This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The Salt Lake City Council swallowed hard Tuesday and voted to fund a match for UTA's grant application to extend the Sugar House Streetcar line.

UTA put up no money in the bid for a $27 million federal TIGER grant. Salt Lake City, by contrast, has pledged $5.6 million in matching funds. Salt Lake County has pledged $6.5 million.

The approval came in a split 4-3 vote. Council members Luke Garrott, Charlie Luke and Lisa Adams voted against the match. Council members James Rogers, Kyle LaMalfa, Stan Penfold and Erin Mendenhall voted in favor.

The resolution was passed after LaMalfa added an amendment that said no general fund money would be used beyond the $2.5 million the council set aside last year. In addition, the amendment holds that the remaining $3.1 million could be raised through a special taxing district in Sugar House. Funding also could come from Class C road appropriations, and potential revenue from a proposed local option sales tax, according to the amended resolution.

The council heard from several members of the Sugar House community. Many said construction of the new line would add to the already congested streets, and that the notion that it would be built before the completion of a transit master plan doesn't make sense.

"It will become an albatross," said Lori Leighton of the Boxing Is For Girls athletic center on 1100 East. "I want something that works for everyone."

Kimi Eklund, who recently opened Kimi's Chop & Oyster House on Highland Drive, said she feared construction would negatively impact her young business.

"I'm in the growth phase. This wouldn't be good for businesses," she said. "I have 36 employees and I wouldn't want them to lose their jobs."

In a work session before the vote, several council members questioned how the project is a "partnership" between Salt Lake City and UTA when the transit agency was unwilling to share the cost.

"My concern is that there isn't any funding coming from UTA," said Councilman James Rogers. "Being a stakeholder is a big part of the game."

Nonetheless, Rogers voted in favor because "the project has to be completed."

If funded, the grant would extend the so-called S Line from its terminus at McClelland Street (1040 E. 2230 South) east to Highland Drive and then north to 2100 South.

The city should know by fall whether UTA was awarded the grant. Under a best-case scenario, said Robin Hutcheson, director of transportation for Salt Lake City, the extension would be completed by the end of 2017 or early 2018.

Mendenhall also questioned UTA's commitment.

"Going forward, I have to see more of a financial partnership [with UTA]," she said. "They're coming to us and saying, 'You have to foot the bill.'"

In the end, Mendenhall supported the measure because, she said, the line had to be brought into the heart of Sugar House. "I'm not going to cut off my nose to spite my face."

But Council Chairman Garrott said he was concerned that the city wouldn't own the rail itself under the present application by UTA.

"Why are we giving UTA the rails when they made no [financial investment]?" he asked Hutcheson.

When Hutcheson told him the agreement on the rail would be worked out later, Garrott said, "I don't want to take that risk. Sorry."

But Penfold said arguing about the rail ownership now is counterproductive. "Any way we can get this funded is better than not getting it funded."

The existing 2-mile S Line that runs from the TRAX Central Pointe Station at 221 West to McClelland cost $37 million. Ridership has been significantly less than projected. Planners hope those numbers will increase with the extension.