Weber County commissioners approve contracts, hear update on Olympic-host planning

OGDEN, Utah — The Weber County Board of Commissioners approved a series of fiscal and contract items Tuesday and heard an update from Commissioner Jim Harvey about his upcoming role in international planning for the 2034 Olympic host cities.

The board approved 17 purchase orders totaling $743,264.55 and warrants totaling $2,492,912.23, plus a set of consent and action items that included contracts for indigent defense services and an event contract for the Golden Spike Event Center.

Ricky Hatch, presenting the weekly finance report, said, “We issued 17 purchase orders this week for $743,000.” He detailed that roughly half of that amount ($393,000) was for fleet purchases, about $237,000 was for library materials and equipment, and $93,000 went to the recreation department. Of approximately $2.5 million in warrants, Hatch said about $624,000 was for the jail, with other disbursements including an escrow release for the Ridge townhomes project and routine vendor payments.

On contracts for legal services, county staff presented a list of private contractors to provide indigent defense in juvenile matters. Jim Retallik described the attorneys as experienced practitioners who “supplement the work that our full-time attorneys do.” The commissioners approved contracts naming Carol Mortensen, Eamonn Nelson and Jennifer Clark for second-district juvenile-court representation and approved additional contracts for Ryan Blake, Andriana Johnson, Randy Brady Stewart and Laura Fuller.

The board also approved a contract between Weber County and the Utah Gay Rodeo Association to host the Crossroads of the West Regional Rodeo at the Golden Spike Event Center. Duncan Olson explained the contract is before the board because the county’s fee ordinance does not yet include the supporting facility arrangement for the riding arena and the change is being handled administratively; Olson said the adjusted approach is intended to make the facility more accessible to event organizers.

Commissioner Jim Harvey previewed his trip to Italy to meet with other host-city representatives for the Olympics, saying he would “have the privilege of representing us in Italy” and praising local staff, volunteers and facilities for preparing to host international test events. Harvey emphasized upgrades at the Ogden ice sheet including redesigned bathrooms and new redundancy for ice systems and called tourism tax revenue a key funder of county facilities.

All listed consent and action items were moved and seconded and the board voted in favor; the chair announced each motion carried. The meeting concluded after a motion to adjourn.

Votes at a glance
- Consent items F1–F9 (purchase orders, warrants, routine contracts): approved.
- G1 — Contracts for indigent defense (Carol Mortensen, Eamonn Nelson, Jennifer Clark): approved.
- G2 — Additional indigent defense contracts (Ryan Blake, Andriana Johnson, Randy Brady Stewart, Laura Fuller): approved.
- Event contract — Utah Gay Rodeo Association to host Crossroads of the West Regional Rodeo at the Golden Spike Event Center: approved.
- Adjournment: approved.

What’s next
Commissioners did not schedule additional public hearings on these items at Tuesday’s meeting. Commissioner Jim Harvey is expected to report back after his engagement with the host-city planning meetings for the 2034 Olympics.