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Show C-1 B-1 PCHS GRADUATE’S FILM HITS L.A. THEATERS BUSINESS, A-13 PARENT GUIDE INSIDE! Back to School 2018 vaping and The trends of substance abuse PICKLEBALL PLAYERS SEEK MORE COURTS Finding school budget COLUMNS, A-20 supplies on a that Resources for are available financial aid The Park Record’s Back to School guide contains information and tips for students and parents Park Record. RESORT CHEF MENTORS NEXT TEENCHEF PRO TERI ORR SAYS MOOSE ARE ON THE LOOSE 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, August 11-14, 2018 Serving Summit County since 1880 Summer visits keep climbing | Hold on to summer Vol. 138 | No. 54 50¢ The smoky air won’t choke Tour of Utah PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO A guided historic Main Street walking tour stops to talk about, and take photos of, the old mining buildings at the top of Main Street. Tourists have continued to come to Park City at ever-increasing rates, according to occupancy data. More conferences and day-tripping guests are coming to the town CAROLYN WEBBER ALDER The Park Record Park City’s summer tourism season continues to be hot. Data showing lodging occupancy in Park City and anecdotal evidence from businesses in the area point to a steady summer as companies continue to relocate corporate meetings and retreats to the area and regional visitors flock to summer events. Bill Malone, president and CEO of the Park City Chamber/Bureau, said May and June were up in occupancy from last year, with July remaining flat at 56 percent occupancy, according to data from DestiMetrics. Projections for the rest of the summer season – May to October – show August and October are also expected to be higher than last year, with September remaining flat. Malone said Park City continues to attract conferences throughout the summer that want to offer different activities to their attendees. He said business travel accounts for a large amount of the occupancy during the summer. “Over time, our summer business has gotten better, and I think a lot of that has to do with there being more to offer,” he said. A midweek Fourth of July might have dissuaded companies to host conferences that week, as well as the weekends before and after the holiday, Malone said. He said the holiday might have played a role in a stagnant July for occupancy. “But,” he said. “With a hot summer, we picked up a little bit on the leisure side that week.” Malone said more day-tripping visitors are coming from the Salt Lake Valley to events like the Fourth of July festivities, summer concerts, the Park Silly Sunday Market and the Park City Kimball Arts Festival. Since it has been an exceptionally hot summer in Utah, he said, residents in the valley have also driven up to Park City to escape the heat. As the population of Salt Lake and Utah counties continues to grow, those day-tripping visitors are likely to increase, he said. “I think we forget that there are a lot of people who are moving to Utah, especially in the technology sectors,” he Please see Summer, A-2 3 sections • 42 pages Business ............................... A-13 Classifieds .............................. C-8 Columns ............................... A-20 Crossword .............................. C-4 Editorial................................ A-21 Events Calendar ..................... C-6 Legals ................................... C-11 Letters to the Editor ............. A-21 Restaurant Guide.................. A-19 Scene ...................................... C-1 Scoreboard ............................. B-5 Sports ..................................... B-1 Weather .................................. B-2 TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Smoke from forest fires recently turned the air around Park City hazy. Poor air quality can cause inflammation in the lungs and is associated with heart complications. Though racers breathe in huge volumes, risk is small compared to long-term exposure TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Children take part in mutton busting at the Summit County Fair’s annual Little Buckaroo Rodeo in Coalville Wednesday evening. The evening also featured calf and bull riding as well as the carnival. Summit County considers an affordable housing purchase Approximately 60 condos could become available in Bear Hollow ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON The Park Record Summit County plans to move forward with the purchase of at least one workforce or otherwise affordable unit in Bear Hollow subdivision off S.R. 224, with the option to purchase several more in the future. Jeff Jones, the county’s economic development and housing director, approached Summit County Councilors on Wednesday about the possibility of retaining a two-bedroom unit in the Bear Claw Condominiums for $289,033. The county retains the first right of refusal on all deed-restricted properties in the Bear Hollow subdivision, something that allows leaders to ensure the units remain in the affordable pool. “It’s a nice property and after I went out and toured it I thought it might make a nice addition if we keep it as affordable housing in Summit County,” Jones said at the meeting. “We could keep the unit and use it for affordable housing or housing for county staff if we felt like we had a need. Recruiting people is becoming more challenging and we thought this was an opportu- nity that we didn’t want to let go by.” Affordable housing remains one of the county’s most pressing issues in the predominately resort-driven market. The County Council vowed to begin significantly decreasing the deficit in affordable housing as a part of its strategic goals for 2018. Elected leaders have discussed the need to provide more attainable housing for the workforce in the county for several years. There are approximately 60 deed-restricted units within the Bear Hollow development, ranging in price from about $178,000 to $463,817, with 50 percent or more non-owner occupied. Some of the units are being offered as rentals and others for nightly rentals, which is not prohibited. Jones said the county has a new contract with Mountainlands Community Housing Trust that focuses on monitoring deed-restricted properties, including Bear Hollow. He reached out to the renters and owners to evaluate their compliance with the county’s deed-restricted requirements and many owners are interested in selling their units. “The price of these units have escalated and that, combined with HOA (homeowners association) fees, they are starting to teeter on that edge where they are no longer affordable,” he said. “Particularly the ones where the HOA fees are more than $500.” Please see The county, A-2 BEN RAMSEY The Park Record The air in Park City has recently turned hazy by massive fires burning across the Western United States, in places as close as Tollgate Canyon and as far away as California. Only eight months have passed in what’s projected to be Utah’s worst wildfire year on record, and Park City isn’t a refuge from smoke the way it is from winter inversions. So, how does one decide when the air quality makes exercise dangerous, and what effect does poor air quality have on athletes like the bikers pedaling around the state in the Tour of Utah this week? Dr. Kelly Woodward, medical director at the LiVe Well Center at the Park City Hospital, said air quality index charts, like the one provided by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (available publicly at the department’s website), are a reasonable guide for helping exercisers determine when to get a burn on and when to cool it. Taking a peek outside doesn’t hurt either. “I think when people see a lot of smoke in the air they should take note,” Woodward said, adding that people with respiratory and heart conditions should be ready to trim down their workouts, especially outdoors. But while people with health issues will likely feel the effects of the poor air quality first, anyone can be affected. Coughing, feeling a tightness in the chest, experiencing an unusual shortness of breath and wheezing are common symptoms of overexposure to poor air quality, and a sign people should move indoors. The symptoms are usually caused by airborne particles that come to rest deep in the lungs, causing them to inflame. Inflammation, Woodward said, is a common component of both asthma and heart disease, and causes fraPlease see Air quality, A-2 Summit County puts Back-to-school basics off a Newpark vote Project adjacent to the amphitheater draws scrutiny for design ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON The Park Record The Summit County Council on Wednesday agreed to delay a decision on the design of a controversial condominium project in Newpark until later this month. The elected officials reviewed an appeal of the project’s design, particularly the allowance of residential units on what is considered Newpark Town Center’s Main Street. The seven-unit building is slated for the space south of Maxwell’s East Coast Eatery, adjacent to the amphitheater. The location is currently occupied by a parking lot and is mostly surrounded by businesses. Members of Preserve the Newpark Plaza, LLC, filed the appeal on June 28, challenging County Manager Tom Fisher’s decision to approve the final plat and site plan. The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission forwarded Fisher a positive recommendation for the project in February. Preserve the Newpark Plaza, LLC, represents different property owners within Newpark, including a homeowners association. Chris Eggleton, managing director of Destination Hotels Utah and member of Preserve the Newpark Plaza, LLC, said the project as designed should not be allowed in the proposed location. He said the Kimball Junction Neighborhood Committee, an advisory group tasked with developing a neighborhood master plan, wants to make visual quality a top priority. Please see Newpark, A-2 TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Andrea Paniagua, 12, grabs a handful of pencils as she fills her new backpack with various school supplies during the Christian Center of Park City’s Back To School Basics shopping event at the Tanger Outlets Friday morning. The annual event outfits nearly 500 children with new clothes and school supplies as they prepare for the first day of school. VISITOR GUIDE ‘Biloxi Blues’ marches to the Egyptian Theatre The Neil Simon Festival will present Neil Simon’s Tony-winning “Biloxi Blues” from Wednesday, Aug. 15, through Sunday, Aug. 19. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday curtain is 8 p.m. Sunday’s performance will start at 6 p.m. For tickets visit www.parkcityshows.com. |