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Monday, August 11, 2014

City Acts as Developer- City Property Sold to Bring in Two Hotels Next to Dixie Center

August 7th City Council Meeting REVEALED what City has been doing behind closed doors at what is called an Executive Meeting….. Now referred to as a Request For Closed Session……Prohibiting Public Presence. For those not familiar with City practice……Any time Civil Litigation or the Purchase or Sale of property is to be discussed…..The City routinely bars the public from being present by declaring a need for an Executive Session as State Law permits.

As a point of interest this prevents COMPETING BUSINESSES from being present and being privy to what is going on within the local market place. To better illustrate the point and to give a sense of how big an advantage this may be to someone….. Someone with Inside Information will have the opportunity to build a personal relationship with a prospective client and be prepared to address clients concerns…..Using Councilman Almquist as an example and discounting the time he spent as Chairman of the Planning Commission…..An advisory board appointed by the Mayor and City Council his sphere of influence is immense.
Please take note…..Councilman Almquist may make a motion to move to a closed session and he gets to vote for a Closed Session….. Knowing that he can be present and privy to information that his competitors cannot access. Councilman Almquist may also vote to approve or not approve an applicant’s request for a building permit….. Commercial Building Permits usually dictate Landscape Requirements that are usually provided by a local Landscape Business…..Councilman Almquist Owns and Operates a Landscape Business…..A reasonable and prudent person may conclude that an applicant, seeking approval would know who is empowered to approve the request for a building permit and be in a position to influence the outcome.
This may explain the recent phone call I received inquiring if I was aware that Councilman Almquist’s Landscape Business was putting in the Landscape at the recently approved Jiffy Lube adjacent to the Virgin River…..The caller believed Councilman Almquist had cast the deciding vote in a 3-2 Council Decision approving the building of the Jiffy Lube. The perception of a conflict of interest is what it is…..A perception. Only the public can decide if Perception Equals Reality in public’s mind.
In order to clarify the issue I responded to the Jiffy Lube construction site and was greeted by the Project Manager of Westbrook Construction Co. I was asked the reason for my presence and I explained that I wished to confirm if Councilman Almquist’s Landscape Business was indeed providing the Landscape Services for the Jiffy Lube Project.  It was confirmed that once the building permit had been approved and issued businesses were asked to submit their bids and Councilman Almquist’s  Landscape Business submitted the low bid and was awarded the job.  I opined that Councilman Almquist was in the Landscape Business and perfectly within his rights to bid the job.
The Sale of City Property:  The City Council approved the sale of 4.176 acres of City Property (Lots 1 & 3 of the Confluence Commercial Center – Phase 1) adjacent to the Dixie Center for $12.00 /sq.feet.  City Manager, Esplin reported that the City would receive $2,182,572,00 and that Two Hotels would be built on the site. The first hotel will consist of 130 rooms and the second hotel would have 95 rooms. The money received is earmarked to complete the remodeling of the Electric Theater – Performing Arts facility owned by the City located on Tabernacle just east of Main Street.
A Little History of Property In Question: Several years ago the City acquired approximately 93 acres of land adjacent to the Dixie Center. 16 acres were purchased at a cost of 2.5 million dollars and the remaining acres were donated to the City. The Crosby family received what is believed to be a one million charitable gift tax write-off for the donated property. The land located in the Flood Way I am told cannot be built on.  The land considered to be on the Flood Plain can be built on if raised above the required level from the Flood Way.  Crosby Park now sits on a portion of this land and is located just south of the Dixie Center for the enjoyment of citizens and compliments the City’s Trail System. The City is destined to benefit financially from its role as a Developer as may the business interest of those elected to serve.  
Thank you, Ed Baca

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