Ogden Sierra Club Press Release

Dear members of the press:

Two and a half weeks ago I sent out a "Mayor Godfrey environmental scorecard" on behalf of the Ogden Sierra Club. Two days later, Mayor Godfrey announced a significant reversal of his earlier position on selling the Mt. Ogden Golf Course. Since then I have repeatedly emailed the mayor asking him to clarify whether his new position still leaves room for selling part or all of the undeveloped area adjacent to the golf course, where so many of the east bench trails are located. I received only a one-line reply saying that he is writing an editorial on the subject that will answer my questions. That was over ten days ago. No editorial has yet appeared, and the mayor has not responded to another follow-up inquiry sent last Tuesday. However, his other recent statements, both in the newspaper and elsewhere, indicate strongly that the "gondola" project is still a very high priority for him, and that the project may still include construction of new residential subdivisions somewhere in Ogden's foothills. The mayor also continues to oppose the proposed streetcar in the downtown-WSU transit corridor. The web page promoting the Peterson project is still posted on the city's web site with no alterations since last year, although it is no longer linked from the city's home page.

So we've gone ahead and revised the Environmental Scorecard to reflect what we know about Godfrey's position at this time. I've posted the revised version on the Ogden Sierra Club web site, http://utah.sierraclub.org/ogden/GodfreyScorecard.html.

The Sierra Club remains committed to providing the public with accurate information on environmental issues. Should there be new developments that warrant further changes in the Scorecard, we will update it. Meanwhile, I would encourage all of you, as opportunities arise, to ask the mayor to clarify his new position.

Dan Schroeder
Conservation Chair
Ogden Sierra Club
393-4603 / 626-6048