Draper Council delays vote on performing-arts center

By Steve Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune
January 10, 2008

DRAPER - More than a decade ago, a South Mountain developer gave Draper an unfinished 5-acre park and amphitheater just off Vestry Road. Area residents said they could raise $250,000 toward building a performing-arts center to attract concerts and plays, and the city planned to match the $250,000. But today, the property still sits empty. Weeds overwhelm 17 rows of unused concrete stadium seats. Now, it's a $2 million to $5.4 million effort - depending on which of four amphitheater versions is built.

The City Council was scheduled to select a plan Tuesday. Instead, it delayed a decision until February to give new council members more time to study the options. Amphitheater fundraisers and members of the Draper Arts Council want the pricier version: an indoor performing-arts center. That would give the arts council a permanent home for performances. Arts council member Leslie Johnson said $5.4 million version could also accommodate recreation programs.

But some council members worry that the city can't afford such an extravagant project. Even with the $1 million-plus the city has on hand, Draper would only need to come up with another $800,000 to build the most basic outdoor-only version. That could come from redevelopment money, but some officials want to reserve that cash to promote commercial growth.

After the council acknowledged it didn't know what level of amphitheater the greater community wanted, Councilman Bill Colbert floated the idea of letting voters decide. Meanwhile, Councilwoman Stephanie Davis wanted the group to decide on a cheaper amphitheater Tuesday night. "The longer you put this off, the more costs go up. Eventually time will exclude them from building anything," Davis said. Councilman Jeff Stenquist said Draper needs to "step up and fund the arts" - and he doesn't necessarily want to do it on the cheap. "We can't just look at this from a cost perspective. Look at the benefits it will bring to our city." sgehrke@sltrib.com

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