Early in the council's meeting, members supported an interlocal agreement with the state in a narrow 4-3 vote. Council members Scott Cowdell, Linda Martinez-Saville, who both were concerned about adequate parking at the stadium, and Stephen Smith, citing a lack of time to read the document, dissented.

Mayor Tom Dolan stiffly refused to sign the agreement with only a one-vote majority. The council decided to revisit the issue two hours later during its scheduled Redevelopment Agency Board meeting.

"I felt that some City Council members demonstrated they didn't understand the agreement," Dolan explained in an interview. "We needed to have more discussions on it. If we're going to sign an interlocal agreement with the state, the council needs to have a comfort level with what they are agreeing to."

The interlocal agreement is the first step in carrying out a funding mechanism created by the Legislature in February for Real Salt Lake's 20,000-seat stadium. The council did not receive the final draft until Tuesday.

In the document, the Governor's Office of Economic Development pledges the first 15 percent of Salt Lake County's 4.25 percent transient-room tax for 20 years starting July 1 to Sandy's Redevelopment Agency. The RDA agrees to issue bonds for $35 million to finance land, parking and infrastructure for RSL's $110 million stadium.

The agreement directs Sandy to enforce the state's terms for the public investment when Sandy completes its development agreement with RSL. The state's demands on RSL include $7.5 million toward Salt Lake City's youth sports complex and a soccer academy to be established "in Utah."

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson said Monday the academy was promised to Utah's capital.

Soccer team CEO Dean Howes said the team hasn't decided where to locate the academy.

"I wouldn't say St. George," Howes said in an interview. The team is looking in the "greater Salt Lake County area."

Tuesday night, while the council received its annual budget presentations from city departments, Smith scoured the agreement and Cowdell secured a promise via telephone from Howes for a 1,000 additional parking stalls on top of the 1,000 required by the state.

Because the City Council was party to the agreement both as the council and the RDA board, they voted as both bodies each time the document was considered. They also had to vote to reconsider their original votes.

The final roll calls came in at 7-0.

An interlocal agreement with Salt Lake County, requiring the county to continue to assess the 4.25 percent tax, was not considered. Sandy's Economic Development Director Randy Sant said details are still being worked out with the county. He expects the document to be ready for the council's review next week.

Although Dolan said Tuesday he was striving for consensus, Sandy resident Mark Clayton, who attended the meeting, questioned the mayor's motives.

"He wants more backing from the council before he sticks his neck out" for the soccer stadium, Clayton said.

Clayton was among a handful of stadium opponents, part of the failed referendum effort to place the stadium funding on the ballot, who attended the meeting. They were disappointed the council did not provide any opportunities for public comment on the agreement.

Lorraine Griffin expressed disgust with the final, unanimous vote.

"It looks like we have a bunch of lemmings following the Legislature. I hope they fall off the cliff in the next election."

rwinters@sltrib.com