That could be where they would duke it out with the county over how to pay for the long-hoped-for facility.

The problem: The county can't fund the whole thing like it did for neighboring centers. Residents of the cities involved - Riverton, Herriman, Bluffdale - could be asked to kick in millions more than they originally expected.

"To turn on the people out here is absolutely wrong," said former state Rep. Dave Hogue. "People in the southwest deserve rights just like any other citizen. They pay taxes just like everybody else."

The Riverton Republican said members of the ZAP (Zoo, Arts and Parks) tax board now appear to be going back on their word.

Not so, said Erin Litvack, interim director of Salt Lake County's Community Services Department. Asking residents of the three cities to pay a share is not unusual, she said. And in the face of inflation and overall higher costs, that request is part of a trend.

"As expenses go up, we're going to rely on these partnerships with cities," she said. "I don't know that anyone can do it alone anymore."

The county's Doug Willmore agreed.

"The southwest facility's funding is not an aberration where someone is being singled out," said the chief administrative officer, adding that current reality is that cities must often share the burden along with the county.

Besides, according to Litvack, the three cities originally had expected to contribute $5 million for additional amenities beyond what the county's $15 million would cover.

But that share has grown to $6 million - and possibly more.

3 plans, many obstacles

Negotiators are considering three plans for the Southwest Rec Center: They feel that the cheapest version with the fewest amenities likely would not serve the rapidly growing area. A middle-ground facility would be comparable to Sandy's $9 million Dimple Dell center. And a high-end version would, said county officials, be above and beyond anything they have built.

The original $20 million rec center budget - it would have covered the mid-range proposal - was hit by two unexpected obstacles.

* The cities discovered that $2.2 million of the total county share would fund administrative and architectural design fees. That left the county's portion toward construction costs at $12.8 million and the cities' share at more than $6 million.

* Then, last week, the county announced that inflation had eaten away a significant chunk of what it was planning to divvy out among 11 affected ZAP-related projects. That meant the county had underestimated southwest center construction costs by nearly $5.2 million.

"It's amazing what inflation has done," chief county planner Emery Crook said. "If it would have continued at a normal rate, then for the $12.8 million we could have built Dimple Dell again. But in the last two years, [construction] inflation has been 15 to 18 percent a year, so that throws it all out of whack."

If the county can't come up with the additional money, then it would have to build the bare-bones version of the center.

That would mean stripping nearly $4 million worth of fitness amenities and decreasing the center's size, a move that would shed a $1 million leisure pool, a $1.5 million multipurpose room and $1.5 million from overall square footage.

But even after nixing those amenities, the county would still be more than $1 million in the hole.

"We don't know yet how to fill the rest of that gap," Willmore said.

Willmore added that he was "cautiously optimistic" that the county would find the funds to keep the middle-ground center version at its original level of service. That would make the facility one of the county's best, he said.

Cities want upscale center

But the cities want a pricier version - with a diving well and racquetball courts - although that upscale plan was not part of their original proposal to the county.

To do this, the cities' officials plan a private fund drive to avoid asking residents to vote for higher taxes. Their goal: boost their original $5 million share to $10 million to build the priciest facility.

The problem is, the cities' share, like the county's, has blossomed with inflation.

Several officials at a recent tri-city meeting don't want to give up on building the high-end center, and said they support an additional tax so the facility can serve all the demographics in the area.

"It's going to be there for a long time, and I'd hate to see us build a facility that we know is going to be inadequate at the outset," said Herriman Mayor Lynn Crane.

"[The cheap version] lacks the very things Salt Lake County's experience tells them they should be putting into the environment. I'd rather do a few projects and do them all right than do a dozen and do them all halfway."

In spite of all the financial confusion, Riverton Mayor Bill Applegarth said he's not too worried.

The county will find the needed funding, he said, adding that the cities will have to wait and see what happens with ZAP funding before further exploring their side of the bill.

"I think the county is trying to be just as fair with Riverton and other cities out here as they can."

And county officials recognize that the valley's southwest corner needs a rec center.

"Ultimately, that's a very fast growing area," acknowledged the county's parks and rec director, Bruce Henderson.

sgehrke@sltrib.com

$18 million in ZAP-tax funds*

*Drop-in day care

* Locker rooms

* Natatorium

*Lap pool (8 lanes)

* Aerobics

* Weights

* Cardio

$18 million ZAP tax funds

* +$6 million tri-city funds

*Above amenities

*Gymnasium

* Leisure pool

*Multipurpose room

*Running track

$18 million ZAP tax funds*

+more than $10 million tri-city funds

*All above amenities

*Diving well

*Racquetball courts

*The county is also paying $2.2 million toward architectural and administrative fees.