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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): $56 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): $80 per year To subscribe please call 435–649– 9014 or visit www.parkrecord.com and click the Subscribe link in the Reader Tools section of the toolbar at the bottom of the page. To report a missing paper, please call 801–204–6100. Same-day redelivery is possible if you call during the following hours: * Weekdays: 6:30–8 a.m. * Saturday: 7–8 a.m. * Sunday: 7–10:30 a.m. To request a vacation hold or change of address, please call 435–649–9014 or email: circulation@parkrecord.com THE NEWSROOM To contact the newsroom, please call 435–649–9014 or email editor@parkrecord.com For display advertising, please call a sales representative at 435–649– 9014 or email val@parkrecord.com To place a classified ad, please call 435–649–9014 or email classads@parkrecord.com For questions about your bill, please call 435–649–9014 or email accounts@parkrecord.com The Park Record online is available at www.parkrecord.com and contains all of the news and feature stories in the latest edition plus breaking news updates. The Record’s website also hosts interactive entertainment, restaurant and lodging listings and multimedia features. Contents of The Park Record are Copyrighted 2015, Wasatch Mountain News Media Co. All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the managing editor or publisher. The Park Record (USPS 378-730) (ISSN 0745-9483) is published twice weekly by Wasatch Mountain News Media Co., 1670 Bonanza Drive, Park City, UT 84060. Periodicals postage paid at Salt Lake City, Utah, 84199-9655 and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Park Record, P.O. Box 3688, Park City, UT84060. Entered as second-class matter, May 25, 1977, at the Post Office in Park City, Utah, 84060 under the Act of March 3, 1897. Subscription rates are: $56 within Summit county, $80 outside of Summit County, Utah. Subscriptions are transferable: $5 cancellation fee. Phone: 435–649–9014 Continued from A-1 Blaze probed 117 fire personnel who had been battling the blaze were released on Thursday. A pre-evacuation order that was issued for the Echo Creek Ranches area, located four miles east of the fire, during the first three days of the blaze was lifted on Thursday, as was the closure of one lane of eastbound traffic on I-80. “Our firefighters did a tremendous job in keeping the fire contained,” said Krachel Murdock, a spokeswoman for Summit County. “We are very grateful for all of their help and support. There has been an outpouring of thanks from community members. We have seen that on social media and heard it out and about.” Anyone with information about the start of the Tervels Fire is asked to contact the Summit County Sheriff’s Office. Continued from A-1 Ex-official backs deal The ballot measure is pegged at $48 million. If voters approve the $48 million, most of the funds would be put toward a $64 million acquisition of Treasure for conservation purposes while the rest would be spent on an unrelated land deal in Thaynes Canyon known as Snow Ranch Pasture. Matsumoto has appeared in favor of the Snow Ranch Pasture deal as well as the Treasure acquisition. She called the two parcels “iconic spots” with vistas. Matsumoto said the consequences of developments moving forward include years of construction, increased traffic, more water use and “increased people in town.” Matsumoto hosted a Wednesday gathering of friends and neighbors at her house about the ballot measure, but she said she is not a member of an organized group in favor of the deal for Treasure. Van Hecke, a leader in the opposition to the Treasure development proposal, praised the selection of Matsumoto to draft the statement in support of the ballot measure. He said the former City Councilor is “well respected in Continued from A-1 Land deal criticized open space initiative? You’re paying $64 million to stop a 10-acre development.” He said other City Hall land acquisitions, like those in Round Valley and Bonanza Flat, better reflect Parkites’ desires to protect acreage Fax: 435–649–4942 Email: circulation@parkrecord.com Published every Wednesday and Saturday Kamas blazes Two other wildfires also continued to burn on Friday northeast of Kamas in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The Murdock and Slate fires are burning in mixed-conifer and aspen, according to a press release from the U.S. Forest Service. The Slate Fire is located six miles northeast of Kamas. The fire, which was caused by lightning, was first reported on Aug. 23. It has burned about 30 acres. The Murdock Fire, located 22 miles northeast of Kamas, is burning between Murdock Basin and Squaw Creek roads. It was about 80 percent contained on Friday, with about 600 acres burned. The release states that firefighters are using confine and suppression techniques to allow the fires to burn through dead and downed vegetation. Crews continued to use aerial and hand ignition firing to reduce the duration of the fire and minimize the risk to firefighters and the public, the release states. Approximately 70 firefighters remained on scene on Friday. Smoke from both fires was visible from Mirror Lake Highway. A temporary closure has been implemented beginning at Murdock Basin Road. The area remains closed to the public. Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, September 8-11, 2018 Continued from A-1 this community.” Matsumoto “knows our community, knows our town,” Van Hecke said, adding that he wants her to “reiterate how important this is.” “I hope she’s able to provide facts on why voting for this would benefit us all here in Park City,” he said. Van Hecke is a key figure in a group known as the Treasure Hill Impact Neighborhood Coalition, which was formed in opposition to the Treasure development proposal. Van Hecke and others in the group argue the Treasure development would overwhelm Old Town with large buildings and traffic increases on streets like Lowell Avenue and Empire Avenue. The group pressed for a conservation deal for years before the $64 million agreement was reached. “The bond is important and it’s important for the people of Park City to support it . . . ,” Van Hecke said, adding the alternatives are severe for the community. “This is our one and only chance. There will be no more chances.” The Treasure development proposal involves approximately 1 million square feet on a hillside overlooking Old Town along the route of the Town Lift. A partnership involving the Sweeney family and a firm called Park City II, LLC spent years in talks with the Planning Commission about the project with little progress as concerns about the traffic, square footage and other issues continued. It appeared the Planning Commission was readying to cast a ‘Nay’ vote when the $64 million agreement was reached. Construction is expected to take up to six weeks to complete. Once it is finished, the wall will be painted to blend in with the surrounding terrain. “It’s just a concrete wall with panels similar to what you’ve seen in Salt Lake on I-80, but this will have more of a rock pattern to it,” Montoya said. The project coincides with the construction of a new westbound climbing lane on Interstate 80 between Jeremy Ranch and Parleys Summit. UDOT had determined the additional westbound lane would increase current traffic noise levels in lower Jeremy Ranch and warranted mitigation. Montoya said noise barrier construction can begin now that the paving is complete on that section of the additional lane. “That’s what we were waiting for,” he said. “What we discovered and didn’t think through is that the berm is pretty steep. If we would have started paving the wall sooner, which was the plan, we would have had materials rolling down that berm.” Pushback over the noise abatement measure was almost immediate. A group, Citizens Against the Wall, quickly formed and denounced the findings of a UDOT study that concluded a barrier was necessary. Members of the group continue to claim the balloting process in which nearby residents approved the wall did not include all of the affected property owners in the area, the approved design will not produce a sufficient noise reduction and the project does not meet UDOT’s cost criteria. UDOT polled 27 property owners, including the Jeremy Ranch Golf and Country Club, in 2017. Only two objected to the project. UDOT sent additional ballots to the property owners several months later to ask if they wanted to eliminate the berm design in favor of a smaller, less-intrusive option, but they did not, Montoya said. “We are just going to move along and fulfill our obligation to build the wall,” he said. “We do appreciate all of the input from the community. We wish we could make everyone happy, but I don’t think that will be possible in this case so we are obligated to move ahead.” Citizens Against the Wall even petitioned the Summit County Council to intervene. Discussions were held between UDOT and the County Council about the design, but ultimately the county did not have the authority to prevent the wall’s construction. Tom Farkas, a resident of South Ridge in Jeremy Ranch and member of Citizens Against the Wall, said the group was told the only way to stop construction of the noise barrier was to take legal action against UDOT. “We consulted with attorneys and were told that it could cost up to $100,000,” he said. “It would be like trying to catch an eel. If you go after them on one thing, then they will claim something else. We tried to get support from the County Council and they were empathetic, but also concerned about the people who voted in favor it.” Farkas questioned whether the County Council hesitated to take a stronger stance against the wall because of other projects UDOT has planned in the county. “That to me is another sad commentary that the County Council didn’t feel like they could push UDOT because they are concerned about working with them on future projects,” he said. County Council Chair Kim Carson said in an email the Council’s goal was to make sure residents on both sides of the issue had a voice to try and influence the wall’s design. She added, “Citizens Against the Wall was just one interested group. We also have residents that are highly impacted by the freeway noise.” “While we had the ability to question UDOT’s process and provide design ideas, we did not have the ability to approve or deny the project,” she said. “UDOT projects aren’t subject to our local planning approval process.” Carson added that the county’s relationship with UDOT is an “extremely important one.” But, she said that doesn’t prevent the County Council from taking an aggressive stance on a project. “We worked diligently with UDOT to try to come up with alternatives and, in this case, we had property owners on both sides of the issue, and there were other factors involved that limited our input, such as federal funding and associated policies,” she said. Citizens Against the Wall also took their complaints to Gov. Gary Herbert’s office, but was unsuccessful in thwarting the project. Farkas said it’s frustrating the group was not able to stop construction. “It’s been a long effort and UDOT has never said what we told them was incorrect,” he said. “They can do whatever they feel like they need to get done. But, as a state agency, they should be responsible and accountable and they aren’t. They, quite frankly, don’t seem to care whether they are accountable to anyone except themselves.” from development. “This is not a Bonanza. This is not a Round Valley. ... This is not open space everyone can get to and enjoy,” Streamer said. He hopes there is a “silent majority” in Park City that opposes the ballot measure. The Treasure partnership involving the Sweeney family and a firm called Park City II, LLC spent years in discussions with the Park City Planning Commission about a development of approximately 1 million square feet on a hillside overlooking Old Town along the route of the Town Lift, close to Main Street. Critics worry that the traffic would overwhelm nearby streets like Lowell Avenue and Em- pire Avenue and the buildings would loom over Old Town. City Hall and the Treasure partnership reached the $64 million agreement as it appeared the Planning Commission was preparing to cast a vote against the proposal. Streamer said he is “ambivalent” about the Treasure development proposal itself. “Our Main Street is really our tourist central. ... I think a five-star hotel would solidify that,” he said. Streamer in February wrote a guest editorial in The Park Record questioning the agreement shortly after it was reached and calling it a “bad deal” for Park City. In the statement published by the newspaper, Streamer argued sectors tied to the tourism industry should finance an acquisition of Treasure and said Main Street is a “selling point” for the industry. “City Hall is suggesting yet another bond that property owners should pay to preserve Main Street. I believe that the Community would be better served to have the Resort side of Park City pay for the ‘deal’ on Treasure through an increase of taxes on Resort business . . . ,” he wrote in February. “The Municipal government should pass legislation to enact special taxes on, restaurants, hotel rooms, lift tickets, second homes, etc. Let the tourists (end users) pay for the amenity of Main Street. 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