The Salt Lake City council may vote to scale back a $150 million dollar recreation bond proposal. Council members discussed the bond and heard public comment on the issue during Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
When the council voted to shutter two Salt Lake City golf courses, it called on Mayor Ralph Becker to come up with a proposal to repurpose the properties. Becker’s plan asks for $66 million dollars to remake the Glendale Golf Course into a regional park. The rest of the money would go toward creating biking trails in the foothills, a nature center, picnic pavilions and water activities along the Jordan River.
District 1 Councilman James Rogers says he and other council members are concerned about the price tag, but want to see the bond measure go on the ballot.
“I’m not completely sold on it yet,” Rogers says. “It’s constantly progressing. I feel like we’re a little snowball that’s being rolled down a hill. It’s going to be changing from now until the 18th when we vote to decide if it goes on the ballot or not.”
Rogers says he’d prefer to shift some of that money over to building an outdoor pool in the city’s west-side neighborhoods, where he says swim programs are at capacity.
Mayor Becker says recreation needs have changed in Salt Lake City over the years and the city should be able to accommodate those needs. He cited the Jordan River as one of his top priorities in the bond proposal.
“The Jordan River has much potential to be a much greater sort of nature corridor that can be a huge attraction to people in the city,” Becker says. “It’s a great place to canoe but we don’t even have ramps getting on and off the river.”
The council also discussed keeping the Glendale golf course open, but cutting it back from 18 to 9 holes. They say that would shrink the bond proposal significantly.
