Some past initiatives have not taken root

While there were few new initiatives in Mayor Rocky Anderson's 2005 "state of the city" speech Tuesday, there have been many in years past.

And while those new initiatives have often been key to the speeches, a Deseret Morning News review of Anderson's last two state of the city speeches shows several of the mayor's past initiatives have not taken root.

Responding to that review, Anderson said sloth-like city government, exacerbated oftentimes by a laborious City Council, are the reason some initiatives haven't been implemented.

"This council is extremely slow," Anderson said. "It took over a year and a half to get open space at the library approved. It took over four years to get a vote on the walkable communities ordinance."

City Councilman Eric Jergensen countered that many of the ordinances and proposals that come to the council need more work before they can be passed, hence the delays.

"The source of those ordinances is the administration," he said.

Many of Anderson's state of the city initiatives are up and running. Anderson's administration has put forth new water rates that encourage conservation, built up the e2 business plan that promotes environmentally-friendly businesses, produced a "Keep it Pure" campaign to protect the city's watershed and worked with the City Council to establish an open space land trust fund.

The administration is also on schedule to complete the land-side redevelopment of the Salt Lake City International Airport and has expanded YouthCity at Fairmont Park and Liberty Park, as Anderson pledged.

But other initiatives have stalled.

In his 2003 speech, the mayor promised to "complete a plan to revitalize Pioneer Park" and said the city would obtain "funding for the project by the end of the year."

Two years later, the park plan remains largely unfunded as the City Council has declined requests for dollars.

Also in 2003, the mayor said he would create a new tradition with the city's annual February Winterfest, "which we can all enjoy for years to come." For his YouthCity program, the mayor pledged to "launch a new scholarship program called College Bound" and said the city would join the public fiber-optics network known as UTOPIA.

Two years later, Winterfest has been canceled, College Bound does not exist and Anderson decided against UTOPIA, after it became a bigger risk to taxpayers.

Last year, Anderson announced only two new initiatives. One, a plan to begin community conversations to bridge the city's religious divide, began late last year.

However, for his second major initiative, Anderson pledged to bring the City Council "an action plan to attract at least 15,000 new residents to Salt Lake City in the next seven years."