Does the Eccles Dinosaur Park along the Ogden River Parkway really need another parking lot? And this has been planned for a few years? Anyone who frequents the parkway is likely aware that the existing lots are often empty. Would we really want to encourage more cars/parking/traffic? Isn’t the parkway intended to be an escape from that? To accomplish this additional parking lot, the public is expected to go along with the eviction of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah and the bulldozing of the facility. (Even if there were millions of dollars in donations, the WRCNU could not build/retrofit a facility by September. Or by next year.)

Might more future development be in the plan somewhere? And could the urgency to evict the WRCNU by September, and before Mr. Caldwell leaves office in January, be about ensuring some future development moves forward? Why not leave this to the future city administration if not? We have seen this movie before a few times. What will it say about our community and our values if we stand by and just watch this happen? If more traffic and parking is wanted/needed, there are other solutions available which would spare the suffering and death of injured wildlife and the facility that serves them. The mayor owes the citizens transparency, information, and a say in this matter and in the future of the parkway.

Gina Timmerman

Ogden

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