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Jay Evensen: West Valley, hockey are entangled in a bad marriage

The reason "former" politicians keep doing such stupid deals, i.e., venturing into the private sector where they are unqualified and where government does not belong, is because when deals eventually fall apart years later the editorials are quick to say I told you so, but they don't bother to identify the former politicians who got caught up in the snake-oil hype.

The expectation of actually having their names reported forever as having foolishly cost the tax payers million of dollars if they are wrong might make them think twice.

Come on, give them all the credit they deserve.

Put their names with their legacies for all to see and remember, and maybe, just maybe, some other set of unqualified politicians will think twice and actually listen to an astute editorial writer next time before they gamble with money that is not theirs.

You can write several articles on the misadventures of the Peoples Republic of West Valley City into the private sector.

Start by writing an article on the mammoth recreation center that PRWVC buit. It loses tons of money, especially if you include the capital costs.

Then there's UTOPIA, an appropriate name if you look up the definition of UTOPIA in a dictionary and then look at its financial track record.

The ecentr should never have been built in West valley- particularly since the Olympic hocky venue was promised to be on Downtown Salt Lake (where it would have been more successful) It was a great Olympic backstab.

The Socccer stadium and Southtown Center should have been downtown too - not the burbs. We are rapidly degenerating into a sprawling disorganized mess - just like LA, instead of a cohesive metro area like Toronto. There is no long term vision for our individual govenment actons.

It seems as if West Valley City is so eager for validation and name recognition that it ends up subsidizing these large vanity projects that serve no community purpose and have scant community support. This comes at the expense of existing small businesses and residential areas that actually need city attention.

West Valley City seems incapable of nuanced neighborhood in-fill and sustainable community development, so they focus on mega-projects like their walled off commercial parks and the detached developments off the 5600 West corridor. The rest of the city be damned.

The much bally-hooed "city center/3500 South" revamp is a perfect example of WVC government decreeing what is best for the city while ignoring the reality of who lives, works and pays taxes in the city. It has no connection to the actual people of WVC. But hey, it's got an Olive Garden just like the fancy folks on the East Side!

At least with the E-Center largely unused, the Hale Center Theater (another tax payer subsidized project built primarily for non-WVC residents) never has to worry about a lack of parking.

Real will be next.

Taxpayer money should never be used to buy a private business. EVER!!!