Thompson delivered a letter to members of the City Council shortly after 5 p.m. stating his support of open space, while explaining why he disapproved of an ordinance that would have provided up to $1 million annually from sales tax generated by a big-box retail store planned for development in south Logan.

"A million dollars is 5 percent of our total general fund, 34 percent of our fire department or 21 percent of our police department budget," Thompson said in his letter to the council. "A smaller amount makes more sense."

Logan residents surveyed in 2003 by Dan Jones and Associates, a polling company, were asked what improvements they are most eager to see in the city.

"Forty-one percent replied traffic or road issues," Thompson said. "Only 1 percent said open space."

Before such a large amount of sales tax is dedicated to open space, careful planning needs to come via public meetings and surveys to learn how citizens prioritize their governmental needs and wants, he said.

"Salt Lake County recently announced a $160 million open-space plan, but the plan is coming first, not the allocation," Thompson said.

He also suggested that a more appropriate procedure for funding open space would be to adopt a resolution, not pass an ordinance. Logan City Council adopted the open-space ordinance 3-2 on March 15.

"A resolution presents the sense of the council to the administration and lets us know in a very formal way what your preferences are," Thompson said.

The ordinance "forces" the administration to create a budget with $1 million for open space, whether there are higher, more pressing needs or not, he said. Instead, he proposed, a lower amount could be allocated after so much of the sales-tax increment, possibly the first $500,000, had already been allocated, suggesting "there is room for compromise."

Swenson vowed Tuesday to address a technical problem with the ordinance language identified by Thompson and bring the ordinance forward again, possibly in the next Logan City Council meeting on April 5. Swenson said there's "definitely room for negotiation" on this issue.

The City Council has reviewed a request to give up ownership of LeGrand Street, adjacent to a large parcel that will soon be vacated by Macey's Food & Drug, pending its relocation to nearby Providence. Thompson cannot force the city to abandon ownership of that property, said Councilwoman Laraine Swenson said, and, unless the city forfeits this street, there won't be a parcel large enough to accommodate a big box retail outfit.

"If we don't get this ordinance passed, we won't be vacating LeGrand Street, so there won't be a big box down there," Swenson said. "That won't happen if we don't get an open space ordinance."