Rocky's departure includes 'helpful insights'

Rocky Anderson remained an advocate to the end, on his final full day as mayor of Salt Lake City calling for new Mayor Ralph Becker and the City Council to support The Leonardo, renovations at Pioneer Park and other causes he backed over the past eight years.

Anderson, whose second mayoral term came to a close Monday when Becker was sworn into office, made recommendations on seven city issues in a letter sent Sunday to his successor and members of the City Council.

The goal, Anderson wrote, was to offer "helpful insights into matters with which you will be dealing."

Becker said he had received the letter but hadn't had time to read through it closely. The new mayor said he plans to "very carefully consider" all of Anderson's recommendations.

Topping Anderson's wish list is funding for The Leonardo. The art, culture and science center has the support of Salt Lake City residents, he said, evidenced by voters' approval of a $10.2 million general obligation bond in 2003. The bond carried with it a requirement that the museum find a matching $10 million in outside donations for programming, which has been secured.

Last year, the City Council put another $1.5 million toward the project to help cover costs of converting the old city library on the corner of 500 South and 200 East into the museum. But the project still faces a shortfall of about $13 million caused by rising construction costs.

In the letter, Anderson encourages the City Council and new administration to take a "solution-oriented approach to the matter," committing to the renovations and then finding ways to make them happen.

Anderson also wants to see his vision for Pioneer Park realized, with a $4 million makeover that would include an Olympic-size ice skating rink.

In the letter, Anderson accuses the prior City Council of being "unresponsive to what the community was advocating" for Pioneer Park, singling out — though not by name — Dave Buhler and Nancy Saxton , who opposed many of his plans for the park. Like Anderson, Buhler's and Saxton's terms in office ended Monday.

Anderson's other requests in the letter were the continuation of the Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival; continued support for the city's restorative justice programs; the creation of a citywide fire-protection district and consideration of a commuter tax to fund public safety facilities; and the implementation of drug-prevention programs.

Anderson also detailed proposals for the Salt Lake Regional Athletic Complex, one from Real Salt Lake and the other from a group of advocates who have been involved in the fact-gathering process.