in Economy
I’m Sticking By My Call for an Economic Downturn
A few days I posted entitled The Canaries in the Coal Mine are Telling Us To Take Notice indicating that we may be in for a rough economic patch ahead. From the responses in comments, via email, and in stores around down I can tell FEW PEOPLE share my view. It was almost as if I posted that “Your kid will never play for the Black Diamond Soccer Club.”
The truth is I don’t have a crystal ball. I don’t have an economics degree from Princeton. I don’t host Mad Money with Jim Cramer. I only report what I see and what I hear from people.
So, I very well may be wrong. I appreciate the respectful comments I have received from people trying to educate (me and) our community (even if they disagree with my point of view). There are definitely people smarter than me saying there is nothing to worry about.
I tend to think that the wealth effect from a down stock market will impact Park City (just like it did when the stock market rocketed from 2009). I think low oil prices will cause further pressure on the U.S. economy. I think the strong U.S. dollar will cause fewer tourists to come to Park City. I think the drop in the Chinese Stock market (Down 16% YTD) and economy will both decrease visitors from Asia and Australia/New Zealand.
If interest rates rise four times this year as the Federal Reserve has stated they will do, that will put pressure on what people can pay for houses. If the Federal Reserve does not raise interest rates four times this year, it will be because the economy is weaker than expected.
Again, I could be wrong. I very well may be. Many people seem to think so.
Let’s check back in during January 2017 and see how our community is doing. If our economy is booming, I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong.
Should It Be HARDER to Live in Park City?
Days like today are interesting. They are hard.
It’s hard to drive. It’s hard to get to work. It’s hard to shovel. It’s hard for the plows. It’s hard to get your kids to school. It’s hard to get to the slopes. It’s hard.
Yet, from a community perspective, it’s also almost perfect. You can’t yell at Park City or Summit County for the delays in traffic. It’s the weather. You can’t yell at Vail for lack of parking. It’s the weather. About all you can yell at is the minivan who is tailgating you.
Best yet, from a community standpoint, we have a real winter storm happening. This is living in the mountains. We don’t live in Disneyland. It’s not all under our control — or perceived control.
There will be no reports to Animal Control today about human/dog interactions.
No one is complaining about lift lines at Park City.
We’re just all trying to get by.
Maybe harder is better in Park City.
PSA: Beware US Marshall and IRS Phone Scams
We’ve had a report of calls from an 801 area code, claiming to be the US Marshall’s Office related to an outstanding warrants, demanding that fines be paid. This is similar to the typical calls received this time of year from people claiming to be the IRS, demanding money.
Do not fall for the scams. Do not give out personal information. This is not the process that the US Marshall or IRS uses for collecting money.
Of course, if you think the call may be legitimate (i.e. you could have a warrant out or you may owe money to the IRS) but you are not sure, then I would recommend hanging up and calling the Summit County sheriff’s office (in the case of the warrant) or the IRS directly and they will help you figure out the reality.
It is always better when YOU initiate the call.
The Summit County Sheriff’s number (non emergencies) is: 435-615-3600
The IRS number is: 800-829-1040
in Vail
Another Example of Why Park City Sucks
This morning I was doing some research and simply typed Park City into Google search. What appears?
At the top you get a snow report for Park City (the resort). The whole upper right hand is a company profile for Park City (the resort). Note, it doesn’t look like it’s a paid result. It is the just the same thing you would see if you typed Riverhorse into Google. Below the snow report is a search result for the ski resort and below that is the site for Park City Municipal.
If I were Deer Valley I would be pissed. Deer Valley is as much a part of Park City (the town) as PCMR was. It’s more a part of the town (in my opinion) than Vail is. When someone searches for Park City using Google, Vail should not own the results.
In addition, if I were a business in Park City that depended on tourists I would be very pissed. The reality is that Deer Valley will probably be fine, but what about smaller businesses that may be impacted? There are countless businesses that will lose out because they are not part of the Vail family, either because they are not recommended to visitors (who have Googled Park City and the result impacted their decisions) or because they aren’t in close proximity to a Vail owned property.
The more I look at it, the more my feeling that Vail using Park City for its resort name is negative for our community. I realize that in the scheme of things Google search results are not the end-all-and-be-all. Yet it just exemplifies the problem.
In a perfect world, the name Park City would be free. It appears now both in the legal world and on the Internet that’s no longer the case. That’s why Park City sucks.
in Media
Another Plug for the Park Record Digital Edition
A few months back, I had written about how I started using an ad blocker on my iPhone. This effectively blocked most ads on the Park Record website. However, I didn’t feel good about reading their content without at least “paying” something. So, I signed up for the Park Record E-Edition ($48 a year).
A few month later, I absolutely love it. It is the exact format of the physical paper. It’s searchable. Back editions are available. It’s available via iPad, Android, and the web. It’s great. In fact, I’ll be sad if it eventually goes away due to the Park Record’s recent sale to Swift Communications.
Recently, I’ve heard many complaints about late delivery times for the Park Record. The best thing about the E-Edition is that I’ve never woken up on a Wednesday or Saturday and had the paper not immediately available.
So, if you are having problems with getting the traditional paper, or just want something a little more convenient, you may want to give it a try.
in Schools
That Looks Tasty
There’s a picture of an example of a Park City school lunches going around. If it does accurately represent an average school lunch, then I can see why the EATS group is petitioning the Park City School District for better food.
Processed chicken nuggets, BBQ sauce, chocolate milk, kiwi, and blue applesauce (I think). MMMM Tasty.
in Sundance
As Seen at Walmart…
This is how you know Sundance is close at hand.
in Economy
The Canaries in the Coal Mine are Telling Us to Take Notice
Hang on. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
This morning two things happened. The first was that Walmart announced it was closing 154 locations in the US (none in Utah, though). The second was that Fastenal, the foremost maker of parts used in construction, missed its earnings estimates.
Anytime Walmart decides to close stores, it tells us something. Either they’ve made a mistake and expanded too rapidly or the consumer isn’t spending (even at the lowest levels). Walmart doesn’t make a lot of mistakes and that’s why this is concerning. In this case, it appears they expanded a little fast with convenience stores but more generally it is signaling a further slowdown in sales across the country.
With Fastenal, their results somewhat aligns with the outlook for remodeling. Their profit was down 5.5% and their sales were down 0.4%. If this happens again next quarter, it will likely signal a real slowdown in fixing up houses.
So, why does any of this matter? Park City and Summit County governments (including the school district) get money from three primary sources: property taxes, sales taxes (including resort taxes), and building/construction related fees. If Walmart is saying that things are so bad that they have to close a number of stores, we should be listening to that. If Fastenal results show that people aren’t remodeling/building like they used to, we should listen to that too.
This means that sales taxes in Summit County could very likely be down in 2016. It also means that revenues from building fees will likely be down in 2016 (construction was already down in Summit County in 2015 but up in Park City). That leaves property taxes as the sole hope for revenues to stay at existing levels. Since statements from real estate agents likely indicate that property values are not increasing dramatically, it’s likely that only through continued building will property tax revenues rise. Perhaps Park City Heights, East Creek Ranch, and Silver Creek Village (residential developments) will continue expansion and thus provide more revenue.
It’s not lost on me that Summit County and Park City are complex entities. Sales taxes come from not only our stores, but our hotels, and resorts. As for property, we likely have enough acres available for building in Summit County, that if built, could fund us for a long time.
That said, it truly feels like a slow down is happening. That slow down will not only affect us individually but on a government level as well.
It should be an interesting 2016. The last few years have shown an uptick in money available to our local governments. It will be interesting to see what decisions are made as that starts to contract. That event may be at our doorstep.
in Election
Please Consider Running For a Local Government Office in 2016
Many of us gripe about things in our community. Perhaps you think the School Board members could have handled the bond election better. Maybe you think all our leaders do is talk about fixing transportation but never do anything. Possibly you don’t like the way the dog issue has been handled. It Could be you believe that staying in the Mountain Accord was a fatal mistake for the county. The list of potential gripes goes on and on.
I’ll be the first to admit, it is much easier to gripe than to actually do something about it. Yet, nothing significant was ever changed by doing very little. So, with that in mind, I IMPLORE YOU TO RUN FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICE in 2016.
Local positions up for election in 2016 are:
- Four (out of five) County Council seats (you can live anywhere in the county)
- Three (out of five) Park City School Board seats (If you live pretty much anywhere south of I-80 and East of Pinebrook in the Park City School District Boundaries your are eligible to run this time)
Unfortunately there are no City Council positions up for grabs this year. While the positions, up for grabs, may not sound as sexy as the Park City City Council, the Park City School Board and County Council are two local bodies that may impact you the most. Most people in our community don’t actually live in the true Park City limits, they live in the Snyderville Basin, which is impacted heavily by County Council decisions. If you have a child in school, then you know how important the School Board is. If you don’t have a child in school, take a look at your property tax statement and you’ll see that 60% of your property taxes goes to our local schools. So yes, the School Board is likely important to you too.
So, what sort of qualifications do you need to have? That’s the great part. You don’t need to be a lawyer, a lifetime politician, or a brain surgeon to serve. Most people would be happy if you just cared deeply about our community, were willing to try hard, and were a good decision maker.
If you were to ask me what I wanted, I would add to that… someone that is willing to make their own decisions and stand against the herd (when necessary). If you are just going to go along with everyone, every time, then why do we need you in office? We might as well just leave the position empty and not pay for it. However if you are willing to make up your own mind, can explain your position, even if it is contrary to others views, we will be all better off in the long run.
Hopefully, some of you are considering the journey. If so, you need to know that deadlines for filing for candidacy are rapidly approaching. County Council filing is available from March 11th to March 17th (5PM). School Board filing is from now through March 17th (5PM). If you even think you might be mildly interested, we’d urge you to start strongly considering it.
One side note is that this is the first year, for the County Council, where your candidacy doesn’t have to be approved by a political party in order to get on the Primary Ballot. You simply need to collect some signatures. This is a big step for freedom in our selection process. No longer can someone be prevented from being on the ballot by a small number of people that run a political party.
The really interesting thing is that a majority of the seats on both the School Board and County Council are up for election. So, this year we could see a dramatic shake up in both groups. Therefore, it’s important that if you feel you have something to offer, that you apply. You could really make a difference.
I believe we are at an inflection point in the Snyderville Basin. With regard to the schools, decisions need to be made about how we both prepare our children for a more competitive global environment and how we facilitate that through our facilities, teachers, and programs. With regard to our county, there are so many issues to be addressed. Vail. East-side development. Mountain Accord. High Paying Jobs. Dogs. Growth. Traffic. I could go on and on.
There are big issues to figure out and we as a community need your voice. So, again, please consider throwing your hat in the ring. Would there be anything better than to have 3 or 4 candidates vying in a primary for every seat? No. Choice and debate is always good.
If anyone has questions about the School Board or County Council and what they do, etc., feel free to email me. Having attended a number of meetings, I am happy to share my opinion on it. If you’d rather get an official opinion on it from people who have actually held the positions, I’m sure either of the current chairpersons of the School Board (Tanya Knauer) and County Council (Kim Carson) would be more than happy to provide you with an overview of what being on the board or council is really like. They are both very nice people and I’m sure they would be happy to share their experiences with you.
So, if you are interested, what do you do? Let’s take the School Board first. For the School Board, you would file with Summit County Clerk’s Office in Coalville. If you have questions about that, you can call the Clerk’s office at 435-336-3203.
For the County Council you have a couple of options. If you want to go through the normal political process, you can contact the Summit County Republican Party by emailing . They will put you in touch with the Summit County Republican Party Chairperson who will help you out. On the Democrat side, you could contact Glenn Wright at and I’m sure he will be able to help you navigate the process, too.
You can also contact the County Clerk’s office directly at 435-336-3203 and they will let you know what needs to be done.
As has been the case for many years, the Park City and Summit County areas are very desirable places to live. I, for one, feel very lucky to live here. To ensure that this continues to be a great place, we need the best leadership possible. We at the Park Rag feel strongly that there are so many people in our community, with so much to offer. We hope you will consider running for School Board or County Council.
Park City Hyatt Escala Suffers Credit Card Breach
Three hundred Hyatt hotels were impacted by malware (malicious computer software) that was capable of collecting credit card names, numbers, expiration dates and verification codes according to Engadget. One of those hotels was the Park City Hyatt Escala Lodge.
If you or your family stayed, dined, used the spa, or bought gifts at the Hyatt Escala between 8/13/2015 and 12/8/2015 you may be impacted. You will want to watch your credit card closely to make sure that your credit card isn’t being used by someone else. This is particularly important since it appears the CVV (verification codes) were compromised too and that makes it even easier to commit fraud on your account.
Here is the press release from Hyatt on the topic.
Parkrag
We believe in citizen journalism. We believe there are stories to tell that can help to shape our community for the better. We believe tomorrow's Park City can be better than today's.