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Proponents of the $38 million Ogden Field House project hope to win a major investment of tax dollars this week — which would set off a race to nail down financial commitments from partners and private donors.
The board that distributes funding from Weber County's recreation, arts, museums and parks (RAMP) tax will vote on Ogden's application on Wednesday.
If Ogden is given $2.4 million in dollars earmarked for a "legacy" project, the city will have to corral the rest of the financing within six months.
"Otherwise, [the grant] goes back into the RAMP account," said Weber County spokesman Mike Caldwell, noting the city has secured little, if any, of the other funds.
The city also must acquire land near 24th Street and Kiesel Avenue for the five-acre project, which would house a 60,000-square-foot water park, Olympic-sized swimming pool, six tennis courts and a 250-meter velodrome (cycling race track).
To win support, Mayor Matthew Godfrey and Chief Administrative Officer John Patterson are touting a study by Hotel & Leisure Advisors (HLA) of Ohio, which concludes a well-managed facility could operate in the black.
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Crunching the numbers • At a recent City Council meeting, however, government watchdog Dan Schroeder shared his misgivings about the 210-page report. Among his fears:
• Under worst-case scenarios, the Field House could require taxpayer subsidies of up to $1.4 million per year.
• Property acquisition and construction costs could climb as high as $45 million.
• HLA is incorrectly predicting higher-than-average use of the water features, based in part on the facility's plan to offer affordable monthly passes and discounts.
"What decision-makers really need to know is the full range of likely scenarios for the Field House's financial performance," Schroeder said, "so they can plan for a variety of contingencies and understand the risks."
But Godfrey and Patterson consider HLA's financial numbers conservative, from not taking into account Utah's lower utility costs to estimating 255,840 annual visits from Weber County residents — which Patterson said amounts to one-half of 1 percent of the population.
In a memo to council members, he called Schroeder a "slave to a negative ideology." He urged residents to view the study themselves.
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HLA's no-bid contract • Council members are mixed on whether the $38,000 study should have gone out for bid.
Ogden's purchasing ordinance says bids should be solicited for professional services over $10,000, but a loophole allows the mayor to skip the process by filing a written waiver at any time.
The contract with HLA was finalized Nov. 24. Godfrey's waiver — dated Jan. 11 — said a bid process had been considered before it was decided that HLA was uniquely qualified to evaluate water parks.
Godfrey filed a similar waiver in June 2007 for a $16,250 study done in 2006 by another company, which analyzed a proposed gondola connecting Ogden's intermodal hub to Weber State University. The city ran into problems when it sought payment through the Utah Transit Authority, due to the agency's strict bidding policy.
Councilman Doug Stephens said he supports selecting HLA without bids, citing its experience, the city's need to get the data quickly to apply for RAMP funding, and his suspicion that other bids would have been higher.
But Councilwoman Amy Wicks criticizes retroactive waivers. "I've requested that we look at that," she said. "It needs to be fixed."
Show me the money
On Wednesday, at 3 p.m., the RAMP board will vote on whether to award Ogden a $2.4-million grant for its proposed field house. The board meets in the County Commission's 3rd floor conference room at 2380 Washington Blvd.
City administrators hoped to get up to $4.8 million in county RAMP funds, $3.2 million from the city's capital improvement budget, $2 million from Weber County toward a parking facility, $15 million from extending the flow of deferred tax dollars from an older city redevelopment project, $2 million from the Weber School District, $10 million from private donors and $1 million from "other."