Majority of City Council Sides with Minority Opinion
By Edith Songer - 16 August 2026
On Thursday, July 30, 2026 our city council voted 4 to 1 in favor of keeping the name of our new city as it stands–Ogden Valley City. This brings to a close a year of effort by myself and others to find out what the residents want to name the city. Surveys conducted at the grass roots level and by Weber State University suggest that around 72% of residents in each district prefer a different name than Ogden Valley.
The motion, proposed by council member Tia Shaw was, “That we continue with the name Ogden Valley City.” Peggy Dooling-Baker voted no. Tia Shaw, Kay Hoogland, Chad Booth, and Don Hickman voted yes.
Before the vote there was a public comment section, then each council member took a few minutes to share their thoughts:
Peggy Dooling-Baker, the only council member who voted against the motion, said, “My recommendation would be to listen to the district votes.” Thank you, Peggy. You have shown that “Peggy for the People” is not an empty campaign slogan.
Tia Shaw said of herself and her fellow council members, “We were elected to make these decisions…We also need to be careful about what we assume from silence…[keeping the name Ogden Valley] respects the many residents whose voice may not have been captured in a survey.” Does council member Shaw assume that those who did not vote support her position?
Kay Hoogland said, “I was elected for my judgment…Sometimes doing my job and fulfilling my oath of office means voting for what I believe is best for the whole community, even if it’s not the popular choice right now…I respect the people who don’t want to bear the name Eden even though they may be in the minority of the poll.”
Hoogland also stated, “Our city includes Huntsville, Liberty, Eden and every other part of this valley.” Did she forget about Huntsville Town, whose generosity in hosting the council of their neighboring city surely deserves recognition that they are not part of that city?
Chad Booth voted with the majority after saying that he hoped we could find unity through adopting the new vision statement. He expressed a desire to stay neutral, “being the best Switzerland I can be.”
Don Hickman painted such a bleak picture of the dissatisfaction of the residents of District 5 that for the first time since incorporation, I seriously considered whether zip code 84317, where I live, would be better off if it had not been included in the new city. He said, “many feel as if our friends and family to the north have imposed their will on us, including now maybe their name…Many feel that the incorporation sponsors drew a map that included District 5 without the residents’ consent and without a practical means to opt out.” Does Hickman believe District 5 should leave the city? Perhaps Huntsville Town would agree to take us in from the cold.
Hickman also stated, “In a democracy, those who participate are the ones who have a say in the future.” Thank you to all of you who participated in surveys over the past year. We were assured that the results of the final two surveys would “inform the council’s decision.” The best we can say is that they were informed of our preferences. I guess they never promised to honor them.
Not that long ago several hundred of us showed up to a meeting with the Weber County Commissioners to protest the Eden Crossing development. They allowed us time to argue against it, but in the end they did exactly what we asked them not to do, and we were powerless to stop them. Perhaps they didn’t believe that we represented the feelings of the majority of valley residents. It turns out we did.
That decision by the commissioners was the motivation behind our push to incorporate. We wanted more say in our future. At Thursday’s meeting of our city council, the majority opinion was again dismissed. This time it felt worse because I expected more from those we elected to represent us close to home.
Edith Songer,
Huntsville
By Edith Songer - 16 August 2026
On Thursday, July 30, 2026 our city council voted 4 to 1 in favor of keeping the name of our new city as it stands–Ogden Valley City. This brings to a close a year of effort by myself and others to find out what the residents want to name the city. Surveys conducted at the grass roots level and by Weber State University suggest that around 72% of residents in each district prefer a different name than Ogden Valley.
The motion, proposed by council member Tia Shaw was, “That we continue with the name Ogden Valley City.” Peggy Dooling-Baker voted no. Tia Shaw, Kay Hoogland, Chad Booth, and Don Hickman voted yes.
Before the vote there was a public comment section, then each council member took a few minutes to share their thoughts:
Peggy Dooling-Baker, the only council member who voted against the motion, said, “My recommendation would be to listen to the district votes.” Thank you, Peggy. You have shown that “Peggy for the People” is not an empty campaign slogan.
Tia Shaw said of herself and her fellow council members, “We were elected to make these decisions…We also need to be careful about what we assume from silence…[keeping the name Ogden Valley] respects the many residents whose voice may not have been captured in a survey.” Does council member Shaw assume that those who did not vote support her position?
Kay Hoogland said, “I was elected for my judgment…Sometimes doing my job and fulfilling my oath of office means voting for what I believe is best for the whole community, even if it’s not the popular choice right now…I respect the people who don’t want to bear the name Eden even though they may be in the minority of the poll.”
Hoogland also stated, “Our city includes Huntsville, Liberty, Eden and every other part of this valley.” Did she forget about Huntsville Town, whose generosity in hosting the council of their neighboring city surely deserves recognition that they are not part of that city?
Chad Booth voted with the majority after saying that he hoped we could find unity through adopting the new vision statement. He expressed a desire to stay neutral, “being the best Switzerland I can be.”
Don Hickman painted such a bleak picture of the dissatisfaction of the residents of District 5 that for the first time since incorporation, I seriously considered whether zip code 84317, where I live, would be better off if it had not been included in the new city. He said, “many feel as if our friends and family to the north have imposed their will on us, including now maybe their name…Many feel that the incorporation sponsors drew a map that included District 5 without the residents’ consent and without a practical means to opt out.” Does Hickman believe District 5 should leave the city? Perhaps Huntsville Town would agree to take us in from the cold.
Hickman also stated, “In a democracy, those who participate are the ones who have a say in the future.” Thank you to all of you who participated in surveys over the past year. We were assured that the results of the final two surveys would “inform the council’s decision.” The best we can say is that they were informed of our preferences. I guess they never promised to honor them.
Not that long ago several hundred of us showed up to a meeting with the Weber County Commissioners to protest the Eden Crossing development. They allowed us time to argue against it, but in the end they did exactly what we asked them not to do, and we were powerless to stop them. Perhaps they didn’t believe that we represented the feelings of the majority of valley residents. It turns out we did.
That decision by the commissioners was the motivation behind our push to incorporate. We wanted more say in our future. At Thursday’s meeting of our city council, the majority opinion was again dismissed. This time it felt worse because I expected more from those we elected to represent us close to home.
Edith Songer,
Huntsville