Centro set to decide whether to keep chief

Looking out the window at a patch of unused pavement outside Centro Civico Mexicano, John Renteria wistfully says he'd like to create green space by laying down some sod and planting a few trees.

"If I don't get dethroned (this) week, that's one of the things I'm going to do," says Renteria, for now president of the board of perhaps the state's oldest Hispanic organization.

On Tuesday, the membership of the organization will vote on whether Renteria should be removed from his office. It will be the culmination of a conflict between Renteria and board members who say the situation has "become unbearable."

The leadership dispute is something that longtime members say the civic center will survive. Like any longstanding organization, it's had its share of troubles in the past.

The original building burned down, says Tomas Perez, the organization's treasurer. His wife, Dolores, remembers "there were times we haven't had enough money to pay the utilities."

The organization, founded in 1939, is perhaps best-known for its festivals celebrating Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day, but it also has served as a social center on Salt Lake's west side. It houses alternative high school, computer lab and English as a second language programs, provided by Horizonte Instruction Services and the University of Utah.

Everyone involved in Centro Civico has plans for developing the facilities into a more vibrant center. For his part, Perez would like to see offices developed so it can house nonprofit organizations. Another longtime member, Beatrice Sanchez, would like to see the Junior Jazz return.

Creating a green space is only a small piece of Renteria's vision for redeveloping the center, to keep pace with sprawling development on Salt Lake's west side. An inter-modal transportation hub is planned across the street, and Salt Lake's light-rail system eventually will have a stop nearby.

Renteria wants to tear down the white brick facility and rebuild it, saying, "We missed the boat a long time ago to really develop this property when it was cheaper to do so."

His frustration is two-fold: Many board members want to develop the center at a more conservative pace, and the broader community doesn't seem to want to get involved.

"The potential that we have here is one of the things that keeps me going," he says. "It's rough working with people who don't see eye to eye with you."