Many in S.L. want UTOPIA

Salt Lake City residents and businesses want UTOPIA.

At a public hearing Tuesday, residents came down at least 3-to-1 in favor of opting into the publicly financed fiber-optic network, which seeks to bring high-speed Internet access to every address in 18 member cities.

It remains to be seen whether that public support will affect the City Council, which has been skeptical of UTOPIA in the past.

The council doesn't plan to vote on whether the city will remain one of the 18 cities in UTOPIA until at least next week and probably not until early April.

While the council ponders its decision, Mayor Rocky Anderson is also reserving judgment.

Tuesday, Councilman Dave Buhler pressed Anderson on when the city administration will offer an opinion, one way or the other, about whether the city should continue with UTOPIA. Anderson wondered aloud why Buhler was trying to pin him down to the "sticky" UTOPIA issue when he never asks for opinions on other matters.

Many of those in favor of UTOPIA said Salt Lake City would lose more businesses to West Valley City and other suburbs if it doesn't participate in UTOPIA.

"If West Valley City does this and Salt Lake City does not, I fear Salt Lake City will lose on the economic playing field," Bart Barker said.

Former Mayor Ted Wilson voiced support for the public network, saying Salt Lake City needs to compete with the suburbs.

"We must stay on the wave," he said.

Several business leaders showed up to voice support. Some hotel managers said they need to provide higher connection speeds to their clients.

"The folks who stay at our hotel would benefit immensely from UTOPIA," said Scott Beck, general manager of the Salt Lake Marriott City Center.

Several residents at the packed public hearing said the network is too risky, noting the city may be forced to use sales tax revenue to pay for UTOPIA if not enough people sign up for service.

"I had to keep reminding myself I was at a City Council meeting, not a meeting of venture capitalists," said Sugar House resident Thomas Robson.

Before an approaching deadline next month, the council will need to decide whether it will allocate $53,000 to process UTOPIA's bonds.

Those bonds would then fund the $540 million network. But Salt Lake City will have to put up $4.1 million in sales tax revenue annually to back the bonds. That money would not be used if UTOPIA proves profitable. However, for 17 years, each year the project fails to make money the city would be forced to contribute some or all of that $4.1 million to UTOPIA.

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com