Look what we have done in one year!

One year ago, we stood near the banks of an overgrown, polluted Ogden River, in a groundbreaking ceremony that symbolically began the process of cleanup and restoration for Ogden’s main waterway. We could not have imagined what lay ahead of us.


In some places, the channel had been filled in with rocks, dirt and debris to artificially extend one’s usable property. Garbage, old tires, concrete, scrap metal and wrecked cars had been carelessly dumped into the river in other places. All of these contributed to a narrow, constricted and overgrown waterway, which most people tended to avoid rather than visit.

As plans for redevelopment around the Ogden River area started to emerge and take shape, we realized that this was our single best opportunity to rehabilitate the river and correct decades of neglect and abuse. Ogden City partnered with River Restoration.org and plans were drawn up to open up the river channel and create a healthy riparian habitat for plant, animal and aquatic life alike. Funding for this ambitious project has come from a variety of sources, including contributions from local government agencies, bonds and federal stimulus funds.

As the initial cleanup began, botanists targeted non-native and invasive tree and plant species for removal, while heavy equipment proceeded to remove natural and man-made debris from the river channel. To date, more than 2,400 tons of concrete and scrap metal, 3,800 cubic yards of litter and over 2,000 tires have been removed from the river and its banks.


When completed later this fall, this newly restored section of the Ogden River will be the centerpiece of our renewal efforts in the downtown area, providing scenic view areas, fishing spots, a high-adventure park, and a rebuilt pedestrian walk and bicycle path.

We invite you to come and visit the river, and see the remarkable changes that are taking place! The portion of the river between Washington Boulevard and Wall Avenue is nearly complete, and the river walk is accessible from Washington Boulevard, Grant Avenue, Lincoln Avenue and Wall Avenue. Parking is generally permitted along city streets unless otherwise indicated.

Ogden City Finances Managed in an Excellent Manner

An audit of Ogden City’s financial records and resulting Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) was recently completed and reported to the City Council on December 21, 2010. Audit procedures concluded with a “clean, no material weakness” opinion of the City’s financial activities and reports—the highest mark possible in this kind of an audit.

Financial reporting standards require that the CAFR combine activities of Ogden City, the Ogden City Redevelopment Agency (RDA), and the Ogden City Municipal Building Authority (MBA) in one report. Ogden City’s financial activities were examined by an external, private, Certified Public Accounting firm under professional guidelines for audits of State and local governments. Their audit also included the required examination of the City’s Federal, State and other grants activity for compliance with grant requirements.

Auditors’ comments along with the City’s CAFR are available for public viewing on the City’s Website at www.ogdencity.com/en/government/city_budget.aspx which shows Ogden City’s finances for Fiscal Year 2010 (July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010) were managed by the Administration and City Council in an excellent manner, even during the down economy with revenue shortfalls particularly in sales tax revenue.

State code requires city governments to maintain a balance in their general fund of five percent of the following year’s revenue; this amount cannot be designated in any way to any other purpose. Even with the downturn of the economy, which created a revenue shortfall, Ogden City was able to maintain a fund balance slightly over the five-percent minimum. All departments and activity centers within Ogden City contributed to managing the City’s finances frugally and precisely in order to maintain this balance.

Sections of the CAFR present financial information for three functions of City government:

1. General Governmental Functions: this includes all general city services, administration, police, fire, street maintenance, most youth recreation activities, parks maintenance, city development, planning, code enforcement, RDA programs and activities, and MBA building debt.

2. Enterprise Funds Operations: these are meant to be self-funded by charges for services to include water utility, sewer utility, refuse/solid waste utility, municipal airport, municipal golf courses, city operated parks and museums, and medical services such as ambulance and paramedic functions. Airport and golf operations are considered enterprise funds because fees are charged for their use, however, both receive annual subsidies from general city revenues. With these subsidies, all enterprise funds are in a sound financial position.

3. Internal Service Fund Operations: these funds primarily support other general operations of the city including property management, fleet operations, central stores, electronics support, data processing support, GIS services, communications services (telephone primarily), and risk management control for City departments. These funds are meant to at least break even in their operations each year. This year there were no additional funds necessary to maintain each internal service fund in a positive cash position.

The current economic condition has a material effect on Ogden City’s ability to provide city services. Presently, the economy seems to have leveled out and is occasionally providing a slight improvement. The City is hopeful that this coupled with the fact that a few of the economic development activities within Ogden, mainly new retail and property improvements, will enable the City to continue to meet immediate financial demands and maintain positive operating situations for all City functions. However, if economic conditions continue along the same path of the last couple of years, the City may be forced to make some very tough budgeting decisions.
Citizens have an incredible opportunity to help improve the local economic condition by committing to shop in Ogden. The many existing and new retail shopping options in Ogden today provide the opportunity for citizens to stand by that commitment.

Be Aware of Carbon Monoxide Dangers

Ogden City Fire Chief Mathieu would like to remind residents of the dangers of carbon monoxide, also known as the “silent killer.”

As cooler weather is upon us, our homes are closed up to keep the warmth in, and
the warmth comes from furnaces and fireplaces which burn fuel and give off carbon monoxide as does the water heater and other appliances in our homes. Unfortunately, carbon monoxide can leak into living areas of homes and cause illness or in some cases even death.

Carbon monoxide, or “CO”, is an odorless, colorless, and tasteless gas; it is very dangerous because it can go undetected until those exposed to it experience ill symptoms. This is a serious situation that should be given every consideration to prevent. One-third of all CO incidents occur between October and December.
Early symptoms include nausea, headache, fatigue, and cramping; and it can interfere with cognitive functions causing patients to be unaware of what may be happening to them.

Help Ogden Fire Department continue meeting the goal of no more deaths by CO poisoning by following these simple steps:

• Perform regular maintenance on all fuel burning appliances.
• When operating generators, place them where their exhaust cannot enter the home.
• Don’t run vehicles inside garages for significant periods of time.
• Place a carbon monoxide detector near bedroom areas to ensure you are monitoring for the presence of this dangerous gas.

If you do not have a CO detector in your home, please get one. Ogden City ordinance requires carbon monoxide detectors in every home, and the fire department’s goal is to ensure that every Ogden residence has a properly working CO detector.

The City is providing discounted CO detectors to residents for placement in their own homes. Residents may purchase detectors at Ogden City’s Cashier’s office (2549 Washington Blvd, Ste 240) for $10 each which is about half the regular cost—bring proof of residency such as a current utility bill.

Contact the Ogden City Fire Department at 801-629-8074 for more information.

iOgden App

Last week, we launched Ogden City’s first mobile phone app, iOgden. We are thrilled to provide a simple, easy-to-use tool for finding local businesses, attractions and recreation, local shopping deals, and citizen reporting.

Ogden has many amazing restaurants and retailers, and we hope the iOgden app will help everyone become more familiar with them and where they are located. Just by choosing a restaurant or shopping type you can find Mexican food, clothing stores, antiques, and more. Simply click on the merchant’s name you’ll find business hours, phone numbers, web addresses and even a description of their business.

We are lucky to have so many Ogden attractions, and we’ve tried to capture them all in the iOgden app. You’ll find local museums, art galleries, theaters and much more. We even show you what to do in Ogden by including the calendar of fun and exciting events going on around the city. Additionally, we want everyone to gain access to the abundant recreation opportunities we have to offer. You can find ski resorts, climbing areas, hiking and biking trails, and even use the GPS to get you right to the trailhead.

One of my favorite features is the citizen reporting option. We wanted to make it more convenient for people to alert us about non-emergency issues like street lights that are out and potholes that need repair. Using the “Report an Issue” feature, with just a couple of clicks a problem can be reported to our staff with exact GPS coordinates and a photo. This encourages citizens to become more responsive and empowers everyone to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

We hope everyone enjoys the iOgden app. It is free for download from the iPhone App Store. And although it is only available for iPhone today, we expect to have an Android version available in January 2011.

It Pays to Buy in Ogden

Sales tax is a major source of revenue for the City of Ogden. Sales tax is earned when items are purchased within the city boundaries, and the funds are used to provide important services for citizens such as police and fire protection, street maintenance, snow plowing, and more. These services are vital to each of our citizens and to those who visit our city regularly.

A few months ago, Governor Herbert stated, “Times were bad a year ago, and times are a little bit better today, and I think that gives us reason for optimism.” We at Ogden City share the governor’s optimism—it is the timing we are unsure of.
A year ago sales tax had declined 11% from the previous year. This year the decline has slowed, but we are still descending. As the holidays approach, we are asking, please purchase your holiday gifts, food, entertainment, home improvement, auto needs, etc. in Ogden. We are not asking you to spend more, just BUY IN OGDEN! This will enable us to continue to keep services like police and fire protection at the current levels.

There are many opportunities to BUY IN OGDEN: The Junction, The Newgate Mall, 25th Street, 12th Street, Washington Blvd., and Harrison Blvd just to name a few.
Keep all of your dollars working for you; BUY IN OGDEN!

River Project Update

For years the vision of the River Project has been plagued by views of vacant homes, trash, weeds, etc. However, that view is quickly changing thanks to Ogden City. Due to the hazardous conditions of these properties, The City allocated $545,000 for the demolition of the 46 homes located between 18th and 20th Street from Washington Blvd. to Childs Ave. This proactive step not only resolves a dangerous situation, but opens the door for the beginnings of a vital mixed-use development in the downtown area. Many avenues were explored to bring the homes down in a cost effective manner, including, having the fire department perform “controlled burn” training exercises. However, upon further research, it was determined the asbestos abatement costs associated with burning the houses and environmental concerns outweighed standard demolition costs. Consequently, only a couple of the houses were burned, while the rest will be razed by standard demolition. The careful coordination among various departments throughout the city has resulted in timely demolition.

If you have visited this area recently, you will quickly notice that 32 of the homes are demolished and are in the process of being removed from the site. The City has also made it a priority to ensure the materials are recycled and reused wherever possible. The large piles of concrete will be crushed and reused as backfill and the metals are being recycled. With the safe removal of these homes, you will begin to see how beneficial this redevelopment will be for Ogden.

So, what are the future plans for the River Project? When completed, the goal is to have a thriving mixed-use development including a high adventure park, single family homes, townhomes, businesses and restaurants. There are many possibilities on how this development might be accomplished. It is important that the City take the time needed to guarantee the success of this development through proper planning and coordination between the City and the developers. The River Project is a critical center piece in the redevelopment of Ogden. With the demolition of these homes almost complete, the vision will continue to take shape.

Water Meter Change Out

Ogden City Public Utilities is excited to be initiating a city-wide water meter change out program. Old manually read meters will be replaced with new and more efficient Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) technology. The meter change out program will be completed in several different phases as new meters are purchased and installed.

The new meters will emit an electronic signal that will be captured on a laptop computer inside a vehicle as it drives by. The information will be recorded on the corresponding account automatically, within seconds. With the current meters, approximately 250 to 300 meters are read each day; with the new AMR technology, 300 meters will be read within just a couple of hours.

As well as quicker and more accurate meter reading, the new meters can detect leaks or other problems with the meter or with the service line and report it to the meter reader as they are completing their routes. This capability allows for quicker detection of potential issues which helps to conserve water and could even save homeowners money. If the leak is between the meter and the house, more water than normal will run through the meter resulting in a high water bill.