Mayoral hopefuls in one of Utah's newest cities address development, water, short-term rentals

HUNTSVILLE, Weber County — As one of Utah's newest cities materializes, the four would-be leaders of the Weber County locale are offering their visions and addressing some of the thorny issues leaders the municipality will face.

With elections looming to select the officials who will run the Ogden Valley city, it's the next major phase in the birth of the municipality, which will become Weber County's 16th incorporated place when the process culminates next January. For those who live in the scenic area — a recreational hub experiencing increasing development pressure — the electioneering phase represents an opportunity to decide which candidates align with their vision of the area's future.

"Even since we moved here four years ago, the valley has changed a lot. I think growth is coming," said Kyle Reeder, one of the four mayoral candidates. Starting a city "requires vision, listening and asking, 'Does this put Ogden Valley first?'"

The four hopefuls met publicly for the first time at a candidate forum on Tuesday at the Ogden Valley Branch library in Huntsville that drew a large crowd, touching on how to fund city operations, short-term rentals, water policy and more. Aside from Reeder, a lawyer, the candidates are Janet Wampler, Andrew Newton and Shanna Francis.

"We are all going on a journey, and I'm willing to step forward and take the helm as we chart a course for a new destiny," said Newton, whose background is in business.

Francis, who operates the Ogden Valley News, a newspaper that covers the area, stressed her years of community involvement with local, state and federal officials. "Being mayor is about trust and commitment, working hard to create community successes and building effective relationships with networks and having the know-how to access resources and get a job done," she said. "Experience does matter."

Wampler, similarly, cited her community involvement over the years, serving on local boards, teaching in area schools and leading local initiatives. Her professional background is in marketing, and she currently serves on the Ogden Valley Planning Commission, an advisory body to the Weber County Commission, which currently governs the area, at least until incorporation next January.

"My top priority is to ensure that the future of our city reflects the will of the people, protecting the rural and agricultural character of Ogden Valley while preparing us for thoughtful, well-managed growth," she said.

The forces promoting incorporation of the Ogden Valley, located east of Ogden on the Wasatch Back, touted it as a means of wresting authority from the three county commissioners and giving the power to local residents. Voters overwhelmingly approved the incorporation ballot question late last year, and selection of a mayor and five city council members in voting this year is the next major step.

Primary elections culminate Aug. 12, when the list of four mayor hopefuls will be narrowed to two, and general election balloting finishes on Nov. 4.

The big questions officials faced at the candidate forum, hosted by the Weber County League of Women Voters, were about planning and development.

Wampler said leaders of the new city need to balance the agricultural character of the area and the rights of private property owners.

Francis noted the existence of a county-crafted general plan meant to guide development in the Ogden Valley. The problem, she said, is that it hasn't always been followed, a sentiment echoed by Newton. One of her first initiatives as mayor, Francis said, would be asking the city council "to adopt an ordinance to require the new city to follow our general plan."

Short-term rentals — common in the Ogden Valley given the many visitors the area draws but viewed as a bother to many year-round residents — generated a passionate response from the candidates. They all expressed a measure of wariness with such properties.

"They need to be limited. They need to be managed in any community. If not, they take over, and they wreak havoc as we've seen here in Ogden Valley," said Francis.

Newton called short-term rentals "a worldwide problem" and said Weber County has ordinances governing them, but they aren't enforced. In that vein, Wampler called for stricter enforcement of short-term rental ordinances.

Reeder said such rental properties should be licensed so the new city could tax them. "I think it's an area of revenue we should look at," he said.

Water policy has been a big topic of debate in the Ogden Valley and the focus of two lawsuits filed by developers against a local water provider they say has unnecessarily denied them water access.

Wampler said those with already-existing water rights "come first." Water providers, she went on, "have a fiduciary responsibility to their existing customers before any more development occurs."

Francis said she'd put a particular focus on defending the water rights of farmers. She also expressed reticence at allowing development if the water supply is insufficient to supply it. "Water is everything. If you don't have water, you don't have anything," she said.

On taxes, Reeder said he suspects tax hikes are "inevitable" to generate funds to help run the new city, though he's no fan of increasing them.

"I think the best thing we can do as a mayor, city council is make sure that that's reasonable, make sure that it's necessary and make sure that we're clear on why that's happening," he said.

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