After winning the race to be the first mayor of the new city taking shape in the Ogden Valley, the work is piling up for Janet Wampler.
“If you saw my to-do list, it’s very, very long with very tight deadlines for a lot of important actions,” she said. “But we are systematic, and we are working through it.”
Indeed, she and the winners of three City Council seats were sworn in to their posts on Tuesday, and efforts are well underway to lay the groundwork for the new Weber County locale. The city, likely to formally come into being in December, encompasses the Eden, Liberty and Wolf Creek areas, the Nordic Valley ski resort and a broad expanse east of Huntsville.
Efforts to create the city date to 2022, driven by proponents’ hopes of asserting more local control as development pressures mount, and residents of the area approved a ballot question calling for incorporation last year. Voting to select a mayor and five City Council members culminated earlier this month. Now the election winners are moving forward in earnest to make sure the city can stand on its feet when the time comes.
Most immediately, Wampler is focused on making sure the new city has snow-removal service and law enforcement protection, likely to come from the Weber County Sheriff’s Office. But there are many other issues to address as well — securing animal control and building inspection service providers, for instance, and generating the revenue needed to fund city operations.
Many of the incorporation proponents, including Wampler, have been working for well over a year on preparing for incorporation. The mayor-elect said she and the five other City Council winners have already met several times since Election Day, Nov. 4. The two other City Council winners will be sworn in to office next Monday, Nov. 24. The new city officials will be formally invested with certain powers as of noon that day, per state guidelines governing new city creation.
“As of noon on the 24th, I can sign contracts on behalf of the city. I can hire people. I can adopt laws,” Wampler said. But once the city is formally created — after city officials provide the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office with a boundary map and other documents and the lieutenant governor’s office signs off on the paperwork — the elected officials would have to ratify any decisions made earlier.
Peggy Dooling-Baker, one of the City Council members sworn in on Tuesday, said talks are underway with officials from Weber County, which might provide some of the services the new city needs, and other potential providers. The aim, she said, is for “a smooth transition” to incorporation.
Wampler said the talks with county commissioners and other county officials have been productive, notwithstanding fraught relations with them at times as the incorporation process has unfolded. “I meet with them regularly, and it’s always friendly, productive,” she said.
While Wampler emphasizes the importance of securing service providers to help handle the many functions of a new city, many residents are focused on what the name of the new locale will be. “It’s one of the most prevalent conversations in this valley,” she said.
Dooling-Baker said a group has formed to look into potential names. “They have been collecting suggestions for months and will present their findings to the City Council, once we are a city. We will decide on our next steps at that time,” she said.
The officials haven’t secured offices for the city, but Wampler said Huntsville Mayor Richard Sorensen has given them permission to use the Huntsville Town Hall building for public meetings. Later, Wampler said the new city leaders will seek office space for the new locale.