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We Parkites should stop freaking out about Trump and concentrate on our real issues

Can Park City stop freaking out about the election of Donald Trump yet? We hope so.

From schools saying they are going to enforce bullying (we thought they already did that), to worries about whether snow will continue to fall during a Trump presidency, to the Sheriff’s Department saying they “won’t participate in any sort of roundup” of undocumented immigrants… it’s frankly becoming a little too much.

We don’t say that because we support groping women, or want to build a wall, or want to defraud you and your kids with some “school” aimed at changing your life. We don’t condone any of that.

Yet, the immediate issues that will have an impact on us seem much more pressing. We hope you don’t get disillusioned with government over a Donald Trump presidency. It’s too important of a time to turn yourself off now.

Here are the local issues we are thinking about:

  • We as a community have a lot of wants: Better transportation. Better schools. More Ice Skating Rinks. Better fire service. Better recreation. More Pools. Better athletic facilities. More Open Space. Higher teacher salaries. That all has a cost. Do we have the money for it all?
  • Park City has benefited from the financial bubble we have been living in. The wealthy have done well and that has flown into Park City. Interest rates have been low and that has benefited both construction, business formation, and home prices (for home owners). Can that continue?
  • More importantly, what does the above mean for tax revenues? Government additions over the last few years have to be supported. Transit Centers have to be maintained. Additional employees have to be paid. Capital expenditures have to be funded. Have those costs been adequately accounted for?
  • The good thing about recessions is that they temper growth and development. It’s been a long time since we had a recession. There’s been a lot of growth. What does that mean when the next recession hits?
  • This is the first time we have had five democrats on the Summit County Council. There was always something refreshing about Republican Dave Ure’s perspective. Tal Adair, a Republican who took over for Mr Ure did a fine job in his short tenure. We’re not fearful, but we wonder what it will be like now.
  • From what we hear, people close to the school board’s new master planning effort say it is an improvement over last year’s failed bond. We’ve heard nothing official but hope they can find the right balance that will achieve broad public support.
  • While we don’t doubt they exist, who is going to buy all these new $400,000-$600,000 homes and town homes that are being built? There are only so many people that can afford a half a million dollar house (or second home).
  • Then’s there’s that little Treasure Mountain deal. That’s a mess.
  • Oh, and then there is Bonanza Flat… Park City voters were willing to raise property taxes to put $25 million toward buying it. We’re not savvy real-estate folks, but we’d guess the real number to buy it is at least 4 times that. Will Parkites be willing to pay that much?
  • Then there is our pet issue, transportation. If you’ve read the Park Rag recently, you know we were against the sales tax increase for transportation. The voters voted to give the city and county money to fix the transportation problem, and that’s OK with us. The people have spoken So, now literally, the rubber hits the road. City and County, you’re now on the clock.

We think those local issues, and many others, are much more important that fretting over a Trump presidency — especially before anything has been done. We hope we can all concentrate on the real tasks at hand.

Comments

4 Comments

Convince Me

Park Rag, you are right on.
Let’s move on, as the sun will still rise, Washington will still keep on as well.

The big issue is with five Democrats running the County Council, we have effectively shut the door on this county to the state legislature. I hope the Park Rag will keep a close eye on what we lose with the state, or even worse how we get punished.

One Republican on the council has at the very least, gotten us a seat at the table down the hill, now I am not sure they will even answer the knock on the door.
With this past election, I am doubtful that Republican Dave Ure would have won his seat. There was so much contempt for the national election, that it looks like our local candidates got caught in the crossfire.

Will our council be able to work with the state?
Will the new councilpersons rise to the challenge?
I was looking forward to some new blood, a fresh voice, but we got two old Democrats instead.
I hope the Park Rag goes back to its roots, the county council watchdog.

I do not trust this new council and need some convincing.

Yeah

What do you expect from the PCSD? An organization run by women for women.

Not that simple

I agree with the premise here: There are many local issues outside the election that are critically important to our town. I also agree that multiple voices in government is important and allows for healthy discourse. An all Democratic council is dangerous – and I’m a Democrat – for the same reason an all Republican controlled executive, house, and senate is dangerous. No challenge means policy can go unchecked.

However, I caution against stating that immigration, specifically the fate of undocumented immigrants, is not a local issue. There are many undocumented young people, both attending our schools and recently graduated, who rely on DACA to work and pay for their college education. DACA gives them a work permit which they can use to support themselves, their families, and pay for school. It does not allow them access to financial aid in higher education; they still pay out of pocket. If President-Elect Trump ends that program (your opinions on executive action aside) many, many youth in Park City will be directly affected in horrible ways. For them, they may literally lose their livelihood overnight. Most of them have been in America since before they entered elementary school. They could literally go from working professionals and college students to undocumented unemployed young people overnight.

Plus, many people who work at the resorts and restaurants in Park City are undocumented, often working with fake social security or tax ID numbers to avoid suspicion. They have real fear over new immigration policies.

I offer this not to disagree with your argument, but instead to remind everyone that while the sun will come up tomorrow, for many people that tomorrow is more and more uncertain because of the Trump presidency.

Anonymous

It’s nice to know that PCSD doesn’t have any problems so that Ember Conley can focus on protecting us from Donald Trump and air soft toys.


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