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SALT LAKE CITY — No, the Sorenson Unity and Multicultural Center is not closing, turning into a homeless resource center or losing any of its programs.
That's what Salt Lake City officials want Glendale and Poplar Grove communities to know after such rumors began circulating within the neighborhoods as a result of city officials exploring ways to evaluate and eventually improve the arts and recreation campus.
"There's been a lot of misunderstanding and false information," Matthew Rojas, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski's spokesman, said on Wednesday.
It's not exactly known how the rumors began flying, Rojas said, but word had spread that Salt Lake City is planning a "takeover" of the center, since the facility's contract with Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City hasn't been renewed since it expired in December 2015.
While Salt Lake City owns both buildings on the Sorensen Center campus, Salt Lake County manages the recreation programming and upkeep of the multicultural building.
Rojas said it's not exactly clear why the contract wasn't renewed — since it expired in the midst of Salt Lake City's transition to a new mayoral administration — but since then the city's partnership with Salt Lake County has been extended on a temporary basis, with the intention that city and county officials would work together to review the contract for the long term.
"We have no intention of ending the programming that the public loves," Rojas said. "What we're going to do is engage the community and complete an assessment to find out if there's anything else they'd like and if there's anything that's maybe not being utilized to the maximum potential."
Rojas said city officials plan to conduct a survey to gather information through the year before making any decisions.
Holly Yocum, director of Salt Lake County Community Services Department, said the county is "committed" to the center, and is working with Salt Lake City officials to "revise and extend the existing contract to ensure the highest level of services is being provided to the community."
Dennis Faris, vice chairman of the Poplar Grove Community Council, said his neighborhood began worrying that program or gym membership prices would increase if the city no longer partnered with the county, which subsidizes and operates the physical activity programs, like Junior Jazz and boxing.
"The county currently does a darn good job," Faris said.
What could be better, he added, is maintenance of some of the facilities.
The basketball gyms need new flooring and one of the locker rooms has been closed because of mold, he said — leading some neighbors to question if the delayed contract renewal could be because county and city officials have been arguing over who should foot the bill for the projects.
But Rojas said that's not the case. According to the current contract, Salt Lake County pays for maintenance of the multicultural center building, but Salt Lake City pays for "big-ticket" repairs or replacements exceeding $3,000.
Of the $800,000 in needed maintenance on the facility, Salt Lake City officials allocated $400,000 last year. The other half, Rojas said, should be coming later this year to help pay for a new gym floor and air system to rid the locker room of mold.
Glendale Community Council Chairman Sean Crossland said the Sorensen Center is an "irreplaceable resource" for his community, so he urged Salt Lake City officials to keep Glendale and Poplar Grove communities involved as proposals come forward.
"Sorensen is an integral part of Glendale, so the folks who use it every day should be considered valuable for considering the future of the center," he said.
Lynn Green, chairman of the Sorensen center's advisory board, said "at the end of the day, we want facts and clarity for the community with regards to future plans" for the facility.
Salt Lake City officials were expected to address community questions at the Glendale Community Council meeting Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the Glendale Branch Library, as well as the Poplar Grove Community Council meeting March 22 at 7 p.m. at the Pioneer Police Precinct.
