Taylor Canyon Park and the Money Struggle

 I was inducted and participated in my first City Council meeting on August 4th, 2026.  The induction ceremony was pleasant and less rowdy than anticipated since our family didn't know what to expect from Councilman Lundell's call-to-action on Instagram after the vote 0n July 21st.  Early in the year, protesters organized and interrupted the city council meeting for merely voting for Rich Hyer as Chair.  Happily, we avoided that kind of melee.

Interestingly, the first item of business for the Council was one that I had to recuse myself.  Since August of 2025, I had been working with the Ogden School District to divest of their Taylor Canyon School property and working through the purchase of the property by Ogden City.  It just so happened that the timing of Councilman Myers' resignation and the completion of city business on the purchase were close together.  When I submitted my name for consideration as a candidate to replace Councilman Myers, I assumed that the Taylor Canyon business would have been completed.  I was mistaken.  

So, I recused myself from the vote and stepped out of the room while the rest of the council debated the issue.  There was more debate than expected.  To understand the debate, it is important to know that the Administration had left about $692,000 in the Parks Fund as dry powder for future land purchases.  Over the years, the city has been purchasing land in the city to help improve and expand existing park space.  It is anticipated that this will continue for some time.  Also, the cost of the Taylor Canyon lot was $700,000.  So, the Administration asked the City Council to move $700,000 from another account into the Parks Fund to pay for Taylor Canyon. Doing so would leave the reserve funds in place for anticipated purchases.  

When this proposal came up, Councilman Lundell motioned to reduce the funding to just $10,000 in order to complete the Taylor Canyon purchase.  This was proposed on the premise that the Administration should request additional funds from the Council at the time the city wants to purchase additional property.  Councilman Lundell's motion was rejected and the original proposal passed.

The problem with the motion is that city processes to fund market based purchases are much to slow to be effective in negotiating.  The reason Taylor Canyon worked like it did is that state law requires school districts to give cities and counties first right of refusal to buy their land.  If they refuse, then the district can sell the land in the open market.  Thus, the city had a captive seller in this transaction that had to tolerate its acquisition process.  The open market is much more fickle.  Sellers are typically shy to sales that take longer than 30 days.  They are even more hesitant if that long transaction time comes with the uncertainty of council approval of funding.  Looking at it from a seller's perspective, having your real estate transaction held hostage by the political whims of 7 people isn't very appealing.  It's easier to work with other buyers.

So, replenishing the Park Fund was a wise idea in my mind and gives the administration latitude to act quickly and decisively when the right opportunity presents itself.  The City Council knows which properties the Administration is targeting.  The information, however, is confidential to avoid interference from other market participants who may drive up the price or attempt to sabotage city efforts.  The process in place protects taxpayers from unnecessary expense and increases the likelihood of a successful outcome.  I am confident Ogden citizens will be impressed with the work the city is doing in their behalf once it is completed.   

After the council voted I returned to my seat.  Public comment ensued. Some individuals expressed concerns about Flock Cameras and the ICE detention center in town. Several individuals leveled direct criticism toward me for my real estate background and also the process by which the vacated council seat was filled. I responded directly to these comments.  My remarks start at 2:18:44.

 

You can also watch my Instagram update on the Taylor Canyon issue HERE. If you have any questions about city business or have an issue you would like to discuss, please reach out to me.       

RETURN TO THE ARENA: My Appointment to the Ogden City Council

When I left the legislature in 2018, Kim and I determined I would not seek political office again until our kids had graduated high school and were adults.  The opportunity to return to public service was presented on several occasions along the way.  But, we demurred each time.  

In May of this year, our youngest daughter graduated and entered adulthood.  Also around this time there were rumors swirling that our venerated Councilman, Shaun Myers, was considering retiring from office at the end of his term in 2027.  We took casual consideration of the idea of running for the seat at that time.

Then, to our surprise, we learned that the timeline was moved up considerably as Councilman Myers needed to vacate his seat to focus on his duties as a new councilor in the LDS Ogden Temple presidency.  This was both exciting and jolting as we realized decisions would need to be made immediately.  After careful (yet quick) contemplation, we determined to jump in the fray.  

I submitted my application on July 6th and over the next week 18 other applicants threw their hats in the ring.  I made phone calls to members of the city council I thought could support me in my candidacy.  With other good candidates on the list and the twists and turns ever present in politics, I knew anything could happen.  On the 21st of July, we all gathered in the City Council room to offer our 4 minute pitch to the Council.  Again, there was an impressive array of candidates and presentations.  

After presentations were complete, the city council voted.  Jeff Heiner received one vote from Shaun Myers, Arlene Anderson received two votes from Councilman Lundell and Councilwoman Washington, and I received four votes from the remaining members of the council.  My vote count was a majority which meant I had prevailed in the selection.

After the vote, council members thanked Councilman Myers for his service. Ironically, Mr. Lundell offered some kind words to me and then turned to the Council to condemn my selection.  He then advocated for my defeat at the next election.  It was the old hand-shake-punch-in-the-face routine.  As the meeting adjourned, Chair Hyer rebutted Mr. Lundell's off handed remarks.     

After that, the room was quiet for a minute. Rather than camps of supporters and opponents present to celebrate or console each other after the vote, the room was full of momentary rivals.  It was a lonely feeling for a brief second as I am sure it was for everyone else.  Then the room broke out and people began to reach out to each other and talk...sometimes for the first time.  I was impressed with the people I met and there is clearly a good group of future leaders in the wings.

You can watch the meeting, presentation, and the drama here:

KEY MOMENTS TIMELINE:

My Remarks - 1:04:38

Roll Call Vote - 1:34:34

Mr. Lundell's Comments - 1:41:00

Chair Hyer's Final Comments - 1:56:50

But, the drama didn't end with the meeting.  The Standard Examiner interviewed me and Mr. Lundell after to get our perspective on what happened at the meeting.  Here are my remarks to them:

"Following the meeting, Peterson told the Standard-Examiner that he’s not inflammatory, that he’s not a bomb thrower and that he can work with most people.

He said politics is about winning hearts and minds and having a relationship of trust. He said building that relationship of trust and building consensus is how you get things done.

He emphasized finding common ground with people who have different viewpoints.

“What is their core objection?” he said. “And sometimes people are talking past each other, even though they might have a common principle that they’re working toward together, but they may not realize it because they’re talking past each other. Maybe they’re caught up in tribalism. And, so, in the past, I just go get to know them – you know, learn more about them; learn about their history.

“All of us come to our perspectives from our life experience, and I haven’t lived your life experience; you haven’t lived mine, and, so, really just trying to find like a common bridge and then building on that. Even if you might not have the ultimate end goals, you can find… ‘Hey, here’s where we can meet in the middle,’ even if it’s a small amount.”

You can read the whole article to get the full picture.

I am looking forward to being a positive influence on the council and doing good work for the citizens of Ogden.  I am grateful for the vote of confidence!

VIDEO: PoliticIT Guest Appearance - Primary Election Recap 2026

 

Senator John Johnson invited me on to his podcast after the primary election results were returned.  The results were full of surprises.  Here is our discussion:

Change is afoot this cycle as the electorate acts on their collective sense of unease.