Download Zipped File WP 6.1 0714SAOM.ZIP 6,994 Bytes

Utah Sports Advisory Committee

        

MINUTES OF THE

SPORTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Tuesday, July 14, 1998 - 9:00 a.m. - Room 403 State Capitol

        
Members Present:
    Sen. Alarik Myrin, Senate Chair
    Rep. Jordan Tanner, House Chair    
    Sen. L. Alma Mansell
    Rep. Brian Allen
    Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson
    Mayor Lewis Billings
    Mr. Roger Cutler
    Ms. Sidney Fonnesbeck
    Ms. Lou Mueller
    Mr. Howard Peterson
    Comm'r. James Soter
    

Members Absent:
    Sen. Scott Howell
    Mr. Hugh Danels
    Mr. Max Hogan
    Comm'r. Brent Overson
    Ms. JoAnn Seghini
    Mr. Randy Will

Staff Present:
    Mr. Brian Allred,
        Research Analyst
    Ms. Janetha Hancock,
        Associate General Counsel
    Ms. Beverlee LeCheminant
        Legislative Secretary

Note:    A list of others present and handouts distributed are on file in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

1.    Call to Order - Rep. Tanner called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m.

    a.    Approval of minutes of May 19, 1998 -

    MOTION: Ms. Mueller moved to approve the minutes of the May 19, 1998 meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Sen. Mansell and Rep. Hendrickson were absent for the vote.

     b.    Introduction of new committee member - Rep. Tanner introduced Mr. Roger Cutler as a new member of the committee replacing Mr. David Winder and indicated that Mr. Cutler represents Salt Lake City and was appointed by Mayor Corradini.

2.    Impact of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games on State and Local Government Agency Budgets

    a. Background and Current Statutory Requirements - Mr. Brian Allred, Research Analyst distributed and reviewed a memorandum containing summaries and statutory language of selected requirements on the payment of Olympic related state and local government services and the approval of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee (SLOC) financial plans. He indicated that: 1) if a state agency provides services or property at the request of SLOC, the state agency is required to enter into a contract with SLOC which defines agreed compensation for the services or property; 2) the State Olympic Officer is required to annually report to the Sports Advisory Committee and Legislative Management Committee; and 3) the governor and the mayor of Salt Lake City are required to quarterly review and approve SLOC's financial plan.
     b.    Estimated Economic Benefits to the State - Mr. Brad Barber, Deputy Director, Governor's Office of Planning and Budget (OPB), distributed a report on the economic, demographic, and fiscal impacts of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and told the committee that in 1985 when the hosting of the Olympic Games was being discussed, OPB did an analysis of what the economic implications might be. Since then, OPB has updated the analysis several times as the Olympic efforts have continued and are now becoming a reality. OPB has studied literature that has been published on the issue of understanding the economic implications of the Olympic Games and other large scale events and has tried to improve the techniques and the modeling efforts to provide a reasonable estimate of what the economic implications of the winter games are. Mr. Barber reviewed the report with the committee members.

     c.    State Agency Services to be Provided and Estimated Budgetary Impact - Mr. John Fowler, State Olympic Officer, told the committee that he is grateful for the work SLOC is doing and indicated that he has received open access to matters of importance that SLOC is involved in. He has felt complete support from SLOC which has made his job easier. He stated that he is impressed with the competence of the board and that the board and the executive committee meetings are open to him. Mr. Fowler said that SLOC is presently involved in preparing the Olympic Games budget and the plan is to have the budget completed by the end of September. In early October there will be a final meeting where the Board of Trustees will have the opportunity of approving the budget before it is given to the governor and the mayor for their review and approval.

    Mr. Fowler distributed the State of Utah Estimated Fiscal Impacts from the 2002 Olympic Winter Games Report and reviewed the report with the committee members. He indicated that when Utah hosts the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, people from around the world will visit our state and the state's economic activity will increase. This activity should result in significant additional tax revenues for the state and create additional service demands on government as well.
    
     Mr. Fowler stated that the report provides an estimate of budgetary impacts through fiscal year 2003 on state and local governments and that the projected additional tax revenues generated from the 2002 Olympic Winter Games are more than sufficient to compensate the state for the cost of services required to meet the needs of the Olympic visitors. He indicated that the estimates are preliminary and will be refined if and when more information is available. The estimates represent the additional net revenue and direct service impacts from the Olympic Games and approval for all related expenditures will go through a formal state budgetary process.

    Mr. Fowler suggested six conceptual frameworks to consider for payment for state services and the mitigation of impact on state and local budgets: 1) the Host City Agreement; 2) the sizing of SLOC budget to attainable revenue; 3) SLOC payment for costs "within the fence"; 4) governments payment for costs "outside the fence"; 5) tax revenues; and 6) fees for services. For a detailed explanation of these six conceptual frameworks, refer to the Estimated Fiscal Impacts from the 2002 Olympic Winter Games Report.
    Rep. Tanner asked the committee if it is comfortable with the approach of payment by SLOC "inside the fence" and governments covering costs "outside the fence." Sen. Myrin said this is a reasonable approach, but he thinks there are some gray areas that will need to be worked through and defined.

    Ms. Fonnesbeck expressed her concerns with SLOC. She indicated that citizens of the state get reports that indicate that SLOC is a public/private partnership and, yet when they try to obtain information, they are told that SLOC is a private organization. She indicated that it is hard to explain to people why so much is being asked from the people of the state and, yet, SLOC is not willing to abide by the same rules that government is required to do despite the fact that there are and will be millions of tax dollars being used to host the games.

    Mr. Bob Garff said that historically there has never been an Olympic committee that has had open and public board meetings and SLOC's board meetings are open and the press and the public are invited to attend. He indicated that he felt that OPB's report is conservative and he is encouraged by the report and some of the suggestions that have been made regarding funding and how state and local governments can be reimbursed.

    Ms. Shelly Thomas reiterated that SLOC is the first organizing committee in history that has opened its board meetings to the public. In addition to that, SLOC has advisory committees, and many constituencies that are giving it input, feedback, and guidance as to the programs that it is now launching. She stated that, for example, SLOC has a youth advisory committee and an environment committee and these people give public input and feedback on its programs. She told the committee that SLOC intends to go public with its budget as soon as the board reviews it. She stated that SLOC hears from citizens in the state every day who are excited about the games and want to be involved.
    Mr. Howard Peterson said that over the years he has seen a movement away from a many of the commitments that were made towards athletes, but he feels it is appropriate to commend SLOC for some steps that have been made showing almost a complete reversal in terms of SLOC's orientation. The location of the cross-country and biathlon venues at Soldier Hollow represent a great opportunity for future youth and families of Utah and will be a wonderful facility for Olympians.

3.    Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee (SLOC) Status Report -

    a.    Preparation of the SLOC Budget

    Mr. Mark Tanner reported that SLOC will be paying $28 million for the use of the village at the University of Utah for the three months it will be used for the Olympics. SLOC will be paying $8 million for the use of Rice Stadium for two evenings as well as the $59 million repayment it will be making for the Winter Sports Park.

    Mr. Tanner told the committee that SLOC is going through a detailed budgeting process at the present time. It has 42 functions such as transportation, security, and food service. Within those 42 functions, it has 200 or more projects along with subprojects and activities. SLOC is in the process of taking these 42 functions, 200 projects, and 700 subprojects and making certain that things are accounted for appropriately, and that it is done within the revenues that will be generated. He stated that SLOC will be reviewing its budget with the IOC and the finance committee of its board and will be presenting the budget to its full board on October 8th. He indicated that the budget will also need to be reviewed and approved by the governor and the mayor.

     b.    Venue Preparation - Mr. Grant Thomas, SLOC, reported on the construction of venues. He stated that there are ten competition, three practice, and 11 noncompetition venues that are under development. One is the Winter Sports Park and the budget for improvements to the park is about $45.6 million. Construction has been started on the first phase of the park and is organized into two work packages. The first work package is focused on site work for the ski jump complex where a new K120 ski jump is being built and modifications are being done to the existing K90 jump. The project for the first work package is on budget and construction has started on schedule. The road to the Winter Sports Park should be started in the spring. The land acquisition with Property Reserve Inc. has been completed and three acres for the ski jump complex has been purchased.

    Mr. Thomas said that the design process has been started at Soldier Hollow and a budget for that project will be presented in October of this year. Based upon approval of the budget, about five kilometers of trail will be constructed this fall that will help support some training and test events this winter, but the major construction will start in the second quarter of 1999 and be completed by the third quarter of 2000. He indicated that Oquirrh Park venue is in conceptual design and an architect has been selected and is working through the planning phase. The budget for this project will also be presented in October. He stated that the owners of Snow Basin, Park City, and Deer Valley are working on modifications to the ski areas and are in various stages of work. He said that the design coordination for Olympic requirements is being worked on at the ice sheet in Provo and that facility is due to be completed in January 1999.

4.    Adjourn -

     MOTION: Commissioner Soter moved to adjourn the meeting at 12:30 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Hendrickson and Sen. Mansell were absent for the vote.

[Back to the Interim Directory][Back to the Monthly Schedule][Back to the Committee Listing] Utah State Legislature