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Show Page 12 The Ogden Valley News Volume XXX Issue VI January 1, 2023 Ogden Valley Blood Drive Slated for February 11 at Eden Park Bowery The Community Foundation of Ogden Valley, CFOV, has teamed up with the Red Cross to bring regularly scheduled blood drives to Ogden Valley. The first of these Community Blood Drives is scheduled for Saturday, February 11 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Eden Park community room at the bowery. To schedule an appointment, or for more information, please visit redcrossblood.org or contact community blood drive coordinator Janet Wampler at 305-796-7778 or janet. wampler@gmail.com. Drop-in donors are also welcome. You may start the donation process by completing an online pre-donation health history questionnaire on the day of your appointment by logging in to redcrossblood.org/RapidPass. Your gift can save a life. STR ORDINANCE cont. from page 1 staff reads, “This item is a request for approval of a development agreement that will govern the creation of the Nordic Village at the base of Nordic Valley Ski Resort. It will also allow the resort to expand into a four-season recreation resort.” GROWTH cont. from page 1 both water and sewer projects that qualify under State Revolving Fund requirements are eligible uses of SLFRF funds under ARPA and would benefit residents in Ogden Valley… the County shall pay the Subrecipient $2,600,000 to cover necessary expenses related to the activities specifically described…” including administrative costs. The contract also gives the Weber County Commission “sole discretion” to approve and authorize additional SLFRF funds to the named projects. Interestingly, the distribution of these funds On Saturday, December 10, Christmas Creches from around the world were on display at the may also be used for expenditures already Ogden Valley Library in Huntsville. Members of all faiths came to participate and attend the very incurred—as early as March 3, 2021. Also of first display of its kind in the area. Photos courtesy of Taffee Andher. interest, the contract does not specifically note how these “rescue” funds are linked to “rescuing” Ogden Valley or Weber County from the depressive slump created by the coronavirus to help stimulate Utah’s economy, as the state of Utah continued to thrive during the pandemic, leading the nation in economic and population growth. The primary link noted is related to heightened economic development brought on by excessive tourism. “The Wolf Creek District is located in Ogden Valley—a key recreation area for Weber and Davis Counties, with a tourism-driven economy. Guidance for the intent of COVID Fiscal Recovery Funding (CLFRF), says an appropriate use is: ‘aid a planned expansion or upgrade of tourism, travel and hospitality facilities delayed due to the pandemic.’” The intent of these earmarked federal funds is to stimulate tourism—thus, the economy—not to accommodate an already existing burgeoning demand. The narrative then notes that water hookups had to be delayed (a moratorium adopted) because of previous overallocation of platted developments by the county because of overrepresented claims of water availability and supplies in the Wolf Creek drainage area. Specifically, the $2,600,000 will be used to construct a 90-acre-feet reuse water storage pond and dedicated water delivery line from Eden’s sewage treatments facility. The full project cost is projected to be $5.5 million, considerably lowering the cost of development by local developers that now will be subsidized by taxpayers, relieving them of a hefty up-front development cost. Exhibit “A” of the contract between the county and WCWSID reads, “The [water and sewer] District comprises one of the most densely developed areas of Ogden Valley, where building has led to more than 1,150 dwelling units, within an approximate area of 1,000 acres, including the 100-acre golf course open space, as approved within the Wolf Creek Master Plan. This includes over 500 multi-family or townhouse units.” The approval of this contract now opens the door to almost a doubling of the density within the District’s new boundaries that will be expanded to accommodate proposed high-density development. The narrative continues, a commentary on the history of the often-perverse relationship between politics and economics, “with prior ownership by a sequence of developers since the 1960s, the District water supply for development was broadly based upon assertions of available water. Rosy assumptions and historic relationships replaced objective engineering and legal evaluation. The current public ‘body politic’ took ownership of the water systems in 2010 during a developer bankruptcy and assumed the liabilities of restrictive legal agreements as well as an aging infrastructure. The changing climate and drought have reduced Creche Event at Ogden Valley Library a Success FREEZING RAIN cont. from page 1 dispatched to attend to the slick, icy roads due to freezing rain and black ice. Ogden Canyon also experienced a number of weather-related accidents. Other Facebook posts read: “Canyon is blocked. Accidents everywhere! It is sooo slick, so I highly recommend staying home.” The county commissioners approved both the rezone requests and the development agreement. A copy of the development agreement can be found at webercountyutah. gov/commission/documents/uploads/H3-2-%20 Development%20Agreement%20Nordic%20 Area.pdf both our culinary and our secondary supply, and the District now finds itself with an historic inventory of nearly 400 unbuilt lots, and insufficient culinary and secondary water to meet even the needs of our current active users…. Due to the over-allocation of the watershed water rights, the only realistic way to increase supply is through a combination of conservation, reuse water, and storage.” On December 20, the Weber County Commission considered a request for approval of another ARPA Subrecipient Agreement by and between Weber County and Powder Mountain Water and Sewer Improvement District in the amount of $2,400,000. Powder Mountain Water and Sewer applicant wrote “Powder Mountain Water and Sewer District is served by an aging sewer line fed by a network of undersized and unprotected sewer lift stations. This existing system is potentially contaminating an essential watershed that feeds the Upper Ogden Valley and Weber Basin Conservancy District, serving more than 700,000 people. Pizzel Spring tested positive for e-coli and coliforms making treatment of the spring and its protection paramount. In addition to potential contamination, the existing lift stations are exposed to the extreme mountaintop weather and cannot continue to be adequately operated and maintained to prevent a catastrophic failure, resulting in raw sewage polluting the mountainside. The existing aging pipelines are subject to excessive infiltration and exfiltration. As a result of the need to redevelop and utilize Pizzel Spring and the condition of the current sewer system, the District has deemed this as an emergency that warrants immediate capital to slip line existing pipes and construct additional gravity lines to prevent the infiltration that dilutes and neutralizes our treatment process as well as prevents the exfiltration that pollutes our watershed. This project includes a lift station, temporary sewer line, capital facilities plan update, and critical GIS development. Future phases of this project will culminate with a treatment facility that will further protect our water supplies, allow us to use our treated effluent, and promote further development on the mountain. The new system will work in conjunction with the Master Plan of surrounding entities to provide reuse water for irrigation and/or rapid infiltration of treated effluent into the Upper Ogden Valley aquifer. It is essential that the District complete the sewer system as described in order to protect critical watersheds and avoid additional potential contaminations…. This project addresses the aging, potentially contaminating, and inefficient condition of the current Sewer system. By addressing the shortfalls of the current system and adding a Treatment facility, we will provide long term protection of the water sources as well as the entire watershed that affects the entire Upper Ogden Valley and water supplies for Weber Basin Conservancy District. The long-term environmental benefits this project will provide are innumerable. The improved and functioning Sewer system provides long term opportunities for economic growth in the form of development, tax revenues, economic return on investment, and jobs for the rural mountain community. This will provide further economic stability for our community. The total amount of tax dollars requested is $2,400,000 to redo much of a system that was initially paid for by a Weber County bond approved by Weber County Commissioners a few years ago to pay for initial infrastructure costs at Powder Mountain as requested and obtained by Summit. “UTA bus off [the] road [at] 2200 N. [and] garbage truck did a full spin as well. Everyone drive slow!” “The roads are extremely icy right now! Plows are out but everywhere there hasn’t been a plow, it is a sheet of black ice.” Numerous accidents were also reported in Ogden Canyon and Trappers Loop was closed for a short time. Accident on Trappers Loop December 27. Photos courtesy of Weber Fire District. PRESERVATION. PROTECTION. STEWARDSHIP. Snow removal professionals setting the standard since 1993 801-745-4004 Landscape Design Sprinkler Systems Landscaping Join today to preserve Ogden Valley’s grace. www.OgdenValleyLandTrust.org grassplusinc.com Maintenance Snow Removal And More.... |