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Show C-1 B-1 REALISM EXAGGERATED AT PARK CITY GALLERY SKI AND SNOWBOARD CHAIR ENVISIONS LIFT WAY WE WERE, A-7 FIND US ON FACEBOOK Follow the latest. “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ parkrecord for the latest news. COLUMNS, A-8 ROCKPORT MAN CAUSES PARK CITY DISTURBANCE MITT ROMNEY STILL A CHAMELEON, JAY MEEHAN WRITES Park Record. 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 Wed/Thurs/Fri, June 26-28, 2019 Serving Summit County since 1880 Vol. 139 | No. 41 50¢ Flip for Olympics City Hall help sought at land deal deadline Utah Open Lands asks for more taxpayer money to finalize the Snow Ranch Pasture agreement JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Aerial skier Chris Lillis performs a jump Saturday during the annual Olympic Day festivities at the Utah Olympic Park. TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Top: Akwasi Frimpong, a skeleton athlete who competes for Ghana, adjusts his racing helmet on CJ Pritzlaff during a meet-and-greet with Olympians. Bottom: Members of the Flying Ace All-Stars prepare for the team’s first show of the summer. The healthy choice is an internal one Utah had ‘good shot’ at the 2026 Olympics, mayor says ALEXANDER CRAMER Would the results have been different on Monday when the International Olympic Committee chose the host of the 2026 Winter Olympic had Salt Lake City been in the running? The IOC selected the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo for the Games in 2026, ending a bidding process that became notable as potential cities dropped out of the running, citing the costs of hosting an Olympics. The Italian bid bested the one from Stockholm after months of discussions about finances, the map of venues and other issues both of the bids encountered. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee in late 2018 selected Salt Lake City with Park City as a crucial venue as the nation’s bid city for a future Winter Olympics. The USOPC will decide which Games to pursue, likely the event in 2030. There was chatter early Games bid, heavily involving Park City, would have been Summit County staffer strong as Milan named host promoted to a deputy JAY HAMBURGER director position The Park Record The Park Record The new deputy director of the Summit County Health Department was almost a dentist. Phil Bondurant only entered the field of public health “by chance” when he answered an ad after college. “I had no idea what the health department did, they just put out an ad when I was living in Vegas for individuals who want to work in that line of work and have a bachelor’s of science (degree),” Bondurant said. He was hired under a federal West Nile virus grant, and after “a little bit of training,” Bondurant was sent out into the field. “They gave me a truck, a mosquito backpack, a dipper and said, ‘This is your area,’” he said. He dove into the work, which included overnight trips to the mountains surrounding Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, where he would hunt for diseases by testing mosquitoes and trapping rodents and testing their blood on site. He was looking for pathogens westerners might associate with “third-world countries,” like West Nile virus, rabies, hantavirus and the plague. Please see Staffer, A-2 3 sections • 30 pages Classifieds .............................. C-8 Columns ................................. A-8 Crossword .............................. C-4 Editorial.................................. A-9 Events Calendar ..................... C-6 Legals ................................... C-11 Letters to the Editor ............... A-9 Restaurant Guide.................... B-6 Scene ...................................... C-1 Scoreboard ............................. B-5 Sports ..................................... B-1 Weather .................................. B-2 on about the possibility of a Salt Lake City bid for the Games of 2026. There was also talk about Salt Lake City becoming a contingency city for 2026 should the other bids falter. People involved in the Salt Lake City bidding have long said the Olympic region of Utah is prepared to host another Games and see the bid as competitive against any other that could be seeking an Olympics. Andy Beerman, the mayor of Park City, said in an interview on Monday after the IOC decision a Salt Lake City bid for the Olympics in 2026 would have been strong against the finalist cities of Milan and Stockholm. “I think we would have been competitive for 2026,” the mayor said. “The reality is we’re built for the Olympics.” Beerman is a member of the Salt Lake Executive Committee for the Games, the group that is overseeing the bid, and previously was a member of the Utah Exploratory Committee that won the right for Salt Lake City to be the U.S. bid city for a future Games. Beerman said Salt Lake City “would have had a good shot” had it been in the competition to host the Olympics of 2026. He also acknowledged the USOPC had “good reaPlease see Area, A-2 Utah Open Lands, short approximately $1.1 million with just days left to finalize a $6 million conservation agreement in Thaynes Canyon, has requested financial assistance from City Hall, asking that the municipal government put additional monies toward the deal above the $3 million already pledged by Park City voters. It is a dramatic move that will be put to Mayor Andy Beerman and the Park City Council on Thursday, just three days before a June 30 deadline. Utah Open Lands wants City Hall to contribute at least $550,000 to the efforts. The sum amounts to approximately half of the remaining funds that are needed to reach the $6 million. Another $550,000 would put the dollar figure from Park City taxpayers at $3,550,000, or nearly 60 percent of the overall cost. Utah Open Lands reached an agreement with two branches of the Armstrong family to secure an instrument known as a conservation easement on the 19-acre Snow Ranch Pasture off Thaynes Canyon Drive and Three Kings Drive close to the Park City Golf Club. Under a conservation easement, the land remains with the owner with the development rights stripped from the acreage. Utah Open Lands has mounted a broad fundraising campaign for the $3 million stake not covered by Park City, but it was not able to bring in the full amount. The June 30 deadline is the second extension after an initial deadline of Dec. 15. It seemed possible throughout the fundraising Utah Open Lands would eventually approach City Hall for additional assistance if it was unable to cover the $3 million. Park City voters in November approved up to $3 million toward Snow Ranch Pasture as part of a $48 million ballot measure that raised most of the funds for the acquisition of the Treasure land in a conservation deal. Wendy Fisher, the executive director of Utah Open Lands, said in an interview the organization has sought funds for the agreement from a wide range of sources, including individuals, foundations and the County Courthouse without successfully raising the full $3 million. The failure to close the gap led the organization to City Hall, she said, noting that rank-and-file Parkites have suggested Utah Open Lands approach the municipal government for additional monies. “It would be a shame not to ask every possible source, so that is what we are doing,” Fisher said. The mayor and City Council on Thursday are scheduled to debate the request. City Hall staffers issued a report in support of additional financial assistance for the agreement. The report outlines a funding strategy for the additional $550,000 that relies on the $48 million ballot measure approved in 2018, saying the interest rates, bond premium Please see City Hall, A-2 Democrats highlight unity in Park City stop The state convention showcases desire to end party squabbles ALEXANDER CRAMER The Park Record “Unity” was the watchword at the Utah Democratic Party’s state convention Saturday, but the divisions delegates mentioned weren’t about Bernie vs. Hillary, Medicare for All or the Green New Deal. Instead, several Democrats in interviews cited the importance of moving beyond intraparty squabbles and problems with the party’s finances to be able to attack the 2020 elections head-on. The most important event on the docket at the convention, held at Park City High School, was the election of a new party chair, a role many Democrats explained has a twofold importance: effectively communicating the party’s message and administering the party apparatus, which is used to recruit, train and fund candidates for office. Jeff Merchant was elected to replace Daisy Thomas as party chair by a nearly 4-to-1 margin in a campaign that turned negative on Facebook in the days immediately prior to the convention. Many Democrats The Park Record spoke to mentioned political infighting and the party’s debt as issues they would like to see the next chair resolve. Longtime Salt Lake County Councilor Jim Bradley pointed out the challenges in the job, which he said is essentially an administrative role, but one that also requires the political skills to campaign and raise money. He said it’s natural to see people cycle through it. “Running a state organization is hard,” Bradley said. “I always appreciate anybody willing to do it.” In the other elections of the day, NaPlease see Unity, A-6 TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD The morning of the 2019 Utah State Democratic Convention, interest groups like political candidates and voter registration organizations set up tables in the cafeteria area of Park City High School. The convention lasted from 8:30 a.m. through the evening, and Democrats elected new party leadership, including Chair Jeff Merchant, and completed official business like adopting the party platform. VISITOR GUIDE The weekend menu in Park City includes Hot Tuna Hot Tuna will perform at 8 p.m. from Thursday through Saturday at the Egyptian Theatre. The duo will perform acoustically. Thursday tickets range from $43-$65. Friday tickets range from $49 to $70, and Saturday tickets are $53 to $75. More: parkcityshows.com. |