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North Ogden council sets RDA guidance: 50% applicant match and per-project cap; funds may backfill aquatic center
Summary
Council recommended staff pursue Redevelopment Agency grants with a required 50% applicant match and a staff-modeled per-project cap (estimated about $150k–$163k), and discussed reserving $300k–$500k as a fallback for North Shore Aquatic Center repairs.
The North Ogden City Council directed staff to pursue Redevelopment Agency (RDA) grant applications using a policy framework that generally requires a 50% applicant match and imposes a maximum per-project award so no single project consumes an outsized share of the available funds.
City Attorney/Manager John reviewed a dynamic spreadsheet of 12–13 applicants and told council the smallest request was $7,000 and the largest request was $2,500,000. John advised the council to pick both a maximum percentage contribution by the RDA and a maximum dollar cap per project to avoid depleting the fund on a single large application. "If you're looking at more than one application, you probably ought to be putting a cap on how much the RDA will give," John said.
Council members debated a flat 50% match versus a tiered approach. Several members supported requiring applicants to provide at least half the project cost to ensure "skin in the game;" others argued for prioritizing projects that produce sales tax or visible corridor improvements. Council Member Barker proposed setting aside $300,000–$500,000 to shore up the North Shore Aquatic Center should applicant projects not use the full allocation; Council Member Watson suggested splitting initial allocations across priorities (e.g., $200,000 for new sales-tax-generating properties and $200,000 for the aquatic center as backup). Staff modeled a per-project cap equal to roughly 25% of remaining funds, which the mayor and attorney then estimated at about $156,000–$163,000 under current assumptions.
By motion, the council recommended staff proceed with the prioritized applicant list using a 50% match requirement and a per-project maximum tied to the remaining fund balance; staff will return at the budget hearing with formal budget amendments and firm commitments from applicants.
Next steps: staff will contact applicants for firm commitments, refine eligibility criteria and priorities, and return a budget amendment for final RDA board and council approval.
