So at times we need to step back and reflect on our accomplishments as a city to show that we are getting things done on a yearly basis. Each year the city staff puts together a Power Point presentation to show the council the accomplishments for the past year.
We want to share with you some of the more major accomplishments that have been achieved over the past year:
- Completed Phase I of the South Ogden Nature Park
Phase I consisted of a restroom, bowery, two tot lots, a splash pad and some grass area. This project was completed in September of 2007. Phase II is scheduled to begin construction this summer.
- Purchased a New Ladder Truck for the Fire Department
South Ogden City has a few structures that are over two stories in height. Because of this a ladder truck is necessary to give proper fire service in our city. Our old ladder truck was getting old and outdated. This has been a nice upgrade for our fire department.
- Completed 40th Street Park Reconstruction
Due to the construction of the new South Ogden City Hall we needed to rebuild our tennis courts at 40th Street Park. We also took out our old basketball courts and put in some new ones. We removed the sand volleyball court and put sod in to replace it to enlarge our grass area play space.
- Adopted the South Ogden Housing Program
In order to address the need of housing rehabilitation in our city we have set up a housing program. We have the general idea in place, but now we need to fund it. The funding will come from RDA monies on our RDA projects. It will be a couple of years before we have any money, but once we do it will give home owners on a lower income a chance to upgrade their homes.
- Updated South Ogden City Website
We changed the whole look and feel of the website. Even though it is not perfect we have more information available online than we've ever had before. We are committed to continually make our website more user friendly with more information. You can visit the website at www.southogdencity.com.
- Update the South Ogden General Plan
We spent over six months updating our General Plan for the city. This consisted of 4 citizen committee meetings, 2 open houses, 2 public hearings and a citizen survey. Once we were done we had a comprehensive plan that will help shape our city for the next 10 years. You can view it online on our website which is linked in the above paragraph.
- Lowered Certified Tax Rate from .002825 to .002527
Because of growth to our assessed valuation we were able to lower our tax rate. You might ask yourself why you possibly payed higher property tax than the year before. A future blog post will address the complexities of property tax in Utah and the role of city government. In a nutshell, as a city as assessed valuations go up our tax rate decreases. Therefore we are NOT receiving any additional revenue because of the increase in the value of your home.
- Replaced water and sewer lines, curb, gutter, sidewalks, and road on Raymond Avenue
This was a large summer project that was accomplished last year. It sure makes for a tough time for those residents that live on that particular street and we appreciate their patience. However it is nice when we have an opportunity to put in brand new infrastructure on an older part of town.
I hope this gives you a glimpse of some of the major projects that we do in the course of a year. Most of these projects depend on appropriate funding and it is nice when those funds are available. It is part of the continual process of renewing and updating our city.
