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Summarized by Rosemary Pollock
Fate of LDS Church's Promised Valley Playhouse To Be Determined By Poll
Deseret News 7Mar00 B4
By Alan Edwards: Deseret News staff writer
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Salt Lake County residents will soon be
polled to decide the fate of the Promised Valley Playhouse. Groups
including Ballet West, the Utah Heritage Foundation and The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are poised to determine the level
of support that they and county residents would be willing to give to
a $24 million renovation of the closed and deteriorated State Street
building.
Most of the funding would come from a general obligation bond, which
translates into a tax hike. "This is the first real test of the public,"
said Marian Iwasaki, County Fine Arts Director. "I have seen letters in the
paper that are favorable, but I really have no idea how people feel."
The cost to build a new building, complete with rehearsal and office
space, would be between $24 and $30 million. If the upcoming poll shows the
public to be amenable, county officials would put the general obligation
bond vote on the November's ballot.
To complicate matters, the LDS Church owns the building but closed it in
1997 due to seismic concerns. Church officials had indicated their
willingness to donate the building but recently are in the process of making
a decision. "We are in the process of evaluating alternatives for the
disposition of the building," Presiding Bishop H. David Burton said. A
decision will be made in the next few weeks. "I'm optimistic," Iwasaki
said.
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