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Report Card based on 2003 promises (Posted 03/02/2007)
When I campaigned in 2003 for City Council Municipal Ward 2, I made some promises to implement
solutions to problems that would improve our city and help make it a "Community of Choice".

Read my campaign brochure from the 2003 election:  Click Here

Better Cooperation & Communication
Promise:
Brandon is committed to facilitating better communication between the City Administration,
the Council and other city leadership organizations.  The benefits will include enhanced
cooperation, better understanding of expectations and improved focus on the needs of
Ogden’s citizens.

How I have fulfilled my promise:
  1. Played a critical role in creating several work groups in collaboration with the Mayor, the City
    Administration and The Ogden School District with the intent to better communicate, discuss
    and resolve important issues.  Some examples of these include:
  • The Neighborhood Stability Work group (NSWG) designed to resolve issues in our
    neighborhoods.
  • The Interest Based Bargaining Work Group to help resolve issues between city
    leadership and city employee unions.
  • Ogden School District/Ogden City Work Group to better communicate and collaborate
    regarding joint areas of interest.
  1. Regularly meet with key members of the City Administration with the intent to listen and
    communicate concerns and resolve areas of contention before they became points of
    controversy.
  2. Maintained a positive attitude and offered the benefit of the doubt to the City Administration,
    Other City Council Members and other city leadership groups.  I made it a point not to over-
    react to political hype, but to help identify the core issue and work to resolve it.



Strengthening Our Neighborhoods
Promises & How I Have Fulfilled each:
Enhance cooperation & education of landlords by improving training resources and
creating accountability.
  • Gave input and helped officially approve the Good Landlord Program and Disproportionate
    Business License fee to better train landlords and hold them accountable for a higher
    standard.
  • Currently working in the NSWG to identify solutions to help neighborhoods to hold accountable
    property owners that are allowing ordinance violations and criminal related activities by tenants.

Partner with organizations that will actively pool resources to revitalize and rebuild Ogden’
s neighborhoods.
  • Approved the partnering with HUD in conjunction with the creation of The Asset Control
    Program designed to rejuvenate Ogden's housing infrastructure.
  • Approved the creation of The Crossroads of the West District (see Title III) committee that
    distributes the granting of federal dollars (up to $5 million) to maintain the historic nature of the
    District area and help revitalize the downtown area.
  • Approved the creation of The Ogden East Central revitalization area in cooperation with the
    federal government to improve and revitalize the central neighborhoods of Ogden City.

Actively promote increasing house size by adding-on, as an alternative to moving from the
area.
  • Currently waiting for a draft proposal to come to the NSWG for review that includes loosened
    building ordinances that increase the flexibility of homeowners to add on to existing homes.
  • In discussions in the NSWG that would provide at request to a citizen a set of architectural
    plans for adding levels or rooms to a few of the most basic house plans in the city.

Create community councils to communicate ongoing needs.
  • Actively supporting the current Neighborhood Council process in the city to involve citizens and
    engage them in neighborhood goal settings.
  • Helped move forward a federal grant program using VISTA volunteers to support and bolster
    the current Neighborhood Councils.

Nurture & promote existing neighborhood programs like Neighborhood Watch & C.E.R.T.
  • Helped move forward a federal grant program using VISTA volunteers to support and bolster
    the CERT program in Ogden City.

Institute programs that will create incentives for homeowners.
  • Approved the asset control program, which is the foundation of the Home Sweet Ogden
    program and it's mission to sell homes to owner occupants to bolster our neighborhoods.



Revitalizing Business Centers
Promises & How I Have Fulfilled Them:
Eliminate bureaucracy to expedite downtown redevelopment projects.

Focus on other necessary revitalization needs, like the Sherwood Market, Five Points and
East Washington Blvd.
  • Recently, participated in the approval of a special project to create a traffic calming median in
    the center of Washington Blvd. from 22nd to 26th Street in an effort to begin drawing foot
    traffic from the new Junction Mall site across the street to East Washington Blvd.
  • Recently, suggested that the Council and Administration direct attention on the potential of a
    mass transit corridor outlined by Wasatch Front Regional Council that would connect North
    Ogden, Ogden and Riverdale along Washington Blvd. Via some high speed mode of
    transportation such as a street car or similar.  The Council has called this process
    Transportation Horizons - Mass Transportation.

Help existing Ogden businesses grow
  • Actively pursuing the effort for simplification of ordinances and administrative policy in order to
    make it easier for companies to do business in Ogden City.
  • Serve on the Board of directors of Downtown Ogden Incorporated (DO Inc) that assists local
    businesses by bringing activities downtown to improve walking traffic and business success in
    downtown Ogden.

Change commercial zoning to better accommodate large retail
  • I began the process of creating the 12th Street corridor plan.  The Corridor Plan
    accommodates large retail from Washington Blvd to I-15 and creates a special overlay zone
    that requires special building standards and allows a wide variety of commercial business.
  • I supported a failed attempt to re-zone and establish the area west of Wall between 20th and
    21st Street for a Wal-Mart project to bring a much needed grocery store into downtown Ogden.

Increase funding for Ogden’s Business Info. Center to help start and expand small
businesses

Vigorously promote Ogden City downtown to businesses with professional level
employees

Vigorously promote B.D.O. and the Ogden Industrial Park
  • I have been an active supporter of investing in BDO and of managing the facility for future
    growth and development.

Improving Recreational Areas and Programs
Promise:
Ogden City families need more areas and better programs that meet their recreational
needs.  Brandon will increase funding to improve the facilities, maintenance and lighting
of our parks.  He will also work to expand Ogden’s trail system & find solutions that will
make our recreational programs more competitive.

How I have fulfilled my promise:
  • I have been especially active in helping to support and facilitate high adventure recreational
    activities within Ogden City, such as the new High Adventure Recreation Center, a Kayak Park,
    the 21st Street Pond Project and an Ice Climbing Tower.  I have actively promoted making
    Ogden a high adventure recreational "hot spot" in order to facilitate both high adventure
    activity and economic growth.
  • I have been an active supporter of completing the trail system and parkway.  I have actively
    supported the capital projects which will ultimately complete Ogden's portion of the parkway
    loop and give easy access to a wonderful trail system and river parkway.
Brandon Stephenson - Report Card