DRAPER — Sometimes magic takes a little time . . . and money, especially when it means creating a venue where 3,000 community members can gather on a mountainside to enjoy the performing arts.
Residents moved one step closer to their vision of "magic on the mountain" recently when Mayor Darrell Smith and members of the City Council overturned shovels full of dirt at the Draper Mountain Park and Amphitheater.
The groundbreaking ceremony was more of a victory celebration for concerned residents and city officials who have fought fiercely to find funding for the park and amphitheater. If all goes well, the Draper Arts Council could be performing on stage at the park for the community as early as the beginning of fall 2006.
"We've had so much support from the community, so we just wanted to have a party for the city for all the work everyone's done," said Leigh Ann Gilson, secretary of the amphitheater committee. Gilson and other interested residents formed the committee to help make the outdoor venue a reality.
The initial plan for the project began 10 years ago when the developers of South Mountain donated the land and the unfinished amphitheater to the city. But construction on the mountain park, located at 14100 South and Vestry Road, has stalled since the project's inception because of insufficient funding.
"It's just sat there because it's too expensive to do anything with," Gilson said.
Plans for the park include a stage complete with changing rooms, a gazebo, a covered pavilion, a children's playground and a nature trail.
The final price tag for the venture? Try between $1.8 million to $2 million, said Michael Sears, the city's finance director.
The city is footing three-quarters of the bill, with $500,000 of that coming from RDA funds, he said.
Residents and the amphitheater committee are responsible for raising the remaining $250,000 to get the lights and sound going. Sears said, eventually the city will probably spend $400,000 on the sound system, but like the stage, it is designed to be upgraded and added onto over time as needed.
So far, residents have come up with roughly $150,000 through private and corporate donations and various fund-raising activities, said Ken Murdock, co-chairman of the amphitheater committee.
"It's not near enough (money)," Murdock said. "We need a lot more mostly because our costs have gone up with construction costs going up so much since we started."
The amphitheater committee originally budgeted $500,000 for the entire project, he said. Despite rising costs, the group's not willing to cut back on quality.
Smith said he was thrilled about the project's progress.
"We've hoped for big things," Smith said. "It's going to be a great venue."
It's taken 10 years to get to this point and that's okay, he said. He pointed to the Historical Park as an example of how it takes time to achieve good things in the community.
"I'm a firm believer that it takes the groups in our community to have the desire and to follow up," Smith said. "Magic on the Mountain, the Parks and Trails and the Arts Council have pulled together like crazy to make this work."
While construction may not be obvious until spring, groundwork will begin immediately, Sears said. The city hopes to have a timeline of the construction process by the beginning of next year.
City officials are anxious to the project under way in part because they hope the amphitheater will be viewed at least as a temporary home for the community arts council.
E-mail: sbills@desnews.com