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Show A-2 The Park Record The Park Record. Serving Summit County since 1880 The Park Record, Park City’s No. 1 source for local news, opinion and advertising, is available for home delivery in Summit, Wasatch, Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties. Single copies are also available at 116 locations throughout Park City, Heber City, Summit County and Salt Lake City. SUBSCRIPTION RATES In Summit County (home delivery): $48 per year (includes Sunday editions of The Salt Lake Tribune) Outside Summit County (home delivery available in Wasatch, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Utah counties; all other addresses will be mailed via the U.S. Postal Service): $72 per year To subscribe please call 435-6499014 or visit www.parkrecord.com and click the Subscribe link in the Tools section of the toolbar at the top of the page. To report a missing paper, please call 801-204-6100. 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Continued from A-1 Talk turns grueling The appeal also raised concerns about part of the design of the project, but the event space is seen as the emphasis of the challenge of the Planning Commission vote. The proposal to develop event space at the property has spurred widespread discussion in Park City as various interest groups see the space as being emblematic of a broader community dialog about the impact of the city’s busy calendar of special events on the citizenry. There is concern about traffic, noise and the overall loss of peaceful days in Park City as the number of special events has mounted over the years. The discussion about the historic property also has shown in stark terms the difficulties of developing in heavily restricted Old Town. The Kimball Art Center wanted to expand onto the patio at the corner of Main Street and Heber Avenue but encountered resistance to ambitious designs that many saw as not fitting along a historic streetscape. The not-for-profit arts organization eventually sold the property to a developer as a result of the unsuccessful attempt to redevelop the site. The developer, under the corporate umbrella of a California firm called Columbus Pacific Properties, is redeveloping the property. The work has started, but another permit is needed to operate event space. “It clarifies where the concerns are. We’ll work with the staff to address them. We want to be a good member of the community, too. It’s not our goal to be adversarial,” Tony Tyler, the developer’s representative, said in an interview after the vote. The Planning Commission-approved permit essentially allows outdoor events at the site and temporary tents to be erected on a terrace that is planned on the roof. The space would hold 480 people for special events. People who live on nearby streets like Park Avenue and Woodside Avenue are worried that the event space would be detrimental as the noise wafts into the surrounding neighborhood and people driving to the location search for parking spots on the residential streets. Melville on Thursday night told the City Council the neighborhood is “potentially the collateral damage.” “How would you like that in your neighborhood,” Melville said, contending the steep topography of Old Town works as “a natural amplifier” and people in the outdoor part of the event space would be heard throughout Old Town. He said the developer did not conduct a traffic study, there was no consideration given to a bus route along Heber Avenue and there would be impacts on emergency and delivery vehicles. Melville argued the event space would not draw people to Main Street shops and restaurants since attendees would head to an event and then leave. He also said the event space’s impacts on the neighborhood will “discourage primary-home ownership.” There are no public benefits of the event space, Melville said. Stafsholt said the developer “asked for the world” with the event space. He said it will be profitable if the developer schedules more events and louder ones. He wants live music prohibited, times limited for the outdoor space and the Park City Police Department equipped with sound meters. But an attorney representing the developer, Wade Budge, outlined a vastly different scenario, saying there were impacts when the property was under the ownership of the Kimball Art Center. Any issues with the proposed event space can Continued from A-1 Moose march be worked through, he said. “We’re not proposing something exotic,” Budge said, adding, “This is a use that has been carefully considered.” Tyler told the elected officials he is surprised at the amount of opposition after the Planning Commission crafted a set of conditions on the approval meant to protect the neighborhood. The mayor and City Council expressed doubts with the proposal, but they were willing to allow the developer to return to the Planning Commission rather than casting a vote overturning the lower panel’s decision. The elected officials dwelled on noise and traffic as they weighed options. City Councilor Tim Henney said the noise from an event space cannot be properly addressed. There would be noise even from conversations with lots of people at an event, he said. The traffic at the location is a “massive bottleneck already,” Henney said. “Main Street’s not hurting,” he said about business on the popular shopping, dining and entertainment strip, but also noting that Park City itself is suffering with fatigue stemming from the busyness. Beerman acknowledged there has long been a delicate balance between Old Town residents and Main Street and that balance has tipped “in the wrong direction.” He worried about the outdoor section of the proposed event space based on noise. “You cannot mitigate humans,” Beerman said. Other City Councilors offered similar comments. The mayor, an architect, meanwhile, addressed the worries about noise from an event space. He said the sound would be reflected into the neighborhood. The developer has not properly dealt with the issue, Thomas said as he also mentioned the traffic. “It’s going to be bouncing sound up the hill,” Thomas said. The audience in the City Council chambers was larger than is typical, but the appeal did not fill the room. The crowd appeared to be split on the issue with the opposition seeming to have mobilized more people on Thursday night. The elected officials received approximately one hour of testimony from 16 people. The opponents outnumbered supporters by a ratio of roughly 3-to-1. The opposition’s arguments resembled those made by City Councilors. The arguments were also made during testimony as the Planning Commission cast its vote in December. Ed Parigian, an Old Town resident, told the mayor and City Council there will be a violation of noise limits “every time that door opens” as he described his opposition to an event space. Niels Vernegaard, another Old Town resident, said he hears activities from the Town Lift Plaza deck at his home. He urged the elected officials to “do what’s right” by requiring events be held inside. Andy Byrne, who also lives in the neighborhood, said traffic and noise has put stress on Old Town. Neighbors have moved, he said. Byrne said people like to open windows in the summer without hearing the noise of an event. He said people driving to an event space will park in the neighborhood rather than at the China Bridge garage. “The noise does migrate up these hills,” Byrne said. The supporters, though, rattled off topics touching on Main Street’s status as an iconic location for events and that a City Hall approval would not allow the developers to harm the neighborhood. Businessman Mike Sweeney, whose family controls the Town Lift Plaza along lower Main Street, testified in favor of the event space, saying the facility is needed. He also said events are not held on a daily basis at the Town Lift Plaza, which is one of the popular spaces along Main Street. “You can reduce the noise impacts . . . There’s ways you can do that,” Sweeney said. The moose, though, were indignant. Just wait for Election Day in November, some of the animals appeared to mutter: Mayor Jest Thomas versus More Moose, Less Park appears to be a likely contest on the first Tuesday of November. Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, April 1-4, 2017 It’s no joke: sales tax increases on April 1 Park City’s new rate is the second highest in the state By Angelique McNaughton The Park Record It’s no joke that Park City will soon have the second highest sales tax rate in Utah after the Mass Transit Tax and the county-wide tax options kick in today, April 1, with each adding .25 percent to most retail purchases. In November, Summit County voters overwhelming agreed to pay an additional .50 percent or two pennies for every $4 spent on normal purchases, excluding unprepared food items and gas, to fund transportation-related projects. The state tax commission required a 90-day grace period after Jan. 1 to codify the new rate and notify businesses of the change. The new sales tax rate within Park City and the Snyderville Basin will be 8.45 and 6.85 percent, respectively, making Park City’s the second highest rate in the state. Moab, in Grand County, has a sales tax rate of 8.60 percent. The sales tax for purchases on the East Side of the county will increase to 6.55. Mike Holm, owner of The Market at Park City, said implementing the new rate does not create an added burden for him. He said the rate is adjusted through the store’s software system and most customers might not even notice the difference. “If you’re buying $150 worth of groceries and $30 worth of nonfood items, you probably won’t break that down or even know,” Holm said. “But I think that this could have an effect on me a little bit because people still have the option of driving out to the Junction and getting a little less sales tax on their nonfood items.” Matt Leavitt, Summit County’s financial officer, said rate will not likely impact “typical day-to-day purchases.” However, it will affect large purchases on other taxable items such as cars and appliances. “The impact on your typical pock- Continued from A-1 Drug probe nets teen With the parents of Ainsworth and Seaver in attendance, the teen also expressed remorse for his actions, acknowledging they ultimately led to the deaths of the 13-year-old boys. He said he now realizes how dangerous buying the drug was, and that he’s sorry for the pain he’s caused the families of Seaver and Ainsworth. “Sorry will never be enough,” he said, appearing solemn but with little visible emotion. The parents of Seaver and Ainsworth also addressed the court. The statement from Jim Seaver, Grant’s father, was particularly heated, with defense attorney Tara Isaacson objecting several times as he accused the teen of not being forthcoming with police in the immediate aftermath of the deaths. He claimed that led to police officers harshly questioning his other son, a 16-year-old, about his potential involvement. Jim Seaver also questioned the teen’s claim that the 13-year-olds did not get U-47700 directly from him, and made several allegations about the teen’s history with drugs that at one point prompted an outcry from the teen’s mother in the gallery. Toward the end of his statement, Jim Seaver said he was frustrated with the sentence Knight ultimately handed etbook as you go to the grocery store shouldn’t be significant because it is not taxing a lot of those items, but it should help your average county resident with transportation issues,” Leavitt said. “Even though the county is attempting to address those issues, they won’t occur overnight. This is a planning tool to help resolve some of the anticipated transportation issues.” Leavitt said revenues from the new taxes will start to come in around June. He said he anticipates the county will collect about $1.1 million from each tax for the rest of 2017, although early estimates expected more than $4 million would be generated. “I’m trying to be conservative for those first couple of months because when we have implemented new taxes in the past it has taken some time to see those revenues start to trickle in,” Leavitt said. Revenues from each tax will support specific transportation-related improvements for infrastructure and transit service. An estimated $250,000 will be earmarked for the five East Side municipalities, according to Derrick Radke, Summit County’s Public Works Director. Some of the projects that are planned for the county include a Kamas- to-Park City bus service, remote parking lots near Jeremy Ranch and Ecker Hill, and improvements to the Jeremy Ranch interchanges. Park City’s projects include improvements to State Road 248, a Bonanza Park Transit Center and a parkand-ride garage. “We should start to see some of the transportation improvements and increased service this summer,” Radke said. “The Kimball Junction circulator and an intercept lot at Ecker Hill will be the first two projects right off the bat.” • • • • • Combined Sales and Use Tax Rates across the state: Moab: 8.60 Park City: 8.45 Alta: 8.35 Escalante: 8.05 Brian Head: 7.95 down, given the teen’s knowledge of the danger of U-47700. “To me, when I do that calculation, that’s one week of service for each dead kid,” he said. “To me, that doesn’t seem possible.” Grant Seaver’s mother, Debra Seaver, also addressed the court. In addition to urging Knight to require the Park City Police Department to release police reports about the case, she also spoke about the promise her son’s life once held. “Whatever he would have amounted to, nobody knows. But he had so much potential,” she said. Gillian Ainsworth, the mother of Ryan Ainsworth, told the court that the pain of her son’s death is sometimes intolerable. But she wished for the 16-year-old teen to find peace with what’s happened and to turn the tragedy into a positive for his life. “You’re a troubled boy who made some very poor choices with dire consequences,” she said. “We have lost two bright 13-year-old boys to this tragedy. Let’s not make it a third.” Knight echoed that sentiment before levying the sentence. She acknowledged the punishment would do little to take away Jim Seaver’s anger, but called the situation the result of a decision the 16-year-old made with the underdeveloped brain of a teenager that will follow him throughout his life. “I hope you are getting the help you need because that’s a lot of weight on your shoulders,” she said to the teen. While the case is resolved, the teen is scheduled to appear in court again, on May 5, for an update on his treatment. 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