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Show MewjpoDflnntl The Park Record D Section A Thursday, September 21, 1995 D Page A14 Summit citizens are getting stiffed for their new slammer Editorial Congratulations Summit County taxpayers! You're the proud owners of 15 acres of property in the Snyderville Basin recently purchased by your county commissioners at the bargain basement price of...a million dollars? Yep, that's right. And that doesn't include the $200,000 it's going to take to provide water to the county's new jailjustice center which will be located there. On Monday, commissioners nailed down the , deal to purchase property from landowner Bob Larsen. They bypassed other options on land, including one offer of 10 acres for free, to secure this site adjacent to the Silver Creek Commerce Center. While the Larsen property may have been the preferred site in Bi77l" 11 1 ,m terms of size and topography, it may not have been the best site in terms of cost. There is also some question whether other landowners were given a fair shake by the county when commissioners were considering sites. For example, the Gillmor site was offered free of charge, but there was no infrastructure on it. Would the costs of building infrastructure there have surmounted $1.2 million? We don't know. To our knowledge, the commissioners didn't crunch the numbers. They didn't want that site! And apparently, they didn't want a couple of other sites which didn't meet their criteria either. The county's deal with Larsen really came as no surprise. Two of the current county commissioners, Tom Flinders and Jim Soter, have a history of deal-making with Larsen. They greased the wheels for the creation of the Silver Creek Commerce Center back in the late 1980s, which was built on property owned by Larsen, with the aid of a county-authorized redevelopment agency. The irony in that situation is that county taxpayers funded the infrastructure for the park, and are now having to pay once again to use the roads and sewer lines they paid for. Consider also, it was the infrastructure residents paid for that caused the value of the land to more than double over seven years, from $25,000 an acre to $66,5000. Interestingly, Larsen had not paid his taxes on that property for three years because he was protesting the increase in appraised value. But we see by this transaction, Larsen didn't hesitate to demand market value when it came to selling the land. Additionally, if the land hadn't been worth that price, we certainly would have expected to see real estate professional Commissioner Tom Flinders step forward to drive a harder bargain. The new Summit County Jail and Justice Center is already getting off to a rocky start. It is six weeks behind schedule and, in terms of land acquisition, over budget. When plans for a new jail originally were drawn up, land costs were estimated; at $500,000 to $600,000, not double that amount. Citizens who generously voted for the bond and trusted their county commissioners to oversee this, the most expensive project in the county's history, have every right to be concerned. Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down THUMBS DOWN to Police Chief Frank Bell for taking issue with the proposed name of Park City's newest private club, the Stag R Inn. Surely there must be more pressing business for our chief of police than the role of, at best, mother hen, or much worse, censor. Regardless of the image of the name in , -question, Bell's opposition is dangerously close to a Violation of the owner's First Amendment rights. Quotes of the Week "We are not a pro-growth commission' -Summit County Commissioner Tom Flinders regarding a proposal to divide the county into two planning districts 'Tatty was typical of the very exceptional people who make Park City such a great community." . - . . ... e.. ' --Joan Calder, executive director of the Park City ChamberBureau, on the murder of Patricia Blanchard "This was a rout-no 'ef is necessary." -Wasatch footbal fan after the Wasps beat the PCHS Miners 26-0 on Friday, Sept. 1 5 "I'd like to see how you put a positive spin on that. " -PCHS football parent after the same game "What is to keep you from stacking the deck with those who agree with your feelings toward development?" -Michelle Sweet to the Summit County Commissioners regarding the appointment of new planning commission members The opinions expressed in our guest editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the Park Record. STAFF Mm BESS Publisher ..................................... Andy Bernhard EoiTOt ...Sena Flanders Staff Writers ...................Nan Chalat-Noajcer, Luke Smith, Adam Elggren, Lrta Antonucci Brian Fryer, Nate Ferguson Contributing WiTERS...................Tom Clyde, Rick Brough OfFKEMANACE............................................Kim Dudley Classified MANACER....................................Beverly Robiton Subscription Manager Rachelle Eickhoff SubscriptionsFront DESK..................................Kim Hamm Advertising Director ....................................Tracy Harden Advertising Su.ES...........Donna Berger,Courtney Wheaton Jennifer Guiltinan, Jenece Lemon Photographer & DAmoOM.....................David Bertinelli Production Manager ..................................... (Cathy Eckel Production... ............................ Daintrie Zega, Scott Aste, Yvonne Ruth, Camille Ducharme Annette Worlton, Carin Stimolo Editorial PootxrrioN............................,...,.........Kat James Circulation Dan Wentworth, Jen lmlay,Dick Elgin CARTOONisT.............................................Michael Draper The Park Record (USPS 0037-8730) 0037-8730) is published weekly by diversified Suburban Newspapers, 1670 Bonanza Dr., Park City, UT. Second Class Postage in Park City, UT. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Park Record, Box 3688, Park City, UT 84060. Entered as second class matter, May 25, 1977 at the post office in Park City, UT 84060, under the Act of March 3, 1897. Subscription rates are $20 inside Summit County, $40 outside Summit County, UT. Phone (801) 649-9014. Published every Thursday. XZJ :STI VumPoZMM If A J J vL , J vr0tJrsoct Iv y J) l&i fcs?nfc&uRct P L Qlr1 . ' GATT keeps low-cost drugs from seniors who need them by MARTHA A. MCSTEEN, president National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare A recent headline in the Philadelphia Inquirer's business section says it all: "GATT treaty could keep prices of U.S. drugs high." Unfortunate news, but true. Patent changes approved last year under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) treaty have been Jnterpre.ted by the Food, . ,and Drug Administration to mean that the availability of lower- priced generic versions of more than a dozen drugs must be delayed. That means seniors and other consumers will wait longer for access to less-costly generic drugs. The new ruling by the Food and Drug Administration extends the life of a drug's patent protection for as much as 761 days. Longer exclusive marketing rights will mean consumers will continue to pay more for some drugs, even though they could be paying less. For example, in early August, the antihypertensive anti-hypertensive drug Capoten, used to treat high blood pressure, was slated to go off-patent. About 15 million prescriptions are written every year for Capoten, at an average wholesale price of $56.29. Makers of generic equivalents were prepared to bring less expensive versions to drugstore shelves nationwide. But now, before the new patent expiration date, the drug's manufacturer will make at least an additional $400 million in a competitive-free market! In total, the FDA decision will cost consumers almost $2 billion for the 12 affected drugs. This ruling especially impacts seniors, as older American consume about a third of the $64 billion spent on prescription drugs annually in the United States. Prescription drugs are the largest out-of- Guest Editorial pocket expense for three out of every four seniors. There is strong evidence that the sooner generics come to market, the sooner they will produce savings. According to the Generic Drug Equity Coalition, a 21 -member group of health care, drug industry, consumer and senior groups, the price of Glaxo's anti-ulcer drug Zantac fell 30 percent in Germany in anticipation of competition for generics. In addition, seniors would save an estimated $517 million as a result of reversing the ruling here An the United, Sjgtes,,,.,, X-. The negative effects of this ruling might have been unintended, but it's a costly oversight at a time when health care savings are more important to seniors than ever. Because generic drugs cost consumers much less than their name-brand versions, getting them into the marketplace quickly is vital to seniors and other Americans. Contact your lawmakers immediately and ask them to support Senator David Pryor's (D-Ark.) bill to return the pre-GATT patent rules. This is not what Congress intended when it approved the GATT treaty in 1994. Specific transition rules were included in GATT, implementing legislation to allow generic drugs to be marketed based on pre-GATT expiration dates. Congress should quickly pass Pryor's legislation requiring the FDA to use pre-GATT expiration dates for determining when generic drugs can be certified for marketing and made available to consumers. Without the change, several important prescription drugs will continue their patents well beyond their intended time span. Let consumers benefit from price competition. That's the American way. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare is a member of the Generic Drug Equity Coalition. For more information, contact Kris Phillips at (703) 835-9811. Voter Registration Tuesday, Sept. 26, is the last day to register to vote in the Primary v Election on Oct. 3. Registration agents will be available at the following locations to register between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Please call the City ; Recorder at 645-5008 to determine what district you live in. District 1 - Deer Valley Debbie Axtell, 321 McHenrySt. District 2 - Old Town Edna Fisher, 1 274 Park Ave. District 3 - Prospector Kathryn Herschberg, 2326 Comstock Dr.- District 4 - Thaynes Kathryn Richards, 510 Payday Dr. Districts 5 and 6 - Park Meadows, Quarry Mountain Marsac Building, 445 Marsac Ave. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION 1 Year inside Summit County, $20, outside Summit County, $40 2 Years inside Summit County, $36, outside Summit County, $75 Mastercard or Visa No. Name Exp. Date: Mailing Address. Payment must be received before , subscription begins. ' Thank You Mail to: The Park Record, P.O. Box 3688, Park City, Utah 84060, (801) 649-9014 |