Kennecott Land Co., Sorenson Development and Development Associates stood with House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, and other lawmakers for a Capitol news conference celebrating their deal on Feb. 22. The companies would give up to 300 acres valued at $60 million or more, they said, and the state would expedite the $560 million Mountain View freeway, improving access to their developments.
Then lawmakers passed HB242, moving $30 million in bonded highway money into local projects. Because the money came from a pot of sales tax and vehicle registration dollars slated for Mountain View, one of the donors objected last week.
"It was alarming [because] we had just made such a large donation," said Development Associates partner Dave Millheim. "We wish they would explain how they're going to pay for the highway, not take money out of the limited funds that they have."
Major investments approved with the $30 million shift include $11 million for highway improvements in Draper, $6.5 million for the intersection of 6200 South and Redwood Road in Taylorsville and $6.25 million for 1300 East, 9000 South, 11400 South and State Street in Sandy.
Utah Department of Transportation project manager Teri Newell said the state will have to restore the $30 million to the Mountain View account at some point, but the diversion this year won't slow the project because environmental permits aren't lined up yet anyway.
Millheim wants a meeting with Curtis.
"We have a finite deadline that we want the state to act within or basically they start paying full freight for the highway," he said. The deal says that if the freeway is not completed by 2015, the state will pay the companies for their land.
Curtis said the appropriations in HB242 won't delay Mountain View. Last year the Legislature authorized a $100 million bond against Salt Lake County revenues for various projects, with most going to Mountain View. This year it was appropriate to provide some locally generated revenues to local projects, he said.
"I've been a big supporter of working on the Mountain View corridor," he said. "I wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize that or set it back."
