From Deseret News archives:
Davis may fund $2 million of center for arts
Six months after Centerville Mayor Ron Russell requested funding from the county's tourism fund, the county's Tourism Tax Advisory Board recommended that Davis commissioners donate $2 million to the project.
In a letter approved by the board on Wednesday to the Davis County commissioners, the board acknowledged what it called an impressive proposal to build a multimillion dollar performing arts center in Centerville.
The center is mostly being funded by a special tenth-of-a-cent sales tax approved by voters in Centerville and Bountiful in 2007. The RAP (recreation, arts and parks) tax, combined with a land donation from the Centerville Redevelopment Agency, will provide about $10 million for the center's construction.
Since the project was conceived and funding secured, mayors from Centerville and Bountiful have sought funding from Davis County and private donors.
If commissioners approve the $2 million donation, which could happen as soon as Tuesday, it would show private foundations that the center has support countywide and would shrink the funding gap for the center to about $1 million.
The tax advisory board, made up of Davis County residents who are involved in tourism-type activities, suggested the facility be named the Davis Cultural Arts Center to appear more welcoming to all county residents.
Centerville Mayor Ron Russell said that's a possibility, though it's possible a private foundation making up the funding gap would receive some naming rights, as well.
County officials had been concerned in June that $2 million spread over a 10-year period would play havoc on the leftover balance in the tourism fund, which is expected to have $1.62 million at the end of 2009.
But Davis clerk/auditor Steve Rawlings said he performed an extensive review of county finances and could make the donation work, especially if the economy is more vibrant.
Russell said he expects the center to be a tax-revenue generator for the county because when people go out to the theater, they go out to eat, too.
Currently, contractors are loading the center's site with soil to squeeze out excess groundwater. Russell said he hopes to break ground on the center in the spring.
Plans are in place to build a 500-seat main-stage theater for the center, which would also include rehearsal space and, potentially, a black-box theater, something the tourism tax advisory board thinks is essential to the project's success.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com
