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Show C-1 B-1 JIM CROCE’S SON PLAYS A TRIBUTE TO FAMILY A DREAM IS ON OTHER SIDE OF THE FINISH LINE WAY WE WERE, A-7 STAY UP TO DATE COLUMNS, A-8 A ROAD THAT EVERYONE MUST TRAVEL Follow us on Twitter @parkrecord for all the latest and breaking news in Park City and Summit County TOM KELLY SAYS OUR OLYMPIC SPIRIT STILL SHINES 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, February 19-21, 2020 Serving Summit County since 1880 A different lens Park City skier Alex Hall can’t stop winning but says there’s more to life than medals RYAN KOSTECKA A had enough years in competitions so my confidence was there and had been steadily building up with my training. Once you get on a roll with the confidence you have in skiing and having fun, it just goes up from there.” Hall’s confidence also appears to be at an all-time high considering he’s won gold at his past two World Cup Big Air events (in Atlanta and Italy), and that came on the heels of his first two X Games gold medals, which he won last season at X Games Aspen and Norway in slopestyle and big air, respectively. “The X Games are fun. … They’re a much bigger deal than the World Cup events and you would much rather win an X Games medal than a World Cup because it’s equal to like five World Cup Please see Different, A-8 PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO Parkite Alex Hall flies through the air during the 2019 World Championships in Park City last February. Hall went on to finish 36th in slopestyle and fourth in big air but made his mark on the season with a pair of X Games gold medals. Alex Hall’s Hardware 2017 — 2018 Gold Medal World Cup Slopestyle, Switzerland 2018 — 2019 Silver Medal Gold Medal World Cup Big Air, Italy X Games Slopestyle, Aspen Gold Medal World Cup Slopestyle, France Gold Medal X Games Big Air, Norway 2019 — 2020 Gold Medal Gold Medal World Cup Big Air, Italy World Cup Big Air, Atlanta $1.00 Concept of a housing tax hike backed Crowd at recent event supported idea, but Park City mayor says topic has not been discussed The Park Record lex Hall is on some sort of hot streak. Already considered one of the best slopestyle skiers in the world, the Parkite was looking for ways to take this season to new heights. Combining his training, new tricks and confidence, there appeared to be no limit to what he could accomplish. The only question that remained was would Hall actually take a step toward realizing his potential? So when he walked off the podium after taking gold at a World Cup big air event in Atlanta in December, it seemed fitting that he had attained those new heights. “I was for sure surprised, I guess I’m always surprised because very rarely am I expecting to win,” Hall said. “I’ve Vol. 140 | No. 05 COURTESY OF U.S SKI & SNOWBOARD Alex Hall poses after winning a big air World Cup event earlier this season at Truist Park in Atlanta. JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record Parkites over the years have overwhelmingly voted to increase property taxes to acquire open space. And they have supported a tax hike to create safer pedestrian and bicyclist routes. But City Hall has never asked whether taxes should be increased to support the municipal government’s housing efforts. That topic was broached at the second part of the Park City Future Summit, held recently at the Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library. The firm hired by City Hall to lead an exercise designed to craft a vision for the community asked a series of questions at the event, compiling the answers from the crowd as they were submitted. One of the questions inquired whether someone would be “willing to pay additional property taxes to build affordable housing.” The most popular answer toward the end of the voting involved paying $250 per year, garnering 44% of the vote. The second most popular response, at 30%, was paying $500 annually while the third-ranked response, “Not a cent,” drew 26%. Approximately three-quarters of the people who answered the question were willing to pay more in property taxes to support City Hall’s housing efforts. The question did not provide details about potential projects or locations. It also did not provide details about the way additional property taxes could be levied, perhaps through voter-authorized bonds or by increasing City Hall’s portion of the overall property-tax bill. The question was posed at a time when City Hall is aggressively pursuing a housing program with the goal of adding 800 units of restricted housing deemed to be affordable or attainable by the end of 2026. Leaders see the housing program as integral to the City Hall work plan as Park City’s resort-driven real estate market, the most expensive in the state, has priced out many rank-and-file workers. Supporters of the program say the workforce or otherwise affordable housing ensures socioeconomic diversity and reduces commuter traffic. City Hall plans a second phase of housing in the northern reaches of Old Town, known as Woodside Park, and plans to incorporate housing into projects along the Kearns Boulevard corridor as it pushes toward the 800-unit mark. Mayor Andy Beerman said officials have not discussed a tax increase to fund housing projects. He said the question that was asked at the recent gathering was meant to measure the commitment of the crowd to housing. The mayor also said Park City councilors could explore funding strategies later and the municipal government has sufficient monies for the upcoming projects. City Hall typically develops housing and covers much of the cost of the construction through the sales of units to people who qualify for the restricted projects. Please see Tax, A-2 Police step up patrols in effort to protect pedestrians Accidents prompt more crosswalk enforcement during busy weekend JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record The Park City Police Department has stepped up its efforts to protect pedestrians after several accidents involving drivers and people walking along a road or crossing one, an acknowledgment of the severity of the cases in a community where leaders have long pressed walking or bicycling as traffic-fighting measures. Pedestrian and bicyclist safety has for years been critical to the Police Department and the wider municipal government, a reflection of the importance of alternative modes of transportation to 3 sections • 28 pages Classifieds .............................. C-7 Events Calendar ..................... C-6 Restaurant Guide.................... B-6 Scoreboard ............................. B-5 Park City’s elected leaders over time. The leaders see the pedestrian and bicyclist routes as crucial to the overall efforts to reduce traffic. The idea is to provide safe routes for pedestrians and bicyclists that would attract people who would otherwise drive. The three recent accidents, including one that involved a fatality, have led the police to increase enforcement of laws designed to protect pedestrians, such as crosswalk rules. The Police Department in online postings and in department logs outlined the recent efforts. On Feb. 15, the Saturday of the busy three-day Presidents Day weekend, officers were assigned to what the Police Department described as high-risk crosswalks. The officers in one shift pulled over 20 drivers and issued four tickets, according to an online posting. The police during that shift also spoke to more than 20 pedestrians and distributed educational material, the police said. The police on Feb. 14 also enforced the crosswalk rules, stopping an unspecified number of drivers. In a case unrelated to the crosswalk enforcement, an eastbound driver on Feb. 12 drifted off Kearns Boulevard “and took out a crosswalk sign” in front of a Kearns Boulevard apartment complex, the police said. The department’s online posting indicated the police suspected the driver was impaired and arrested the person after administering sobriety tests. The Police Department regularly enforces traffic laws and sometimes conducts crosswalk stings involving a decoy pedestrian who is sent into a crosswalk and police officers monitoring whether drivers stop. The recent efforts, though, were launched just after the series of auto-pedestrian cases over Please see Crosswalks, A-2 TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD The Park City Police Department has increased its efforts to protect pedestrians after several recent accidents. The Park Avenue crosswalk outside of Holiday Village, shown on Tuesday, has long been of concern to the authorities. VISITOR GUIDE Meet the very good dogs that could save your life Park City Mountain Resort’s avalanche dogs and ski patrol will meet the public at 4:30 p.m. every Friday at Canyons Ski Beach, and at 4:30 p.m. every Saturday at Park City Resort Summit. The event is free and open to the public. For information, visit parkcitymountain.com. |