Ogden council adopts five-year HUD plan, Own in Ogden changes and Adams area tax-increment amendment; hears water discoloration report
May 13, 2025, 6:00 p.m. · Council Chambers, Municipal Building, 2549 Washington Blvd., Ogden
At a special meeting the council voted 7-0 to adopt the 2026-2030 Consolidated Plan and 2025-26 action plan, raise the Own in Ogden cash-savings cap to $40,000, name the rebuilt Marshall N. White Community Center and its Lyons Den gymnasium, and amend the tax-increment sharing agreement for the Adams Community Reinvestment Area. Residents questioned apartment demand and the Adams area incentives. The water utility director blamed recent discolored water on the canyon pipeline project and higher flows, and speakers again debated the Mount Ogden Golf Course trail closure.
From the approved minutes. Updated October 14, 2026.
Decisions at a glance
Agenda, item by item
Item 1 · Budget
Five-year Consolidated Plan, action plan and revitalization area plan (Resolution 2025-8)
Approved · 7-0
The council adopted the HUD Consolidated Plan for July 2025 to June 2030, the first-year Annual Action Plan and a renewed Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area covering the same seven census tracts as before. Program Compliance Administrator Cathy Fuentes said federal grant levels are uncertain and staff are drafting a contingency plan. Speakers Travis Pate, Laura Lewis and Linda Sanchez used the hearing to question the need for more apartments, and Joseph Baum asked about a roughly $846,000 homeless-assistance budget. Fuentes said the plan funds no apartments; the assistance is a one-time American Rescue Plan grant spread over four years, run by the Ogden Housing Authority, and has housed more than 70 people against a goal of 22.
- Grant$846,000
Item 2 · Other
Own in Ogden down-payment assistance changes (Resolution 2025-9)
Approved · 7-0
The council raised the cash savings a homebuyer may hold and still qualify from $20,000 to $40,000 to reflect current HUD purchase-price limits. Equity from the sale of a prior home counts as liquid assets but may exceed the cap, and all of it must go toward the Ogden home purchase.
Item 3 · Parks
Naming the Marshall N. White Community Center (Joint Resolution 2025-2)
Approved · 7-0
The council and mayor approved the name Marshall N. White Community Center for the rebuilt facility, honoring the Ogden NAACP chapter president and police detective sergeant killed in the line of duty in 1963. City code requires a replaced named building to be renamed. The memo noted the original center was the first public building in Utah named for a Black person. Groundbreaking was in July 2023.
Item 4 · Parks
Naming the community center gymnasium for Bill Lyons (Joint Resolution 2025-3)
Approved · 7-0
The council and mayor named the gymnasium in the new center the Mr. Bill Lyons Gymnasium, also called the Lyons Den, continuing a 1997 dedication honoring Lyons' decades of coaching and mentoring Ogden youth.
Item 5 · Development
Amended tax-increment sharing agreement for the Adams Community Reinvestment Area (Resolution 2025-10)
Approved · 7-0
The council approved an amended interlocal agreement between the city and the Redevelopment Agency to share tax increment in the Adams area. The area's budget would rise from $10,811,794 to $28,520,773, of which $21,348,418 would go to development and infrastructure, with the term still ending in 2044. Taxing entities would keep participating at 100 percent through 2027; after that the county and school district would drop to 75 percent and the city to 90 percent, and the school district would extend its participation to 2044. Economic Development Director Sara Meess said earlier increment has gone to the Monarch, the Peery Apartments, the Forest Service Building and the Dumke Arts Plaza. Council Member Richey asked if increment is growing faster than the original plan assumed; Meess said yes, though the maximum has not been reached. Anna Croft worried that rising values will raise property taxes for existing residents. The meeting also referenced a separate RDA participation agreement with Alpha-Adams Group for an apartment complex, which is not covered in these minutes.
- Budget$28.5 million
- Budget$6.86 million
Roads and utilities
Discolored water in Ogden neighborhoods
Discussed
Water Utility Director Brady Herd attributed recent discolored water to the Canyon Pipeline Replacement project and other factors that raised flow and velocity in the system, said crews are testing and flushing, and advised residents to run cold water and avoid hot water until it clears. Public Services Executive Director Justin Anderson said decades of deferred pipe replacement led to a $1.5 billion replacement need. Joseph Bauman questioned building a 42-inch line in winter; Laura Lewis and Linda Sanchez criticized notification and raised sediment and E. coli worries.
Parks
Mount Ogden Golf Course trail crossing closure
Discussed
Speakers again split on the closure. David Lewis, Caden Sparks and Steve Holland urged keeping it closed for safety; Wesley Cowdren said trail users accept the current crossing is unsafe and asked the city to find a route that avoids fairways. Mayor Nadolski said he is meeting stakeholders to explore safe crossings.
Budget
Work session: fiscal 2025-26 budget, public safety groups, Business Depot lease revenue and MBA budget
Discussed
Before the meeting, police and fire union representatives said morale is good; the fire association president asked the council to weigh staffing against national standards as multi-family buildings grow. City Attorney Gary Williams proposed a full-time digital evidence technician, with wage and benefit increases of $193,225 for his department. Finance Director Justin Sorensen said General Fund revenues would rise $4,879,775, about 5.42 percent, and the mayor proposes spending $14,614,300 of Business Depot Ogden lease revenue, including $3,019,750 for WonderBlock debt, $1,476,650 for the Marshall White bond and $2,589,950 for parking structure debt. The Municipal Building Authority budget is $4,198,900, nearly all WonderBlock parking debt service.
- Budget$14.6 million
- Budget$4.20 million
What residents said
Discolored waterApartment demandProperty taxes in the Adams areaGolf course trail closure
Travis Pate, Laura Lewis, Linda Sanchez and Joseph Baum questioned apartment demand and homeless-assistance spending. Anna Croft raised property-tax concerns in the Adams area. Several speakers addressed the golf course trail and water quality.