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02/14/1989 - Minutes Minutes: Briefing Session Tuesday, February 14, 1989 5:00 - 6:00 P.M. City Council Conference Room 324 South State Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 In Attendance: Tom Godfrey, Willie Stoler, Florence Bittner, Wayne Horrocks, Alan Hardman, Sydney Fonnesbeck, Roselyn Kirk, Linda Hamilton, Lee King, Cam Caldwell, Cindy Gust-Jenson, James Hall, Buzz Hunt, Emilie Charles, Rick Graham, Sheryl Gillilan, Mike Chitwood, Janice Jardine, Roger Cutler, Nancy Boskoff, Mark Cantor, Marjorie Janove, Press The Council interviewed Mark Cantor prior to consideration of his proposed appointment to the Salt Lake City Arts Council. Council Member Willie Stolen asked Nt. Cantor to review his background and interest in the arts. Mt. Cantor said that he had been living in Salt Lake for ten years and had been active in the Folk Music Division of the Arts Council as a performer and historian. He said that he was looking forward to helping shape the direction of the Arts Community in Salt Lake. He said that Salt Lake had a very high number of artists for a community of its size and that there was a great deal of potential in the valley. Council Member Roselyn Kirk asked Mr. Cantor if he had enough time to devote to the Council. Mt. Cantor said that he had arranged to work only four days a week so that he could put in a lot of volunteer time. The Council interviewed Marjorie Janove prior to consideration of her proposed appointment to the Salt Lake City Arts Council. Ms. Janove said that she had been active in the arts all of her life. She said that during the six years she has lived in Salt Lake, she has been active as a performer with the Utah Symphony, as a soloist and as a teacher. She said that she has been active in the Brown Bag Series and has seen a trend toward increased attendance and wants to enhance this trend through promotions and public awareness campaigns. Council Member Wayne Horrocks asked if Ms. Janove noticed a broadening of the types of people attending arts events. Ms. Janove said that it was hard to tell, but that widening the audience base should be a goal of the Arts Council. Lee King, Council Staff Auditor, reviewed the schedule for Olympic Committee meetings and said that. an agenda for the Thursday, February 16, 1989 meeting had been posted. Mt. King then passed out minutes of the subcommittee meetings. Linda Hamilton, Executive Director, reviewed the agenda. Ms. Hamilton said that the changes to the golf ordinance (item F3) were mainly technical changes. Ms. Hamilton said that the necessary motions were outlined, and that each motion should be made separately because there may not be consensus on each motion. Council Member Bittner asked when the new fees would go into effect. Ms. Hamilton said that the change for the passes would go into effect immediately, but that the discount green fees of $3.50, for juniors and seniors would go into effect on January 1, 1989, and then change to $4.50 on July 1, 1990. To avoid changing fees in the middle of the golf season, staff recommends changing to $4.50 on January 1, 1990. Council Member Alan Hardman said that he would be making a motion to change the golf ordinance so that no free golf passes would be allowed. Sheryl Gillilan said that the affect of the change would be to take the free golf passes away from the Golf Advisory Board. Ms. Bittner asked why the change should be made. Mr. Hardman said that he was doing it for two reasons: First; the City doesn't compensate the members of the other volunteer boards, and second, giving the members of the Golf Advisory Board free passes insulates them from the recommendations that the Board makes relating to fee structure and may cloud their judgement Scott Graham said because no other free passes are given out, the monetary impact is very small and that the City expects the members of the Board to become experts on the City Courses in order to make recommendations as to how they should be operated. Council Member Roselyn Kirk asked if there was a way that the City could limit the number of free rounds played by the Board members. Ms. Bittner said that the Board members needed their passes in order to do their job well. Ms. Kirk said that a large number of people had the impression that a lot of free passes are given out, and that this change could help dispel that perception. Ms. Hamilton said that Mt. Hardman had a version of the Golf Ordinance that incorporated the housekeeping changes and the elimination of free passes. She said that the Council could address each change separately or as a whole. Ms. Hamilton then asked Ms. Bittner for an update on activity in the State Legislative Session. Ms. Bittner said that the situation was very fluid and asked Mr. Chitwood to explain the status of a State funding bill for the new arena. Mt. Chitwood said that the possibility of getting a funding bill passed was good. He said that the bond repayment would be financed by the Tax Increment. He said that the RDA would get 1000 of the Tax Increment for the first 14 years, at which time 20o would begin to rollback. RDA would get 800 of the Tax Increment for the next 12 years. Mr. Chitwood said that two concepts were very important to the bill: 1) the area blight concept, and 2) the portability of the tax increment. Mt. Chitwood said that the portability of the Tax Increment monies would allow the RDA to buy land and develop parking structures outside of the redevelopment project area. Mt. Chitwood said that through interlocal agreements, the State would hold harmless the School District and the RDA would hold harmless the Library system. Mr. Chitwood passed out a chart showing the funding breakdown (see attached) . Mt. Chitwood said that amendments had been introduced to strip out the portability of the Tax Increment money and the area blight concept. Council Member Wayne Horrocks asked if the amendments had the support to pass. Mt. Chitwood said that the City's lobbyist was working hard against them both and thought that there was a good chance to defeat both amendments. Ms. Bittner said that the Salt Palace Expansion Feasibility Committee met for the last time as a body with the strong recommendation that the renovation and remodeling of existing convention facilities at the Salt Palace not be tied to the construction of the new arena. The committee recommended that the Salt Palace improvements continue on an incremental basis. Ms. Bittner said that the bill to repeal the City's Innkeeper Tax had the City very worried, but the City was working hard to defeat the bill. Mt. Godfrey asked if anyone had pointed out that if the innkeeper's tax was repealed, the new arena couldn't be funded. Ks. Bittner said that the lobbyist had pointed that out and that the people fighting hardest to repeal the tax would be the ones to benefit most from the new arena facilities. Mr. Roger Cutler, City Attorney, said that the lobbyist felt that the bill could be defeated in the Senate. Mr. Godfrey asked what effect losing the portability would have. Mt. Chitwood said that it would kill attempts to build parking structures and support buildings outside of the redevelopment area. Ms. Bittner asked the Council if they felt the need to call a meeting as the RDA Board of Directors in order to take a vote and make an official stand. Mt. Stolen said that he was comfortable with the way things were progressing. None of other Council Members felt that a meeting was necessary.