KAYSVILLE -- The reason behind Davis County government owning a Conference Center was shared with several legislators, Tuesday.

Members of a legislative committee studying privatization issues met at the Davis Applied Technology College to learn details of the county's facility and why it got involved in such a project.

"One of the things I think we wanted to do was to help the Legislature understand the history behind our Conference Center," said County Commissioner Louenda Downs.

"Why there was a need, what the county wanted -- a place for large meetings, a place to gather," she said.

Downs recalled some of the history, how "for about seven years the county tried to find a private group that would step up and make this happen."

She said "they realized there was nobody in the county or outlying areas who would step up and do this."

"We wanted to make the Legislature very aware that the county built the building with tourism tax money," not property taxes, Downs said. "We've hired a private company (Western States Lodging) to manage that center.

"Our efforts have been to bring to the county what was not already there, not to be competitive with businesses in the county," she said.

"We want to provide what we have here, more space, a service that people were having to go outside of the county to get, to Salt Lake or Ogden for large meetings, galas, etc.," Downs said.

"Hill Air Force Base was having to go elsewhere, sometimes not even in the state of Utah," she said.

"We feel we've helped the cause of Hill, one of our great partners, as well as individuals in the county who need large gatherings."

In addition to about a dozen legislators, there were officials invited from Salt Lake, Summit, Iron and Carbon counties, among others.

The Conference Center hosts several hundred events a year, from weddings and wedding receptions to meetings, attended by from 10 to 1,000 people.

It is currently being expanded, basically doubled in size. That will allow for hosting of exhibitions that are often part of the small- to medium-sized conventions held at the Layton facility.





tbusselberg@davisclipper.com