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Show wniEwipaDnFJTr Page A12 Thursday, March 10, 1988 Park Record More marketing needed here SlaeFEiaana by JAMES J. MATISON I read with considerable interest Paul Pilzer's contribution con-tribution to this column that appeared Feb. 11, 1988. Despite having know Professor Pilzer for a number of years, I was both surprised and delighted to learn that we share some of the same concerns for the future of the Park City area. Like Paul, I too stumbled quite by happenstance on the marvelous qualities of Park City. My wife and I have been skiing enthusiasts most of our lives, in fact our marriage contract requires visits to the slopes whenever possible. Four years ago we had reservations at a well-known well-known Colorado ski resort for the winter holidays. At the last minute, my son, then attending the University or Arizona, asked to join us, but all Colorado resorts were full. After an extensive search, accommodations for all of us were located in Deer Valley. I subsequently purchased pur-chased a Deer Valley condo. My wife now makes the city her fulltime residence for four months of the year, and I have become a Park City "irregular," commuting from Tucson every weekend. Paul's concern rightly and understandably focused on the economics, or rather non-economics, of the Park City Ci-ty market. With the level of traffic experienced over the past few years, we are witnessing the slow wasting of an asset. Area resorts are not generating the numbers necessary to attract new vendors or to upgrade facilities. However, his proposal that the city assume the operation of the Park City Ski Resort seems rather drastic. I presume Paul offered the suggestion "tongue-in-cheek" to emphasize the urgency of taking concerted affirmative action toward the improvement of Park City's competitive status. My focus as a real estate practitioner is more toward marketing. If a good product is marketed effectively, the product will find a niche in the marketplace. The numbers, thereafter, will depend upon the product's ability to remain competitive. Park City, from the standpoint stand-point of natural attractions, closeness to a major transportation center and the 19th century ambiance of , the city itself, is highly marketable, when, as and if the various area factions get together and make a concerted effort toward same. On the other hand, I do have some reservations about the marketability of the product from a home owner's vantage point. Part of my motivation to purchase property pro-perty in the Park City area was the fact that some Deer Valley condos were being offered at two thirds appraised apprais-ed value. A few have since dropped to 50 percent of appraised ap-praised value. I initially attributed the extreme decline in property values to the recessive state of the nation's economy at the time and to the fact that Park City had yet to catch on as a major resort area. However, I discovered as I proceeded to redecorate the residence, a great bargain it wasn't (a circumstance I later found was not unique to me or Park City.) The wiring was faulty faul-ty and inadequate. The plumbing and overall workmanship workman-ship could be charitably described as "shoddy." I eventually even-tually had to gut the premises and rebuild from the outside out-side in. As a result of this experience, I seriously question ques-tion the city's enforcement of building standards and inspection in-spection procedures. Chrysler learned the lesson in the 10's that you can't keep up with the big boys without quality control. I do not see a need for additional code As I See Ht restrictions, just more diligence in enforcing compliance com-pliance with the existing code. Again from a marketing standpoint, I log in excess of 100,000 airpassenger miles a year, yet I rarely see a poster of Park City, Deer Valley or any area facility in an airport or travel agency outside of Salt Lake City. I have yet to read a travel column in a newspaper or in an airline magazine extolling the virtures of our resorts. Colorado resorts, in my observation, offer far more weekend or weeday ski packages (which include air fare, accommodations and facilities) through airlines, travel agencies and resort promotions. The airlines, quite to the contrary, have effectively nullified much of the advantage of having a major airport nearby by instituting in-stituting excessive fare increases since the Delta merger. I was as shocked as Paul was to find fares to Salt Lake raised 25 to 75 percent. I question whether our Chamber or city officials have ever sat down with the airlines and tried to work out these problems. Utah resorts have enough disadvantages to these problems, such as the resort tax and restrictive liquor laws, without having to deal with non-competitive air fares. With the prospect of Park City becoming a legitimate year-round resort area when the new lake is completed in 1992, the time is now for business people, property and resort owners, and representatives from local government govern-ment to join forces in a concerted marketing effort. I agree with Paul's assessment that local resorts are wasting money and energy trying to outdraw each other rather than concentrating on the real competition out-of-state. A simple cooperative effort such as interchangeable inter-changeable lift tickets (with appropriate upgrades) would increase the traffic at all locations and make the area as a whole more attractive to skiers. Like most residents, I enjoy the short lift lines and leisurely, uncrowded pace of Park City life, but I recognize that without more commerce, property values are not likely to improve and possibly continue to slide, our facilities will deteriorate and Park City will become history once again. With this season drawing to a close, it's time to begin work on next season. A public relations firm should be commissioned to develop a marketing plan that would exploit all available media. Pressure should be brought to bear on the airlines, perhaps with the aid of officials at the state and national level. Area resorts should be encouraged en-couraged to coordinate their promotional efforts. I'm sure other readers can contribute more and better suggestions on how Park City can be improved. I hope some will join Paul and I in calling for affirmative action from our local officials and serve to bring some unified effort into the promotion and improvement of our community. com-munity. James J. Matison is an internationally known teacher, lecturer and practitioner in the fields of real estate syn-. dication, development and brokerage. He is currently the president of JM Group, Inc., a real estate company . based in Tucson. .4 w a a t t . You I4m 'feETrEU. if am Get it while "toe I ff GET Independent treatment necessary Thumbs Up, Thumbs UDotvn THUMBS UP - to the Park City High School basketball team for its performance in the state 2A basketball tournament. The team's play netted the Miners a tie for seventh place. It was the best showing for the team in the past eight years. Wait until next season! THUMBS UP - to all the volunteers who opened open-ed their hearts and homes to the Special Olympians here this weekend. Nearly four hundred athletes had the time of their lives thanks to a lot of generous Parkites. THUMBS UP - to the Park City High School newspaper Neoteric. Editor Sasha Bauman and her talented staff have turned a ho humhigh school rag into something really entertaining. The Park City Board of Education members have spoken. Not only that, they have invoked the visage of the state Attorney General. All bow, please. What the board has said, in a 3-2 decision led by Ed Ax-tell, Ax-tell, Lindy Blackbourn, and Nancy Garbett, is that they won't say anything and the Attorney General says they don't have to. Observers had a fair idea that would be the outcome of the March 8 board meeting, but a huge crowd of citizens turned out anyway, hoping for an explanation of the board's decision not to renew superintendent Ron Mcln-tire's Mcln-tire's contract. Not all of the audience was sympathetic with Mclntire as an administrator, but most agreed that without an explanation of his perceived shortcomings the superintendent will have been denied due process, which most people see as a basic right. fc The reasons the public wants an explanation are simple. sim-ple. Many are distressed at the capricious manner in which Mclntire was released. While most realize the board has every right to do what they've done, people feel the decision was morally questionable. On top of that, many are wondering how it is the board can spend $28,000 recruiting a man they can't live with for more than a year. The reason the board doesn't comment is simple, as well. They don't have to, and their lawyer told them so. The reason or reasons they won't comment are more vague, and they are causing all sorts of damaging innuendo. in-nuendo. Some of that innuendo is malicious, some is spewing from "inquiring minds," some is just smoke, but as one citizen noted at the meeting, "nothing could be as bad as what we think could be happening." Much of the speculation has blown in from Wichita, where the superintendent was formerly employed. Well, Dorothy, as far as we're concerned this is a long way from Kansas. Since these board members are so into legal maneuvering, they must realize you can't try a man on the basis of past crimes. We want to know what he has done wrong here. The board took a foolish position at the March 8 meeting. In refusing to list any reasons or grant a.public hearing, they are saying, in effect, "So sue us." They have already retained a new lawyer, because attorney at-torney Terry Christiansen quit over the board action. This new attorney, hired at taxpayer expense, will de- fend the board against Mclntire's lawyer, who has a list of grievances which could take some time to defend. As Mclntire's lawyer noted, the district only has $2,000 in its administrative legal fund, and that won't last very long in a legal battle. Aside from the financial burden of legal action, the board will be sitting in the middle of an ugly, even hideous battle where speculation will be the rule. - -! u If the board has a real reason for firing Mclntire, just let it out. If it is libelous, make an anonymous call to the press; give us a chance to investigate. If such a reason were made public, if Mclntire's done something hideous, the cry for justice will change direction direc-tion quickly. Let us offer this food for thought: If you wrestle with a pig, you all get muddy, and the pig enjoys it. If the reason is, as many speculate, a hidden agenda, back out now. Hire the superindentent for another year and forget the whole deal. If the board refuses, Mclntire will take them to court, expose the reasons behind the non-renewal, and he may have his contract renewed anyway. If the board holds firm it could cost untold dollars in a settlement. One option which came out of the March 8 meeting was the use of an independent arbitrator in a non-binding debate. In such a forum, both sides of the issue could get together and discuss their differences without fear of legal reprisal. Such negotiations could bring out problems pro-blems the people involved haven't been able to discuss on their own. We realize the Attorney General says the board doesn't have to say anything, but we don't agree with what he says. Park City often thinks independently. With any luck we use our hearts as well as our minds to make decisions. Morally, Mclntire and the community, deserves independent, fair treatment of an issue. For the effects on this district will be far reaching any way it's decided. Who do you think will be the next presidential nominee? Paula Rudd office manager for Wintzer-Crippen construction I don't like any of them. I pray it won't be Bush, but I don't have a preference. I want Mario Cuomo to run. r.4. - . ' iU-l'i I I yr Audrey Neale visitor from San Francisco Mark Seltenrich Columbine manager I hope the two choices are It'll be Bush and Gore, with Dukakis and Dole, because I Gore taking it all. think Bush has been lying all this time. 1 i.'S '(. i, : f I in w' GailFite secretary at Shadow Ridge I think Bush will be the nominee for the Republicans, and probably Dukakis for the Democrats. p. sr p RaniLawton visitorrom London Bush and Dukakis will be nominated. And I regret to say that I think Bush is going to get it. 1 Greg Makowski bartender at The Club Does anyone know the real difference between Democrats and Republicans? |