Powder Mountain could take legal action over list
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By DI LEWIS
Standard-Examiner staff
Powder Mountain council list
Or petitioners could expect explanation over nominees' delay
OGDEN -- Backers of Powder Mountain Town are left pondering their next move after the Weber County Commission once again declined to appoint a mayor and town council.
Tuesday morning was the latest in a series of negotiations set in motion when Powder Mountain filed to incorporate as a town, a move in which residents and the county were not allowed any say in the formation of the town.
However, the county must approve the appointment of the mayor and town council, which commissioners refused to do at an Aug. 5 meeting, saying they needed more names than the six presented.
Commission Chairwoman Jan Zogmaister said the commissioners conducted candidate interviews jointly with Powder Mountain representatives and assembled a list of 19 qualified applicants, including the original six submitted by the town backers two weeks ago.
In an Aug. 14 fax to Powder Mountain sponsors, Zogmaister said the law does not specify who will create the list and indicates commissioners believe they should have a more significant role in council selection than simply approving a list.
In a reply dated Monday, Mark Arnold said the petitioners feel the commission is required to appoint the first list as long as the appointees are qualified, registered voters living in the town boundaries for at least one year.
Arnold's reply contained a second list of 11 names for the commission to consider, including nine names that were also on the commissioners' list.
Zogmaister pressed representatives for justification on why all 19 names were not offered for consideration.
Melissa Johnson, Powder Mountain spokeswoman, said the criteria used to determine appointees was fairness, reasonableness, "a willingness to serve and willingness to be in support of the community and town."
Maura Carabello, another spokeswoman for Powder Mountain, said people were taken off the list not because they had opposed incorporation, but "because we felt they would be negative about the town going forward."
Commissioner Ken Bischoff took issue with the extent to which the proposed members were related to each other.
The new list, which included the original six candidates, added five names, three of whom are spouses of the original six. The original six include a grandfather and his granddaughter and grandson.
Bischoff said he found it offensive that it seemed Powder Mountain was unwilling to provide a variety of people to represent the town and that the new list provided as little choice as the first one.
"I thought we were moving ahead in good faith, and now I don't think we are."
Commissioners said there was not sufficient explanation behind why the appointees were chosen and why many from the commissioners' list were not considered.
Carabello said the commissioners haven't given Powder Mountain any reasons why they disagree with those on the list.
She also said she was disappointed with the commission's decision and was unsure of what action Powder Mountain organizers would take, saying only they would act quickly while avoiding being reactive.
Deputy County Attorney Dave Wilson told commissioners if they declined to act for a second time, the petitioners could meet with the commission and expand or explain the 11-person list they presented or take legal action.
New owners of Powder Mountain Resort announced last year they wanted to expand Powder Mountain and filed to incorporate into a town in January after requests for rezoning were denied.
In related action Tuesday, the commission appointed Gary Allen to the Ogden Valley Planning Commission following Jamie Lythgoe's resignation. Lythgoe's presence on the planning commission has caused some controversy because of a possible conflict of interest with Powder Mountain.
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