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Show A-14 The Park Record Meetings anD agenDas Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, November 16-19, 2019 More Dogs on Main TO PUBLISH YOUR PUBLIC NOTICES AND AGENDAS, PLEASE EMAIL CLASSIFIEDS@PARKRECORD.COM By Tom Clyde SNYDERVILLE BASIN WATER RECLAMATION Watergate nostalgia BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING AGENDA November 18, 2019 ** District Office** 5:00 p.m. I. CALL TO ORDER II. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of Board Meeting Minutes for October 21, 2019 B. Escrow Fund Reduction Approval 1. High Mountain Road – RC22 Extension – Retain 8 percent 2. Park East II – Retain 8 percent C. Final Project Approval 1. High Mountain Road – RC22 Extension 2. Park East II III. PUBLIC INPUT IV. APPROVAL OF EXPENDITURES – Bills in the Amount of $1,503,059.70 Including SCWRF Project Pay Request #43 for $147,187.70 V. SERVICE AWARDS – Dale Choules – 25 years David Smilanich – 25 years VI. SUBDIVISION PROJECTS A. Silver Creek Village Phase 1A B. Silver Creek Village Lot 8 C. Silver Creek Village Lots 13 & 15 D. Silver Creek Village Lot 16 E. Promontory Nicklaus West Phase 5 – 10 Res Estimated LEA REs Year to Date: # Above Splitter 0; # ECWRF 329.67; # SCWRF 340.33; Total 670.00 Proposed this Meeting: # Above Splitter 0; # ECWRF 0; # SCWRF 10; Total 10 VII. DISTRICT MANAGER A. Discussion Items – Discuss Board Meeting Schedule for 2020 B. Action Items – Consider Adopting 2020 Tentative Budget & Set Public Hearing for December 9, 2019 @ 6 p.m. C. Information Item 1. Financial Statement 2. Impact Fee Report VIII. A. B. C. D. E. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Projects Operations Christmas Brunch – December 24, 2019 @ 10:30am-12:00pm Finance Governmental Matters IV. ADJOURN If you are planning to attend this public meeting and, due to a disability, require reasonable accommodation in understanding, participating in or attending the meeting, please notify the District twenty-four or more hours in advance of the meeting, and we will try to provide whatever assistance may be required. Board members may appear telephonically. Vail Mountain opening day provides climate blueprint Vail Resorts hopes sustainability plan makes impact of snowmaking … we’re putting it on the hill and storing it,” Howard said. “You have a little bit of evaporation, you have some going back into the soils, and you have the majority of it going back into the watershed.” JOHN LACONTE Vail Daily VAIL, Colo. – These days, on Vail Mountain, all decisions are made with environmental impact in mind. Those are the words of COO Beth Howard, who is overseeing Opening Day 2019, a new-andimproved Opening Day the likes of which Vail has never seen. The improvement hinges around a decision to move the Opening Day base area from Lionshead to Mid-Vail, and while it appears to be an obvious choice, it also reflects the latest thinking in the company’s mountain management strategy: Climate change is real, and ski resorts will need to adjust to it. As a result, the new snowmaking system that allowed for a shift to higher-elevation terrain in the early season is nothing if it isn’t employing top-of-the-line efficiencies. At Mid-Vail, a new pipe underground connects directly to approximately 80 new guns along the Swingsville and Ramshorn runs. The pipe is 20 inches in diameter, wide enough to allow all 80 guns to operate at full capacity during those crucial moments when conditions are ideal for most efficient snowmaking. Using onboard weather stations, the new snowmaking guns automatically pump more water through the gun as temperatures go down and less water as temperatures go up. Mountain officials said the water cycle of all the new snow was contemplated carefully, and there are environmental benefits associated with the water storage aspect of snowmaking. With channeling on the mountain allowing for 75 percent of the water use to be non-consumptive at Vail, snowpack on the runs will translate into a source of water storage which will make an important contribution to the spring runoff cycle later on in the year. “That’s one of the best aspects Commitment to Zero Howard said that and every other aspect of Vail management is now focused on attaining the company’s goal of achieving a zero net operating footprint by 2030. Vail Resorts calls the plan their “Commitment to Zero,” and defines it a zero net carbon emissions by 2030, zero waste to landfills and zero operating impact on forests and natural habitat. “Our Commitment to Zero, we went out with that two years ago, and have really, really focused on that every day, in everything we do with capital investment, operating, how we operate the mountain, recycling, everything,” Howard said. In addition to the remote sensing and snowmelt control upgrades on the mountain, Vail and Beaver Creek both executed $800,000 worth of energy-efficiency improvements in 2019 following a professional energy audit, according to the company’s second annual EpicPromise progress report, released in October. In 2019 Vail and Beaver Creek mountains converted lighting to LED, replaced inefficient boilers, updated older and inefficient refrigeration equipment and installed controls on water pumping equipment. “We’re committed to it and we understand the importance of it,” Howard said. “The natural environment is our product, and we take that seriously.” Within the statement is an acknowledgement of the fact that Vail Resorts’ profits as a publicly traded company rely upon the natural environment and the public land on which the resort operates, and in saying it, Howard echoes a statement from CEO Rob Katz in undertaking the Commitment to Zero in 2017. “The environment is our business,” Katz said, in a statement posted on the Commitment to Zero web page. “And we have a special obligation to protect it. As a growing global company so deeply connected to the outdoors, we are making a commitment to address our most pressing global environmental challenge and protect our local communities and natural resources.” In the EpicPromise progress report, Katz said that by setting bold goals, Vail Resorts has been “driven to think bigger and work more collaboratively with our employees and communities to find creative solutions that will allow us to have a measurable impact on climate change.” But it won’t be an easy task, Katz said. In the company’s Commitment to Zero video, Katz ends the piece with a truth the company has long known about such an ambitious goal. “It’s going to require the innovation, passion and dedication of all of us to get to zero,” Katz says, before leaving us with a familiar brand slogan: “This is what epic looks like.” Safer, as well And if environmental sustainability is Vail’s No. 1 concern, it takes the top position in a tie with on-mountain safety. “There’s nothing as important to us as safety,” Howard said. “That’s one of our core values as a company.” In moving Opening Day to Mid-Vail, where more runs await first-day skiers, Howard says the resort will provide a safer experience, as well. “Instead of having every skill level on Born Free top to bottom, we now have beginner and intermediate,” Howard said, in reference to the Swingsville and Ramshorn runs, which are set to open on Opening Day every season moving forward. Also, Howard added, “We’re going to activate Golden Peak Day One for our never-evers, so they are not interfacing with more advanced skiers, they can come down the 12-to-One Connector and ski Swingsville, so there’s a progression for early season for all skill levels.” “Any time you can spread guests out and not interface a beginner with an advanced skier on one or two runs, that’s a real win,” Howard added. This is somewhat old news now, but deserves comment anyway. After further investigation, the Summit County Sheriff’s department determined that there was not a rock thrown through the window of Park City School District Superindentent Jill Gildea’s house. This conclusion was based on the discovery that only the inside pane of glass was broken. The outside pane was intact. Also there was no rock. It was an inside job. The glass shattered spontaneously, probably due to temperature changes, or warping of the frame. While it’s a relief to learn that we are not physically throwing rocks through public officials’ windows around here (though, figuratively, I hear the projectiles are flying on social media), I’m not sure that having windows spontaneously shatter is significantly better. The driveway at the district-owned house is being replaced, and they have installed the tubing that would make it possible to heat the driveway, but to date, I’ve been told, there is no boiler and the driveway is not, for now, heated. I got that wrong last week. With the “Case of The Rock That Wasn’t” closed, the nation is turning its attention to the Trump impeachment hearings. Things are just getting underway, and it’s too soon to know how it will play out. It seems like a lifetime ago (since it was) that I was in college watching the Watergate hearings. The student union building had a big area filled with TVs, and they were all turned to the Watergate hearing. It was the only thing on TV — all the networks were covering it live, and back in the day, there were only 4 or 5 channels available. Between classes and over lunch, we all sat on the floor and watched history march across the tiny screens. It was great drama. We all knew Nixon was a crook. Impeachment was something new. It hadn’t happened since Andrew Johnson, just after the Civil War. The whole thing was different and felt like they were making it up as they went along. Witness after witness testified about the break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters, the cover-up, hush money, and finally the secret tape recording system. One major turning point was the 18-minute gap in the tape, which Nixon’s secretary, Rosemary Woods, claimed she had inadvertently erased while holding a very difficult yoga pose, answering the phone while stepping on the foot control of the Dictaphone machine that was practically across the room. Then holding that pose for 18 minutes. Nixon was a crook. That’s some first class turd polishing.” There were stars. Democrat Sam Ervin ran the committee. Republican Senator Howard Baker rose above partisanship and became a statesman. Between them, the process moved slowly but decisively, witness after witness, until finally, a group of Republican senators went to Nixon and said he wouldn’t survive the vote in the Senate. Nixon resigned rather than being thrown out of office. The Clinton impeachment was over a tawdry affair of the type that, even then, would have had any corporate CEO fired. It would have been the decent thing for Clinton to resign. Ultimately, the Senate wouldn’t remove him. There are a lot of reasons to want Trump out of office. Despite his claim that he is a very stable genius, his own top staff people have dismissed him as a moron. One of his most ardent support- ers, Lindsey Graham, said Trump couldn’t be guilty of extorting the government of Ukraine because his policy is so incoherent that it would be impossible to put such a plot together. That’s some first class turd polishing. From a long list of options, the Democrats have decided the impeachable offense is withholding Congressionally approved military aide to Ukraine, while they are involved in a shooting war with Russia over the theft of Crimea, unless Ukraine launched an investigation into Joe Biden’s son’s business, which would damage Biden’s electability in 2020. It wasn’t using the power of the White House to pursue a national policy goal. It was a small-fry mafia shakedown for purely personal reasons. Trump at his Trumpiest. And Biden will damage his own prospects, without help. It’s impossible to know where it will go. These things have ways of squirting off in unpredictable directions. Trump’s supporters, and there are a lot of them, are unfazed by any of this. They got their tax cuts, and as long as he keeps appointing anti-abortion judges, it’s all good. It will take a lot to turn those supporters against him. The House will vote to impeach, almost surely on party lines. It then moves to a trial in the Senate. Some Republican Senate leaders have already said they won’t bother looking at the evidence. That could change, but for now, it looks like Trump will survive a Senate vote to remove him from office. So the very stable genius remains in office, likely spending the remainder of his term seeking revenge on all who crossed him. We live in interesting times. Tom Clyde practiced law in Park City for many years. He lives on a working ranch in Woodland and has been writing this column since 1986. sunDay in the Park By Jenny Knaak Growing pains My son has always been big — I’ve said this before — but just to revisit the facts — I gained a lot of weight when I was pregnant, and knew I would have a big baby, but at 10 pounds, 5 ounces, he topped the charts at the hospital that week. He wasn’t late and I didn’t have gestational diabetes; he was just a really big kid. He only wore the newborn size for the first two weeks. By the time he turned 1, we had burned through all the baby-shower items and were buying 24 monthsized clothes. When he was about 2 1/2, he started to complain that his legs hurt. I tried to get more information — along the shin bones? Feet? Hips? He’d always been vocal, but was still learning words, and “My legs hurt” was as much detail as he could give. I was, naturally, concerned, and talked with his pediatrician about it. She asked tons of questions ... did he complain in the morning? Evening? (Morning.) Maybe he didn’t want to go to daycare? (Our little politician — happiest in a crowd of constituents? Never.) Did I treat him differently when he complained? (Somewhat.) Special food, or light massage? (No, and yes.) We talked about a number of possibilities — everything from simple over-excursion to the terrifying prospect of Lupus. We did some tests, watched (im)patiently, and in the end, we concluded ... it was growing pains. He was off-the-chart large — at the 100th percentile of his age in weight and height — and he grew twice as fast as other kids his age. It must have been painful for his muscles and bones to extend twice the typical length in the same amount of time. I conceded to watch for changes, but accept it. There wasn’t anything I could to stop it from happening — and in the end, it was natural and what needed to happen, but ... it hurt. And it was hard for me to accept that I couldn’t shield him from it. Fast forward a dozen years... Tyler played little league football for two years. Last year, as a high school freshman, he played football and joined the wrestling team. In the spring, he had spring training, which spilled into sum- mer, and scrimmages and games resumed in August. In the first actual junior varsity game, Tyler’s elbow was injured. By an opponent’s helmet. We took him to get an X-ray — it wasn’t broken but he had a compression injury to the growth plate in his elbow. I asked the doctor, “Um, how much room is there left in his growth plate?” I guess this wasn’t the typical response of a parent. He looked a little confused. “Well,” I said, realizing I was already presenting as crazy-mom, “is he going to grow? Like, A LOT more...?” The doctor smiled. “It’s hard to tell. Elbow growth plates aren’t as easy to read as necks or hands ... he MIGHT be close to done...” Sigh. MIGHT? Be CLOSE? My 15-year-old is 6-foot-6 and currently weighs about 250. Some days there’s just not enough food in my house. The team doctor, the team trainer, the coaches and my husband and I all agreed — he would sit this season out. As a sophomore, he would have plenty of opportunities to play in the coming years. And if we allowed him the time to heal, he would be stronger for it. Having been in contact sports and training consistently for the past four years, his body was in a constant state of recovery from consistent abuse. A couple of months of relative rest would be really restorative to his body in general. Sometime into the second week of his recovery, I asked how his body felt, overall. He told me he felt great! Rested and strong. Frustrated he couldn’t play, and his elbow still hurt, but the rest of him felt really good. Amazing how not getting beat up daily makes someone feel better. I asked him if he thought the constant discomfort was just from training and games — or if maybe some of it had been from growing. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I dunno, Mom. I pretty much hurt all the time. I figured it was probably just from sports, but maybe some of it is from growing.” Well, that wouldn’t be a huge shock. I did the math in my head and realized he has added at least three inches to his height, each year, for the past three years. It can’t have been easy on his body to grow at least a quarter of an inch every month for the past 36 months. Which is why I asked the doctor the question “Will he grow ... a LOT more?” There is quite literally nothing I can do about his physical growth. But I’ve been actively working on his emotional and personal growth. ... When he was little, I told myself I wanted him mostly independent by the time he turned 16. Able to plan and cook meals, manage money, do his own laundry, grocery shop, clean his bathroom and bedroom ... have the basic “adult” skills he needed, before learning to drive. Because I knew that once he was behind the wheel, it would consume the majority of his nonschool, non-friends, non-sports time. And now, he’s driving. He’s been taking driver’s ed through school, and we’ve been letting him drive on family outings. And it is terrifying. As any parent of a teenager will attest — giving them the permission to pilot a 3,000-pound death trap at 70 miles per hour, knowing it can take them, you, and random strangers out with a single mistake is ... heart stopping. But this is the first major step toward independence. Not to mention a rite all of us enjoyed. It’s just ... besides being terrifying (and, he’s actually a good driver) it makes me a little sad to not be needed anymore. But as much as it might sting ... I have to let it happen. And I guess these are my growing pains. There is nothing I can do to stop it — and in the end, it’s natural and what needs to happen, but in the midst of the process ... it hurts. I have to hope that someday soon, once I give myself the chance to rest and recoup, I will start to feel like him, rested and strong. Ready for whatever that day throws at me, even Sunday in the Park... Jenny Knaak, guest columnist, is the daughter of Teri Orr, the customary author of “Sunday in The Park.” |
