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Show Park Record Thursday, March 19, 1987 Page A13 Amidl n It (Boes by Tom Clyde Hot times in Heber A small mountain town is being ripped apart by controversy con-troversy over the design of a major project qn its Main Street. Some in town want it to adopt a specific theme, others favor another theme, and still others want it to be good new design. The project is huge, the biggest the town has ever seen, and emotions are running high. If this all sounds vaguely familiar, don't worry. Randy Fields is not proposing another mall for Park City. After the grief he took over that project, I think Randy would think long and hard about building a dog house here. That fight tore Park City apart for a couple of years. Reasonable people became unreasonable about it still, and I don't think any conclusions were reached. This time, the architectural theme debate is flaring in Heber City, our sister across the mountain. And you thought they only cared about sequins and drill teams. A large tract of land at the north end of town, literally on the front porch of Heber, has just been sold to a developer who plans to build a shopping center there. The plan will have a new supermarket, and several other retail spaces. For Heber, this is the first significant signifi-cant change on Main Street since the old Courthouse was torn down and replaced with a bland structure that looks like sort of a cross between a school, library, and branch bank. The developer of the shopping center has given the City Ci-ty a choice that would put the Park City Planning Department into a real dither. The offer is this. If the City Ci-ty will tell the developer what architectural theme it would like him to use, he will adopt it on the facade of his shopping center. That's quite an offier for a developer, and the community has come to loggerheads over it. There is one faction, led by the Wasatch Wave newspaper that favors a western theme, sort of a Wild West approach that is more or less consistant with the Heber Creeper and the Old Towne (they use the "e" on "town," but not on "old"), built around the Depot. The other faction is favoring a Swiss Village theme, which ties in to the old city building in Midway. The discussion has been devisive enough within Heber itself. Now the Midway people are up in arms about Heber stealing their Swiss image, and presumably their retail sales. Personally, I have a hard time with either approach. First of all, why are they trying so hard to set up a historic theme that ties to something that never was? The original settlers of Midway were Swiss, including my grandmother's family. They were so Swiss that her parents spoke German until the day they died. But the architecture is not really Swiss. The prominent red houses were a popular nineteenth century design from right here in the U.S. of A. They were well done, and have been scrupulously maintained for generations, that much is Swiss. The design however, was pretty much the split level of thel880's. The Old West theme is also a little probelmatical for Heber. It was once the rail head for Utah's sheep industry, in-dustry, and the volume of both meat and wool shipped from Heber was enormous through the 1930's. The wool industry was a casualty of the war, though, and polyester became king of the carpet industry. The livestock industry dwindled to a point that the train stopped stop-ped running. Even at the high point, Heber was not exactly ex-actly Dodge City. The wild west was not very wild in Heber, with its conservative, family-oriented Mormon population. When the stockmen of Heber returned from months on the range, they went home to the wife and kids, not to the Long Branch to see the dance hall girls. They polished the rough edges off pretty early in Heber's history. Heber brings to mind a well ordered city, with wide streets and trees in the front yards of solid houses, not the shootout at the OK corral. Both plans, especially in the context of the proposed strip shopping center, remind me of the efforts of Cedar City to turn itself into an Elizabethan village to promote the local Shakespeare festival. The plan failed as miserably as if they had proposed growing rice in th desert west of town. It failed because it lacked authenticity. authen-ticity. There is nothing authentic about a Swiss Village strip shopping center, or Old Dodge City with acres of free parking. A shopping center by any other name is still a shopping center. The decision, fortunately, is not mine to make. If it were up to me, the new strip shopping center may not get built at all. Next to Clyde's Billiards (a distant cousin's place), I think the best building in Heber is the Pike's Peak garage, with its 1940's Pontiac sign painted on a spire. Now there's a theme to work with. But one thing is certain. Hard as the issue is for Heber to deal with, it's got them thinking about where they are, and where they want to be. Whether they turn to the Swiss plan, or the Dodge City plan, or get brave and try something that is authentic to Heber Valley's present and future, the process can be a healthy one. Despite all the fuss about the sequins, it looks like Park City and Heber are not so very different from each other. Both towns have a lot of people who care about the future enough to argue about it. There is nothing healthier for a community than a good fight about the future. I wish our neighbors well, whatever the outcome. Suummmmnit it Saomranimntt Airline investors lose big 'JatoaMelMie THE TRAIL Jackson Hole-Things Hole-Things look pretty bad for those who risked investing in a program to bring air service from Chicago to Jackson this winter. The investors were told last week they will probably lose most of the money they put up for the program, $600,000 of a $750,000 guarantee bond. According to Paul McCollister, president of Jackson Hole Ski Corportion and the moving force in implementing the plan, less than 100 percent occupancy on the twice-daily flights, too-low airfares, and flights originating from ' non-Chicago destinations were the reasons. The investors will lose their money because American Airlines, the airline providing the service, agreed to fly from Chicago to Jackson only if the town would cover any losses it incurred. "In no way do we feel we have misled the community," said Al Becker, an American Airlines spokesman. "We did not solicit this business. We said we would be interested in a contract which was structured on a basis to protect us from losses. We were willing to do it if Jackson was willing to guarantee the financial success of the service." American asked the investors to guarantee revenue of $28,000 on each flight. Despite an average 70 percent occupancy, oc-cupancy, low air fares kept that target from being reached. McCollister was advised by several people the deal with American was not a good one for Jackson, reported the Guide. But, said McCollister, "everybody in the valley will gain." He cited the ski company's $800,000 increase in-crease in revenues this winter as an example. But other investors whose businesses did not fare quite as well as McCollister's disagreed. Although one noted he "theoretically knew he could lose his investment," he said . he was nonetheless "numb" when McCollister sprung the news they could lose it all last week. Pregnancy center against abortion? Jackson-Several Jackson-Several medical professionals in Jackson Hole are charging a pregnancy counseling center there is not presenting its clients with all their options. Instead, they say, the Crisis Pregnancy Center is in fact an anti-abortion anti-abortion group which intimidates its customers and makes them feel guilty. The center is an affiliate of the Christian Action Council, Coun-cil, recently accused of sponsoring "fake abortion clinics" where women are pressured not to choose abortion. abor-tion. Rev. Don Landis, pastor of the Community Bible Church in Jackson and chairman of the CPC Board of Directors, agreed the board was "opposed to abortion," but also said there was a "smear campaign by pro-choice pro-choice people" against CPC. The medical professionals' complaint against the . center is that it is not forthright enough about its anti-abortion anti-abortion aims. "It has an obvious bias - right to life as opposed to termination. They don't say that ahead of time. I don't know that they ever say it," said Dr. Brent Blue, a Jackson family practitioner. Vail tax law gets opposition Vail-In Vail-In a controversial move, the Vail Town Council voted 5 to 2 to modify an ordinance which now limits how they spend money raised by a one percent real estate tax. The original ordinance, passed in 1979, allows the money to be spent only to buy land for recreation or open space. The town has done just that, but has no funds for improving those lands and wants to change the ordinance or-dinance to allow for spending to upgrade open space lands. At a town council meeting in early March, most residents who spoke questioned the council's modifications, modifica-tions, although they were in favor of allowing improvements. im-provements. They wanted the council to limit its transactions tran-sactions to cash only, though, to ensure no future tax increases in-creases from debt service on bonds or loans. The council resisted the suggestion, asking the member of the Board of Realtors who made the recommendation, recom-mendation, "How many units would you sell if you asked your customers to pay cash?" The council members will consider a second reading of the ordinance with amendments at its March 17 meeting. Ik I 11 11- ' Water mixed to reduce fluoride Ketchum- The city of Ketchum will be mixing water from its two wells to lower fluoride in the taps of some of its customers. One of the city's wells, No. 1, contains fluoride at levels just exceeding those considered safe. The state Division of Environment tested the well in December 1986, and reported the results in late January. The well contained 2.57 parts per million (ppm) fluoride. The state and federal standard for the chemical is 1.4 to 2.4 ppm, depending on the dimate. Since Ketchum is considered con-sidered a cold climate where people do not drink as much water, the 2.4 ppm standard is applied. Consumed in excessive levels, fluoride causes discoloration in teeth in children, and bone disease in adults and children. Luckily, though, the city has a second well which is not fed by the same warm geothermal springs which flow to well No. 1. This second well has only a trace of fluoride, and so the city will be combining water from both wells to reduce the average. "If the samples are satisfactory, we won't have to monitor again until 1988," said Ketchum water foreman Steve Hansen. By that time, the purchase of a private water utility, Ketchum Spring Water Supply Company, and its two wells which draw off the same aquifer as well No. 2, should be complete. teas., Ufa. 26 tozs open 8 am The ski sale that everybody waits for starts Thursday, March 26. You'll save up to 80 on the high quality ski equipment, apparel and accessories that JANS has become famous for. All three JANS locations Deer Valley, Park City Resort and Park Avenue. Eoj) miss ft. SPREAD YOUR WINGS! Come fly across our outdoor ice rink at The Skater's Center at the base of the Park City Ski Area! A Admission is just $3.50 for adults and $2 for kids for , .... i t two-hour sessions beginning ' at 1 0 a.m., 1 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m.. 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Bring your own skates or rent ours for $ 1 . Group and private lessons available by appointment at 649-0800. Skate sharpening, $5. At the base of the Park City Ski Area. For more information, call 649-0800. 1 ' . . ... J. |