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Show Bountifui of crossroads Bountiful City seems to be at a crossroads trying to figure out what to do with portions of the Redevelopment Agency land located in the downtown area and other historical sites within the city boundaries. Mr " v PAUL CHALLIS Staff Reporter Among the recently heard pitches was one from a developer wanting to install a dome-shaped building for parking with office space and movie theaters. On the same agenda two other groups wanting to create a museum in Bountiful for historic preservation preser-vation petitioned the council for support. The museum plans are not for downtown but still city officials need to decide which way to go as budget restraints don't allow too many projects of either genre. The location of the proposed museum mu-seum is near 300 North and 200 West. One plan includes a dugout. Depending on which group you talk to, the costs of renovation and construction con-struction varies. The Bountiful Centennial Committee Com-mittee wants to keep the main structure struc-ture and remodel it. Space in the facility has been offered to the Chamber of Commerce. This building was damaged in a fire but could be rebuilt for the purposes of housing a museum. Local architect Mark Shaffer told the council that a minimum investment in-vestment for repairs would cost $35,000 in the main structure and fixing the rear building area would be another $18,000 to raise the wall five feet and to replace the roof. The Centennial Committee's plan has different options and includes in-cludes a plan for totally new construction con-struction on the site for the museum that would cost between $82,000 to $88,000. Another plan would include in-clude a theater and parking area estimated to cost about $60,000. Another local architect, Tom Smith, told the council his group wanted the historic site as a community com-munity theater spot. He represented the Bountiful Community Theater that sees a combination of museum and new theater. The plans of this group is completely different from the historical society's. The round-building to be used for parking and office space was not liked by the historical society groups at the recent council I meeting. Gary Peterson of the Centennial Committee called the parking complex a "fairly attractive oatmeal box" that didn't have a place near the historic Tabernacle on Main Street, which is on the historic register. All three groups think their ideas could bring badly needed economic benefits to Bountiful, but each has a different way of accomplishing that goal. Members of the planning commission appear to be supporting the museum idea and point to other cities in Utah that are using the method of attracting tourists to their communities. Bountiful officials should remember re-member that state and federal funding fun-ding could be available to help finance either the museum or theater ideas planned for the dugout location. |
