in Dogs
Summit County Council’s Comments on Dogs are Becoming White Noise
In Wednesday’s Park Record, the Summit County Council wrote an editorial on dogs. The title, “Self Regulation By Dog Owners is Best Solution” got us excited. The contents of the editorial, not so much.
The editorial basically says:
- Keep your dog on leash
- If you have a dog you know is safe off-leash, then use one of the county’s fenced in off-leash parks.
Wow, that is exceptionally helpful.
What we were expecting from the title was something that would work in the real world. You know, handle the most common situations where a person without a dog (or a leashed dog) encounters bikers, skiers, hikers, or people walking around town with their dogs off leash.
It seems to us that they need to just make a choice from the few available options and go with it. They could make the fine for an off leash dog so outrageous and universally enforced that citizens know that if the Sheriff, Park City Police, or Animal Control see a dog off leash, it will be an automatic $1000 fine.
The second option is to start a campaign like Mountain Trails 10 seconds of kindness, where Mountain Trails advocates being respectful of others. In this case we know dogs will be off-leash, so the County reinforces that if you come upon a dog that is leashed or a person without a dog, and your dog is unleashed, you and your animal step off the side of the trail. Simple. For bikers and skiers that is more effort, but it seems like a good compromise.
The third option is perhaps the most libertarian view. Leave the leash laws as they are and with current enforcement (basically unenforced) but if your dog bites a human, attacks a dog, or chases wildlife, you will be fined $5000 and pay restitution to the victim.
The final option is to continue on the path we are on. With this path, there are laws against off-leash dogs but they are rarely enforced. Likewise, the percentage of off-leash dogs that actually cause trouble is also very low. There will be occurrences where people are upset about the dogs, just like they are upset at other drivers. Yet, it is an acceptable loss versus the enjoyment and marketing Park City receives from its dog culture.
It seems the county has been beating this drum for years. At some point it just becomes white noise — and it probably already has for many people. We understand that they feel pressure to do something in light of the most recent dog biting incident, but at this point simply writing a letter to the paper means little.
We believe they either need to decide to take unilateral action, and face the certain backlash from citizens, or just say the law “is what it is” and in effect be quiet. Either way would be a welcome change from what we are seeing now.
in Community
Recordings of KPCW’s Local News Hour Are Now Available
If you are like us, you enjoy KPCW’s Local News Hour with Leslie Thatcher, Lynn Ware Peak, and Rick Brough. We think it’s the best source of news in town. Over the years we heard many complaints that the show wasn’t available on KCPW’s website. We had the same complaint, so we started recording it so we could listen later.
Well, KPCW has taken care of that issue. The Local News Hour is now recorded and available each day at kpcw.org. We think its a fabulous addition and one that many people are going to like.
If you want to know what’s really happening around Park City, KPCW is your best option. Now you can listen at 8AM, if you are in your car, or later in the day on your computer or phone.
in Economy
Summit County Unemployment Rate Back Down to 3%
Summit County’s unemployment rate has been dropping since December 2009. During the height of the recession, our unemployment rate crested at 8.9% but has fallen to just 3%. This is the third lowest rate of any county in the state (Morgan and Cache are at 2.9%) and 2.5% lower than the national average of 5.5%.
We still have a ways to go to beat the recent record. In June 2007 we recorded a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of only 2.4%.
in Food
Park City Food and Wine Classic is Finalist for USA Today’s “Top 10 Travel Award”
We like the Park City Food and Wine Classic. There are always some interesting classes and events during the 5 day festival. Our only complaints have been that the classes don’t last long enough.
If you’ve enjoyed it as well, you may want to vote in USA Today’s “10 Best Readers Choice travel awards competition.” Park City’s festival is a finalist this year. Each time we win an award like this, it makes the next that much better.
If you care to vote, you can do it here
in Schools
Want Your Child to Opt Out of State Standardized Tests? Here’s how.
Last year we wrote about why some parents want their children to opt out of standardized tests. If you are interested, the high School has a web page on the subject.
in Environment, Schools
Why Wasn’t Treasure Mountain Listed as a Site to Remediate in 2007?
We’ve been searching the Park City School District website over the past few days to see if the EPA’s report on Treasure Mountain Junior High’s (TMJH) soil was posted. As you may know, the EPA sampled the soil late last year. The School District has said the results aren’t good; therefore, the soil has to be fixed. That, and bad pipes, appear to be the justification for tearing down TMJH and rebuilding it from scratch. We’d like to see just how bad it is.
Unfortunately we haven’t found the EPA report we were looking for, but we did find something pretty interesting.
We found a Request for Proposal (RFP) document from 2007 asking for bids to fix the soil at Park City School sites. It says “After conducting a soil test on Park City School District grounds, three sites show elevated levels outside the restriction of the Park City Soil Ordinance.” Then it goes on to list the three sites that failed:
- Park City High School (Dozier Field)
- Park City Learning Center
- McPolin Elementary School
Wait. Why isn’t Treasure Mountain Junior High on the list? The mining (presumably) hasn’t happened since the school was built in 1983. Shouldn’t the “deadly” lead have been found in 2007?
That leads us to one of two conclusions. Either the testing of TMJH wasn’t done properly in 2007 (or perhaps at all) or the results are being exaggerated now to support the need for a new school.
If someone is familiar with the testing in 2007, please let us know. Regardless, it should be interesting to read that report from the EPA.
in Environment, Schools
Has Anyone Seen the EPA Soil Report on Treasure Mountain?
We’ve been waiting to get our hands on the EPA’s soil report for Treasure Mountain. We emailed Dr Ember Conley a few days ago and asked whether we needed to GRAMA (government record request) request it. Her reply was:
Hi,
We will have an interview on KPCW on Tuesday, April 7th and a release of information on Wednesday, April 8th.
Best,
Ember
Since it was past April 8th, we emailed Dr Conley and asked about it but haven’t heard anything.
If someone has seen it, please let us know. Otherwise, we may have to GRAMA request it after all.
We’ll post it once we are able to track it down.
Park City Residents Should Video Tape Law Enforcement When Possible
The incident of an unarmed black man being shot by a North Charleston South Carolina police officer highlights the need for citizens to record police encounters when possible. In the case of North Charleston, the police officer who shot an unarmed man in the back 4 times has been charged with murder. The police officer gave a description of the encounter that differed from what had been captured on a citizen’s cell phone. The cell phone video enabled the city’s officials to know what had actually happened and charge the police officer with a crime (murder).
North Charleston is a long way from Park City. It’s makeup is very different. It’s crime rates and types are different. Why do we believe Parkites should pick up their cell phones and record our police and sheriff’s deputies when we see them? Because you never know what you may see.
We believe that most people in law enforcement are good people. They have a hard job and generally do it well. But just like clergy members, teachers, and doctors, there are bad police officers. They are also human, like us all, and make mistakes. Just because they are in law enforcement, though, it doesn’t excuse them from those mistakes.
You may be asking, “when in a place like Park City would it ever matter?” That’s a good question. Our thoughts immediately went to that teenage party broken up a couple of years ago when every law enforcement agency this side of the Wasatch showed up to bust underage drinkers. Allegations were made that law enforcement members were physical with some of the kids and they shouted obscenities. If that was all recorded, it would make it easy to know the truth.
You may then ask, “well aren’t most police forces using body cameras?” That seems to be the standard answer to this type of problem. The issue with that is two-fold. First, the officer is in charge of turning on or off the camera. It doesn’t run all the time. There isn’t the battery or storage available to make that work. So, while an officer may be reprimanded for not having his or her camera on, its not going to provide evidence of what happened, if it’s off. Second, the video taken by police will be in police hands. Again, in most cases that may be OK but we don’t want to have to rely on the organization responsible for the officer to choose what and when to disseminate information.
We firmly believe citizens have an opportunity to ensure that our law enforcement agencies are acting appropriately. One of our most powerful tools is the camera and almost everyone has one included in their phone. We have the power to not only record what is happening but also influence what WILL happen … because funny things (usually for the good) happen when a person thinks they are being watched.
Of course, this isn’t a call to interfere with police business or not follow orders given by law enforcement. That could not only endanger your life, but an officer’s as well. So, be smart and remember most people are good.
While the incident in South Carolina was tragic, it does provide a lesson of what normal citizens can do and how they can make a difference in their community. That morning in North Charleston, when citizen Feidin Santana pulled out his cell phone and started recording the police, he probably had no idea what he had done. In the end, what he had done was help ensure justice could be served for a dead man, shot in the back by police, who could no longer speak for himself.
in Food
Park City Brewing is the Type of Business We Want To See Succeed
Late last week, Park City brewing officially opened their doors to customers. They serve four beers out of their brewery on Rasmussen Rd (across from Burt Brothers in the shopping center). While The Park Record did a good job of providing the backstory on the brewery and the people behind it, we believe it missed the bigger picture of why something like Park City Brewery is so important to Park City.
For years Park City has been ruled by the old stalwarts like the resorts, retailers like Jan’s and Cole Sports, and the restaurants on Main St. However, when we think about what’s new, there isn’t much. Enter Park City Brewery. Unlike Squatter’s and Redrock (which we do like, as well) this brewery is old school. You come into try a few beers and there’s a bar with glass windows that look into the brewing area. In the front there are stools sitting around old whiskey barrels. It’s simple. If you’ve ever been to Fort Collins (Colorado) breweries, it’s reminiscent of that. It’s about the beer. That’s it.
Want to talk beer with guys who made it, they are behind the bar. Want to get a tour? You probably can. Do you want to get a nice meal with the kids, with a 14 page menu, and 12 different salads? You’d better go to Squatter’s or Redrock. This isn’t that kind of place.
So why do we say this is the type of business we want to succeed? It’s a bunch of guys from Backcountry.com who wanted to make beer and also had some friends that wanted to make beer. They started a small business from scratch and set up shop in an old garage (that also happens to be at a trail head). It’s not a chain. It’s not pretentious. It’s people doing what they love. And what they happen to love, many people around here love too.
If someone was smart and could also brew beer they would open up another brewery in the same Burt Brothers complex. Hell, these guys should make another label called Summit Park and open up another tasting room next to Cross Fit. When visitors tire of the snow, and want to get away from Main Street, they could spend a Saturday afternoon tasting some of Park City’s finest.
It has real potential and it’s potentially another take on the tourism market. Would summer visitors in Salt lake take a 20 minute drive into the mountains to taste beer, especially if there were a few different tasting options? No doubt. Is this a start…. for sure.
While we wait on what could be, we’d recommend trying Park City Brewery. They are open to the public from 1-9PM Thursday – Sunday. The consensus from those tasting with us is that the pale ale is nice (and the most popular), the brown is great, and the blonde is surprisingly good. We believe the comment on the blonde was “this is the beer you’d want after a nice long ride.”
We really do hope these guys make it — and if they do — it could be the start of something really interesting in Park City.
Response to Our Story on Vail Forecasting Numbers
Earlier today we wrote a story on how Vail does not forecast visitor numbers. We stated that we as a community should not take Vail’s policy of non-forecasting to mean that there won’t be additional visitors. We said that we needed to use common sense to ensure that adequate parking and traffic mitigation accompanied additions like the Vail/PCMR Gondola.
In response to our story, Park City Planning Commissioner Melissa Band wrote us with a very thoughtful email to provide more detail on the topic and why parking couldn’t be considered as part of the gondola decision.
Actually, the reason that Park City didn’t ask for more parking is because of the way the original MPD (master planned development) was written. Both the affordable housing and parking requirements were tied directly to the base development. The gondola connection and the snow hut expansion were both conditional use permits and thus had no trigger that the city could use to insist upon more parking (or affordable housing).
I heard someone on the radio say today that she couldn’t believe the Planning Commission didn’t think parking was an issue. Anyone who was at either of the meetings with Vail knows that almost all we talked about was parking, affordable housing and historic structures. For hours.
Unfortunately, when the original MPD was written in 1997, the anticipated impacts were not correct, but we are still bound by that agreement, as is Vail.
Once Vail comes in with anything at all for base development, parking and affordable housing will be front and center, I guarantee it, but we can’t re-write the rules.
There are one or two provisions in the MPD that allow for the city to step in due to parking or traffic, but they are quite controversial and would result in economic harm to the resort AND business and I’m not sure that the political will is there for such draconian measures.
Ideally, we want lifestyle and business to mix, so at least initially, it is a better starting point for all parties to work together on our mutual issues.
—
Melissa Band
Parkrag
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