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Show Viewpoints The Park Record. A-11 Wed/Thurs/Fri, September 12-14, 2018 editorial Skepticism surrounds house deal, but critiques miss mark A letters to the editor Food for thought Editor: The City is asking the property owners (primary, secondary and business) to approve a $48 million 15-year bond to buy out the Sweeney/Treasure Hill group. The City reports that as of 2/11/18 the property tax payers had obligations of “principal and interest” “on all City GO (General Obligation) bonds” of “approximately $59 million.” The purchase price of $65 million for the Sweeney parcel and $3 million for the Snow Ranch Pasture leaves a shortfall of $20 million. Where will that come from, exactly? The City is vague on this issue. If the bond passes, the median primary homeowner will see their debt service tax increase by $194.00 to $518.00 from $364.00; secondary owners and businesses will jump by $353.00 to $717.00. These are the City’s estimates. Add to that the new $220.00 (average) annual homeowner storm water fee (check your water bill) and it gets pricey. Then factor in what bonds the School Board has in mind and what increases the Fire District is contemplating and the cost of living in Park City can increase alarmingly. Food for thought fellow taxpayers. Thomas Hurd Park City Library has plenty of friends in community Editor: The Board of the Friends of the Park City Library would like to thank our wonderful community for once again making our Annual Labor Day Weekend Used Book Sale a great success. Each year the Friends of the Library raise funds that enrich library offerings and services. Our 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 Engagement Editor............ Chris Samuels 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 book sale is our major fundraiser, and we couldn’t do it without you! We would particularly like to thank those Park City workers who hauled a year’s worth of donated books from the first to the third floor of the library building in record time, all the volunteers who answered our call to help with the sale, the Park City Film Series for generously allowing us to use whatever we needed, Wasatch Bagel for breakfast goodies, and to KPCW and The Park Record for all the publicity leading up to the sale. Our next event is the Annual Author Luncheon on October 17 at Silver Lake Lodge, featuring Peter Rock, author of “My Abandonment.” His award-winning book was adapted to “Leave No Trace”, a 2018 Sundance movie. Tickets are available at our Library, or online at https://squareup.com/store/friends-ofthe-Park-City-library. Memberships to the Friends of the Library are available there also. Jean Daly and Ann Whitworth Co-chairs, Friends of the Park City Library Book Sale fter months of searching for the right place, the Park City School District is officially a homeowner. Congratulations are in order, even if some in the community aren’t exactly lining up to shower the district with housewarming gifts. Last week, the Board of Education voted 3-1 to finalize the purchase of an $870,000 home in Jeremy Ranch meant to house superintendent Jill Gildea. The idea, officials say, stems from the community expressing a desire during the search for a new superintendent that the leader of the district live within its boundaries. Mission accomplished. Residents can look forward to Gildea becoming a familiar face both at school events and in line at the grocery store. Hopefully it will help her quickly integrate into the community and engender a common understanding that, as Parkites, we’re all in this together. The acquisition, though, has been controversial. Some residents have expressed doubts about the prudence of such a significant outlay for what is, in Utah at least, an unusual perk. The criticisms are fair given the Board of Education’s mixed fiscal track record and the fact the spending comes on the heels of an unrelated $5.6 million tax increase. It’s also fair to wonder why Gildea, who inked a significantly more lucrative contract than her predecessor Ember Conley, can’t purchase housing with a salary of $235,000 plus benefits. contribute to the effort. The alternative will be development if Utah Open Lands is unable to raise $3,000,000. We did this for Bonanza; bonded and raised $13 million. We need to do this for Armstrong Snow Ranch Pastures: raise $3 million in private donations. This may well be one of the most significant heirloom agricultural landscapes left unprotected within our city limits. So please vote and donate to save this treasured landscape from becoming a sea of rooftops and asphalt. Those critiques, though, miss the point. In addition to fulfilling the community’s request that the superintendent live in Park City, the home makes the district a more attractive destination for prospective superintendents. While Gildea’s tenure is just beginning, Board members say her hefty compensation package was necessary to lure an educator of her caliber. And the home could also pay dividends the next time the district finds itself searching for a superintendent. Other school systems around the country in places with high costs of living have adopted the same strategy to sweeten the deal for superintendents. If our community is serious about wanting our district to have top-flight leadership that can improve the education of our children — the kind of talent that other prestigious school systems also want to hire — it’s reasonable that we would follow suit. The fact that school officials view the home as a financial investment is also important. The home will accrue value as prices in Park City’s lucrative real estate market rise, making the acquisition a wiser fiscal strategy than simply providing Gildea with a housing stipend, which was one idea the Board of Education considered. Housewarming gifts from residents? Still unnecessary. But skeptical taxpayers should rest easier knowing that, while the home may seem like an unconventional perk, it’s a sound investment that could pay off for the entire community. than $200/year. Put another way, that is a latte or beer per week. Is that too much to ask all of us to prevent years of blasting, 300 dump trucks per day going down Kearns Boulevard and Park Avenue, continued degrading of our environment and all the rest of the problems that will come with building a convention center in the middle of our city? I think it is a bargain. Let’s preserve Park City Vote for the Open Space Bond. Niels P. Vernegaard Old Town Protect a treasured landscape Jack Thomas Former Park City mayor Editor: As the former Mayor I can attest to the importance of protecting open space. From the early negotiations, to the vital fundraising campaign that protected Bonanza Flat, I watched a broad community come together to assure its fate as preserved. Armstrong Snow Ranch Pastures is in need of a similar effort. The current open space bond, if passed, only gets us halfway there. Your donation dollars will determine whether this amazing piece of Park City’s heritage is preserved or developed. By donating directly to Utah Open Lands’ campaign to save this land, the City will only be paying 18 percent of the fair market value of the conservation easement. This is a huge savings for the City, made possible in part by the tremendous donation being made by the landowning family and the work of Utah Open Lands. Right now the organization has a $625,000 matching grant that will go 100 percent to the land if we as donors and lovers of open space Bond is a bargain A much-needed reminder Editor: Jay Hamburger has recently interviewed two opponents of the Open Space Bond. One point these gentlemen agree on is that the resort economy should pay for the bond, not them. They seem to believe that the homeowners are paying for the entire bond. Well, they are in luck. Based on how Park City structures its tax code, 85 percent of the bond will be paid for by the resort economy that supports our city. Only 15 percent of the amount will be paid for by full-time homeowners like them. The average full-time homeowner will pay less Editor: Last Thursday I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Taking the kids to school, we drove past all the firefighters sleeping in tents on the ground, using porta potties and porta sinks and getting ready for their day. I did not think much of it as I was still wrapped up in myself and what was not going my way. I went back home to finish getting ready. When I drove past the firefighter camp on my way to work, several of the crews had headed out to take care of the fire nearby. They had Nevada license plates and were from Tahoe/ Letters Policy The Park Record welcomes letters to the editor on any subject. We ask that the letters adhere to the following guidelines. They must include the home (street) address and telephone number of the author. No letter will be published under an assumed name. Letters must not contain libelous material. Letters should be no longer than about 300 words (about 600 words for guest editorials) and should, if possible, be typed. We reserve the right to edit letters if they are too long or if they contain statements that are unnecessarily offensive or obscene. Writers are limited to one letter every seven days. Letters thanking event sponsors can list no more than 6 individuals and/or businesses. Send your letter to: editor@parkrecord.com Reno area. Looking at their faces, you could tell they were tired and yet they had a smile. I walked into Chevron, and there was a line of firefighter rigs at the gas pump. These crew members were from Oregon. As I walked in, there were several firefighters getting drinks. I again watched their faces. They looked very tired, but yet they still were friendly. That is when I realized God works in mysterious ways. I was so caught up in myself, and what was going wrong with my day, and here were firefighters that have come from states away to help protect us and our surroundings. They sleep in tents in the cold. I slept in my bed with a roof over my head. They are content with using porta potties and porta sinks. I have a flushing toilet and running water. It made me realize that I need to be thankful for what I have. I wish I could thank each and every one of those firefighters who at a moment’s notice left their family and homes to go out and protect other communities and areas. They do all of this with a smile. God works in mysterious ways. Sometimes what he wants us to know and learn hits us like a brick to the face, other times he takes a softer route. Lacy Brundy Coalville 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/. Yahoo – people who love and take care of others children should have the time to be with theirs! And no – you can’t always have your babies in June – ha!” Meg Parker, on article titled “Park City Board of Education approves paid maternity and paternity leave” Oh thank god....what else could this money possibly be used for?” Paul Serpe, on article titled “Construction on Summit County’s first noise wall begins, despite continued pushback” A Vegan Food Truck would be awesome since there aren’t any fully vegan restaurants in Park City.” Julie Goldman Olsen, on column titled “Local restaurants must find way to keep pace with trends” The Park Record attained permission to publish these comments. |