The Leonardo arts and science museum will get at least some of the additional city money its backers are seeking, but the Salt Lake City Council is still at least a month away from agreeing to more.

The council on Tuesday agreed through a straw poll to commit $600,000 from the city's general fund to help cover the rising costs of converting the old main city library, at the corner of 500 South and 200 East, into The Leonardo.

The amount would cover the matching donation requirement for a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, but it falls far short of the $13 million or more museum officials and Mayor Rocky Anderson hope the city will pony up.

Touting "what could be one of the finest facilities and opportunities for programming that we're presented with in this community," Anderson told the council Tuesday there are cost-cutting possibilities in the city's budget that would allow the city to pay off an $8 million bond.

City voters in 2003 approved a $10 million general-obligation bond, which will be paid for through a property tax increase, for The Leonardo's construction, which includes a seismic retrofit and revamping of the old library. That bond issue required The Leonardo to find a matching $10 million in outside donations for programming, which Leonardo executive director Mary Tull said has been secured.

But since then, inflation and a new city environmental requirement have driven up construction costs, and The Leonardo now faces a shortfall.

Anderson wants the council to use $4.9 million coming in from real-estate sales, including the Hansen Planetarium building, to cover some of that deficit. The rest would come from a sales tax bond, which, unlike the 2003 bond issue, would not come with a tax increase and would not need voter approval.

"It's very, very clear after our analysis of what's happening now and in the future ... that this is very doable," Anderson said.

He said there are ways to cut some planned budgeting for such things as street reconstruction and sidewalk repair in amounts that would still represent spending increases over recent years but would free up money for paying off the sales tax bond.

"We are the largest city in the country without a science and technology center," Anderson said. "An empty building over on what I think has become one of the grandest squares in our community would be a sign, I think, of real failure and lack of imagination."

But council members said they still have questions they want answered before they are willing to commit more city money to the project. Councilman Carlton Christensen wants to be assured The Leonardo's business plan is sound, and Councilman Dave Buhler wants funding help from state and county sources.

"I think the council supports the Leonardo concept as a good one," Councilman Eric Jergensen said. But he and the rest of the council voted to put off the full funding request for future discussion.

They agreed that they would settle on an amount they are willing to fund in about a month so The Leonardo's architects can get to work before costs have more chance to rise, and museum officials can work on covering any funding needs not covered by the city.

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