Partial Q & A from Council Sponsored Forum

Ogden City Council Candidate Forum – Elections 2011

There was a Council Candidate Forum sponsored by Ogden City Council held tonight at City Council Chambers – two candidates each for At Large Seat C and Municipal Ward 2 and unopposed candidate Caitlin Gochnour for Municipal Ward 4 were present. 

Random question submitted:  When a project in a historic district such as 25^th Street begins but then stops and is not completed, and becomes an eyesore that impacts all the other properties in the district, what can or should the city do about it?

My Reply:  If you broaden this to include the whole city including its other historic districts and residential districts, code enforcement needs to be looked at and enforced. No FAVORITISM, QUID PRO QUO or EXCUSES for leaving properties in dilapidated or other conditions that violate code enforcement.  The properties owned by Gadi and Miri Leshem went far too long in abandoned and overgrown condition WITH NOTHING BEING DONE BY THE CITY for years to enforce code violations on the owners … 

Anecdotal information this candidate has indicates the City’s Administration interfered with at least one 25^th Historic District property owner in his attempts to improve his properties, then when he gave up the fight he was hit with Code Enforcement violations – this has got to stop … The City needs to work with each property owner fairly and without prejudice to see that any City values are not compromised …

Random question submitted:   What are your on the Field House and its current proposed location? If in favor of it as planned, what are your thought about taking down a half block of significant and contributing historic buildings for it?  Is progress more important than historic preservation of city buildings?

My reply:  The current proposed location for the Field House is ludicrous.  There are occupied buildings there already adding to the City’s tax base, and some of the buildings may or may not be on the Historic Register.  A better location would be the Fred Meyer SubDivision – ample parking already in place, building location in the right place, easily accessible from the freeway – so people from out of town can get to it easily for events and recreation.

Another random question submitted:  Small business was the economic engine of the 90’s.  What will you do to recruit new business and jobs to our community?

My reply:  I recently spoken with a gentleman in the Economic Development Dept who said they are really getting aggressive in bringing in more technical and engineering type jobs, rather than retail – and also working with WSU and USTAR (Utah Science Technology and Research initiative), a state run program run out of UofU and USU, with a base at WSU as well, setting up relationships with research teams at the universities and the technology economy along the Wasatch Front. I will fully stand behind their work and support them in any way my station as a council member will allow.

Yet another random question submitted:  What are your ideas for expanding community awareness of Ogden City’s Ordinances to residents that have limited English proficiency?  How would you establish, sustain, and/or improve the involvement and interactions between the Ogden City Council and Ogden’s racial/ethnic, immigrant and limited English proficiency populations?

My reply:  It is each citizen’s responsibility to know the laws and ordinances in Ogden.  That said, the city already employs a number (40 to 50?) of employees who are fluent in Spanish and able to translate; the At Your Service newsletter is published in Spanish; Outreach materials printed in Spanish are available at events such as Cinco de Mayo and also available at the Marshall White Center.

One final random submitted question:  Historic 25^th Street is fast becoming a major tourist attraction in the state. What will you do to encourage this momentum?

My reply:  Let it Ride!  The Historic 25^th Street Business Association is doing a terrific job!

TLJ

Partial S-E Questionnaire Interview

1.      Are you satisfied with security measures in Ogden, including the planned-for blimp and the Ogden Good Landlord Program?

Satisfied with security measures in Ogden? It’s a City, not an office building.  Question should be about Public Safety, including Police and Fire Departments. Let’s begin there. 

Are the Police and Fire Departments sufficiently equipped and staffed for a city the size of Ogden? I think not. Police officers can only do their jobs to the extent they are afforded the right tools for doing the very best job for our citizens.
 
An observation blimp has been proposed as a tool for neighborhood surveillance; is this really as good as a real-live officer on the ground operating in real-time, able to respond immediately to something they witness? NO, the blimp would POSSIBLY record something happening, the operator at the station MAY see it on the monitor; then time is needed to report incident to dispatch who needs time to determine severity of incident and which officers are in the area and to call them to the scene. I think this is a no-brainer, but that is my opinion.  
 
Fire Department: definitely need to make sure they are well-equipped and well manned. I visited Station 3 in 2009 while running for an At Large Council Seat and they had an engine that leaked so much they had to top it off at least 3 times a day to be fully ready for a fire call. Late in 2010 they got a new Fire Engine.
 
Their living quarters are in sub-par condition (I think children would be removed from a home that was in similar condition), including mold in the walls and shared bathroom facilities, the kitchen very bad – like a low-rent ghetto style apartment.   

Certified Fire Fighters employed by Ogden City and the pay system they are subjected to should be totally looked into and revised; we are losing far too many excellent strong young talent to other cities because of the low-end pay system here in Ogden.

The Good Landlord Program will be addressed shortly.
 
TLJ