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Show PARENT"* SUMMEfi C A M P S JAY CAMPS, -DAY CAMPS : BUSINESS, A - 7 ROADWORK WON'T STOP BONANZA BUSINESSES The PARK CITY, UTAH ' FIND THE SPRING GUIDE INSIDE FOR GREAT IDEAS TO HELP KIDS STAY BUSY ONCE SCHOOL'S OUT \ COLUMNS, A - l 8 TOM CLYDE SPIES OPPORTUNITY IN VOLCANO Park Reco P A R !< R E C O R D . C O h/< Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, April 24-27, 2010 Serving Summit County since 1880 VOL. 130 •NO. 21 50(5 City picks its Treasure negotiators It's game Earth Day, a day early time, clear the fields City Hall will look at request to plow snow at Quinns land, the mayor said in an Mayor and City interview afterward, calling upcoming negotiations Councilwoman will the "one of the biggest underI've had since taking engage Sweeneys takings office." By MATTHEW PIPER Of the Record staff For Park City High School boys' soccer coach Caro Caro, a late-winter scramble for local field space is nothing new. But that doesn't make it easier to bear. "It's just ridiculous that the eighth game of the season is when we finally get to use our home venue to practice," Caro said. "The need for space is greater in Park City than people want to accept." Caro joins a growing number of coaches, parents and players asking the Park City Council to consider making the artificial turf field at Quinn's Junction Sports Complex available for year-round use. Leading the charge is Carol Tesch, whose son Sully is a 14-yearold involved in youth soccer. "It just seems like there's a hell of a lot of gas being used by all of these parents, driving their kids all over, and it's costing the kids a lot of time in a car or a bus," Tesch said. Caro's Miners do not currently play at Quinn's, which officially opened in Oct. 2005 at a cost of more than $1 million, but at issue is the overall inability of local facilities to accommodate the town's burgeoning soccer and lacrosse scenes. The field at Quinn's is in high demand as soon as it opens, which is usually about the third week of March - well after the soccer and lacrosse seasons are under way. The city recently conducted a cost analysis of two options for Quinn's. The cheapest and most popular choice was year-round snow removal at a cost of about $135,000 for the first year and $65,000 in subsequent years. Those figures do not include trucking and storing the snow, but do allot $10,000 for annual repairs. The analysis also looked at building a domed "bubble" to go over the field for a cost of about $2.15 million, with $347,000 needed annually thereafter. The bubble would be a much larger version - about 70-feet bigh of the one currently standPlease see Game, A-2 By JAY HAMBURGER Of the Record staff GRAYSON WEST/PARK RECORD Mark Maziarz moves a piece of art into the group of finalists during a Wednesday judging of Earth Day posters McPolin Elementary School students created. The kids used paint, pencils and recycled materials to explain what Earth Day, which was Thursday, means to them or why they see recycling as important. Osguthorpe is recovering Canyons officials claim all protocols were followed at the time of the mishap By PATRICK PARKINSON Of the Record staff There were conflicting reports this week about what happened when a well-known rancher in the Snyderville Basin had his teeth and jaw injured by a cable while riding a snowmobile on land he owns at The Canyons. Basin resident Stephen Osguthorpe, 61, claimed he did not see what knocked him off his snowmobile on April 15. Osguthorpe was struck in the face by a cable connected to two snow cats on a ski run at The Canyons, said David Scofield, an attorney for Osguthorpe. Scofield said he does not know exactly where on the mountain the accident occurred. The attorney compared the impact of the snowmobile crash to someone "taking a baseball bat and hitting you in the mouth." "Thefirstthing we are going to do is contact the Osguthorpes' health insurer and advise that health insurance company that we view The Canyons as responsible for all of the medical expenses for the Osguthorpes," Scofield said. Osguthorpe was traveling about 10 mph when he struck the cable, Scofield said. Osguthorpe's injuries were not life threatening, a spokesman for the Park City Fire District said. Osguthorpe was home from the hospital this week. He could not be reached on Friday. Meanwhile, officials at The Canyon said they have completed their investigation into the incident. "There were operators in both snow cats, who called ski patrol and encouraged Mr. Osguthorpe to stay at the scene. But Mr. Osguthorpe drove away on his snowmobile before they arrived," Libby Dowd, a spokeswoman for The Canyons, said in a statement e-mailed this week to The Park Record. "Ski patrol was on the scene within minutes, even though the resort was closed. We have comPlease see Osguthorpe, A-2 Mayor Dana Williams and Park City Councilwoman Liza Simpson - a onetime highranking homeseller and a store manager on Main Street - were tapped Thursday night to lead City Hall's upcoming Treasure negotiations with the Sweeney family, pivotal assignments that thrust the two into what will be closely watched talks with, potentially, tens of millions of dollars at stake. Their positions on City Hall's negotiating team will be formalized later, and City Councilman Alex Butwinski was named the alternate. The City Councilors briefly discussed the two positions before agreeing to put the mayor and Simpson on the City Hall team. They will work closely with City Manager Tom Bakaly and Mark Harrington, the city attorney, during the talks with the Sweeneys. Williams is in his third term as the mayor and was a real estate agent before being forced to relinquish a high-level position in a brokerage during the housing downturn. Simpson is a firstterm City Councilwoman who works on Main Street. "I don't know about confident. I'm hopeful" that the talks with the Sweeneys result in some sort of conservation deal for the Treasure Williams said he hopes the talks with the Sweeneys commence as early as the beginning of May. He said time must be spent reviewing the family's 1980s overall development approval for the Treasure land, situated on a hillside overlooking Old Town on the slopes of Park City Mountain Resort. The mayor said he wants to talk about City Hall pur- I don't know about confident. I'm hopeful," Dana Williams Mayor, speaking about IJIC upcoming Treasure nvjiatiations chasing the Treasure land in a conservation deal or reaching an accord with the Sweeneys to transfer the rights to development on the Treasure land to ground elsewhere. Both scenarios would almost certainly include a significant cash payment, probably well into the eight digits, from City Hall to the Sweeneys. If that sort of deal is struck, Williams and the City Council would be expected to put a ballot measure to voters to raise the money needed for the deal. Mike Sweeney, one of the three brothers leading the family's Treasure efforts, listened to the short proceedPlease see City, A-2 Water brawl costs customer Back on the job against Summit County's Mountain Jeremy Ranch woman claimsWater Regional Water Special Service District. issue is whether county officials abused long-running legal dispute At their power by conditioning development approvals on a builder at Promontory has led to higher rates ignoring private water companies and By PATRICK PARKINSON Of the Record staff i 3 SECTIONS • 44 PAGES j. Business A-7 rOassiEcds v Columns ^Editorial ?• Events Calendar.. j^Legals t'-Lctters to the Editor pMovies..... ^Restaurant Guide ^Sports Scene |weather C-11 A-18 A-19 C-6 C-13 A-19 C-4 ,_j; C-7 ''• B-1 C-1 %}. B-2^ $•• PARK CITY PARENT A Jeremy Ranch woman Wednesday said longstanding legal battles between Summit County and the private Summit Water Distribution Company have caused her water rates to increase. As both a county taxpayer and a Summit Water Distribution Co. customer, Cherie Hooten says she is tired of paying to support all sides of the brawl, which dates back nearly a decade. A lawsuit; in 3rd District Court in Summit County currently pits Summit 3 f A i^MedlaNews Group NEWSPAPER -M 8 9493700001 7 agreeing to buy his water from the county. The county's actions violated antitrust laws in Utah, which aim to prevent monopolies from forming, attorneys for Summit Water claim. "I assumed that the county had stopped harassing and stopped trying to gain control of Summit Water," Hooten told the Summit County Council this week. About 10 years ago, the county attempted to condemn the Summit Water Distribution Co. "[Summit County] tried, with eminent domain, to condemn it. Where does the county come off going after a private company and trying to condemn them? I don't care if it was 10 years ago," Hooten said. "Summit Water had to take the county to Please see Water, A-2 Earth Day, celebrated Newpark style ERIK DAENITZ/PARK RECORD Alliance Engineering's Blake Myers works on a surveying project along Holiday Ranch Loop Road, his first day at a job since November. He says finding work has been tough. Mountain Town Music hosts an outdoor celebration at Newpark Town Center Saturday. April 24. from 1 until 7 p.m. to celebrate Enrth Day. Enjoy live music b\ Sober Down and Afro Omega, educational opportunities and lots of family-friendly activities. Eco-awareness and education will be provided by Calcium Springs Farms. Inlcrmouninin Wind and Solar. Swaner Nature Preserve. Green Locals and more. |