Tom Rogan has become the Salt Lake City Council's de facto fiscal watchdog, notable for criticizing this or that aspect of a proposal for not being financially or procedurally responsible.
Tuesday, however, the councilman was complimentary to the point of gushing (his own discription) about Mayor Rocky Anderson's scaling down of various public works in the Gateway area west of downtown."I can only describe what the mayor and his staff have done here as 'masterful,' " Rogan said.
"Did you hear that, Bill?" Community and Economic Development acting director Alison Gregersen said to planning director William Wright. "He's saying something nice about us."
Indeed, most of the council had nice things to say about Anderson's aggressive downsizing. It will save an estimated $8.5 million, much of which can be used in other areas.
Some of the savings will go toward building 500 West north of North Temple to service two housing projects anticipated there.
Tuesday Anderson formally proposed shortening a series of proposed 500 West park blocks -- 100-foot-wide medians -- from four blocks to two, burying fewer power lines in the area, abandoning a proposed power substation reconfiguration on 200 South and 500 West and other changes.
The changes are consistent with Anderson's long-held stance that too much emphasis and public money is being spent in the Gateway, to the detriment of other areas of the city.
Anderson had negotiated long and hard with the Boyer Co., among others, to make the changes a reality. Boyer is building a large mixed-use development west of the Union Pacific Depot.
Obtaining the council's approval to the modifications was the final step. Council members preliminarily approved the modified plan Tuesday and will do so officially next week.
"I'm very pleased," was the mayor's reaction.
Anderson emphasized that the more modest proposals still leave options open elsewhere. For example, instead of running from North Temple to 400 South the park blocks will run from 50 North to 150 South, but that doesn't preclude extending them farther south in the future.
Likewise, burial of high-voltage power lines from 100 South to the 200 South substation still leaves open the possibility of going farther south, as originally proposed.
Both mayor and council are eager to make the Rio Grande Depot a mass transit focal point and are thus working on ways to seamlessly connect it to the proposed intermodal hub a block to the west. That may or may not include park blocks and power line burial.
To appease businesses in the area, the city has decided against having Wasatch Constructors create medians along 300 West and 400 West. Ironically, the change order to simple asphalt will cost the city $125,000 more than putting in the medians, something Councilman Keith Christensen called "ridiculous."
He urged the administration to play hard ball with Wasatch Constructors, if necessary, to bring the price down.