Deep-six the aquarium, Rocky says

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson says it's time for the city to kill its deal with The Living Planet Aquarium.

The mayor's recommendation, included in a Friday report of the Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency, comes after the aquarium failed to reach its March fund-raising milestone. That failure puts the aquarium in breach of its running contract with the city's RDA. The breach, in turn, gives the city the opportunity to end its contract with the aquarium, leaving the $47 million project without a home.

The RDA contract has given the aquarium a free lease on RDA property at 336 S. 500 West, where the aquarium could be built.

According to Friday's report, Anderson's recommendation is that the RDA "cancel the lease agreement (with the aquarium) and take possession of the property."

While Anderson didn't return calls for comment on his recommendation, RDA executive director Dave Oka said he didn't think the mayor disliked the aquarium as an idea but rather realized the aquarium was in violation of its contract and wasn't making even its smallest fund-raising goals.

The aquarium has actually failed to reach its last two fund-raising milestones, according to Friday's report. The city's RDA had imposed the milestones in January 2003 to make sure the aquarium was making progress in its effort to raise the $47 million it needs to begin construction in 2007.

At the end of March the aquarium was supposed to have raised over $2.5 million. However, aquarium proponents have raised less than $1.8 million, and $320,000 of that is free rent that The Gateway shopping center offered to the aquarium for a small fish pool that has yet to open.

In the report, RDA deputy director Valda Tarbet said that $320,000 in rent shouldn't count toward the aquarium's total because aquarium leaders had previously promised to have the exhibit open by March. Since The Gateway pool has not opened, the aquarium actually did not meet its September 2003 fund-raising mark either, according to the report.

In an effort to help make the aquarium a reality, the city's RDA had given aquarium leaders a free lease on the suddenly valuable property on 500 West near Pioneer Park and The Gateway. As property values in the area have risen and the aquarium has failed to live up to its commitments, some city leaders have suggested the city end its contract with the aquarium and begin to look to make a new deal on the land, possibly a housing development.

The city's RDA Board, which is the City Council, will consider whether to cancel the contract at its Thursday meeting.

Some council members have said they would be willing to give the aquarium another six-month contract extension if aquarium leaders can show they have a "solid plan" to raise more funds.

Aquarium President Brent Andersen has informally approached Salt Lake County officials about putting a $30 million to $45 million bond on this November's ballot that would fund the aquarium's construction costs. However, he has not made a formal request, according to Deputy Mayor Alan Dayton.

Andersen did not return calls for comment.

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com