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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, May 4-7, 2019 M OUNTAIN TOWN NEWS A Roundup of News from Other Western Ski Resort Communities ALLEN BEST Mountain Town News Shelter-in-place one option in case of wildfire at Squaw TRUCKEE, Calif. – Potential for wildfire has become a focal point as officials consider whether to allow the real estate development proposed at the base of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. The proposal would add 1,500 bedrooms and additional retail and resort amenities to the Olympic Valley during the next 25 yeas. The resort lies between Truckee and Lake Tahoe. Developers have acknowledged that wildfire could burn through the valley faster than people could evacuate. Approvals by Placer County are being challenged in court. Benjamin Spillman of the Associated Press talked with a resident, retired flight attendant Laura Haneveld, who fears being trapped. The fire at Paradise, Calif., which killed 85 people last November, and other fires in California in recent years cause her to worry even more about having too many people trying to flee down a twisting, curvy twomile-road to a highway that itself is only two lanes and is also curvy. Truckee and Interstate 80 are about 10 miles away. Under some circumstances, says Squaw Valley developers and government officials, thousands of people might have to take refuge at the resort. Allen Riley, chief of the Squaw Valley Fire Department, said the acres of bare pavement and village area would be sufficient harbor for people to survive a quick-moving fire, although evacuation would be the first choice. He cites communities in Australia, the Rancho Santa Fe development north of San Diego, and Pepperdine University, between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, as places where shelter-in-place strategies have worked. California state legislators have been considering laws that would toughen the requirements of local governments for approving housing developments in high-risk areas, according to another AP report. Mountain counties rank high in health rankings JACKSON, Wyo. – Teton County, which is roughly synonymous with Jackson Hole, was ranked No. 6 in the nation for healthy communities in a data analysis conducted by Aetna with U.S. News and World Report. Colorado’s Chaffee County, home to the river towns of Salida and Buena Vista, ranked No. 11 in the same study, while Utah’s Morgan County (just north of Park City) was 12th, and Colorado’s Routt County (Steamboat) was 14th, San Miguel County (Telluride) 17th, and Pitkin County (Aspen) 19 th. Tops in the country was Colorado’s Douglas County, a high-income area just south of Denver. Teton County led rural counties. The magazine’s website noted that “access to care and transportation barriers can pose challenges, but residents of rural communities with high-performing economies typically live in healthier natural environments and fare better in terms of housing than their urban counterparts.” Study seeks to define role of arts in Aspen’s economy ASPEN, Colo. – A study that seeks to measure the economic impact of the arts and culture sector in Aspen will soon begin. “Collectively, to be able to tell a fuller narrative of the importance of arts and culture to our community is really important,” said Sarah Roy, director of the Red Brick Center for the Arts, which is among the arts organizations pitching in to cover the $63,000 cost of the study. The Aspen Chamber Resort Association and the A-13 The Park Record City of Aspen are together paying $53,000 Boulder-based RRC Associates will define many metrics: number of jobs associated with the arts, the secondary impact to local businesses, the attendance at art, music, and other venues. Second-home owners will be surveyed as to how much the arts and cultural scene influenced their decisions to buy in the Aspen-Snowmass area. “Our perspective is that the arts are probably the most undervalued sector in Aspen,” Heidi Zuckerman, director of the Aspen Art Museum, told the city council members. “The economic impact is huge, and I actually think it should be a number that anyone sitting on your side of the table should be able to cite.” Crested Butte thinking about urban avalanches CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. – In March, one man died in the Crested Butte area and another nearly perished after being buried under an avalanche of snow from building roofs. That has the Crested Butte Town Council considering regulations intended to forecast such urban avalanches from roofs onto public rights-ofways. The Crested Butte News explains that certain buildings within the town have been known to shed snow during winter, damaging cars when they do. Other roofs haven’t slid but certainly looked like they might after the series of heavy snowfalls this winter. Six buildings have been identified, including the town hall itself. The council leans toward an ordinance that would require owners or tenants to remove the snow once it becomes an obvious danger. It wasn’t clear from the report in the News how town officials intend to define an obvious danger. But not all snow loads seem Please see Mountain Town, A-16 THANK YOU FOR BRINGING YOUR F R I E N D S & F A M I LY T O Help keep Park City Green and Clean Look for Green Tips every Wednesday in The Park Record for ways to be ecofriendly in your daily life OPEN HOUSE 3 3 3,644 5 beds baths sq ft acres Saturday, May 4 | 1:00-4:00pm 680 W North Bench Rd | Oakley 680 W North Bench Rd | Oakley | $1,100,000 This meticulously kept home is a piece of paradise with a 1,000 sq ft workshop, irrigated garden spot, and pressurized irrigation on 4+ acres. Close to trails and fishing! Ruth Drapkin | Associate Broker | 435.640.2604 | Ruth@UtahLuxuryGroup.com Each Office Independently Owned and Operated. All information from sources deemed reliable. Buyer to verify all information. All information subject to change. Thanks so much to our sponsors and booths BESTM ESTMINSTE B I NST ERR DOG SHOW YOU MADE IT A MAJOR SUCCESS! Special thanks to JOHN SPUNG KATRINA PRUITT-ANDREWS DEBBIE BRABENDER KATIE BERNHARD JEREMY RANCH GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB AND ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEERS Thanks for music by Park City / Coalville T H A N KS AG A I N ! ! ! |