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North Ogden council narrows RDA grant pool after budget clarification; members debate match thresholds
Summary
Councilmembers spent the work session sorting 12 RDA grant applications and clarified the amount available for competitive grants—about $1.25 million—after earmarking for city projects. Staff said applicants’ match requests range widely; council will return next week with ranked scores and suggested funding percentages.
North Ogden City Council members spent much of their Oct. 1 work session reviewing redevelopment-agency (RDA) grant applications and clarifying how much money is available to award.
Scott Hess, the city’s Community and Economic Development director, told the council staff had contacted applicants about potential matching funds and asked members to provide scores so staff could prepare funding recommendations. "You're looking at like 10 to 50% on depending on the project on matching funds," Hess said, adding some applicants proposed higher or lower shares.
Council members pressed staff about projects such as All of Flutter, which Hess said is not currently open and did not demonstrate matching funds. Council members debated whether it is appropriate to fund a project whose owner does not currently have the resources to match a grant and whether the city could rely on site-plan or permit conditions to secure desired public improvements.
A significant point of the session was confusion about totals. Members initially referenced roughly $3.5 million available after earlier commitments; after a review of the published budget, council members and staff agreed that, once previously approved projects (the aquatic center and identified Bicentennial/300 East work) are set aside, the competitive RDA grant pool totals about $1.25 million. The mayor and staff both asked for a clear budget breakdown to be provided to council before final allocations.
Council members also disagreed on how to translate scores into funding percentages. Some advocated for a minimum match requirement (examples discussed ranged from 20% to 80%); others said high-impact public-facing projects—landscaping, trails, or facade improvements—should be judged on community benefit and not solely on immediate sales-tax return. "I weighed heavily on what the mission and the goals of the RDA are," Council Member Watson said, adding she considered livability and long-term community impact alongside return on investment.
Council members reported individual rank orders for applicants (North Ogden Plaza, Lock It Up storage, Northern Ice complex, various cannery and small-business requests were among those mentioned) and several members said they would submit finalized scores to staff following the meeting. Hess told the council staff would compile the scores, model funding amounts based on suggested percent matches, and return a staff report with recommendations at the next meeting.
The council did not make any final grant awards at the session; it approved meeting minutes earlier in the evening and scheduled further review and a funding decision for an upcoming meeting.
The council also heard public comment from a property representative who asked the RDA to fund landscaping at the North Ogden Plaza park strip and described repeated contractor damage to irrigation infrastructure.
Council next steps: members will submit their ranked scores to staff; staff will prepare a written recommendation and a clear budget reconciliation showing the $1.25 million available for competitive RDA grants after earmarked projects.
