The Salt Lake Organizing Committee and Salt Lake City are still far from making the honor roll, according to a social-issues watchdog group.
Salt Lake Impact 2002 and Beyond has been issuing SLOC and the city an annual report card for the past seven years, grading them on their handling of key issues during the planning for the 2002 Olympics.
On the eve of the Games, the city and SLOC received a 2.16 grade-point average or a little over a C letter grade for their commitment to housing and community development, civil liberties, the homeless and the poor. That's up from a 1.8 gpa, or lower than last year's C.
The 2002 gpa, though, ties with the 2000 figure as the highest ever, and two categories received grades in the B range.
"The main goal of Salt Lake Impact 2002 and Beyond was to see that the organization of the Olympic Games did as little harm as possible to low-income people in particular," said Glenn Bailey, executive director of the Crossroads Urban Center. The project began in June 1995 when Salt Lake City got the 2002 Olympic bid.
The lowest grade, a D-, unchanged from last year's report, came in housing and community development. Bailey said affordable housing development has been far less than expected, with only 156 units of housing in the Gateway area and 43 relocatable or mobile homes, when he had hoped for between 400 and 500.
"We were trying to get over 2,000 units of affordable homes — we ended up with 156," Bailey said. "We thought much more could have been done."
Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson said affordable housing has been, and will continue to be, a priority for the city. He noted a development near Franklin School in addition to the Gateway development and more transit-oriented development, saying more has been done during his two years in office toward affordable housing than in many years before.
"We will see a significant net increase in affordable housing," he said. "We have made tremendous strides."
Improving to a C+, up one full grade from last year, is impact mitigation, or the effects of the Games on the disenfranchised population, said Linda Hilton, of the Coalition of Religious Communities.
Hilton, chairwoman of SLOC's Humanitarian Services Committee, said homeless from outside the state coming in search of jobs or business opportunities have created an added burden and those who have been evicted from their apartments and low-rent hotel rooms because of increasing rent for February are now without places to go.
Along with the state and county governments, Anderson said the city spearheaded an effort to set up a 140-bed emergency overflow homeless shelter at a warehouse near 300 South and 500 West. Hilton and Bailey said they were pleased with that and said a shelter that opens each winter will be available in Midvale.
"But the fact remains people should not be made homeless by the Olympics and they have been," Bailey said.
Hilton said SLOC did a great job with the food redistribution effort. During the Games, SLOC food providers will take extra food, usually box lunches, to a central point where it can be picked up and handed out to those in need.
In the civil liberties category, the final grade was a B, whereas last year it was incomplete. The city has established seven demonstration zones throughout downtown and near the University of Utah for free expression and Anderson said the city encourages it, as long as it is safe and lawful. The Pioneer Park zone, on 300 West between 300 South and 400 South, can accommodate 500 people.
Anderson said he thinks an A+ is in order in that area because he successfully struck a balance to make the police and American Civil Liberties Union happy with the outcome.
"We feel the plan looks good, reasonable on paper," said ACLU staff attorney Janelle Eurick. "But I am concerned that security concerns will override the rights of the protesters."
The high grade, a B+, is in disability compliance issues. Community representation and involvement held steady at a C, and leadership and ethics finished with a C-, down slightly from last year.
Anderson said the overall gpa is pretty good, considering the graders.
"These are tough graders," he said. "They have huge expectations and rightfully so . . . these are advocates."
In a written statement, SLOC chief communications officer Caroline Shaw, said the organization has carefully read the report card.
"Since 1996, SLOC has evaluated Impact 2002 concerns and worked with Impact 2002 to move forward. This report card reflects that progress."
Following the Games, Bailey said the group likely will release another report card evaluating the events.
E-mail: lwhite@desnews.com