UTOPIA moves ahead

UTOPIA can come to Utah County without the help of Salt Lake City.

In its first meeting since the Salt Lake City Council voted in April not to commit tax dollars to the planned fiber-optic network, representatives from the remaining 11 member cities of the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency voted to take the next step toward closing a deal to bond for the network.

Although there was some doubt whether UTOPIA would thrive without Utah's capital city, it is now clear that it can, said UTOPIA director Paul Morris.

With an atrophied customer base and a network that shrank from $540 million to $340 million, Morris had said earlier that further study was needed.

On Friday, Morris presented to the UTOPIA board of directors the findings of a new analysis of UTOPIA's business model using the remaining 11 cities. According to the Dean & Co. study, which was commissioned by UTOPIA, although the group acknowledges that with a smaller customer base there is an increase in risk, the business plan is still "robust."

Although there was some initial concern that cities may have to put up more sales tax revenue as collateral for bond funding, Morris said Friday that their business model does not require any additional sales tax pledge than what city councils have already voted on.

"We've arrived at this day because a lot of people have been committed to this cause," said Murray Mayor Dan Snarr, also chairman of the UTOPIA board, who added UTOPIA's expected success will allow participating cities to be "vindicated" in the eyes of opponents, such as Qwest and Comcast.

The board, which also includes several representatives from cities who did not vote to back bonds with sales tax dollars, voted unanimously to take UTOPIA's financial plan to their respective councils. Non-pledging cities will be asked to vote on an interlocal agreement, while pledging cities will need to vote on the interlocal agreement plus sign off on the financial plan.

Morris said recent legislation passed in reaction to UTOPIA's efforts requires each city to hold public hearings on the financial plan, but only after a 30-day consideration period. This means cities will have to hold public hearings anywhere between June 14 and June 25.

The recent legislation does not require that cities publicly announce the hearings in advance, only that interested parties who ask for the hearing date in writing be informed, Morris said.

If all 11 cities approve the financial plan, Morris said UTOPIA will then submit the plan for bond funding, with construction of UTOPIA expected to start in late July or August.