Council to float loan on fire money

BY SCOTT SCHWEBKE
Standard-Examiner staff
sschwebke@standard.net
Council to float loan on fire money

OGDEN — The City Council agreed Tuesday night to float a $2.5 million loan from an anticipated insurance settlement for the former Shupe-Williams Candy Co. building to buy property for the stalled Ogden River Project.

Several property owners said they have been waiting five years for the city to buy their land for the project’s first phase and urged the council to loan the funds to the Ogden Redevelopment Agency.

“Just go ahead and buy it,” said Rose Day, who lives at 1949 Kiesel Ave. “It’s time to get it over with.”

Kevin Bryant, owner of Luckie’s Auto Repair at 1920 Kiesel Ave., said the use of insurance funds from the Shupe-Williams building, destroyed by fire last month, is the city’s best bet at securing property for the river project. It would also give peace of mind to landowners.

“It’s a win-win situation,” he said. “Let’s get something done so that residents can get their lives in order.”

Councilwoman Amy Wicks said she sympathizes with property owners who have been kept in limbo over the river project.

“We’ve been stringing people along,” she said. “It’s time to cut them lose or move forward.”

The insurance settlement would serve as collateral to secure a $3 million line of credit so that the RDA could purchase more than 30 parcels in the first phase of the river project, said Ogden Community and Economic Development Director Dave Harmer.

The first phase extends from 20th Street south to the Ogden River and between Washington Boulevard and Grant Avenue.

Purchase options on land in the first phase begin expiring May 3.

If the purchase agreements expire, it could cost the city more than $600,000 to get the properties under option again, provided all landowners cooperate, Harmer said.

Land acquisition for the first phase of the project is expected to cost about $4.6 million, and infrastructure improvements are expected to run about $360,000.
Several business owners have already expressed an interest in buying land within the river project area, said Harmer.

Construction on the initial phase of the project, projected to eventually encompass 60 acres, could begin this summer.

The RDA would retain about 4 acres in the project area in the event that Ernest Health, based in Albuquerque, N.M, decides to build a rehabilitation hospital on the property. The company had been considering purchasing land northwest of 20th Street and Washington Boulevard but changed its mind in January.