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Centerville • County and city officials took steps Tuesday to allow $12.6 million in federal stimulus funds to be used for construction of a 14-screen movie theater on Centerville's west side.
The new Larry H. Miller cineplex will serve to anchor the 29-acre Parrish-Legacy Crossing project, slated to build out in six phases and include a restaurant, retail shops and multifamily dwellings.
County commissioners voted Tuesday morning to funnel their $2.9 million portion toward the venture. The additional $9.7 million was federal stimulus money recently reallocated by the state because other counties were unable to use it.
Centerville's City Council held a public hearing Tuesday evening about issuing the entire amount in tax-exempt private activity bonds. Members will take a final vote on the matter on Aug. 17.
"One of our arguments is that this is not 'pie-in-the-sky, gee we hope they'll come if we do this,' " said City Manager Steve Thacker. "We have [the movie theaters] ready to go and it will jump-start other development."
Davis School Board members also voted unanimously Tuesday to forgo 30 percent of increased tax revenues from the development — about $3.2 million over 15 years — to help fund streets and other groundwork for the mixed-use venture.
"We're convinced that this is an area that won't develop without a [community development agency] in place," said Centerville Mayor Ron Russell, referring to the tool that allows future tax increment from a project to fund infrastructure installation.
Russell praised the school board for voicing "healthy skepticism" in mid-July about diverting future tax dollars.
"It's a win-win for everyone," Russell said.
Davis School Board Vice President Tamara Lowe shared her enthusiasm.
"It's very important that the public understands that we're not losing money," Lowe said. "We'll receive the same amount of tax whether the project goes or not. But we gain funding opportunities if it moves forward."
Not everyone agrees that taking a portion of future tax dollars away from schools makes sense.
"It's a bad idea," said Royce Van Tassell, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association. "They're giving away dollars that should educate kids and they're getting absolutely nothing in return."
Van Tassell argues that no new movie tickets will be sold as a result — it simply means a redistribution of existing ticket sales within the region.
"It's particularly ironic because the Davis School District is looking at a property tax increase," Van Tassell added. "So for them to give away dollars to the Larry H. Miller Group, now they want the taxpayer to come back and backfill that? It's really quite offensive."
Jason Burningham, a financial adviser with Lewis Young Robertson and Burningham, said that shovels should begin digging for the $27 million facility by September in hopes of the west-side movie complex greeting its first customers by October 2011.
How many jobs would the new cineplex create?
Short-term • 200 construction jobs that pay an average $25.25 hour.
Long-term • One general manager who makes $65,000; six managers who make $37,000; 25 full-time workers who make $24,960; and 125 part-timers who average $7,800 a year.
Source: Davis County Community and Economic Development