Park horse-patrol idea bites the dust

The push by Salt Lake City Council member Nancy Saxton to put horse patrols in Pioneer Park is headed for the glue factory.

The council decided Thursday night not to pursue the patrols, after Police Chief Chris Burbank said it was impractical for the downtown park.

Saxton had advocated the patrols as an alternative to spending millions on renovations proposed by Mayor Rocky Anderson. Saxton, whose district includes the park, and another council member, Soren Simonsen, wanted to pursue the patrols, but the other five council members did not.

"We have a park in the city that has an image problem, and part of that image problem is based on real crime issues," Saxton said. "In order to find a creative way to solve that, that was really where the mounted police came from."

Burbank said, however, that he would rather spend overtime money for officers in different spots of the city rather than pay extra for horses and training for officers.

The council approved $1.1 million earlier this year for renovations that will include perimeter sidewalks, corner entry plazas, a dog park and bike racks. Anderson wants a total of $4.7 million for two more stages of renovations that he hopes would eventually include a concert stage, a cafe, historic gardens and volleyball courts.

Anderson requested $400,000 for the park from the council in this latest round of budget talks. He also has applied for a $900,000 federal grant and then wants to raise $550,000 from private donors for the $1.85 million stage-two renovations.

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E-mail: kswinyard@desnews.com