While factions in Salt Lake City fought on television and in newspapers in recent weeks over where to place an Olympic speed-skating oval, a west-side recreation district was quietly organizing to steal the spotlight and bring the facility to Kearns.
And, when the three communities that want the oval met Wednesday for the first time to formally present themselves to the agency that will choose, the Kearns group used slick brochures, color photos, a slide presentation and the lure of nearly 100 acres of desert near a recreation center to position itself as Salt Lake City's chief competition.City officials, who had emerged only hours before from a tiring struggle to win permission to present a downtown site, appeared tired and ill-prepared. They asked the Kearns group, known formally as the Oquirrh Park Fitness Center, if they could borrow its fancy laser-beam pointer and its slide carousel.
While Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini told about the recreation facilities she wants to build surrounding an oval downtown, the people from Kearns were one step ahead.
"You can put an oval here, and with our existing facilities we already have what everyone else says they'll want to build," said Dave Howick, director of Oquirrh Park, 5624 S. 4800 West.
The third group, from West Valley City, didn't even bother with slides or pointers.
The Utah Sports Authority will chose July 8 from among the three bids. The oval will be built regardless of whether the state is chosen to host the 2002 Winter Games.
The Oquirrh Fitness Center is run by a county recreation district, which taxes parts of Kearns, West Jordan and West Valley City. The area runs from 4700 South to 7000 South between 7200 West and 4800 West, plus a section extending east to 4000 West between 4700 South and 5780 South.
Those taxes have built a large indoor pool and tennis courts, but officials believe residents want more.
"The community has told us it
See SKATING on B2
wants ice-skating programs," Howick said. An Olympic oval with a couple of ice sheets in the middle for hockey would be the perfect answer.
But the Kearns proposal is not without controversy.
Howick said a citizens panel that advises the recreation board has held 13 public meetings in recent weeks, and few people spoke against the oval. But Frank Herrmann, head of the citizens panel, said minutes were not kept of the meetings. Speed-skating was discussed at only nine of the meetings, and it was a secondary issue. A public vote scheduled for Tuesday was the main topic.
Residents will vote on an unrelated proposal to raise $7.5 million in taxes to expand the center. If it passes, the proposal would add $48 per year to the tax bill of an owner of a $48,000 house.
But officials agree the vote is connected to the oval at least as far as image is concerned. If voters reject the expansion, officials will have difficulty persuading the state that people will support a skating oval.
Some of the area's residents worry what an Olympic oval will mean to their tax bills. Rep. Arlo James, D-Kearns, believes the fitness center is mismanaged. While he supports the oval, he doesn't want it built under current management, which he believes has inflated salaries.
"If they do what they say they're going to do, I won't oppose the oval," he said. "But I don't know if they're telling the truth."
The Utah Sports Authority, the agency charged with choosing an oval site, will pay for part of the cost of maintaining the skating oval until 2002 - the year the state hopes to host the Winter Games. But whichever community is chosen would have to pay for nine months worth of upkeep each year, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Herrmann said he won't recommend the recreation district commit to making those payments until its residents have a chance to be heard. He hopes to pack a month's worth of hearings in before the Utah Sports Authority chooses a site for the oval.
But Herrmann and Howick think those costs can be borne without further tax hikes. Houses are being constructed so quickly that the district has lowered its tax rate and still increased its revenue during the past year.
James, who used to head the recreation district, said the fitness center is close to taxing its residents the most it can by law. He said few people have spoken against the oval in Kearns because virtually no one knows it may come there.
He said few of the public meetings have been in the older sections of Kearns where the most resistance is. Many of the other meetings attracted only token participation.