Condemed Utah Site To Become Library

September 22, 2008 - 11:51am — birdie

Darrell Kilpack has been collecting rusty old stuff for a long time. He wanted to build a Western theme park on the property near 2700 South and 8900 West, Magna UT, planning to use old materials to give visitors a look into the past. ''This would be a heck of a facility,'' Kilpack said.

But Salt Lake County officials didn't have the same vision. The county condemned Kilpack's property after he refused to negotiate a sale and paid to have the piles of old tires, broken machine parts and frayed industrial gloves removed. About 70 percent of the material was in condition to be recycled, said Bruce Gibson, owner of the franchise that removed the refuse. "A lot of this has to be done by hand,'' Gibson said. ''There was just an amazing amount of hoarding being done.''

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the proposed library is scheduled to open by spring 2010. It will include a plaza and has been designed to fit the county's plan to revitalize Magna's Main Street.