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C O M Vol. 140 | No. 82 Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, November 14-17, 2020 Headfirst into winter $1.00 Buyers line up as real estate boom persists Market performance powered by people who view Park City as a prime place to ride out pandemic BUBBA BROWN The Park Record TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Hazel Baker, 4, left, and her brother Finn Baker, 5, sled down a hill at the Library Field on Wednesday afternoon. They were enjoying the fruits of the first major snowstorm of the season. More snow was forecast leading into the weekend. See page B-5 for more pictures of the winter fun. New union calls for increased safety Teachers say they ‘weren’t being heard’ when voicing concerns over coronavirus ALEXANDER CRAMER The Park Record A group of Park City High School teachers has started a new union to advocate for teacher safety amid surging COVID-19 cases in the community. They say the situation at the high school has become untenable. “With the alarming rise in COVID cases, we are concerned that — we don’t understand why we have to wait for a massive outbreak at the high school to shut down,” said Paula McKay, a social studies teacher with 21 years of experience in the district. She and two other high school teachers said in an interview last week that they joined the union to advocate for greater COVID-related safety measures, including the ability to social distance in their classrooms. “Individually, as teachers, we felt we weren’t being heard,” McKay said. “And for some, (the existing union) wasn’t able to help us. They were unable to move the nee- dle with people that make the decisions.” The teachers reported that 10 Park City High School teachers had joined a new Park City chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. AFT is an affiliate of the largest federation of labor unions in the United States, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, or AFL-CIO. The new union is dwarfed in size by the Park City Education Association, which has nearly 300 members, according to PCEA Vice President Aaron Webb. Unions are responsible for negotiating employment contracts and advocating for staff members’ interests, and the AFT members say that PCEA has not done enough for teacher safety during the pandemic. Webb pushed back on that assertion, saying that he worked personally on committees that enacted layered COVID mitigation protocols, including the use of personal protective equipment and an emphasis on hand washing and wearing masks. He said he and other PCEA representatives are involved in crafting COVID-mitigation protocols and evaluating how the school district is handling the pandemic. He said that spread of the virus has largely occurred in the community, rather than in schools, a claim that has been borne out in the data the district reports and supported by local, state and federal health officials. But with cases surging in Utah, the statewide Utah Education Association last week called on secondary schools to move to fully remote learning between Thanksgiving and winter breaks to stave off a potential surge in new cases after families convene for the holidays. For McKay and other AFT members, that’s too little, too late. McKay said she wants to see the high school transition to a hybrid model in which she’d teach half of her students in person one day, and the other half the next. Other districts have used different hybrid models, the teachers said, like staggering which grades come to school each day. A hybrid model would better allow for 6 feet between students — and teachers — in high school classrooms and would increase her connection with students who have opted for fully remote learning this year, she said. “It would allow us to build stronger relationships with our students,” McKay said, which would help if school does move fully online at some point. “... I have some remote students that I have no idea what they Please see New union, A-2 In the spring, the coronavirus pandemic shook the Park City business community, forcing the closure of non-essential businesses and thrusting the economy into a sudden downturn. Amid the upheaval of that period and the months that have followed, however, one industry crucial to Park City’s economy has experienced a dramatic run of success. And third-quarter data from the Park City Board of Realtors indicates that the real estate market continues to boom. According to the data, the volume of new real estate listings in Summit and Wasatch counties was up 44% in the third quarter, July through September, compared to the same period in 2019. Pending sales, at 1,503, more than doubled. Median sales prices rose 12% for single-family homes and 15% for condominiums. William Winstead, president of the Park City Board of Realtors, said third-quarter performance was in line with trends since the start of the pandemic as people from tightly packed large cities flocked to Park City, with its wide open spaces and bountiful recreational amenities, to ride out the pandemic. “You’ve got an environment here where you’ve got hiking, biking trails, you’ve got a couple of lakes nearby that you can boat in — golf courses, fishing,” Winstead said. “I don’t think the world really realized there were so many opportunities in such a small area.” The real estate surge comes against the backdrop of an uncertain economy. Unemployment in the Park City area — which the Board of Realtors defines as Summit and Wasatch counties — is down from a spring peak but remains elevated. And there are warning signs that the upcoming winter could be challenging for businesses that rely on ski tourism as the coroPlease see Real estate, A-2 TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD The Park City real estate market continues to surge, with sales in the third quarter more than doubling the activity in the same period in 2019. For prep sports, a struggle to adapt to ‘change day to day’ A 2-week hiatus is the latest twist in season defined by pandemic JEFF DEMPSEY The Park Record PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO Park City High School sports fans have largely done well adhering to COVID-19 protocols, according to Athletics and Activities Director Jamie Sheetz. The school, however, plans to cap fan attendance at 25% of capacity or less during the winter sports season given that most events will take place indoors. 2 sections • 22 pages Classifieds .............................. B-6 Editorial................................ A-11 Restaurant Guide.................... B-9 Weather .................................. B-2 Jamie Sheetz, Park City High School’s athletics and activities director, said prep sports in the time of COVID-19 has been a lesson in flexibility and adaptability. “We’re writing a new story every day, that’s how we’re treating it,” he said. “The way things are going, we just don’t know what is going to change day to day.” Case in point: Last week, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced new emergency measures to try to slow down the spread of the coronavirus in Utah, and among those orders was a two-week pause on extracurricular activities. Through Nov. 23, only fall sports playoff games will be held. No other athletics, including tryouts for winter sports, will take place. “We’ll have the pause and then we’ll pick back up in a couple of weeks,” Sheetz said. “I think everyone is willing to give it a shot if it means getting us headed in the right direction.” Sheetz said the pause didn’t affect any Miners fall sports, which had all completed their seasons. Winter sports tryouts will be delayed, however, and the swim team, which begins its season earlier than the rest, will have its season interrupted. “They’re going to miss a meet or two, and the problem (with the timing) is that they’ll come back Thanksgiving week after two weeks off, have two days of doing stuff and then shut back down for four days for the holiday,” he said. “It’s weird, but I know it’s not easy. They’re trying to keep it simple for everyone. It really is such a mess.” According to the Utah High School Activities Association, winter sports can begin Nov. 24, with the basketball and wrestling seasons starting in December. “What they’ve done is erase a week or a week and a half from all the winter sports seasons, that’s all,” Sheetz said. “So in a couple of weeks we should be good to go. Everybody just wants to play, to be active and to keep life as close to normal as possible for these kids.” The school year so far Sheetz said looking back on the fall sports season, he is pleased with how well the coaches, players and community handled the changes. “We had enough time to prep over the summer that I think all the coaches knew what they had to do. It just took some getting used to — COVID Please see Teams, A-8 CORONAVIRUS TRACKER Summit County Utah Known cases: 1,802 Hospitalizations: 77 Deaths: 1 Known cases: 145,789 Hospitalizations: 6,591 Deaths: 701 DATA AS OF NOV. 13, SOURCE: UTAH DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH |