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Show Viewpoints The A-15 Park Record. Wed/Thurs/Fri, August 1-3, 2018 editorial Sounds of summer will fill City Park — let’s make them sweet M letters to the editor City Park concerts will be great — for one summer Editor: The undersigned each supports Teri Orr and the relocation of the Big Stars Bright Nights’ remaining six concerts of the 2018 season to City Park. The short notice given the series by the new owners of Deer Valley put the Park City Institute in an unenviable position for this year’s performances. However, we do not feel that the City Park venue is a long-term solution. As Old Town homeowners, we are exhausted by constant, relentless events, be they markets, bike rides, art festivals, baseball tournaments or concerts. And let’s not forget the re-imagined Kimball Garage building which is yet to kick in with its private parties and rooftop music deck. The constant noise, music, traffic and parking issues are tiresome and some consideration must be given to making Old Town a resident-friendly place, not merely an event destination. If other events, such as the Silly Market, could be re-located (perhaps to the Deer Valley parking lots), then hosting the Big Stars Bright Nights concerts in City Park on an on-going basis would not be such an imposition on neighbors. Margaret Hilliard, Ronald S. Butkovich, Carole Fontana, David Vogel, Ann Mathews, Dan Woodhead and Linda Woodhead Old Town Steps should be taken to reduce fire risk Editor: State, county, and city policies increase propensity for forest fires and climate change. Ungulates reduce forest fire frequencies by keeping the forest moist and providing food for birds, beetles and other species. Ungulates need to seasonally migrate north-south hundreds of miles each year. More than 80% of forest fires are man-caused! Loss of forests that sequester greenhouse gases is half the cause of climate change. How to reduce forest fire risk: 1) Build wildlife road crossings meeting federal highway administration (FHWA) guidelines. UDOT’s alleged wildlife road crossings do not meet minimum FHWA guidelines for low habitat value multi-use wildlife crossings and are unlikely to be used by moose. 2) Bar anti-wildlife “privacy” fencing enclosing private land. 3) Cut lower branches of tall trees to 5-plus feet high to prevent grass fires from igniting deadwood of low branches. 4) Make a revenue-sharing pact with Summit County in exchange for not approving any more sprawling development around Park City. Roads and developments in mountain forests remove wildlife habitat and increase human caused fires. The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER ....................... Andy Bernhard Editor ................................... Bubba Brown Staff Writers ......................Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Angelique McNaughton Ben Ramsey Carolyn Webber Alder Contributing ............................. Tom Clyde Writers Jay Meehan Teri Orr Amy Roberts Tom Kelly Joe Lair Copy Editor ............................ James Hoyt Photographer .........................Tanzi Propst Office Manager ..................... Tiffany Piper Circulation Manager ............. Lacy Brundy Accounting Manager ......... Jennifer Snow ADVERTISING Classifieds/Legals ............. Jennifer Lynch Advertising Director ........... Valerie Spung Advertising Sales ................... Jodi Hecker Erin Donnelly Lindsay Lane Sharon Bush Production Director ..................Ben Olson Production .......................... Patrick Schulz 5) Bar summer use of motorized recreational vehicles in the forest. The Dollar Ridge fire, I believe, was started by such a vehicle. 6) Lobby Salt Lake County to allow efficient wood stove burning to heat homes. Burning wood efficiently does not add to the existing carbon cycle and removes fire tinder; natural gas and coal add to total atmospheric greenhouse gases. Natural gas has 40 times the greenhouse gas effect as carbon and its mining releases lots of it. 7) Pressure Vail to cut its standing deadwood and provide it as firewood. I am a purveyor of unsolicited advice of dubious value after doing independent research, listening, and taking graduate courses in biology, ecology, math, computer science, economics, political science (an oxymoron), and city and municipal planning. Kathy Dopp Park City City must be flush with cash Editor: I was delighted, ecstatic actually, to read on the front page of last Saturday’s Park Record that our city’s budget is absolutely flush with cash! We can now indulge ourselves in a variety of critical activities to “build and preserve a complete community,” create an “inventory of services” (apparently we don’t know what services are currently provided) and find gaps where we can spend more money on “social equity” (not sure what that is) so that “minor technical problems are not elevated into stifling community issues.” And here I thought that we would have to have another bond issue to pay for more open space. Any creative writing professor would be proud of the number of touchy-feely, feel-good phrases that were packed into that article. Taxpayers, however, might be less enthusiastic at the total lack of facts, specifics, requirements and measurable objectives laid out for our aspiring “community convener.” We apparently have a $100,000 solution in search of a problem. Ken Miller Park City Farmington residents are behaving like Trump Editor: What’s the difference between the Farmington residents who testily drained a huge reservoir rather than cut back on watering their lawns and Donald Trump threatening to shut down the government because it won’t fund his border wall? Nothing, really, except I would have expected something far less childish from the Farmingtonians. Truth or Trumpsequences. Nick Wright Park City Tollgate residents are grateful for firefighters Editor: On behalf of the residents of Tollgate Canyon, I write to thank — effusively — the fire, police and emergency teams that responded to our fire Monday. Within minutes of the onset of the fire, Tollgate Canyon, Summit County and Park City firefighters were working feverishly to contain the brush fire. Police, sheriff’s office personnel and state troopers were on the scene immediately. Helicopters and fire planes appeared within the hour. The dedication of personnel and equipment was extraordinary. On Tuesday, as I drove down from Tollgate Canyon, I said “Thank You” with a heartfelt sincerity that I have rarely felt — to the fire personnel continuing their work to protect us. With sincere thanks to all. Roy Parker Tollgate Canyon usic will ring in City Park throughout the rest of the summer. In a special session Friday, the Park City Council approved the Park City Institute’s request to move the rest of this season’s St. Regis Big Stars, Bright Nights concert slate from Quinn’s Field to City Park. The idea for the venue change was sparked by the positive response when the series held what was supposed to be a one-off show there featuring Grace Potter on July 13. Attendees raved about the experience of seeing a performance of that caliber in front of an Old Town backdrop. Soon enough, there was a groundswell of public support for moving the rest of the Institute’s 2018 summer shows to the park. While Quinn’s Field was a workable temporary venue for the concerts, there’s something undeniably special about gathering, blankets and chairs in tow, for an evening of open-air entertainment in Old Town. Moving the shows to City Park is a splendid solution as the Park City Institute continues to search for a permanent spot for the popular concerts after losing access to the series’ longtime home at Deer Valley’s Snow Park Amphitheater. The Park City Council and City Hall staffers deserve credit for being flexible enough to make it possible in a short time frame. But that doesn’t mean it’s a flawless fix. To go smoothly, the plan requires a significant amount of cooperation from concert-goers, particularly when it comes to get- ting to and from City Park. Old Town roads simply cannot easily handle the traffic that accompanies shows of this size, so it’s imperative that music lovers find alternate transportation. The best solution for people coming from outside of Park City proper is heading to Park City High School, then taking a free shuttle to City Park. Attendees can also take advantage of the free bus system or bicycle or walk to the park. If a large chunk of concert-goers instead attempt to circle Old Town in search of nearby parking, the experience will quickly go awry. That would be unfair to the other attendees doing their part to make the shows successful. And it certainly would be unfair to people who live near City Park. To their credit, residents of Old Town seem to understand how important the concert series is to the success of the Park City Institute and how the nonprofit’s programming, in turn, benefits the community. Despite their ongoing concern about the impacts of the many special events in Old Town, many residents spoke out in favor of the venue change for the rest of this year’s shows. As we enjoy the performances in the fresh air at City Park, let’s do everything we can to make sure they don’t regret lending their support. If we do, the soundtrack of this summer is sure to be a pleasant tune. Editor’s note: The executive director of the Park City Institute, Teri Orr, is a former editor of The Park Record and writes a weekly column for the paper. guest editorial Original development plan for South Point in Brown’s Canyon is more than fair DAVID BOBROWSKY, COREY CUTLER, LOLA BEATLEBROX, ZAFOD BEATLEBROX, BRYAN CRINO, MARY CRINO, MIKE STECHER, REBECCA STECHER, LAUREN LOCKEY, DAVE SWARTZ, MIKE SLAUGH AND LISA SLAUGH Brown’s Canyon We are writing to respond to the Guest Editorial published on May 30, 2018, by Mr. Najafi, the CEO of Pivotal Group, the developer of Promontory. The tone of the editorial reflected a feeling that the Promontory development has been unfairly treated as it relates to workforce housing. However, at issue is not their obligation to build workforce housing. The editorial is political posturing for the controversial proposed development in Brown’s Canyon called South Point. By way of background, Promontory filed to amend its development plan to increase their rights from the 285 residential units currently allowed under the Promontory plan in South Point to 1,020 units plus 190,000 square feet of commercial, all on land that the Summit County General Development Plan provides for just 10 homes. The amendment, which has since been withdrawn, would result in more homes in South Point alone than currently exist in all of Kamas, the largest municipality within the Eastern Summit County General Plan. The last paragraph of the editorial states, “It’s unfortunate that the Planning Commissioners have chosen to paint Promontory as a villain while the development has been widely recognized as a steward of the community. We respectfully request that the Commission productively partner with us.” To appreciate the position of the County, below is their charge as it relates to eastern Summit County: “§11-1-1 of the Eastern Summit County Code provides that ‘The eastern Summit County general plan was developed to ensure that the rural, agricultural and small town character of the eastern portion of the county shall remain, even in the presence of growth and change. The intention of the county is to assure the managed, proper and sensitive development of land to protect and enhance these desired qualities and the lifestyle that exists.’ Given their charge, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the South Point proposal was not well received. It is hard to imagine that any part of the proposal is consistent with ensuring “that the rural, agricultural and small town character” shall remain unchanged. The Commissioners pointed out that Promontory has been at it for over 15 years, has completed over 60 percent of its market rate development, has requested additional convention and club house space and has only built two workforce housing units. Now they are refusing to honor their obligation and holding development of the workforce housing hostage in an effort to get the county to agree to their South Point proposal. A quick read of the historical record shows that a series of clever legal maneuvers, combined with strong-arm tactics, have been employed in setting up and pushing for the approval of this aggressive proposal. Is this what is meant by “productively partnering?” Whether Promontory has been treated unfairly is a matter of opinion. Fairness is a subjective concept that is a function of perspective. To the residential neighbors in Brown’s Canyon who have been allowed one residence on 40 acres, it seems more than fair that the developer is currently allowed to build more than one unit per three acres. The plan to aggressively develop South Point over the ridgeline into Brown’s Canyon is designed to segregate it from the view of, and ensure it does not detract from, Promontory’s high end homes and golf patrons. It is not fair that it will spoil an otherwise scenic, rural canyon and saddle the Brown’s Canyon neighbors with those developments. We feel that the original Promontory development plan, plus the four amendments that increased their rights, are more than fair and that any material change is not at all fair. The Park record Pulse Here’s a sampling of the conversation readers are having on our Facebook page. To visit the page, go to Facebook.com/parkrecord/. New ‘old town’ parking fees/system could be the first issue this ‘social equity board’ could look at...” Larry Schember, on article titled “Park City prepares to spend up to $100,000 on social equity contract” Great! Just suggest that the audience doesn’t have to look directly into the blinding sun! (And, would be great to figure out to have beer/wine trucks!)” David Houck, on article titled “Park City approves shifting Big Stars, Bright Nights concerts to City Park” Hopefully this winter favors it a bit more than last.” Steve Hancock, on article titled “Park City Chamber/Bureau rolls out new winter marketing campaign,” which detailed the organization’s new slogan, “Winter’s Favorite Town.” Limited parking is definitely a problem...but thanks for the bathrooms!” Suzie Gordon, on article titled “Park City captain sees a ‘borderline dangerous’ Bonanza Flat” The Chamber of Commerce needs a business support liaison when any road construction is detrimental to businesses to keep accesses open, provide promotional support, etc.” ReNae Brereton, on article titled “Park City roadwork ‘depressing, demoralizing’ as business tanks” The Park Record attained permission to publish these comments. |