Headed up by a former This Is the Place Heritage Park curator, a group of Utahns has started a petition drive calling on the governor and other state leaders to put ownership of the park in state hands.

The group members, who refer to themselves as "friends of This Is the Place," disapprove of plans to lease 12 acres of the park for commercial development and say the private foundation that now guides the park is failing to protect the area's historical value and setting. The group is aiming to collect a half-million signatures through its Web site, www.savetheplace.net. As of late Monday, they had 80.

"We think there needs to be a very serious discussion about the park, but ultimately we think the thing needs to be returned to public stewardship," said Kenyon Kennard, a Provo resident who worked as park curator until May 2006. "This foundation, they have a history of failure. It's time to recognize this is a failed stewardship and a different approach is required."

Kennard left the park when its leadership changed last year. After a financial disaster that took $2 million in one-time cash from the state Legislature to cure, park administration was revamped, with Ivory Homes founder Ellis Ivory and former American West Heritage Center director Matt Dahl at the helm.

Kennard said he resigned because the new management felt they "no longer had a responsibility" to protect Utah's history. He points to plans for two trains, a coffee shop and the 12-acre land lease as examples of how the park has deviated from its historical roots.

This Is the Place Foundation recommended in March that the 12 acres be leased to Associated Regional and University Pathologists (ARUP) for an administrative building and parking lot. The lease would bring in $400,000 a year to the park.

But east-bench residents, particularly those in the Sunnyside East neighborhood, have been upset about the plans and do not want to see open space lost to development. They protested to officials at the University of Utah earlier this month. The Division of State Parks and Recreation board has ultimate say and will vote on April 19.

Ivory, chairman of This Is the Place Heritage Park's board of directors, said Monday that the petition group is not bringing up anything the board hasn't already heard. He said Kennard quit the day after a discussion on the future of the park.

"There are certain people who don't like what we're doing," said Ivory, who is also chairman of the Deseret Morning News Board of Directors. "We're convinced that this is the right thing to do."

As for putting the park under state control, he said, "I don't think the state is very excited about taking (the park) back."

The park has been operating in the black since November, and Ivory said the staff is focusing on a grand opening on May 10. On that day, the two rubber-tire trains will arrive at the park and the Golden Spike ceremony will be replicated. On May 10, 1869, a Golden Spike was placed in the railroad track in Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad.

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E-mail: astowell@desnews.com