Soon to be flush with $40 million in new money, Salt Lake County parks and recreation planners face the pleasant task of how to spend it.

Voters in Salt Lake County last November reauthorized the Zoo, Arts & Parks tax for another 10 years, to begin immediately after the first incarnation of the tax (1/10th of 1 percent) runs out in 2006.

Parks and recreation director Glen Lu and planning section director Emery Crook are anxious that the County Council start deciding what to build with the money.

"It sounds like a long time, but it really isn't," Crook said of the planning process. "It doesn't really matter what direction they (council members) go, they just need to start the process."

In the last 10-year ZAP go-round, the then-county commission decided to bond against incoming ZAP revenues, giving it — together with city contributions and other revenues — an immediate $70 million to play with instead of waiting for the sales tax to come in in stages.

The thought was that voters had authorized the tax — now they wanted to see its benefits soon, instead of waiting several years for the money to come in, the planning process to take place, and the facilities to be built.

"In the end people wouldn't be happy if we waited," Crook said. "You run the risk of the voters being disgusted if it takes too long."

It is likely that the council will decide to bond this time as well, but it's not a sure thing. Tuesday, in fact, council members debated whether to bond at all.

"The last time, the county commission decided to bond," said Councilman Joe Hatch. "Is that something we're willing to do?"

Even if council members decide to bond, they may not go for a general obligation bond, opting instead for a lease-revenue bond, which carries a higher interest rate but doesn't require residents to approve it in a vote.

A 1/4-point interest rate difference in a $50 million bond means $76,000 a year.

If the council goes for a general obligation bond, it will probably schedule a bond election for June or November 2006.

Of more interest to the general public, perhaps, is what the county plans to do with the money. Last time it built 12 projects — recreation centers, trail systems and the like — most of which have proved to be very popular, judging by the numbers of people patronizing them.

County officials are in the bare beginning stages of deciding what things to build this time around, so no specific proposals are out there yet. Those will be developed over the next several months.

"We're very excited about the process," Councilman Mark Crockett said.

One idea that has been floated around is that communities that contribute more toward projects in their area will be first in line to get their facility completed. Council Chairman Michael Jensen, however, a Magna resident, pronounced himself staunchly opposed to the idea.

"I have a problem with that, because the haves get more and the have-nots get worse," he said.

According to current projections, if the county does bond against the ZAP proceeds, all the projects will be completed by the end of 2008.

---

E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com