Public Forum Letter - Salt Lake Tribune - 01/21/2008

There is a great deal of misunderstanding regarding the Granite Board of Education's support of the Cottonwood Mall redevelopment. Those who believe the district will be giving tax dollars to a developer are grossly misled.

The developers of the mall property will continue to pay their property taxes and the district will continue to receive tax revenue from the property. The district will continue to receive its property taxes at the present value, plus 25 percent of the additional tax revenue generated by the development. The annual amount the district currently receives from the mall property is $171,559. The additional 25 percent is estimated to average $881,349 annually, making the annual total average over the next 20 years $1,052,909 - more than a 500 percent increase.

However, 75 percent of the new tax dollars generated will go to the Holladay Redevelopment Agency for infrastructure. This is the $52 million opponents have been talking about. Granite has entered into a partnership with Holladay that will increase both its short- and long-term tax revenue.

Gayleen Gandy

Member, Granite Board of Education

West Valley City