Mayor Glenn J. Mecham said the city has reached an understanding with the LDS Church to buy land west of the Ogden Temple for a new $11 million public safety building.
"The minds have met, but the documents have not been signed," Mecham said. "Until you have signatures affixed to a document, it's not a done deal. There is a basic understanding, however."Church officials rejected bids from the city in September and November. Mecham said the church asked him both times to increase the city's offer for the west half of the block at 2100 South and Lin-coln.
Mecham declined to disclose how much the city has offered for the land. The amount will be made public when a deal is penned, which may happen next week, he said.
However, when Ogden voters in March approved the issuance of a $23-million bond to fund construction of the proposed public safety building and renovation of the Municipal Building, public works Director Jon Ruiz said the city expected to pay $950,000 for land.
The planned 62,000-square-foot building will house the police station now occupying the bottom floor of the Municipal Building, fire station No. 1, city dispatch offices and the city's emergency operations center.
Officials have eyed the land since 1995, when a committee scrutinizing seven sites for the planned building ranked the church land as its first choice for a public safety building.
Police and fire chiefs Jon Greiner and Mike Mathieu like the site. They both note that the central location would help law enforcement and emergency operations by providing easier access to the city's major roads.
In November, Mecham said the city had no contingency plan if a deal with the church could not be reached.