Over the past few years we’ve written about why hosting another Olympics may not be a good idea. We cited an Outside magazine article that referenced the Olympic’s environmental damage, cost overruns, and money spent that could be used for other purposes. We’ve talked about Denver and why it rejected the games over traffic congestion in 1976. We’ve written about how a new Olympics may be an excuse to fulfill the Mountain Accord’s desire to build a tunnel from Big Cottonwood to Park City.

Yet, the drumbeat of an Olympic bid is getting louder. Andy Beerman has been named to the Olympic Exploratory Committee. The Park Record has written an editorial telling citizens to support another Olympic bid. The Salt Lake Tribune has penned article discussing whether Utah will get the Winter Olympics in 2026 or 2030.

We can’t deny the lure of being on the international stage again. Conceptually it sounds great. However, we wonder, is it really worth it?

In the run-up to most Olympics, cities spend years planning, developing infrastructure, and improving transportation in order to host the addition of millions of visitors. An area, and it’s people, typically become all-consumed with the event.

Another by-product of the Olympics is

In some ways I hate property taxes. A property tax means you don’t truly own your property. If you don’t pay your property tax, your house is taken away. The flip side is that property taxes provide a stable source of revenues for our city, county, and schools. So we understand why they are instituted, especially with what is coming down the pike.

What is coming down the pike is a reduction in sales tax and transient room tax. As they say, you live by the sword and you die by the sword.

I had family in town over the Christmas Holiday. I guarantee you they haven’t gone back to Chicago and told their friends how great Park City skiing is. I would imagine, they are not alone. The lack of snow is going to impact MLK, Presidents’ Day, and spring break bookings. It’s also going to impact next Christmas as folks are going to be wary about coming during the early season, next year.

During a recent County Council meeting, County Manager Tom Fisher said he feared another recession (as he probably should). It doesn’t look like a recession’s on the books… but this could impact us similarly. The problem is that the government has expanded our services based (partially on these taxes). The Summit County budget has increased dramatically over the past few years (0ver 30%), while population growth has not.

No snow = No revenue

We hope that Park City Municipal and Summit County have planned for this day.

Summit County Sales tax is about 15% of the budget. So, if that gets cut by 25%, that’s about a 2 million dollar reduction in the budget. Park City is funded by sales tax and transient room tax. That is more than 25% of their $100 million dollar budget. If sales taxes were down 25%, that would be a $6 million shortfall. Who knows if the overall shortfall would be 25%. Will bookings be decreased by 25%? Maybe. I could see that.

The p

Somewhere in Arizona, former Park City School District Superintendent Dr Ember Conley is likely laughing.

After being run out on a rail, her replacement, Dr. Jill Gildea is set to take over this fall. Gildea will make $65,000

The School bond failure of 2015 signaled a low point for the Park City School District. For the first time in recent memory, the school district could not convince the populace to approve a bond for school needs. Out of those ruins, we’d hoped that the district had grown stronger. We hoped they had found a message that would resonate with locals.

The school superintendent, Dr Ember Conley, was rode out on a rail.

Some people have called it the Crazy 8’s. Others have described it as a disaster waiting to happen. What is that? The Kilby Road “improvements” between Fresh Market and Ecker Hill Middle School.

The road appears to be a series of concrete S curves built down Kilby Rd, with the intent to make it easier to reach the upcoming park-n-ride from the Interstate. Inexplicably, the Park an Ride cannot be accessed via I-80. Drivers must exit at the Jeremy Ranch Exit, drive a mile along the Kilby Frontage Rd, and then enter the Park and Ride.

The problem with the road which most people are commenting on is:

• How will snow be removed?
• Where do road cyclists ride?
• In snow, how will cars navigate?
• Is there enough room to turn without blocking traffic

However, we have a simple question. Has Summit County considered that many people think this is the new drop of for Ecker Hill Middle School? The park-n-ride is the new drop of spot. Have entries and exits been designed to accommodate this?

On Friday morning at 6:15 AM I pulled to a stop behind a car at the four-way stop by the Jeremy Ranch store. I was about to head through the construction on Homestead road that stretches underneath I-80.

That’s when the car in front of me proceeded to enter the wrong lane of traffic.

The car began speeding down the wrong lane, unaware it was headed toward oncoming traffic. I began flashing my brights but the car kept going. I finally sped up beside the car and flashed my brights at the oncoming traffic. Either the oncoming traffic saw my lights or they finally saw the car that was about to hit them. Regardless, thankfully the lead car was paying attention because it averted a disaster. If the driver had been distracted, the line of cars probably would have piled into the car that was headed the wrong direction.

The problem is that there isn’t a “Keep Right —>” sign when drivers first enter the lane of orange pylons. In daylight it can sometimes be tough to deduce which lane to enter. At night it can be almost impossible.

Later that morning I emailed the Public Works Director, explained what had happened, and asked for a sign. I received a prompt response that the construction contractor would put one out. I thought, “great, that’s how it’s supposed to work.”

Unfortunately, as of Friday night — no sign. As of Saturday night — no sign. I assume as of Sunday night there will be no sign again.

It’s frustrating. It’s not a hard sign to find. It’s also a dangerous situation.

As I’ve been talking to people around our community over the past few weeks, it seems

You should give the Ecker Hill Park and Ride a shot. It just may make your ski day even better.

Today, Park City Schools were closed due to snow. This decision sits well with some and sits poorly with others. Those advocating the school closing cite safety. The other side cite the real-world impact of managing kids out of school with one hour notice.

Both have merits.

I tend to look at it somewhat differently. We live in the mountains. Last night’s 6 inches of snow is not unusual. This morning’s sixteen-degree temperature is not unusual. Our community has invested in school buses with automatic chains. Our schools have a policy that says that kids who can’t make their way to school safely don’t have to come.

In a school district that prides itself on children learning resiliency, it seems like an unusual lesson. If things are too tough — just cancel it. I understand that some kids don’t ride the bus, and of those, I understand some kids parents’ have a back wheel drive that would make it hard to get to school.

I also get that some teachers have to drive up from Salt Lake.

I drove to the Run-amuck dog park at about 6:30 AM and couldn’t believe schools were closed. The plows had done TOO good of a job to close schools. There was some slush in the lanes of main thoroughfares– at most. Perhaps on some side streets there was more snow if they weren’t plowed.

Mid summer is when most Parkites check-out. However, our short-term future depends on the Jeremy Ranch Roundabout construction workers pushing through. We have the two largest roundabouts in Utah history Park City being constructed in our community. With unlimited time, money, and no traffic it wouldn’t be a big deal. However, the witching hour — or as I like to call it — the first day of school — is one month away (August 20). Tick tock.

Why is that date important? Summer is slower. Once school starts, many thousands of trips per day will happen through the Pinebrook and Jeremy intersections. Everything is exacerbated at that point. A back up of one car is a tragedy. The backup of fifty cars is a statistic.

So, the Park Rag doesn’t have any idea whether the Jeremy roundabouts will finish on time. Sorry, the title was probably click-bait. However, we have an opinion. There is no way in hell it will be done in 31 days. This week on KPCW