PAID
POSTAL CUSTOMER ECRWSS
May 2026
Mayor’s Message
The Ogden Way: Moving forward together through service, accountability & results
OgdenCAN fellow Shardae Jones teamed up with Salazar Scoops, Grounds for Coffee and St. Joseph’s Catholic School to install dog waste stations at Monroe Park.
OgdenCan volunteers strengthening the city through service It takes more than brick and mortar, tar and concrete to shape a city. It’s often those volunteering their time and getting their hands in the muck of service who build the community. As a city of more than 80,000, the opportunities to support Ogden are seemingly infinite, from the Ogden Trails Network to My Hometown or one of the hundreds of nonprofits in the city. One of the groups making a difference in the East Central Neighborhood is the Ogden Civic Action Network — OgdenCAN. Created by Weber State University, the program connects institutions (like Ogden City), community partners and residents through its Community Leader Network and is anchored by an eight-month fellowship that drives neighborhood-level change through hands-on projects. Shardae Jones is one of those fellows; her project grew out of something simple yet frustrating. “We kind of have free rein to do a project that means something personal to us,” Jones explained as her dog, Oden, barked in the background. “I walk my dogs at Monroe Park all the time and couldn’t help but notice the dog waste left behind where the youth of St. Joe’s and other youth play.”
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CITY NEWS
Jones saw a need for dog waste stations at one of the city’s busiest parks and built a small coalition to make it happen, bringing together local businesses, neighbors and students. “At the end of the day, everybody was on board,” she said. “You can’t just do something yourself.” With support from Ogden City’s parks staff, four stations were installed at Monroe Park. Local businesses stepped in as well: Salazar Scoops, a family-owned pet waste removal company, donated supplies, manpower and educational materials, while Grounds for Coffee kept volunteers fueled. Students from Saint Joseph’s Catholic School showed up not to play but to clean up the park and install waste stations. Jones said they were excited to be part of the solution for their neighborhood park. “It shows us how to improve the environment and community,” said Adrian Vasquez, a seventh-grader who helped with the installation. “This project could impact others in the future. It could encourage them to help.” For Maisy Baites, also in seventh grade, the lesson was even simpler. “Service means giving to others,” she said. “It doesn’t always have to be money. It can be your time, your talents and your hard
work. I think this will positively impact others in the future by allowing them to walk and play with their pets while having a safe and convenient way to dispose of their pets’ waste.” The projects are just the starting point; the real work is building connections across neighborhoods and backgrounds and collaborating on a common goal. “I’ve built really great connections and that’s what I want to continue to do,” Jones said. “The kids were out literally putting up the stations. They See SERVICE on page 3
New dog waste stations at Monroe Park.
By Ogden Mayor Benjamin K. Nadolski As the warm days of spring welcome us back outside to our parks, trails, neighborhoods and front yards, I’ve been reflecting on the simple ways residents are reconnecting and how we move forward together as a community. Across the country, we see the effects of division and partisan politics play out every day. Too often, it pulls people apart, stalls progress and makes it harder to solve the issues that matter most to our community. That’s not the path forward for Ogden. Our city is strongest when we focus less on labels and more on people — less on politics and more on results. This is exactly why we’ve been building and implementing what we call “The Ogden Way.” The Ogden Way is a framework for how we work together. It’s grounded in accountability, service, collaboration and a shared commitment to solving problems the right way. It means listening first, working across differences and staying focused on outcomes that improve people’s lives. It also reflects a clear philosophy about the role of government. Government is necessary. It plays a critical role in public safety, infrastructure and the essential services needed to make a city function. But it doesn’t need to do everything — and it shouldn’t. Strong communities are built by people, families, businesses and organizations working together. Our responsibility is to create an environment where this can happen — to support it, partner in it and ensure we’re not standing in the way. That includes being disciplined with taxpayer dollars. On May 5, I will present my proposed budget to the city council. This budget reflects a commitment to high performance and efficiency — streamlining processes,
eliminating unnecessary costs and focusing our resources where they matter most. You can expect a budget with no tax increase that continues to strengthen essential services like public safety and infrastructure. At the same time, we are expanding how we deliver results. We will be more aggressive in competing for grants and outside funding — what we often call “other people’s money” — to ensure investments come into Ogden rather than passing us by. We will also continue building strong community partnerships so programs and services can be delivered in ways that don’t rely solely on taxpayer funding. Through The Ogden Way, we are aligning our efforts with partners across our community to do more, do it better and do it without placing additional burden on our residents. The new bridge at Gramercy and Park Boulevard is a clear example of The Ogden Way in action — working with partners, securing UDOT and grant funding, and delivering projects that strengthen our community without adding costs for residents. That’s how we build a city that works — fiscally responsible, operationally strong and grounded in a shared commitment to each other. There is more ahead, and I look forward to continuing this work together. Thank you for being part of a community who chooses to build, to serve and to move forward — together.