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Show Saturday, September 7. 1996 The Park Record A-13 EDITORIAL Impact fee Everyone started out with such good intentions that it is hard to believe it has come to this lists of lawsuits, law-suits, accusations and bad feelings. When the concept of an impact fee, to help offset the strain of new growth on school facilities, was first proposed, one developer was so supportive he offered to donate the money, even though the law wasn't yet on the books. Now that same developer is threatening to sue unless he gets a share of the refund. - To some degree Park City-area residents resi-dents can blame the state legislature for putting them in this awkward position. After all the local community decided it was willing to charge the fees and to stand up to possibility that they would not be popular. And, although many grumbled, builders and developers in the Park City School District had come to accept the school impact fee as part of LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Applause from some paws Editor: In a world quick to criticize but slow to commend I would like to express my extreme gratitude. On behalf of all my feline and canine companions, I wish to thank Friends of Animals volunteers and all of their supporters in our community. Friends of Animals is a compassionate group of volunteers who dedicate their time to caring for abandoned, abused or orphaned pets. They open their hearts and often their homes to give us shelter, love and a chance to live. Carol Harvey deserves special mention. She is president of Friends of Animals and is devoted to helping us. - Carol and Friends have made frequent trips to the shelter to remove one of us before we are put to sleep. Although Carol's poor husband hus-band Alan is often more neglected than are we, he is patient and supportive, despite the fact that he never gets to use his own phone. Thank you Carol and Alan! Friends of Animals volunteers have - Teen working extra hard lately to prepare for their big annual fundraiser. "Pet Olympics" and "Pet Fest '96" will be held ' on Sept. 21 at the Park City Resort Center. The day begins with registration at 9 a.m. for a one-mile petowner race to be held at 11 a.m. Race participants consist of petowner teams who can choose to either run or walkFor a $10 entrance fee, the pet receives a special bandanna in addition to ; other treats and the owner is provided with -a delicious lunch. There will be prizes for numerous age divisions so there will be many race winners. Prizes will also be awarded to those who bring in pledge sheets with the most sponsors. Pledge -sheets can be found around town at many places including our grocery stores and the Racquet Club. The silent auction will begin at 11 a.m.. -Friends of Animals volunteers have been "gathering fabulous prizes including framed artwork from local galleries, pet baskets and a gourmet meal (including wine) for eight people at the home of Carmen and .Rick Rogers. Park City is inundated with fundraisers and we know our merchants are DOGGONE tired of being asked to give, give, give. Nevertheless, many of you have said "yes" again to help animals. My animal friends and the Friends of Animals volunteers volun-teers want you to know how grateful we are -for your support. Anyone who has not yet ' been contacted can still donate goods or services by calling Laura Pollard at 649-0066. 649-0066. "Pet Fest" participants can also win prizes for the "best dressed" petowner pairs, so start working on those costumes. The winner of the "best dressed" contest will also receive an 8x10 photo, compliments compli-ments of "Paw Prints" a new pet portrait company which will be on site all day. Spot prizes (no pun intended) for miscellaneous pet trivia will also be awarded all day long. A special thanks goes to high school student stu-dent Bryce Tsao, who drew the design for our new T-shirts. Professional artist and For the What brought you to Park City? ii i urn nil Lm w IjWIumOTWWOTffiWW ' If Laura Amezeua Cashier; from Mexico City "My mother brought me to Park ! City. I stay because I love the ; atmosphere and it's a wonderful ; place to raise kids." waters getting muddy the cost of doing business in one of the most desirable areas in the country. It wasn't until the impact fees were rescinded rescind-ed by the legislators that a Pandora's box of conflict was thrown open. In the wake of the legislature's decision deci-sion and to avoid any possibility of litigation liti-gation the school district immediately announced its intention to return the funds, about $2 million, which had been kept in escrow just in case the policy was contested. At first glance it seemed as though it would be pretty simple to issue refunds, and everyone would be satisfied without having to resort to hiring lawyers and tying up the money in the courts for years. Apparently, though, nothing these days is simple. Despite the school district's dis-trict's promise that checks will be in the mail, property owners and developers graphic designer Greg and Hollie Ragland provided the finishing touches. We appreciate appreci-ate all of their time. For a $15 donation to Friends of Animals, members receive a T-shirt T-shirt and newsletter. T-shirts will be available avail-able at "Pet Fest." September 21 will be a fun-filled day for all two-legged and four-legged friends who attend, so dont miss out! It will also be a great day for us to express our appreciation for our best friend, man. Thank you, Fido Highest and best use Editor, Recent reports in this paper and on KPCW have highlighted the dilemma of defining "open space" in Park City's General Plan. I can make all the economic and legal arguments in support of keeping our open space simple, but I've decided not to we've all heard those arguments before. Instead, I'd just like to tell you about myself and my children, Robert and Brandon. As a child, I sought the limits of my strength by climbing the densely forested mountains behind my house in the Philippines. I found that my only true limit was the number, of daylight hours left before I had to return, home. Later, I was able to explore even further on the back of my painted pony. Those long rides were a great comfort to me as I struggled to find my teenage identity. My son Robert, barely eight, pushes to find himself and identify his own strengths by trekking off into the hills of Telemark Park and McKinley Gap. We have been hiking here, summer and winter, since he could barely walk. My adult legs would prefer pre-fer a strong push into the High Uintas, but for Robert, the hills around Park City are just right. I'm sharing these reflections because I am disturbed by the Park City Planning Commission's recent arguments over the priority to be placed on different types of open space. The members of the planning commission are attempting to value our open space. Maybe Robert and I can help. Mr. Calder, when we have a few hours on our hands, or when Robert and his brother Brandon have been scrapping with each other, we don't go to the noise and frenzy of the City Park playground. I take them up a trail, onto a ridge, and then to the top of the nearest mountain. When we come down we are a much more peaceful family. In the winter, we love skiing the trees on a powder day. Sometimes, we just put our snowshoes on and bushwhack through the scrub oak. No amount of riding the $50-per-day lifts at Deer Valley Ski Area will bring me closer to my children and myself than when we sit in a grove of aspen trees and listen to the silence of a sunny winter morning. How can I place a value on this kind of record Alejandro Rea Construction worker; from Michoacan, Mexico "I came to Park City because it is a very calm city. I've been here for three years. There is no violence." . v f ... are already hiring legal counsel to wage war over who actually paid the fees and who should be eligible for the refunds. Wouldn't it be simpler to just sign the money over to the Park City Education Foundation and claim a tax deduction? Think of the money, time, legal fees, headaches and aggravation one could avoid. At this point fighting over the refund is counter-productive to everyone involved most of all to the school district dis-trict which may end up, after all is said and done, losing money as a result of the whole fiasco. And if the school district loses we all lose. Not only because the district eventually even-tually will have to raise everyone's property prop-erty taxes to meet its bond obligation for new buildings and additions, but because it diminishes the quality of our children's education. open space? It brings no tax revenues. It doesn't exploit the full potential of the land. It doesn't provide more playing fields or parking spaces. But somehow, it is the highest high-est and best use of the land. So, planning commission, dont be so sure that what we want in Park City is more developed land, more ski runs, more playing play-ing fields or parking lots. Kerri Hays-Walzer Hays-Walzer echoes the sentiments of many of us in Park City who are satisfied with some plain old open space a few trees, a few trails, some wildflowers and an assortment of potguts, deer, sage hens and the occasional occa-sional moose. I guess my strongest and final argument is that once you mow down a thousand pine and aspen trees to cut a ski run, once you scrape the natural vegetation of a meadow to make a playing field, you have lost a wild quality that can never be regained. Isn't our natural environment disappearing disappear-ing fast enough without some members of the planning commission hastening the process by placing a higher value on ski runs and playing fields than on undisturbed open space? Very truly yours, Maria L. Booth Setting the record straight Editor: I am writing in response to the article regarding Deer Valley Resort's purchase of employee housing that appeared in the Wednesday, Sept. 4, issue of the Park Record. The overall tone of the article, I feel, presents an inaccurate view of the intent of the purchase by Deer Valley. We at Deer Valley take pride in the positive pos-itive and cooperative relationship that exists between ourselves, Park City Ski Area and Wolf Mountain. In no way was the intent of the purchase to position the other resorts in a negative light. Deer Valley was addressing a business issue which has been a concern to our community communi-ty for some time the lack of affordable housing for seasonal employees. Never did we view the acquisition in relation to the impact on other resorts. We understand they, too, are working on solutions to the issue and wish them luck in their endeavors as more affordable employee housing will benefit the entire community. The employees of Deer Valley are valued val-ued and viewed as an integral part of our ability to maintain a successful operation. The implied suggestion of the article, that our efforts were self-serving and covert, was discouraging to see. In addressing the issue, we felt this purchase would create a mutually beneficial situation, attracting more seasonal employees to Deer Valley, while assisting them in their housing dile-ma. dile-ma. In closing, we hope the Park City community, com-munity, the Park City Ski Area and Wolf Mountain, as well as the employees of Deer Valley, understand our intent and apologize Asked at Holiday And why do you 4 ti 1 iMMWTH 'S 1 v. iiiiir Jra Jesus Rea Chef; from Michoacan, Mexico "I came here 10 years ago to look for a better way of life. I was picking peaches in Ogden when a friend told me about Park City." 8 i for any confusion or misconception created by the article. Sincerely, Bob Wheaton, vice president and general manager, Deer Valley Resort Let your voice be heard Editor: I have had the pleasure and benefit of being a participant in the Second class of Park City Leadership 2000. I have gained the knowledge and appreciation of learning more about the process of how local and state governing bodies work and how to be more effective in the process. I have also had the pleasure of experiencing experi-encing all that Park City has to offer in terms of lifestyle from being a ski instructor to a loan officer. I continue to develop and maintain relationships in work and play with a wide variety of people and opinions. My sense is that a silent majority of people peo-ple exists that is concerned about the rate and scale of growth but will not speak up due to fear or numbness. Fear of jeopardizing jeopardiz-ing their livelihood or totally numb and apathetic because they feel they won't have any impact on the decision-making process. Saying that, I encourage everyone to understand what is being built around us. in terms of government, development and the communication of how this relates to your overall vision of Park City and our quality of life. Be aware that approximately 5.000 more housing units are already approved to be built in the Park CitySnyderville Basin area not including the 1,000 unites proposed pro-posed in Flagstaff (Daly Canyon, between Deer Valley and Park City ski areas). Do the benefits of Flagstaff outweigh the impacts of open space, traffic, affordable afford-able housing, wildlife and the environment What constitutes reasonable impact and congestion? Do we no longer value the natural nat-ural aesthetic value of the land itself? Do the rights of the developer outweigh the current zoning parameters of the land to ask for eight times the density currently allowed? Are you afraid that your voice won't be heard? Here is your chance to speak on these issues and ask the questions that will benefit our community and the vision you hold. Take the responsibility to be informed and have the courage to say something about it. Flagstaff is not an approved development devel-opment and we have the opportunity to Village like it? t. Is-,-.; It"- J V r--- : V Maria Nunez Housekeeper; from Mexico City "I came to visit a friend and ended up staying. I've been here for three years and think Park City is the most tranquil place." KEVIN MCOLUPARK RECORD shape the outcome. We arc fortunate to have city council accessible to youi questions ques-tions and concerns regarding this development. develop-ment. They want to hear from vou. They can be reached at City Hall at 645-5000. Anne N. Critchfield The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER Editor Staff writers Andy Bernhard Nan Chalat-Noaker Lisa Antonucci Cornelia deBruin Adam Elggren Brian Fryer Kirsta H Bleyle Bruce Lewis Christopher Thomas Tom Clyde Rick Brough Debra Harris Jack Fuell Kim Dudley Beverly Robison LeahSzwec Rachelle Eickhoff Tracy Harden Donna Berger Mary Hall Sharon Paterson Angela Swensen Courtney Wheatcn Scott Aste Jason Osburn Yvonne Ruth Daintrie Zega Anna Penry Melissa Briley Tricia Symes Melissa Hyde Kat James Scott Sine Dick Elgin Karen Yetter Michael Draper Tim Peterson Kevin Nicoll Contributing writers Office manager Classifieds manager Classifieds Subscriptions manager Advertising director Advertising sales Production Editorial production Photographer Circulation CartoonistsIllustrators The Park Reecid (I'SI'S 378-73(1) (ISSN 0745-9483) 0745-9483) is published twice weekly b divcrsilied Suburban Newspapers. 1670 Bonanza Dr.. Park Citv. Utah. Periodicals Postage paid at Park Cn. Utah. 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