Island State Park is accessed from Layton via a narrow seven-mile causeway (there's an entrance fee of $9 per vehicle). Get little explorers into the fun with a geocaching treasure hunt, take in an historical program at the Fielding Garr Ranch, or attend an outdoor concert at the visitor's center amphitheater. White sand beaches also line the island -- and the salty water gives swimmers extra buoyancy that's sure to make a splash with the younger set. Be sure to grab a bison burger at the island's sole restaurant, the Buffalo Point Café and Bistro. Enjoying your visit too much to leave? Turn a day trip into an overnight stay by reserving one of the park's two-dozen tent sites.

For the Naturalist: Red Butte Gardens
While Salt Lake City may be better known for its sports and arts scenes, the city boasts some serious flower power with Red Butte Gardens. This preeminent 150-acre arboretum on the University of Utah campus has blossomed into a stunning destination since opening to the public in 1985. Discover award-winning display and natural gardens, walking paths and hiking trails, a sweet gift shop, and fabulous outdoor concerts. Wind through the courtyard; peruse fragrance, medicinal, and herb gardens; stroll the Richard K. Hemingway orangerie; and then fall in love with the McCarthy Family Rose Garden. Interested in growing your green thumb? This botanical paradise, the largest of its kind within 400 miles, also offers prize educational programs.

For the Artist: Logan, Utah
Journey an hour up US-91 to the city of Logan, and arrive a world away. With its metropolitan character and Utah State University influence, this funky town offers endless paths for the creative mind to wander. If you're interested in performance art and music, the Cache Valley Center for the Arts; USU's Caine Lyric Theatre, Morgan Theatre, and Kent Concert Hall; and the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre are just the ticket. Try the ornate Ellen Eccles Theatre for shows from premiere artists, performances by the Cache Valley Civic Ballet and Valley Dance Ensemble, touring Broadway productions, and world-famous operas in the summer. Visual arts enthusiasts can color their visit with Friday night gallery walks around downtown Logan, presented by the Cache Valley Center for the Arts.

For the Foodie: Viking Cooking School
While its eclectic dining culture makes nearby Salt Lake City a delicious day-trip destination in its own right, there's a round of courses for which dedicated Ogden Valley foodies should certainly make the drive. At the high-performance Kimball Distributing showroom, executive chef Jim Light serves up a scrumptious menu of culinary classes perfect for those who want to tackle a special skill or simply taste some treats. From basic techniques and backyard grilling to ethnic cuisine and cocktail party creations, the hands-on and demonstration classes offer a variety of options to suit any palate and skill-level. Best of all, students receive printed recipes to-go -- a tasty sort of souvenir.
Where are your favorite day trip destinations from Ogden Valley?


John Egan is managing editor of Car Insurance Quotes, a popular auto insurance website that provides online services to consumers seeking to save on their car insurance policies.

Former LDS Historian Tabbed For State Board of Regents

Huntsville resident and former LDS Church historian, Marlin K. Jensen, has been tabbed by Governor Hebert to serve on the Board of Regemts, according to the Deseret News.

SALT LAKE CITY — A former LDS Church historian and a former general Relief Society president have been nominated to serve on state higher education boards.Gov. Gary Herbert proposed Thursday that the Utah Senate appoint Elder Marlin K. Jensen to the State Board of Regents and Julie B. Beck to the Dixie State College Board of Trustees.
Elder Jensen will be released from the First Quorum of the Seventy and given emeritus status in October. He served as church historian from April 2005 to January of this year.

Beck was released as president of the Relief Society in April after five years of service.

Wethinks the Gov has made a good recommendation.