in Election
We are now the “Sign Nazis”
Last night we talked about political signs and the need to have them taken down (when they are in violation of the law). Today we filed our first formal complaint against political signs. It’s actually quite easy thanks to Summit County’s great reporting tool. So, yes, you too can join us in our witch hunt against illegal election signs.
Frankly, it’s something we really wish we didn’t have to do… but to be fair… it is a law and one political candidate was forced to bring down signs… so how can we let others do it? We also understand that there aren’t many code enforcement officers in Summit County. Would we rather them focus on saving us from buildings collapsing on people? Of course. That said, sign restrictions are part of the Snyderville Basin Development code. So, if it is a law,it should be enforced (cough…cough… idling ordinances).
So, here we are. The only question is whether to wage a war on all the illegal signs (not just political ones) in the Basin. Ok, probably not… that would be a full time job, and life is too short.
in Election
Election Sign Violations
During the last election, we wrote about election signs that violated Summit County and Park City laws. It is illegal to put election signs in the “public right of way.” This basically means most signs you see along the side of the road violate election law.
In the case of past election cycles, we really only reported on the egregious acts. For instance, there was one candidate who parked a truck, partially in the bike lane, with a vote for ________ (a person who didn’t win) sign on it.
However this year, we feel compelled to file complaints against every sign violating election laws. It’s just a matter of fairness. About a month ago we learned that a school board candidate was contacted by government officials and told that the candidate’s signs were placed in violation of election laws. Evidently someone complained. Our guess is that the complaint was filed by someone with an agenda. Who else would take the time to lodge a formal complaint?
So, again, as a matter of fairness, if one school board candidate was compelled to remove signs, all candidates (regardless of what they are running for) should play by the same rules. While it’s common practice to use government process against your opponent, it doesn’t mean it’s fair.
So, here are the first signs we are filing complaints against. There will likely be many others.
We have nothing against Logan, Mel, Shelly, or Carol, but we feel compelled since someone started the complaints, for what was likely political motives, that everyone plays by the same rules.
in Schools
School Board Appears to Be Taking Nursing Issue Seriously
A few weeks ago we asked the question of whether the Park City School District was on the wrong side of history related to its handling of full time nurses at schools. We pointed out that the district was found to be violating student civil rights by the US Department of Education because children with Type 1 Diabetes were treated differently from other students. We pointed out that children have allegedly have come close to death because of lack of nurses. We showed a picture of elementary school students holding a bake sale in order to donate money toward full time nurses.
Today I had the chance to visit with Park City School District School Board member Julie Eihausen. Ms. Eihausen felt it was important that the public understand that the school board has been looking at this issue, takes student health very seriously, and are conducting an audit of the processes and procedures related to making sure students with disabilities are being treated equally.
One of the key issues we highlighted was that it wasn’t “optional” for our schools to provide health care professionals to meet the needs of diabetic students. We believe that our students’ needs are best met by having a full-time nursing staff at each school, with processes in place that ensure that there is always a nurse available for those students needing help, whether that is at school, on field trips, or at school events.
According to Ms Eihausen, the board completely agrees that personnel must be available to meet the requirements but they want to better understand the options available to our district. She stated that we have many needs, including areas such as mental health, and that the district wants to find the most effective way of meeting as many needs as possible. Ms Eihausen provided the example of the Wasatch School District, who, according to Ms. Eihausen, only has one nurse on staff for the district. She stated that the board wanted to better understand what they were doing (and other districts), so that our district could do what was in the best interest of all of our students.
We inquired about a time frame for a decision on how to ensure our students’ needs were met. Ms Eihausen said that budget talks for the upcoming year were concluding but that if the results of their upcoming audit called for more employees, they could adjust the budget to pay for additional personnel.
So, we are in a little bit of a holding pattern on this issue. Ms. Eihausen thought the results of the audit would be available before the upcoming school year begins. We’ll continue to follow the issue and report on that audit and any steps the district is taking.
Car, Train, or E-Bike?
It’s the monumental challenge. Which gets you from point A to B faster: A car, a train, or an E-Bike?
The Hollywood Reporter took on such a challenge. Three of their writers decided to test which way was fastest in light of a new Metro line to Santa Monica being added to their system. Three riders, one in a car, another on train, and another on E-Bike started at a Starbucks in Downtown LA and found their fastest way to a Starbucks in Santa Monica. Which do you think was the fastest?
I’ll leave that to later … but the process is interesting…
If you care about the details of transportation, you’ll love it, and the details should not be ignored. The E-Bike rider talks about the problem with vehicles in his bike lane (a decent problem her in the Syderville Basin). There are comments about how drivers use their e-devices instead of driving, thus slowing things down. The train rider notes that the train is both relaxing and generally empty for much of his ride (It’s like when I’m the only rider on a red eye on Delta… I feel good for me… but bad for Delta).
So, which mode of transportation was fastest from downtown LA to Santa Monica? Wait for it… The Car.
Yep, the old fangled.
It must be stated that the e-bike rider said that he estimated his speed was equal to the cars (but he arrived a few minutes later) and that the train rider said that “I may have come in third (behind the train rider and the car), but sounds to me as if I had the best commute of all.
The more I read, the more I come to the conclusion that we in Park City aren’t going to “solve” transportation at all. There will be a number of different modes. As a rider/driver/passenger, sometimes you’ll win and sometimes you’ll lose… but winning and losing is all subjective.
I hope we don’t spend $60 million to learn that lesson though.
in Vail
Amy Roberts Nails It on Park City and Vail
In today’s Park Record, columnist Amy Roberts expounds on her feelings toward Vail, Park City, and the trademark case. She has encapsulated the issue better than anyone I have read (including us here at the Park Rag).
Here are a few tidbits from Amy’s article, which most will have probably read, but I think are important:
- “From where I sit, this argument isn’t really about a trademark. It’s about trust. A trust Vail has not yet earned, from a town that is hard to convince.”
- “We do not believe you [Vail] when you state there are limitations to this trademark. We are confident you have something else up your North Face outerwear sleeve”
- “That, and honestly, your timing is awful. There has been too much change in recent years, and this trademark bit is the proverbial pin in the grenade.
- “The funky, quirky vibe Park City once had is all but gone. And we are frantically clinging to the “all but” portion of what’s left. We have been pushed to the brink of near extinction and the idea of losing our identity to a corporate trademark, no matter how farfetched, is the last straw.”
It gets even better as you read her article. If you haven’t read it, you must. Rarely are things perfect… but this comes as close as I’ve seen in a while. She tells Vail what many Parkites are feeling.
As I’ve said before, Vail are the smartest “guys” in the room. They know what they are doing. The question is whether the people of Park City (and Utah) care enough to hit them where it hurts. Where it hurts is the Epic Pass. No Epic Pass means no upfront revenue from locals and likely a decline in pass sales for Vail (MTN on the stock exchange). No Epic pass means no incremental revenue from $14 hamburgers. Do the people decide they would rather buy a few 10 Books at Deer Valley instead of the Epic Pass. Do they decide they are willing to drive to the Cottonwoods instead of spending $600+ on their Epic Pass? Do the people push for Guardsman pass to be open and maintained year-round so there is easier access to Big Cottonwood Canyon?
Who knows what the people will ultimately decide, but if you concur with Amy you may also want to consider how to cause change.
We definitely live in interesting times.
in Schools
The wrong side of history for Park City Schools?
You don’t see a bake sale run by a bunch of kids every day. More importantly, you don’t see a bake sale, run by a bunch of kids, where all donations will be sent to the Park City School district, to pay for a full time nurse. It naturally begs the question … if the school district can’t pay for a nurse at each school, what are they doing with all that money they collect from our taxes?
This topic ties into a number of issues that have been plaguing the school district. First there was the Parley’s Park nurse, Nicole Kennedy, whom parents seems to love … but the district is not renewing her contract for whatever reason. Then there is the issue of the district being found negligent in the handling of a student who has type 1 diabetes. Additionally there are stories that other students, who have had critical issues, were put in dangerous situations due to the lack of a school nurse on premises when an issue happened.
It’s frankly a mess and I’m not sure what is really going on with the nursing situation at our schools. It seems pretty straightforward. We as a community depend on nurses to keep our kids safe and it sounds like that isn’t happening.
What I do know is that when 10 kids get together and have a bake sale to donate money to Park City Schools so they can have a full time nurse, there is a problem. It’s not good. I’m not sure what the Park City School District is doing about it, but if they aren’t looking at every alternative, including rehiring school nurse Ms. Kennedy, I REALLY don’t get it.
It just seems that the Park City School district may be on the wrong side of history on this one.
I have found the solution to Park City transportation issues
Rarely am I 100% confident in any statement. However, I unequivocally believe I have found the “solution to rule all solutions” that will solve all of Park City’s transportation problems.
It even accommodates our four legged friends — which is essential in Park City.
Without further ado, I present THE FUTURE:
in Sheriff
Summit County Sheriff’s Office Impresses Again
This morning I was in the Wal-Mart parking lot with my two year old. As we walked out of the store to my car, I heard yelling and then saw one man slam another into the back of a Jeep and punches were thrown. It was violent. So much so that I decided I better get my two year old in the car and call the Sheriff. A normal variety fight between two teenagers probably wouldn’t warrant such a call, but this seemed like it had the potential to degenerate into something dangerous for both the men fighting and any bystander.
The Sheriff’s dispatcher was friendly and asked a few questions. I said this probably wasn’t an emergency but they may want to check it out. About 4 minutes later a deputy rolled into the parking lot and I left. On the way out, another deputy appeared to be headed that way.
In so many areas of the country, the police force may have responded twenty or thirty minutes later (or perhaps not at all). In this case, they were there almost immediately. It once again gives one faith, that if you have a problem, the sheriff’s office is going to be there almost immediately and that they have your back.
It’s good to live in Summit County.
in Vail
Where Was “Park City” in 2014?
It’s interesting watching the battle brewing over Vail’s trademark application of the words “Park City.” According to the Park Record, over 50 entities have, or are preparing to, challenge Vail’s trademark application. As long time readers will note, the Park Rag created a website in January called parkcitysucks.com when we became fed up with the confusion over reading the term “Park City” in the Park Record.
About a month later I had the chance to sit down with Bill Rock, Park City COO (the Vail Park City COO) and Kristen Kenney Williams, Vice President of Vail’s Mountain Community Affairs group. They explained Vail’s position that they had altered their trademark application from something very broad (i.e. almost anything to do with any business in Park City) to something more narrow (Vail doesn’t want another ski resort to be called Park City). They did a good job of convincing me that they would not “go after” a local business using the Park City name. I specifically asked if I could open up a business called “Park City Ski Shop” without worry of legal issues from Vail. They assured me it wouldn’t be a problem. So, I left that meeting feeling better on the trademark issue.
Leaving the meeting, I still had concerns over Vail using the term Park City in marketing. They told me that locally they were shifting advertising to use the words “Park City Mountain” but that nationally and globally they would refer to themselves as Park City. This frankly worried me more than the trademark issue. We are a community that depends on tourism. Having our name linked to an outside company, at some point, will not be a good thing. Something will happen to Vail and it will reflect negatively on our town, because the resort and town share the same name. It’s not an if scenario… but a when.
Now we are months on, and it looks like formal opposition is rising against Vail on the topic. Again, I for one believe Mr Rock and Ms Williams have no intention of trying to prevent any local business from using the Park City name. However, they may not stay in their positions forever and once they are gone, their “words” may not hold as much weight as the desire of the Vail legal team to try and enforce an action against the use of the words Park City. Again, as stated on parkcitysucks.com, I would love for Vail to assign any rights to the trademark “Park City” to Park City Municipal and have the city license the use of the trademark back to Vail (in perpetuity) for the sole use of the name as a ski resort. It would alleviate so many concerns.
That said, I read about the Park City government’s potential objection to the trademark application with a little chagrin. One of the things that Mr Rock and Ms. Williams made sure I understood was that this trademark was initiated by Powder Corp in 2014. It came into Vail’s possession as part of the sale of PCMR. Powder Corp’s trademark application attempted to trademark everything from skiing, to ski shops, to restaurants, to golf and the list goes on. So, where was Park City Municipal and the city council back then? Were they asleep at the wheel, were they turning a blind eye, or did they just miss it? Would it have been Ok for the Cumming family to own “Park City”? It seems strange that they would not have been fighting this from the beginning.
I see why local businesses may challenge the trademark application. You never know what the future will bring and as they say, speak now or forever hold your peace. I guess I also understand why Park City government is now looking at fighting this. However, what I really wonder is where were they in 2014? Perhaps they did file an objection back then… but I doubt it. The better question is why not?
in Schools
Office Hours with Park City School Superintendent Dr. Ember Conley (5/27/2016)
On Friday, Park City School District Superintendent Dr Ember Conley, School Board members Julie Eihausen and Phil Kaplan, and school district public relations specialist, Molly Miller sat down with concerned citizens to answer questions about our schools.
Below are the questions and answers that occurred during the meeting. Please forgive any short sentences or grammar errors, as I tried to capture the conversation in real-time.
Citizen: I would like more information about what is happening with the library if High school expansion takes place.
Phil Kaplan (school board member): One of the major things with the high school expansion, is that we are looking at CTE from a regional perspective. If we can work with other school districts we can work together for CTE. As we look at expansion and CTE facilities it makes sense to look regional.
Citizen: Is collaborating with other districts new?
Phil: Yes.
Citizen: I have a student graduating this year. So, i am done but my kid is special needs. In 2011, there was supposed to be a technical high school. But somehow that morphed into PC CAPS. He was the first kid in PC CAPS. However it hasn’t worked out great for him. So, I am hoping things can be better.I would encourage us to use Wasatch district because they have some good technical opportunities. There are a lot of programs that we need to start and there is a huge need and there is s regional problem and there is not enough addressing of the trade school.
Julie Eihausen (School board member): Every space is being looked at the high school.
Citizen: A trailside meeting happened last night. There was a room full of happy parents. The parents are so happy with the French Dual Immersion program. French is third in business languages spoken behind Mandarin and English. Trailside Principal said people are moving to trailside to get in the French Dual Immersion program. That is how successful the French Dual Immersion program is.
Citizen: I have a daughter who graduated from park city schools in 2012. She is now graduating from MIT. She had so many AP classes that it made it better for her once she got to MIT. She could double major because of it. Sometimes people forget that AP classes serve a huge population.
Citizen: Why isn’t process of high school redesign being open to every one?
Molly: It’s many people. Minutes are available. People are splitting into sub committees and discussing things. Once they are ready to have something to show, people will be brought in.
Citizen: We should be able to sit there and listen.
Julie: There are probably five meetings going on during one meeting. They are moving all over the place. It’s a different process.
Phil: The number one criticism was that we weren’t transparent. We are working toward that.
Park Rag: My experience during the Master Planning Committee process was that being there was extremely valuable. I attended almost all master planning committee meetings and that’s where I heard any details I would have otherwise missed. If the public isn’t invited to committee meetings on the redesign of the high school, how do we know the details? How do we ensure the public isn’t spoon-fed a short list of choices that may not be in our best interest?
Molly Miller (School District Community Relations): How do we do that?
Riki Case (parent and PTO leadership): II went to the Mountain Recreation Master Planning presentation this week. Web page specific to the high school redesign would help. Also, the recreation master planning was very quantitative. There was no personal agenda. It was unbiased. You didn’t feel like anyone was trying to convince you of anything.
Citizen: Also, providing studies and information that is used to base decisions is helpful. We need to lay it out. It will stop the chatter that happens.
Phil: Would encourage everyone to look at strategic planning website.
Citizen: Need to get the park record to publish the strategic plan.
Phil: We are advanced in some ways and not in others. We still have a ways to go.
Julie Eihausen: At some point Those professionals are the people who are stearing the ship. We want buy in from people and citizens. As an example, if the decision was made by teachers we would not have DLI. However, the administration decided to do it.
Petra Butler (School board candidate) : However, we need to make sure data drives the decisions.
Julie Eihausen: For DLI, there was data.
Petra: It is important for public to be able to see meetings.
Citizen: On rec docuemnts, why is lacrosse listed under school district on charts? It’s not a school sport.
Julie Eihausen: Schools provide facilities for lacrosse. However, we have other need before lacrosse that need it. Most importantly cheerleading and wrestling are the top two.
Citizen: I love lacrosse but its not a school need. This should be under the community need.
Citizen:I find the employees of this district extremely responsive. I have sent emails at all hours and often get responses.
Petra: I agree generally but we need to keep focusing on making sure some people within our schools are customer focused.
Phil: We are talking about front line employees and not highly paid executives. We have had conversations about this. We do need to keep working on this. For instance, we have a person who has taught school in Mexico and SLC and he is working to help us figure out how to meet the needs of the Hispanic community. With these front line employees, we are working on it.
Citizen: Andrew Caplan, you are running for school board. Tell me about yourself.
Andrew Caplan (School Board Candidate): Lived in Park City 4 years. I’m a parent of two kids. One will start Parley’s next year. That is why I am running. I have been on the PC ED foundation for a while.
Citizen: Andrew, how much in the know do you feel you are, since there is so much going on?
Andrew: I am familiar with the district through work on PC ED. I have been involved in many program. I don’t believe I am an expert on educational issues however I have managed my company. With the exception of Phil, there is no one on the school who has children. Those interests should be represented.
Citizen: Andrew, what do you see as the role of school board.
Andrew: Budgetary needs. Help drive policy. I think there are a number of challenges. The board needs leadership. With a large change in personnel that is likely coming. I have experience in that?
Citizen: What about you Petra?
Petra: The school board defines the direction of the district. Some of the big issue are the master planning issues. I think the board also needs to get back trust and transparency. The board needs to instill trust in the public. We will need buy in.
Andrew: We need to provide a voice to the constituents.
Phil: My priorities are academic excellence, fiscal responsibilities with transparency. I thin we need to understand that the board are community representatives. We need to look at student population nd their needs. We have a talented superintendent. We have a team under her that makes things happen. the board is a policy body that sets direction. We need to have excellence in academicic performance.
Citizen: I am concerned with two things. y honors in 8th grades honor maths at TMJH. I learned that they take all their tests on computers. I realize that I’m not from the computer generation. Perhaps kids are used to taking tests on computer. The first bad grade that came in, I told my daughter that we should look at the information she used to answer the questions and the answers. Those weren’t easily available. The teacher provided some good alternatives. Then we tried to figure out how to take tests on paper. She then took the most recent test on paper. My daughter got a 97% on the first three pages that were actually printed out (teacher didn’t know). Then she took the other two pages of the test ten days later. She did horribly. Who decided to take math tests on computer? I have a 6th grader who has a math teacher that circles the work on written math. Its so much better.
Citizen: I ditto that. It is horrible.
Dr Conley: One of the things we are doing is changing to having frequent, common assessments. These are not on computers. We found we didn’t have curriculum maps in place. Until that happens, there will be some issue. I completely agree, as a former math teacher, that math on computer isn’t the way to do that. I am happy to talk with you and the teacher on that.
Citizen: A friend of mine’s daughter knows math and she is getting a D. However, they can’t figure out why. She has met with the teacher and it doesn’t help. The teacher agreed the student understands the math concepts, but her grade doesn’t reflect it.
Dr Conley: We’ll take care of it.
Citizen: Asks about homework via computer and says that is a problem too.
Julie Eihausen: I would love to ban homework.
Andrew: Are we moving more towards mastery of skill?
Dr Conley: We are moving toward making sure that our kids master skills versus grades. We have a team of teachers who want to go to competency based grading. We have to go through a shift though. How do you put that on a transcript? How do we make parents understand and be comfortable.
Citizen: I love PLCs but why are we so behind?
Julie Eihausen: For a decade our district has not changed based on data. We have felt we are the best. We also like new and shiny things… versus looking at what works long time. That was due to past superintendents and boards. We have a new superintendent that is looking at data. It is about leadership.
Citizen: Yes, it is about leadership. I am so happy that we are making changes.
Citizen: I grew up in Germany and went to school there. I have a daughter that is going to school there. In Germany, there is no respect for teachers. There is no tech in the schools. She now looks at our schools here and says, “wow, we had it good.”
Dr Conley: When I got here there were no curriculum maps. That is now good. Now, we are all working towards that.
Petra: I applaud board and the superintendent. People focus on negatives but good things have happened.
Citizen: With change in leadership, we are learning what we don’t know.
Parkrag
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