Free money yea; flowers nay

Flower baskets? Free money for new businesses? Free money for existing businesses?

Salt Lake City leaders Tuesday considered their latest ideas for reinvigorating Main Street downtown. With city help, Main Street has seen some improvement but continues to struggle to attract tenants to its copious vacant storefronts.

Flowers and free money were the order of the day Tuesday. However, even free money, it seems, can't lure many quality businesses downtown. The City Council, acting as the city's Redevelopment Agency Board, had offered $20,000 to businesses that would relocate to Main Street downtown.

But only five businesses submitted proposals for the $20,000 grants. And of those five businesses, two were denied, largely because they had subpar or incomplete proposals.

In the end, the City Council picked three businesses — Wilson-Davis brokerage; Vienna Bistro, an upscale bakery; and UNIVISION, a Spanish television station. Each will receive $20,000 if they move to Main Street between 100 South and 400 South.

Eight existing businesses — Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore, House of Kabobs, Royal Eatery, AJ's Kwik Mart, Cheers to You, Atlantic Cafe, Shogun restaurant and Incantations restaurant — also received matching grants ranging from $5,000-$15,000 to improve their entryways, facades, signage, bathrooms and kitchens.

But while the City Council was busy doling out free money, it was less enthusiastic about Mayor Rocky Anderson's plan to spend $60,000 to line Main Street with 391 flower baskets.

The mayor said the plan would show the city is committed to the beautification of Main Street and that beauty could attract more people to the street — similar to the way significant flower arrangements have become tourist attractions, of sorts, in other cities.

"It would add a lot of color and a lot of charm," Anderson said.

Despite being lobbied privately by the mayor, some City Council members weren't sold. The council killed the flower plan with a 3-3 tie vote, with Carlton Christensen absent. RDA Board chairman Eric Jergensen said the baskets were too small, would be hung too high and were spaced too far apart to be effective.

"I don't know that flower baskets do much for economic development," he said. "I think we can find better ways."

---

E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com