By Shanna Francis
As residents of Ogden Valley continue to discuss the merits of incorporation leading up to the November 5 election, a series of informational community meetings continue to be held at the Ogden Valley branch library in Huntsville. These community meetings have discussed various aspects of the incorporation process and becoming a municipality. The next community discussion will be held Monday, September 9 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the library.
The topic for the September 9 meeting will be “Forms of City Government Options: What Will the Organization of Ogden Valley as a City Look Like?”
The Ogden Valley November 5 ballot will not only ask Valley residents living within the boundary of the new city to vote in favor or against incorporation, but also what form of government they would like to adopt. The state of Utah offers a number of form-of-government options that may be adopted. Form of government options include:
• Five-member council form
• Six-member council form
• Five-member council-mayor form
• Seven-member council mayor form.
Each of these options will be defined, reviewed, discussed, and weighed.
The timing of when officials will be elected and staff appointed will also be covered.
An additional question on the ballot in conjunction with voting whether to incorporate will be a “yes” or “no” question asking if newly elected city council members should be elected by district to ensure representation from across the Valley versus all council members being voted in from the Valley at-large. Voting for the district option ensures representative council members are voted in from all areas of the Valley, ensuring balanced regional representation from each of the Valley’s individual communities.
Presenters for the evening will be Wayne Pyle, guest attorney Duncan Murray, and Weber County’s Chief Civil Deputy Chris Crockett from the Weber County Attorney’s Office (ccrockett@webercountyutah.gov).
If you are unable to attend this interactive presentation in person, please join via Zoom by logging into
https://zoom.us/j/91737389304?pwd=y7CEzVbasx5BsoIz8NiryCPCmOo8Sq.1
Meeting ID: 917 3738 9304
Passcode: 724048
Another interactive community presentation on incorporation will be held Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 6:00 p.m., again, at the Ogden Valley branch library in Huntsville. Guest presenters will be Mayor Jeff Silvestrini and Weber County Sheriff Ryan Arbon.
Mayor Silvestrini was the first mayor of Millcreek after the city was incorporated in 2017. He is now serving his second term in office. The mayor will discuss his experience having been part of setting up the city of Millcreek, and answer questions from the audience.
Sheriff Arbon will address the audience and answer questions regarding his perspective on law enforcement in the new city.
Again, if you cannot join the meeting live, please access via Zoom at
https://zoom.us/j/96531543985?pwd=EjJNEW4wlE5m7oG7b8baUX2KvZ6eH3.1
Meeting ID: 965 3154 3985
Passcode: 258991
To learn more about the proposed incorporation of Ogden Valley and its sponsors, or to view recordings of previous informational incorporation presentations hosted at the library, please visit ogdenvalleyinc.org. You may also access the OV incorporation blog site at ogdenvalleyinc.org/blog/. Ogden Valley incorporation sponsor Mark Ferrin is also available to answer questions. You may reach out to him at 801-745-0445.