The city councils of American Fork, Lindon and Pleasant Grove recently held a joint meeting to discuss how to proceed in order to secure an I- 15 interchange that could have substantial impacts on the revenues of all three cities.

"If we can get these three---determining cities to gel, we could make that interchange a real showplace for the state," explained Lindon city administrator Ott Dameron.

The actual location for the interchange has been identified as about midway between Orem's 1600 North exit and American Fork's 500 East exit.

Between the three cities, about 2,700 acres will be affected under the current inter- change proposal. Much of this land is now in agriculture.

"There needs to be some way for all of us to come together for the common good to make this work," said Lindon mayor, Larry Ellertson. "Some way of how to work together so we're not competing, but working together."

Working together is one of the biggest hurdles now facing the project. With different concerns facing each city, there has been some resistance to tackling the project as a team.

The interchange would be the first freeway exit to provide direct access to Pleasant Grove. Pleasant Grove has enthusiastically awaited an opportunity such as this, which could sub stantially increase its commercial tax revenues. The inter change would also ease freeway access for Pleasant Grove residents.

It was that city's mayor, Ed Sanderson, who raised some of the earliest concerns in the meeting. The exact alignment of the interchange was one point of debate.

"We would like to see the interchange more aligned to 200 South or Center Street," noted Mayor Sanderson. This alignment would direct traffic off of the interchange and into the city's commercial district.

On a larger scale, project faces some extreme time con- straints that could potentially defeat it.

"If we don't have the project under construction by Aug. 15 of next year, then the project will go away. It will go away for four to 10 years," Sanderson shared.

The narrow window of opportunity is tied to an environmental study whose findings may be applicable for a short duration. The period of applicability is linked to whether or not Utah County has met air quality standards set by the EPA.

If the county is out of compliance with air quality standards, as some officials believe has been the case, the federal funds for this project will no longer be available.

In addition, all three cities must secure the rights-of-way for the proposed interchange in a very short time frame. To do this, each private landowner within the 2,700-acre parcel must be notified at a minimum.

"There's going to have to be a whole lot of things in place," noted Sanderson, indicating the need to meet with property owners in that area to negotiate rights-of-ways.

"Our residents in that area are really protective of that area," Sanderson said. "We'd like to just talk to property owners and arrive at something reasonable."

"One of the biggest things is the acquisition and right of way or land," noted Mayor Ellertson. "It's a big key to get this done in the time frame."

Mayor Ted Barratt of American Fork pointed out that there is a Dec. 31 deadline for securing property acquisition for the project.

"We've got to move rather quickly," summed Dameron, in regards to working with affected property owners. "That has to be the first thing."

In an attempt to spearhead the project the city councils agreed to form a committee of mayors and budget directors. The committee will be made up of Ted Barratt and Carl Wanlass of American Fork, Larry Ellertson and Ott Dameron of Lindon, and Ed Sanderson and Gary Clay of Pleasant Grove.

One of the first tasks they will have to undertake is to determine if the cities are willing to attempt tax base sharing.

"What the concept entails is that wherever a business would located, all three cites would benefit from that revenue," explained Dameron, noting that the revenues would not be split equally, but based on the principle of fairness.

The lion's share of the revenues would go to that city in which the business was located and which supplied the utilities.

Without tax base sharing "each city will try to get the most commercial they can as fast as they can." explained Dameron. "They'll be like Provo and Orem, cutting each other's throat. All three cities without the tax base sharing would not be reaping as much benefit as if they'd joined together.

"The cities don't have to give away their tax base (in a rush) and compete with each other in this fashion," he continued. "I think it would be a win-win situation for all three cities and could set an example for the rest of the state."

The concept of tax base sharing would only apply to the contiguous area affected by the interchange.

"Pleasant Grove is fairly apprehensive about revenue sharing because we don't have any to share," said Mayor Sanderson, while still agreeing to work with the newly formed committee. "I think we need to at least look at it."

One thing all three cities seemed to hold in common was their vision of value of the interchange for the area.

"It will be the nicest show case area in Utah County, if not the state," assured Mayor Sanderson.