Fresh start for Sandy aquarium?

After weeks of scandals, The Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy is trying to start anew.

Criminal charges were filed Thursday against a former aquarium financial clerk accused of stealing aquarium funds. Meanwhile, three new board members were voted onto the aquarium's board.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office charged Michelle Baer, who was an accounts-payable clerk at the aquarium for four months, with theft and forgery, both third-degree felonies; theft by deception and another count of theft, both class A misdemeanors.

Sandy police and the district attorney have been investigating the case for two months. Baer, 41, is accused of taking deposits and altering payroll records. She was fired in February, after aquarium leaders noticed she was reducing the medical and dental benefits on her paychecks.

"It's a good thing she was caught and identified, and I hope she gets help as a result of this," said aquarium board chairman Brad Carroll. "I'm sad for Michelle because I know this is going to be a tough road for her. At the same time, I'm glad from the aquarium's perspective that our financial systems were in place to catch it quickly."

Since Baer's termination, the aquarium has started doing background checks on all employees who handle money: "A lesson learned," Carroll said. A background check was never done on Baer.

The total loss to the aquarium was about $5,700, but Carroll said Baer was terminated for theft of approximately $700 in aquarium funds.

Amid the financial turmoil, 10 of the Sandy aquarium's 12 board members have resigned in the past three months.

The three new board members appointed Thursday are local doctor Fred Grimmer; James Marshall, owner of Sandy restaurant Johanna's Kitchen Restaurant; and David Pack, a local entrepreneur. The board now has five members, and aquarium leaders would like to eventually have a 14-member board.

Carroll and aquarium executive director Brent Anderson hope a new board and other private donors will help provide funds to eventually build a larger exhibit somewhere in Salt Lake County. Carroll and Anderson want to seek a donation of three to five acres where a 90,000-square-foot aquarium exhibit and 5,000-space parking lot could be built.