Then, in November 2024, we got the “Ogden Bend Trade.” The city exchanged 4.09 acres of its riverfront property for 2.45 acres owned by Lotus 1900 Lincoln, LLC (aka Lotus). Does this sound fair? The deal bypassed professional appraisals and instead relied on some vague “comparison values” which appear to have been sourced from thin air. A GRAMA request to the city came up empty. Other developers weren’t even mentioned, let alone considered.

The terms of this deal just add to public distrust of government. Lotus was allowed to apply up to $365,000 toward environmental cleanup. If costs exceeded that amount, the city (meaning taxpayers) would foot the rest, with no stated limit. A portion of the riverside land was earmarked for a taxpayer-funded walkway, designed to mirror other city river walkways in town with the goal of increasing nearby property values and thus boosting their property taxes.

But that’s not all. Ogden threw in an 18-month free lease of the newly acquired Lincoln Avenue property, enabling Lotus to stage commercial materials on site. 18th Street was closed east of Wall Avenue to accommodate construction, and plans emerged to redevelop the Lincoln parcel into single-family homes and an extension of Adventure Park, which seem like odd choices given the area’s industrial and commercial nature.

Adding insult to injury, the owner of Lotus was a substantial donor to Mayor Nadolski’s campaign. The optics are hard to ignore. Irregularities like these aren’t new to Ogden, they’re a fixture. Just drive by yourself, and the evidence is in plain sight.

Taxpayers deserve a better return on investment, in both revenue and community value. Instead, we have deals clouded in ambiguity and favoritism.

Kerry Wayne is a resident of Marriott-Slaterville.