Summarized by Rosemary Pollock

Fate of LDS Church's Promised Valley Playhouse To Be Determined By Poll
Deseret News 7Mar00 B4
By Alan Edwards: Deseret News staff writer

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Salt Lake County residents will soon be polled to decide the fate of the Promised Valley Playhouse. Groups including Ballet West, the Utah Heritage Foundation and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are poised to determine the level of support that they and county residents would be willing to give to a $24 million renovation of the closed and deteriorated State Street building.

Most of the funding would come from a general obligation bond, which translates into a tax hike. "This is the first real test of the public," said Marian Iwasaki, County Fine Arts Director. "I have seen letters in the paper that are favorable, but I really have no idea how people feel."

The cost to build a new building, complete with rehearsal and office space, would be between $24 and $30 million. If the upcoming poll shows the public to be amenable, county officials would put the general obligation bond vote on the November's ballot.

To complicate matters, the LDS Church owns the building but closed it in 1997 due to seismic concerns. Church officials had indicated their willingness to donate the building but recently are in the process of making a decision. "We are in the process of evaluating alternatives for the disposition of the building," Presiding Bishop H. David Burton said. A decision will be made in the next few weeks. "I'm optimistic," Iwasaki said.