Inside Ogden’s 21st Street Pond controversy, the barbed wire, and whether there's hope for future recreation beyond a restricted fishing hole
OGDEN – Nothing strikes a chord with Mayor Ben Nadolski like the 21st Street Pond.
Before winning the 2023 election, Nadolski was finishing his second term on the City Council and his 23rd year working in wildlife management for the state of Utah – a broad umbrella which includes public fisheries.
“I have a long history, starting from the early days of my career when I was finishing my college degree at Weber State, working as an intern for the Division of Wildlife Resources at 21st Street Pond specifically,” Nadolski said. “I've always wanted to see it be a place that a lot of people can use.”
But at the present time – and perhaps decades into the future – the pond has limited public use due to a 2008 contract between Goode Ski Technologies and Ogden City, then led by former Mayor Matthew Godfrey.
Key components
That six-page document named Goode Ski as concessionaire of the pond, renaming the body of water “Goode Ski Lake.” The agreement expires Sept. 30, 2038 – with an option to renew for another 20 years.
Goode was given exclusive use of and responsibility for all buildings and improvements on the property, as long as the company kept its North American headquarters in Ogden.
As written, the contract allows the public to engage in shoreline fishing but all other water activities fall under Goode’s exclusive use.
Goode also has the sole discretion to host public events at the pond, which involves giving the city 10 percent royalties collected from those activities – or equivalent physical improvements.
A 1.1-mile paved trail encircles the pond and serves as the boundary between shoreline litter and debris that Goode must clean up and that which the city has to clear away on the trail and beyond.
How the pond began
In 1973, Utah Department of Transportation dug the large hole to hold gravel and other materials needed to build Interstate 15. The pond began when that use ended.
But in 2004, the US Environmental Protection Agency designated the pond and adjacent rail yards as a Superfund cleanup site.
Coincidentally, Dave and Dawn Goode moved their carbon-based ski products and company from Michigan to Ogden in 2004 with plans to put down roots and expand production.
By 2008, cleanup efforts had concluded – and Godfrey and Goode inked their agreement.
Dave Goode – a former award-winning member of the U.S. Ski Team – died in January 2020 while piloting his own airplane.
After his death, Dawn sold the company to longtime Goode employee and general manager Chris Roberts, who has been in recent negotiations with Nadolski to tweak the 2008 contract to allow more public use.
Several attempts to reach Roberts for comment were unsuccessful.
Finding mutual benefit
Nadolski said that negotiations with Goode Ski have been underway for several months – and had been on his mind for years.
“They've been open to ideas … to discussions,” Nadolski said of Goode Ski. “They need to test their technology, and it's expensive to do that elsewhere. So I'm trying to respect their needs … And we want them to continue to do that kind of work in Ogden.”
But that’s only one side of the coin.
“I also want to have access to that pond and to leverage its value for open space and outdoor recreation for our community,” Nadolski said. “So that's what I'm trying to accomplish.”
Envisioning that public use
In his early days with DWR around 1999, Nadolski remembers the pond as a vibrant place – in good ways and some not so good, he said.
“It was packed with people. There were families around the shoreline, kids fishing. It was just a really good place to be,” Nadolski said. “But we were also a different Ogden back then.”
In 2001, DWR launched its Wildlife Fisheries Program, with the 21st Street Pond becoming part of its statewide offerings designed to facilitate access to the outdoors.
The state wildlife agency stocks the pond with fish – such as Black Crappie, Blue Gill, Channel Catfish, Green Sunfish and Largemouth Bass. And Goode Ski contributes grass-eating carp to improve pond water quality, Nadolski said.
Those memories continue to fuel Nadolski’s vision of what the pond can provide.
“I've always known its potential for activation and use for community and families … I've never lost sight of that,” Nadolski said.
But Nadolski doesn’t stop there. He hopes to expand public use of the water to all types of small, non-motorized watercraft, including float tubes.
“That's absolutely my goal and my vision,” Nadolski said.
But swimming remains sketchy due to a capped portion of the Superfund site east of the pond that continues to be monitored.
So the work continues. But Nadolski said he doesn’t want the final result to be crafted in a vacuum.
“I want to make sure that the public has input on what it ultimately becomes,” Nadolski said. “And there's lots of stakeholders that could give amazing input at that point.”
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