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HomeMy Public PortalAboutRES-CC-2011-16Resolution #16-2011 A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THE UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY REGIONAL CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT SET -ASIDE FUND WHEREAS, the City of Moab has identified support Higher Education as a top priority in the City Vision for the past five years; and WHEREAS, whereas, development of a destination higher education campus in the Moab area would help create a more sustainable community by creating and promoting educational and cultural opportunities for visitors and residents, by creating long term opportunities for business growth and diversification of the local economy, by creating mechanisms for new partnerships and industry development within the community, and by adding to the vibrancy and vitality of the community; and WHEREAS, the Higher Education Action Team ("HEAT") was formed in 2008 by Utah State University ("USU"), with support by the City of Moab, to create a needs assessment for the development of a higher education campus in Moab; and WHEREAS, HEAT has identified a location for the campus, along with a vision for programmatic incremental development of a campus; and WHEREAS, the USU Moab Education Center Advisory Board was created in 2010 to facilitate and oversee the development of a USU Regional Campus; and WHEREAS, significant progress has been made in moving toward development of a USU Regional Campus as a destination higher education facility in concert with the vision developed by HEAT; and WHEREAS, the student base of the USU Moab Education Center has increased exponentially over the past couple of years, new faculty in target programs have been hired, new programs have been implemented, facilities have been expanded and intense planning and marketing efforts have been undertaken; and WHEREAS, all of these efforts show a commitment on the part of the community to bring to full fruition the development of a USU Regional Campus as a destination higher education facility in Moab within the next 5-7 years; and WHEREAS, local government support of the development of higher education opportunities in a community has been identified as playing a crucial role in the success of such efforts in other communities; and WHEREAS, the City of Moab fully supports the efforts of USU in creating a USU Regional Campus in the Moab area; and WHEREAS, the City of Moab allocated $75,000 in the City of Moab 2010-2011 Fiscal Year Budget toward development of a USU Regional Campus. NOW THEREFORE, we, the Governing Body of the City of Moab do hereby resolve to approve creation of the Utah State University Regional Campus Development Set -aside Fund with the following parameters: 1. The City of Moab will create an account within City's accounting system as a long term savings account for contributions toward development of a USU Regional Campus. 2. The express intent for the use of the funds in the savings account shall be for the development of a newly constructed USU Regional Campus that satisfies the vision of the HEAT committee. It is not the intent that these funds will be used for maintenance and operation purposes or to support existing higher education facilities or programs in any way. 3. Disbursement of funds from the savings account shall be entirely up to the discretion of the City Council, subject to proper budgeting and purchasing procedures for all expenses. 4. Any funds deposited into this savings account will remain under the full control and authority of the City of Moab. In the event that the City of Moab deems that it is in the interest of the City to reallocate the funds from the savings account to some other City purpose, the City may do so by following all appropriate legal and budgetary requirements. 5. The City will consider its annual contribution to the savings account in the final budget adjustment at the end of each fiscal year. Said contribution shall be entirely up to the City's discretion and shall take into consideration the full financial situation of the City. 6. It is understood that USU may represent to other funding sources that any funds in the savings account may be counted as available as matching funds for request or receipt of other funding. 7. It is the intent of this savings account that USU will proceed with development of a USU Regional Campus within 5-7 years. It is understood that if significant progress toward this goal is not made within five years of the date of this resolution, the City may choose to discontinue the fund and allocate the funds in the fund to other projects. Passed and adopted by action of the Governing Body of the City of Moab in open session this 12th day of July, 2011. SIGNED: David L. Sakrison, Mayor ATTEST: Rachel Ellison, Recorder