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Show ' J J mrPirhdly TT l-BPK 1 IIV Newspaper 1 u i 0t?m wo'urjuwww r kin: .; f -j?jwa i.iiiiw,iwiii)iiiMuiigjM ' i. ..... . . -s , ... . r niniinmiTT-iriinii i -1 r i rim fi hi mi m mri-iM inn ininiii liiiiniri mnritr rmMwrMrmmmtMmmmMmmmtii1 .' Vol. VIII, No. 24 Resort sales lax oes to Utah Semiate House Bill 185, which would allow Park City to raise its sales tax by up to one percent, was passed Monday by the Utah House of Representatives and is awaiting action by the Senate. . The Resort Communities Sales Tax Bill would, if passed into law, pave the way for certain Utah communities, where the number of transient beds exceeds the census population, to raise their local sales tax by up to one percent. per-cent. At present, only three Utah communities would qualify: Park City, Alta and Brian Head. Five days after State Rep. Glen Brown gave the bill a 50-50 chance, the bill passed the House by an overwhelming over-whelming 48-16 margin. City Manager Arlene Loble gave much of the credit of the persistent lobbying of a number of Park City officials. "It's been a real all-out effort," she said. On Monday, when the bill reached the floor of the House, no less than six Park City officials were in attendance: " Loble, Mayor Jack Green City Council USSA competition division to leave PC The competition division of the United States Ski Association (USSA) has revealed plans to move its headquarters from Park City to Colorado Springs. "The board of directors of USSA competition voted that, for a variety of reasons, it would be beneficial to move our operations to Colorado Springs on or about May 1," Howard Peterson, executive director of the competition division, said Wednesday. Peterson pointed out that Colorado Springs is the headquarters of the U.S. Olympic Committee and would be able to provide, at minimal cost, services such as office space, telephones, and room and board for out-of-town visitors. "A major factor is the cost effectiveness effec-tiveness of that location over any other," he said. ) - Robert i I. 4 t ' - v0 " ...... members Helen Alvarez, Tina Lewis and Bill Coleman, as well as Debby Symonds, executive director of the Park City ChamberBureau. Loble said the Park City delegation was regarded with skepticism by some of the professional lobbyists at the Capitol before the vote was taken on the bill. She estimated that, of the 48 Representatives who voted for the bill, at least 30 were contacted by at least one Park City delegate, and several of the others were seen as "safe" yes votes. "We really did get the votes of the people we talked to." The bill is now awaiting action by the Senate Rules Committee. Loble said the biggest concern of the Park City delegation is the limited time left in the session. "We've only got eight working days," she said Tuesday. "Our biggest problem right now is whether or not we'll get to be heard. We'll be counting on Glade Sowards; chairman of the Peterson also noted that the move would put the organization closer to the governing bodies of other Olympic sports. "To a great extent we're all in the same business the business of athlete developm ent . " , The USSA's competition division -is the governing body over domestic ski racing. The United States Ski Team, also headquartered in Park City, supervises international competition for American skiers. Ironically, the USSA's competition division had its headquarters in Colorado Springs about 15 years ago. From there it moved to Denver and from there, about three years ago, it moved to Park City. Until last November, the USSA and the U.S. Ski Team shared office space in the Treasure Mountain Inn at the top of Main Street. However, a shortage of Williams Calendar A15 Sports B9 Classified .... B15 Tube Times . . . B13 Limelight ..... Bl Viewpoint A2 Thursday, March 3, 1983 bill Rules Committee, to get us a good priority." Sen. Sowards, a Republican from Vernal, represents a six-county area which includes Summit County. As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the Rules Committee had taken no action on the bill. The Resort Communities Sales Tax Bill is seen by Park City officials as a way to shift a portion of the bill for local services such as police and snow removal off the shoulders of those who pay property taxes. It would allow Park City to impose the additional one percent sales tax on all purchases less than $2,500. It has been estimated that the extra one percent could raise $800,000 a year. As currently written, the bill would allow the sales tax increase to be mandated man-dated by the City Council. Brown predicted last week that the bill might be amended on the floor of the House to require a vote of the people. However, no such amendment was proposed. ' space prompted the USSA to move to the Park Meadows Plaza, to the offices formerly occupied by Marker, USA. According to Peterson, the organization has an office staff of about 15 people, of whom about half will be moving to Colorado Springs. "Being located in a resort town has its benefits and its drawbacks," Peterson said. While Park City provides an excellent ex-cellent quality of life for the staff, it is too removed from the support services the organization needs, he said. Kristi Scott, executive assistant with the U.S. Ski Team said that organization had no plans to follow suit. "We plan to stay here in Park City," she said. "It's our home, and we're proud of it." Legal bloodhounds catch wrong Last Friday began innocently enough for county treasurer Bob Williams but by the end of the day virtually vir-tually everything he owned had been taken from him. It turned out it was all a big mix up. A case of mistaken identity iden-tity on the part of a California insurance insur-ance company which was seeking to recover compensation from a different Robert Williams who misused company com-pany funds. But for a while last Friday, Park City's Bob Williams was worried and upset over the whole incident. He is now considering the possibility of pursuing pur-suing legal recourse for the harrassment, embarrassment and loss of reputation he says the incident caused him. Willip.ms' day last Friday took a turn .or the worse about noon as the insurance company Middlesex Mutual began attaching his property. The first Williams heard of it was when he learned mid-day that a rental property pro-perty of his had been seized. A personal per-sonal friend, constable Tom Hurd, came to attach his car and trailer and a claim was placed on his bank account. While Williams scrambled to find out what was going on, he found his property being systematically taken away. "By four o'clock, I was pretty well under control by the sovereign state of Utah," he recalls. Williams immediately protested the ) 9 A l: r ( I l,jv r-( t . ' 1 fm : " T six Ss,", Z wJ j, v I - I ttt - " , I' 1 J? , . . ' . I"-- I umil 1 5 -l' I It's easy! actions, and agents for the company discovered they had the wrong man. By 5 p.m. Friday, the attachments were dismissed by Judge Kenneth Rigtrup, an action agreed to by Williams' lawyer, Gordon Strachan, and the company's representative, Richard Giauque. "Gordon Strachan was magnificent," Williams says. "Within an hour, the case was before Judge Rigtrup." Letters have been sent calling back the writs placed on his property. The file of information on the case has been sealed. Attorney Fraser has sent a letter let-ter of apology, saying he was "deeply distressed" by the mistake. "That closes phase one," said Williams. He is now studying the incident in-cident with his attorney to see if a libel suit should be filed. "I intend to pursue whatever rights and compensation are due me," he says. Williams said the case has brought a personal toll. "My wife didn't go to the local market this weekend. She kept wondering, what if somebody said something?" The stealing charge comes after a brief service as treasurer in which he has already personally per-sonally handled $4 million of county money. He says that Friday's actions labeled him a criminal in front of his friends and co-workers, and In his position as county treasurer. "That B3 Can an artist who paints nudes survive in Utah? Trevor Southey tells how. Story by Rick Brough. It Tamas and Barbara Korpas say there's more to Park City than chasing chas-ing powder. Story by Nan Chalat, Page A7. whole office is a matter of trust," he said. Williams said he considered resigning. But the county commission told him to stay where he was. After being apprised of the situation, said commissioner Cliff Blonquist, "We felt there was no wrong doing. We have an exceptional person here. We gave him a full go." Williams said he will return to work as treasurer on Thursday. The case contains a few ironies. While attorney Fraser pursued the missing Robert Williams (believing at one point he might be in Mexico) our Bob Williams actually did work in Los Angeles as an insurance agent until 1979, when he moved to Utah. Williams worked for Albert G. Rubin & Company, the largest insurance brokerage firm in California. "My yearly basic salary was three times more than what they said I stole! " said Williams. In addition, Williams knew the guilty Robert H. Williams. Williams recalled that Robert H. was a "good ol' boy" who was active with the horse owners in northern Los Angeles. "If he's anywhere, he's at the racetrack," said Williams. The guilty Robert Williams was an agent for the Middlesex Mutual of Los Angeles. He disappeared in 1973 after being charged for withholding $150,000 in premiums from the firm. In a legal A T n Two Sections, 32 Pages Snowmobile ride ends in tragedy A Salt Lake snowmobiler died, but his partner was rescued by search parties, par-ties, after the two men got lost Saturday Satur-day night in a rugged area west of Coalville. Brad Hill, 19, of Sandy was found Monday morning, struggling through deep snow, by a helicopter searcher. At the same time, Mike Buck, 18, of Midvale was found dead in a snow cave in the East Canyon area. Both Hill and Buck were only days away from beginning their missions for the Mormon Church. Buck was to have been ordained an Elder at stake conference last Sunday. Buck was also senior class president at Hillcrest High School last year. The pair went on a snowmobile ride Saturday afternoon in the mountain area between Coalville, to the east, and the East Canyon Resort to the west. "They rode south along the ridge towards the Park City area," said Eley. "Then they turned west down the ridge into Big Dutch Canyon." The two couldn't get their vehicle back up the hill, he said, because the snow was too deep and unpacked. "You wouldn't think there's that rough of country there," said Eley, "but it has some real deep canyons and ridges.'" Buck and Hill built a snowcave to get through Saturday night. Eley said if the two had continued down Big Dutch they would have come to the Mac-Farlane Mac-Farlane Ranch, just above the East Canyon Resort. A search started on snowmobiles early Sunday morning, in snow and completely overcast conditions, said Eley. Twelve to fifteen county officers were joined on mobiles by 75-80 volunteers volun-teers from Salt Lake. Helicopters were pressed into service Monday after the weather cleared up. An autopsy is being prepared by te State Medical Examiners office. Eley advised snowmobilers not to go riding in areas that are unfamiliar to them or at least they should not go too far away from their home base. "Check the weather conditions," he concluded. "You can get lost real easy in a storm." prey statement, Middlesex attorney Edgar Fraser said he had traced the guilty party to Park City. The company's agents said they acted ac-ted with good faith on inaccurate information in-formation and that they corrected the mistake when they learned about it. Attorney Edgar Fraser says his office of-fice periodically checks for any record of the guilty Robert H. Williams (who has the s".me middle initial as the local Williams). Three weeks ago, Fraser told the Newspaper, a check with the California Insurance Commission showed that they had once licensed a "Robert H. Williams" who had moved to Utah. The Commission also said that the Williams in Utah is the only Robert H. in their records, an obvious oversight. over-sight. "I still don't know why that mistake was made," commented Fraser. To file the writs locally, Fraser contacted Giauque, who said he also asked if they were sure they had found the right Williams. The writs were served on the last weekday before the ten-year statute of limitations on the case ran out. But that doesn't mean the guilty Robert Williams is home free. "Prior to this action, we filed a new action to renew the judgment against him. We hope eventually to find him," said Fraser. Referring to the false charges, Fraser said, "If there is any blame, it rests with me." |