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Show January 15 03.qxd 12/7/2021 3:29 PM Page 2 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 2 Volume VII Issue VII January 15, 2003 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 745-2688 Fax: 745-0062 Cell: 791-4387 E-Mail: shannafrancis@att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 745-2879 Fax: 745-2879 E-Mail: crwendell@att.net crwendell@msn.com Opinions expressed by advertisers, columnists or letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of the owners and staff of The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS. Guidelines for Letters to the Editor Letters should be 300 words or less. Letters must be signed and the address of the writer submitted. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS reserves the right to edit or decline printing of any submissions. Announcements Sought As a community service, The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS will print local birth, wedding, obituary, anniversary and missionary farewell & homecoming and Eagle Scout announcements free of charge. We invite residents to send their announcements to: The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS PO BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 If you would like your submitted items returned, please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS, while respecting all property received, will take no responsibility for lost or misplaced items. Please remember to keep a copy for yourself. Invitation for Articles The staff of The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS welcomes the submission of articles by our readership. We invite you to submit local historical accounts or biographies, articles pertaining to contemporary issues, and/or other material that may be of interest to our readers. We also invite you to submit to the paper, or notify the staff of local events. Awards that have been earned by the reader, family members, neighbors or friends are also sought. While the staff of The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS invites the submittal of information and articles, we reserve the right to select which material will be considered for publication. All material, to be considered, must be submitted with the full name, address and telephone number of the person submitting the material. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS’ liability on account of errors in, or omissions of, advertising shall in no event exceed the amount of charges for the advertising omitted or the space occupied by the error. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS does not endorse, promote or encourage the purchase or sale of any product or service advertised in this newspaper. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS hereby disclaims all liability for any damage suffered as the result of any advertisement in this newspaper. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS is not responsible for any claims or representations made in advertisements in this newspaper. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS has the sole authority to edit and locate any classified advertisement as deemed appropriate. It also reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Letters to the Editor Skyhawks Raise $2257 for Quarters and Cans We did it again! Snowcrest Skyhawks raised $2257 this year for Quarters and Cans. What a tough amount when you consider how tight money is in all of our homes this year. Still, students and staff were very generous with their contributions to this worthwhile cause. The school sponsored fun contests and developed some crazy ideas, all of which helped the school collect this substantial amount of money. We would also like to thank our community for helping us as well. We were able to help some families in our Valley, and to present a check to Weber High School for $2000. The Student Body Officers thank all those who dug deep, and helped out this year. We are proud to represent the students at Snowcrest. “Skyhawks Soar Above the Rest!” Snowcrest Skyhawks UDOT Announces Closures OGDEN - The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) advises motorists that from January 6, 2003 until the fall season, 30th Street in Ogden will be closed to through traffic from Washington Boulevard to Harrison Boulevard for purposes of widening the road. Local traffic will retain access. The work is another phase of the Wall Avenue, 30th and 31st Street widening project. The existing two-lane roadway will be widened to include a center turn median, wider shoulders, right-turn lanes at intersections, and new curb, gutter, sidewalk, and landscaping. Crews will also relocate power lines, and install a new gas line and storm sewer. The majority of the work is expected to be completed by late fall. During the closure, motorists may use 24th and 36th Streets as alternate routes. Construction also continues on Wall Avenue between 23rd Street and 33rd Street, and 30th and 31st Streets between Wall Avenue and Washington Boulevard. Utility work will continue through the winter, with paving operations to resume this spring as weather conditions permit. Traffic restrictions will remain in effect through fall 2003. The project remains on schedule with total completion scheduled for spring 2004. UDOT advises motorists to reduce speeds, and to use caution when driving through work zones. Construction schedules are subject to change due to inclement weather conditions, equipment problems, or emergency situations. Inspirational Thought “It’s from numberless, diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped each time a man stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy, and daring those ripples, builds a current that can sweep down the highest wall of repression and resistance.” — Author Unknown Deadline for material for the February 1 OVN issue is January 22. Guest Commentary Is Eden Ready to Incorporate? Self-determination is a powerful motivator for a community. Incorporation would give local control of land use, ordinances, local taxation, and town priorities. The issue is not really if, but when incorporation should be accomplished. Are residents prepared to pay a few hundred dollars per year for the opportunity to shape Eden’s future, to match their vision and not that of the County Commissioners? Attend a public meeting that will be held January 16 and voice your opinion. The timing of incorporation is driven by the willingness of Weber County Commissioners and the County Planning Commission to focus on the needs of the central Ogden Valley. If they devote a reasonable share of county resources to the Valley in a way that pleases the residents, there is limited motivation to incorporate. Is this the case? The Eden Planning Committee analyzes County Planning Commission agenda items and represents the community at Commission meetings. The great majority of agenda items are the result of Wolf Creek development. In a few cases, such as a recent rezoning by the county to permit recreational vehicle storage along the road to Wolf Creek and Patio Springs, the Planning Committee strongly disagreed with the County approval of the requested rezone. The county has also given approval to build on lands that are often flooded, another controversial issue. The recently overturned decision by the County Commissioners to sell public land without going through the proper legal procedures as been another important issue. On the positive side, the county is now planning a storm water project which will be a significant benefit to the Valley (come to the open house at Snowcrest on January 14, between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. for information on the county’s plans). The county has also pursued a sensitive lands ordinance, lighting ordinance, sign ordinance, 3 acre minimum zoning, and other items that have been considered positive steps in the right direction by many. Are the differences between the positive and the negative sufficient to motivate residents to assume slightly higher taxes? What is your vision for Eden? What is the vision of the County Commissioners? The first question is often “how much will it cost me?” Weber County engaged Wikstrom Economic & Planning Consultants, Inc. to prepare Feasibility of Incorporation studies for Marriott-Slaterville and Hooper. Extrapolating those studies to Eden’s situation leads me to believe that we would initially contract with Weber County for public safety, fire, street maintenance, snow removal, animal, weed control, and mosquito abatement services. Approximate estimates show that the costs would be nearly offset by taxes currently paid. The new city would be responsible to provide a City Recorder, City Attorney, court services, financial records, a building inspection, surveyor, and some sort of governmental buildings. How does neighboring Huntsville finance and coordinate these services? Public works, water, sewer, garbage and so forth would possibly evolve over time from their current providers, to the city. The population of Eden is approximately 2,000. Marriott-Slaterville was about the same when it incorporated. Hooper was about twice as large. Estimates of business revenues and taxes for Eden are not readily available in order to form a comparison, but we can assume there are similarities. For each of the towns Wikstrom studied, new taxes were projected to be $100 to $200 per year per $100,000 in property value. After the initial year, the increased taxes were expected to be less. The actual experience of both cities show either financial reserves, or lower initial taxes. Looking forward, a new city would also have the ability to consider impact fees and other means of generating revenue. Are a majority of the residents willing to invest now in the future of their community? Please attend the public meeting that will be held January 16 at the Kimber Academy in Eden, located directly west of the General Store. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. If you are unable to attend, you may also turn in a survey sheet to Dick Manley as indicated and provided in the January 1 issue of the OGDEN VALLEY NEWS. Copies of this survey can be obtained by calling Shanna Francis at 745-2688. These are my personal comments and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Eden Planning Committee. Stephen D. Clarke, Chair of the Eden Planning Committee, Eden Phone: 745-1348 Fax: 745-1349 Annual Reminder Given to Skiers and Snowboarders Sergeant Ryon Hadley of the Weber County Sheriff’s Office recently stated that several ski and snowboard thefts occurring at area resorts have been recently reported. Hadley advises recreators to keep and eye on their equipment when it’s not in use, and to make sure that make and serial numbers from equipment are recorded and kept by owners in case a theft does occur. When a report is filed, these numbers are put into a data bank, which can then be used to identify owners in the event that stolen property is recovered. |