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Show VIEWPOINTS A-21 www.parkrecord.com Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, September 24-27, 2016 EDITORIAL Which events are not so special? C LETTERS TO THE EDITOR School board is grateful for support during crisis Editor, Last week was arguably one of the most traumatic in the Park City School District’s history. Through the black cloud of sadness we’ve seen a huge ray of sunshine. We’ve seen our staff, police department, mental health resources and community rise to meet the challenges facing our community and care for our children. Our administration and especially our counselors have rolled up their sleeves and performed beyond what is called for in the crisis manual. They’ve worked as a team with both Federal and local law enforcement to make sure we are providing a safety net for at-risk families in our community. On behalf of the Board of Education, we’d like to thank Dr. Conley for her leadership and the PCSD staff, especially those at Treasure Mountain and Park City High School for their professionalism, compassion and tireless hours. In the words of Winston Churchill “Don’t ever let a good crisis go to waste.” We owe it to Grant, Ryan and their families to make sure we start a community discussion on this epidemic, that we shine a light on a problem that is lurking in the shadows and impacting many Park City families. This is not a school issue, but a community issue and it is plaguing communities nationwide. We all need to take The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER Andy Bernhard Editor Nan Chalat Noaker Staff writers Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Bubba Brown Angelique McNaughton Griffin Adams Contributing writers Tom Clyde Jay Meehan Teri Orr Amy Roberts Steve Phillips Tom Kelly Joe Lair Interns Jessica Curley Copy editor Jeff Dempsey ADVERTISING Classified advertising Jennifer Lynch Office manager Tiffany Rivera Circulation manager Lacy Brundy Accounting manager Jennifer Snow Advertising director Valerie Spung Advertising sales Lori Gull Jodi Hecker Erin Donnelly Lisa Curley Bill Thomason Photographer Tanzi Propst Production director April Hendrix Production Nadia Dolzhenko Ben Olson Patrick Schulz responsibility. The district will play an active role in efforts to take on this epidemic. We’d also like to thank the Park City Police Department, Summit County Sheriff’s Department, Park City Fire Department and other first responders, Valley Mental Health, Park City Hospital, University of Utah and all the other agencies that have been part of the intervention team. Thank you. Tania Knauer, Board President, District 3, JJ Ehlers, Board VP, District 4, Julie Eihausen, Member, District 5, Philip Kaplan, Member, District 1, Nancy Garrison, Member, District 2 all it a First World problem, if you must, but Park City’s burgeoning special-events calendar has become a thorny issue. According to a report presented to the Park City Council this week, in 2016 there have been 81 special events that drew a total of 440,000 attendees. Some say there are too many tournaments, concerts and festivals clogging local roads and trails, forcing Parkites to retreat to the safety of their own backyards. Others point out that the high-profile roster of sports tournaments and cultural events has given the economy a significant boost. That same report included a tally of summer lodging figures that has more than doubled over the last five years, presumably due to the uptick in special events. There is truth to both sides of the argument, which is why, last year, the Park City Council established a Special Events Advisory Committee and undertook a systematic analysis of the economic benefits and liabilities of each event. The city council also adopted a set of guidelines to help evaluate new event applications based on public safety and economic and community benefits. Let’s be honest, when out-of-town house guests come to visit, we love showing off our street festivals and out- GUEST EDITORIAL Rossie Hill zone change RICHARD DENNIS The art of Neighbor Day Salt Lake City Editor: Community connection. Feeling part of something larger than yourself. Having a relationship with the people and place where you live. Valuing your neighbors and your local organizations and businesses. Creating interactions in small ways with one another. This Saturday, Sept. 24, is the second annual Park City Neighbor Day. Launched by Leadership Park City — Class XXI in 2015, Neighbor Day is a designated Park City holiday designed to build and celebrate community connection. In our small town, it’s as easy as making eye contact on your daily dog walk, waving from your car, or dropping off a book or baked goods to someone who is sick. Patrick Overton is the Director of the Front Porch Institute in Oregon. His writings lament how we have replaced the public front porch with the private back deck. His work demonstrates how the arts and storytelling can help us reconnect with our sense of place and rebuild our community relationships. Let’s echo his work. The arts help us understand issues, ideas, people, and experiences that are different from our own. They help us express ourselves and have conversations that we might not otherwise. They bring us together. Community connection is always meaningful, but especially so during fragile times. This Neighbor Day weekend commit to reaching out to those around you. Take a neighbor to a film, a performance, or an art opening (visit pcscarts.org to see what’s going on). Make a piece of art and give it to someone. Go outside with a friend and a sketchbook and share some inspiration. Or just wave, smile, and say hi. My daughters and I own the three homes and surrounding property located at 622, 652, and 660 Rossie Hill Drive. My family has owned these three homes for about 100 years. I was born in the middle white house in November, 1932. My father, Austin Henry Dennis, died in 1935, due to a cave-in at the Park City mine. My mother, Glady Wood Dennis, lived in the house until her death in 1992, at age 88. I went to Park City middle schools and graduated from Park City High School in 1951 then served in the Army during the Korean War. I received the G.I. Bill and graduated from the University of Utah. My wife’s name is LaRue and I have two daughters and 5 grandchildren. After living in and owning these properties for decades, my mother and I became aware that the U. S. Bureau of Land Management owned the title to the properties. In October 2007, my daughters and I filed an application with the BLM to acquire the titles under the federal Color of Title Act, the same Hadley Dynak Park City Summit County Arts Council PLI, Running Out the Clock Editor: The Public Lands Initiative’s website states that the PLI is an “effort to bring For the record door concerts. But when we want a little elbow room for ourselves, not so much. More importantly, the constant flow of business generated by the expanding summer events schedule has smoothed out the town’s seasonal economy, turning skiseason jobs into year-round professions and offering local merchants an important measure of stability. However, Park City may be reaching its special events limit. In August, for instance, there was a cascade of scheduling conflicts between the Tour of Utah, The Park City Kimball Arts Festival, the Summit County Fair and the Park Silly Sunday Market -- each of which took place against a backdrop of softball, soccer or other tournaments competing for many of the same hotel rooms, restaurant reservations and parking places. The month gave rise to a new epidemic dubbed ‘event fatigue’ from which some residents and city staffers are still recovering. In response the City Council is reviewing its special events policies with an eye toward reducing negative impacts on the community and clarifying the criteria for new events. The goal is to find a balance that sustains a vital economic base while also ensuring that locals enjoy their summer in the city, too. resolution and certainty to some of the most challenging land disputes in Utah.” I believe the PLI has fallen considerably short of that goal. When it was first released, one of the red flags for me was the proposed abolishment of the Antiquities Act, the measure that U.S. presidents have used to establish such parks as the Grand Canyon, Capitol Reef and Zion national parks. Then I researched what conservation groups thought of the PLI. I came up with quotes like “it rolls back existing protections on our wild lands” and “its National Conservation Areas are riddled with loopholes… allowing things like mining, deforestation projects and rampant development.” Also disconcerting was the tiny percentage of Utahns allowed to participate in the PLI process. The two million people living on the Wasatch Front were among those left out of the process. It now seems the purpose of the process that the Bertagnoles followed to obtain title to the adjacent parcel in 2013. Our application is still pending, but we have good reason to believe it will be granted and we will obtain clear title to the properties, which together total about three-quarters of an acre. I recently received an e-mail from Anya Grahn, Park City Planning Department, stating that the Planning Department will be recommending to the City Council a rezoning of my properties, as well as the home at 632 Deer Valley Loop. While it is not at all clear what type of rezoning would be sought, it is readily apparent that the move would be toward reducing density. The materials include a petition from a newly formed group called the Save Rossie Hill Historic Open Space group, signed by some 300 people (many from places other than Park City). My question is, where were these people when all the homes were built on Rossie Hill Drive, which previously was open space? Also, where were they when the condo was built a few years ago, right next to the home Beth Fratkin rents from me? All these homeowners, builders, and condo owners made financial gains off of their properties with Park City Planning Department’s approval. Now the petition for open space on Rossie Hill wants to pass a re-zone of our properties, which would presumably devalue them. If our property was re-zoned to open space, it would discriminate against our constitutional rights! The preservation of open space by preventing otherwise lawful development on our properties, which together are a little over one acre, may have been a legitimate public goal years ago, before all other properties in the area were developed. Further, to the extent the City believes it is appropriate to create a park or put the properties to some other public use, it can certainly negotiate for a purchase. In fact, in May of this year we had a telephone meeting between our family and Heinrich Deters and Tom Daley of Park City Municipal. I told them I was willing to sell my property to Park City at fair market value. The offer still stands, subject to satisfactory resolution of our Color of Title application with the BLM. I humbly request that the Honorable Mayor and the Park City Council reject the petition to re-zone. PLI is to give Washington hope, false hope, that Utahns can resolve their land issues. That this will create enough hesitation and run out the clock so President Obama doesn’t use the Antiquities Act to create the Southern Utah, Bears Ears National Monument by the end of his presidential term. Of course this is all interrelated to Utah’s looming lawsuit against the federal government to gain control of Utah’s public lands. First the PLI, then the land grab of Utah’s public lands, then what? Secession from the United States and the formation of the Independent Republic of Utah? Politicians come and go, we all do… but the land stays forever. Let’s be good guardians and stewards of the land for us, all its inhabitants and for all generations of Americans to come. City needs to provide for its senior citizens Peter Gatch Park City Editor: Becca Gerber’s recent plea for more low-priced housing is a given here in Park City! BUT what about the growing need for a place for our seniors who have contributed so much over the years to the enhancement of our community! We as seniors do not want to move SOUTH. We want to stay in Park City! In order for us to remain here we need a senior-living facility that offers assisted living with continuum care. Over the years this issue has been addressed several times, to no avail. Many of our present leaders are aging; where will you go? NOW is the time to act!! Jan Zinn, Barbara Wine, Gerd Holmsen Arguilar, Tony Aguilar, Jinny and Ben Vallor, Karl Walker Park City Photos by Tanzi Propst Asked at the USC marching band parade on Main Street Which college sports rivalry do you most look forward to? What side are you on? Jim Vanderwest Park City Nate Taggert Syracuse, Utah Liz Davis & Bonnie Liedlich Laguna Beach & Mission Viejo, California Jim Bauchiero Nashville, Tennessee Randy Hall & Linda Hall-Arnold Park City “I’m a Utah fan and will root for anyone playing BYU, always.” “BYU vs. Utah. I am on the BYU side and am glad to see the rivalry back.” “USC vs. Notre Dame and USC vs. UCLA… we, of course, root for USC.” “USC vs. Notre Dame…gotta root for USC.” “We’re fans of the USC band, but are Utah fans!” See these photos and more by following The Park Record on Facebook.com/parkrecord. |