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Show C-1 B-1 CURE CABIN FEVER AT OPEN MIC NIGHTS BUSINESS, A-15 GET THE LATEST! Sign up for our newsletter, “The Record Roundup”, at bit.ly/recordroundup and be entered to win 2 free lift tickets to Deer Valley. SKIERS ROUND GATES ON WAY TO KOREA COLUMNS, A-18 Park Record. BARTENDER TAKES A SHOT AT THE COMPETITION PUTTING PRICE ON TREASURE TOUGH, TOM CLYDE SAYS The PA R K C I T Y, U TA H W W W. PA R K R E C O R D . C O M Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, February 3-6, 2018 Serving Summit County since 1880 Olympics: What if it’s warm, dry? | Carve toward a Cup Vol. 137 | No. 104 50¢ Treasure land briefly seen as housing locale Mayor clarifies that leaders do not want to pursue affordable project on the disputed acreage JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO Deer Valley Resort, a ski racing and freestyle skiing venue during the 2002 Winter Olympics, would be expected to have a role in a future Games, perhaps in 2026 or 2030. Experts say a warm, relatively dry winter like the current one would not threaten Olympic events in Park City, but there could be issues at Soldier Hollow if the conditions were similar. tion case had been transferred from Uintah County due to overwhelming pre-trial publicity. It is now being scheduled for a new trial in Salt Lake County. Christy Froehlich, who lives in Trailside, was one of the 36 jurors who failed to show up in December and received a subpoena. Froehlich admits she did not show up for jury duty, but said she called the court the day before the trial and a recording told her it was canceled. “I was told I was free and clear so I did not show up,” she said. “The following Monday, I had a call from the (Summit County) Sheriff’s Office and telling me there is a subpoena as a defendant. I was like, ‘I don’t even have a speeding ticket.’ I have served twice in Maryland and would never evade jury duty. I was mortified.” Froehlich was not alone in her experience. An- Park City leaders on Thursday broached the possibility of developing work force or otherwise restricted affordable housing on part of the Treasure acreage if the $64 million acquisition of the land is finalized, a scenario that would significantly alter the fundamental underpinnings of a deal that has been seen as a conservation agreement meant to block a project of any sort on the high-profile hillside. It was an unexpected part of a wider discussion held by Mayor Andy Beerman and the Park City Council on Thursday as the elected officials continue to debate the agreement, which would be, by a wide margin, the most expensive conservation deal in the history of City Hall’s open space program. The acquisition would hinge on Park City voters passing a ballot measure in November expected to be set at approximately $50 million. The idea of acquiring the land and then setting aside part of it for a housing project was not heavily debated on Thursday, but the comments at the meeting seemed that they could result in more discussions later. The mayor on Friday, though, said he spoke individually to a majority of the City Councilors privately after the meeting about housing on the Treasure land. He said the majority does not want to pursue housing there. The Treasure land is located on a hillside overlooking Old Town along the route of the Town Lift. It is under the ownership of a partnership of the Sweeney family, which is the historic owner of the land, and a firm called Park City II, LLC. The partnership spent years in discussions with the Park City Planning Commission about a project of upward of 1 million square feet, encountering resistance from the panel and people who live nearby. The critics are concerned about issues like traffic, the design of the project and the construction impacts. The City Council on Thursday was not scheduled to make major decisions about Treasure, but the comments about the prospects of developing work force or otherwise affordable housing on the land were notable nonetheless. The elected officials see housing as a critical issue as rank-and-file workers are priced out of Park City’s resort-driven real estate market. City Hall is aggressively pursuing housing projects with the idea the units provide benefits like socioeconomic diversity and reduced commuter traffic. Josh Hobson, who has unsuccessfully sought a City Council seat, provided testimony at the meeting regarding developing housing on some of the Treasure land if it is acquired. Perhaps, he said, between 85 percent and 90 percent of the acreage could be set aside as open space through an instrument called a conservation easement. The rest of the land could be used for housing, he said. “Can we use some of it at some point down the road to help address some of the community needs for hous- Please see Clerical, A-2 Please see Housing, A-2 Utah venues would be ready even in weak winter, experts say JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record It is just days before the Winter Olympics of 2026 or 2030 are scheduled to start in Salt Lake City, and Park City is suffering through a warm, relatively dry winter. There is limited snow in the higher terrain and none at the lowest elevations of the Park City area. Just like the winter of 2017-2018 thus far. The Olympic region of Utah is experiencing one of the mildest winters in a generation, at the same time officials continue to discuss the prospects of bidding for a second Winter Games. An Olympic exploratory committee next week is expected to release an important report regarding a bid. It appears an Olympics could be pursued as soon as the 2026 event. Salt Lake City would be the host while Park City would play an important role, as it did during the 2002 Winter Olympics. If Salt Lake City is selected to stage the Olympics in 2026 or 2030, and those winters are as mild as this season, the mountain vistas might not be as scenic as they would be if they were covered with snow. It is almost certain, though, the competitions scheduled in Park City would continue as planned, experts say. But there could be issues in Wasatch County, at Soldier Hollow, under that scenario, they say. It is not clear what events would be staged in Park City in an Olympics. It seems likely the schedule would be at least similar to the one during the Winter Olympics in 2002, when Park City Mountain Resort hosted ski racing and snowboarding competitions, Deer Valley Resort was the home to ski racing and freestyle skiing contests and the Utah Olympic Park held the sliding sports and ski jumping. If the lineup of a Games in 2026 or 2030 resemble the one in 2002, the venues would likely be ready for the athletes at the opening of the Olympics even if the winter was mild up until then, the experts say. “We have skiing, don’t we? We’re TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Tyler Carter competes in the National Ability Center’s Huntsman Cup on Thursday, descending the super-G course at Park City Mountain Resort. The three-day event featured athletes from 12 countries. More on B-1. Clerical error blamed as jury pool must explain absences Judge was forced to declare a mistrial after people failed to appear for selection process ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON The Park Record A felony prosecution case in Summit County’s 3rd District Court was declared a mistrial in December after 36 potential jurors failed to show up to court. The Summit County Attorney’s Office is now admitting it may have been due to an administrative error. All of the jurors received a court order to appear in 3rd District Court on Thursday to explain their absence or face being held in contempt of court after failing to show up for the Dec. 12 trial. The prosecu- Hoytsville residents Successor seated want to form a town Homeowners in the enclave take a step toward incorporation Please see A weak, A-2 ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON 3 sections • 40 pages Business ............................... A-15 Classifieds .............................. C-9 Columns ............................... A-18 Crossword .............................. C-4 Editorial................................ A-19 Events Calendar ..................... C-6 Legals ................................... C-11 Letters to the Editor ............. A-19 Restaurant Guide.................. A-13 Scene ...................................... C-1 Scoreboard ............................. B-5 Sports ..................................... B-1 Weather .................................. B-2 The Park Record Summit County could have a new town on the east end of the county, as one North Summit area inches closer toward incorporation. Five Hoytsville homeowners filed paperwork with Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox’s office in December to apply for incorporation, putting the area one step closer to a vote for townhood. “We just decided that Hoytsville has always been a town, but an unincorporated town,” said longtime resident Wade Wilde. “We have a lot of locals that live here and have decided the citizens want to get together and have it to be the way we want it to be.” Wilde is among the five residents who filed an application for town incorporation. Michael Rees, Rachelle Mellor, Nicole Richins Simister and Bill Wilde also filed petitions. Any area that wants to incorporate is required to have five sponsors or residents of the state file an application with the lieutenant governor’s office. The sponsors must have voted in an Please see New town, A-2 TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Mayor Andy Beerman administers the oath as Lynn Ware Peek is sworn into office as a member of the Park City Council on Thursday at the Marsac Building. She was selected for the seat Beerman held prior to his mayoral victory. VISITOR GUIDE Blaze a trail to lecture hosted by the Park City Museum Historian Dorian DeMario will give a lecture about the Lewis and Clark expedition at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at the Park City Museum’s Education and Collections Center, 2079 Sidewinder Drive. The event is free and open to the public. More: www.parkcityhistory.org. |