The Extra $4 million That You’ll Be On the Hook For

During Wednesday’s Park City School District Master Planning Committee meeting, the subject of moving the 5/6 school to Ecker Hill was talked about. Specifically, traffic was discussed. The Committee Co-Chairman, Rory Murphy, said he wasn’t sure that Summit County should be solely on the hook for fixing any additional traffic issues caused by adding a school at Ecker Hill. A few other members of the Committee said they felt it was Summit County’s problem.

The Planning Company, VCBO, then chimed in that they had just received results of a study that indicated what would alleviate the traffic issues: two roundabouts.

Great. Problem Solved.

Or should I say, another problem created. If I recall the cost of each roundabout when they expanded Kimball Junction (to add Five Guys, Zupas, etc.) was something like $1.5 million to $2 million a piece. In the case of Kimball Junction, the developer had to pay impact fees that covered much of the cost. In this case, it sounds like the School District wants Summit County to pay for that.

Who exactly is Summit County? You are. I am. We all are. Do they (we) have an extra $4 million sitting around? Probably not. What happens when a government needs money they don’t have?

Yep. More taxes.