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.