Logan City Mayor Craig Petersen has cancelled his plans to swap properties with the Needham family. Just last week the mayor announced a <a href=”http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/article_1b58004a-b42c-11e7-8fa3-cb51727be02c.html” target=”_blank”>proposal to exchange properties</a> Logan City owns for those that the Needham Family Partnership owns in order to create a new library and for redevelopment of the downtown Emporium complex.
Today, Petersen announced that he does not appear to have the support needed to make the exchange possible.
“The message is clear,” Petersen said Tuesday morning. “Both mayoral candidates oppose the the proposal and it is unlikely that a majority of the council would vote for it.
“As I have solicited feedback of the last week, it is also not supported by the general public. Moreover, as I have continued to analyze the trade from an economic perspective, I have doubts that the trade would provide a clear advantage to Logan City.”
Petersen reiterated that no commitments had been made with the Needham Family Partnership and that the proposal to trade properties owned by the Needham family at 100 West and 100 North, in addition to properties on 300 North Main for the downtown Emporium complex, was only a proposal.
That proposal also included $300,000 in Redevelopment Agency funds that would go to the Needham Family Partnership to help remodel the Emporium buildings. That proposal stipulated that the Needham family would spend $2 for every $1 received from Logan City.
The value of the properties involved was not publicly known. At the Logan City Council meeting on October 17, council member Jeannie Simmonds requested more detail on how much each property was worth in order to make a more informed decision. Petersen told the council that Logan City and the Needham Family Partnership were in the process of getting the properties appraised.