Park City Area is the Richest “Small Town” in America
Bloomberg created an index that judges the richest small towns in America and Summit, Utah came out on top. We beat out areas like Jackson Hole, Steamboat, and Martha’s Vineyard.
The index is based on geographic regions with between 10,000 and 50,000 people, the share of households making more than $200,000 or more, median home values, and the share of homes worth more than $1,000,000.
According to Bloomberg we have a median household income of $83,000, 14.4% of our households make more than $200,000, and 13% of our homes are worth more than a million dollars. Bloomberg attributes this to both our ski slopes and the fact that tech giants like Ebay, Adobe, and a plethora of startups are down in the valley (and this is where their high paid employees live).
What’s also interesting is that Heber is #8. I somewhat tend to think of Heber as a second-class citizen (unfairly, of course). Yet, I hear more and more about a lot of high-end tourist destinations being built there. This seems to be confirmed that a number of wealthy people have decided to make it their home as well.
How Does the Stock Market Relate to The Success of the School Bond?
I had a couple of questions from readers on why I believe the stock market relates to the likelihood the Park City school bond will pass.
Here is why I think it may be one of the biggest factors in this year’s election:
Yesterday the stock market (i.e., the S&P 500) lost about 2% of its value. So, if you had $100,000 in your retirement account, your brokerage account, etc… at the end of the day you had $98,000. Today, as of this post, the market is down another 2%. Now you have $96,000 in your account. Overall, the market is down about 9% from its highs a few months ago. So, if you had $100,000 at the high… now you have $91,000.
If this trend continues for the next couple of months, a 20% drop from highs isn’t out of the question by election day. Your $100,000 is now $80,000. People haven’t seen losses like that in a long time. If that is then compounded by the dreaded R word (recession), they’ll hear about it every night on the nightly news.
It’s one thing to spend $56 million when you’re living high on the hog. It’s another thing when you’ve lost 20% of your retirement savings and you are wondering about the future of your job.
That’s why I think the stock market matters.
Moe Hickey, if you know Janet Yellen, you should probably give her a call.
in Politics
What if …
What if the haze from forest fires becomes the rule instead of the exception. I miss the blue skies and the view.
If The School Board Really Wants Their $56 MM Bond to Pass …
If The School Board Really Wants Their $56 MM Bond to Pass… They Better Hope This Thing Turns Around in the Next Couple of Months.
Oh and we can’t forget this…
in Schools
What is Wrong With the Park Record’s Editorial on the School District Bond
In Saturday’s Park Record, the Editorial Staff expounded on the Park City School District’s desire to create a $56 million bond for upgrades to its facilities. It was a good editorial that explained history of school bonds in Park City, what a bond would cost an average Park City taxpayer, and what the School District wanted built. Yet, the finish left a little to be desired. It said:
Yet, please pull out your property tax statement you recently received from Summit County. If you are the person with a $600,000 home (the average home price in the school district), you are already paying $1,100 a month.
So, it’s not as if the average person is only going to pay $10 a month for schools, if they vote for this bond issue. They are already paying $1100 a year (or almost a $100 per month). This adds $10-$15 to that each month (or 10%-15%). If you are a second home owner, you are probably paying quite a bit more.
The implication of the Park Record Editorial’s last paragraph was that this school bond is only $10 a month. They imply for $10 a month you could have either better schools or HBO. Yet, in reality, taxpayers are already paying substantial amounts to fund our better-than-average schools.
Let’s say you could spend that extra $10 per month on schools. Will it make our schools significantly better? Will this $10 up your property values. Will it change the lives of our underserved kids? Will it increase the percentage of our kids going to college from 94% to 95%? Is it worth it?
Keep in mind, that we could spend that $56 million on anything. We could work to make our transportation system better. We could give it to Basin Rec, for better athletic facilities, trails, and open space. We could give it to non profits that are making strides in our community. We could invest it in economic incentives, so that our kids may be able to work here when they get out of college. We could build a massive amount of affordable housing.
$56 million is a lot of money. Unlike what the Park Record insinuated, it’s just not just HBO money. It’s money that could be used to really make our community better.
The question is whether the schools, at this point, are the best use of these funds. Or, is there a better place to use that money.
Vail is Spending $50 Million This Off-Season and it is …
You probably heard that Vail is investing $50 million in Canyons PCMR Park City Mountain Resort this off-season.
I know, it sounds great. It’s like community service — they are doing this for the people of Park City. It’s like a big funnel being put over Park City’s mouth, and Vail pouring the juice in. MMMM. Tasty.
So, I have family in town and they wanted to ride the Red Pine Gondola at The Canyons Village at Park City (or whatever it’s now called). As we arrived at the top of gondola, there was construction going on at what appears to be a restaurant. I initially thought “oh, that must be part of what Vail is spending their $50 million on” but then thought “THAT IS WHAT VAIL IS SPENDING THEIR $50 MILLION ON”.
When I repeatedly heard that Vail is spending all that money in Park City, it sounded like something really benefiting the community. Almost like it was a $50 million investment in our libraries or schools. Yet when I stepped off that Gondola and looked at the restaurant, it clicked. Vail is making an investment in making more money. They are connecting PCMR and Canyons to make the largest resort in North America and make more money. They are building more restaurants to make more money. Eventually they will sell more condos to make more money.
I don’t begrudge them. They are in the business of making money — and they are damn good at it.
Yet, it really isn’t different from Walmart announcing some sort of investment in their Utah stores. Suppose Walmart announced a $50 million upgrade to their stores in our beloved state. It has the same purpose as Vail — making more money.
Something about Vail announcing spending money sounds so much better than if Best Buy did it or Walmart. Yet, it is really the same thing. I wonder why Vail sounds so much better and I let that “feeling” influence how I look at the issue.
It tells me that I’ve really got to grow up.
in Environment, Growth
A Scathing Op-ed on Envision Utah
You may have heard of Envision Utah. Their mission statement says “Envision Utah engages people to create and sustain communities that are beautiful, prosperous, healthy and neighborly for current and future residents.” I first heard of the group during KPCW’s Local News Hour. A representative from the organization has appeared a few times encouraging Parkites to take a survey about what is important to them about the Utah environment. I have to admit, it sounded pretty good at the time.
This morning a Friend of the Park Rag emailed an op-ed by Brooke Jennings from yesterday’s Salt Lake Tribune. If even half of what Mr Jennings says is true, it casts a lot of doubt on the organization. Mr Jennings’ main contentions are:
- The survey Envision Utah will use to drive change frames questions in ways that will cause citizens to choose the outcome that Envision Utah wants.
- The survey was conducted by Cicero Group, and that their business includes “shaping public opinion in favor of corporate interests.”
- That the president of Envision Utah, Robert Grow, was previously vice chairman of the Utah State Economic Development Board and was on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Managers and the Utah Manufacturers Association.
- Envision Utah’s real mission is to create the appearance that Utah public opinion supports industrial interests.
If this topic interests you, you should read the op-ed and form your own opinion on whether you agree with Mr. Jennings’ contentions. If you do agree, you may then also be concerned about how Park City government is working with Envision Utah.
Park City Council Member Tim Henney and Park City Mayor Jack Thomas, along with the aforementioned Robert Grow, gave a presentation about Envision Utah. You can read that here.
h/t to the person who pointed us to the op-ed and the presentation by Park City officials on the topic
in Resorts
Thoughts on Paying For Parking at Snowbird
This weekend, I took the long drive to Snowbird for Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest was just as good as ever. It was family friendly, the rides were great, and it was beautiful (as usual). I was prepared for the $5 parking charge, thanks to stumbling upon the fact previously. I don’t think many other people were, though. The cars entering in front of me seemed to be having long conversations with the money-collectors at the parking lot entrances. Friends that joined us reported the same thing.
I’ve been told by people who work for Snowbird that there weren’t many complaints about the $5 at earlier events. I wonder if that will be the case with this event, since it has a large, and varied audience. I should be interesting to watch, especially if it gets some negative press by the Tribune or one of the TV stations in Salt Lake.
The other thing I found interesting is that this $5 charge is somewhat being “sold” as an incentive to get people to ride the bus. If that were truly the case you would think there would be all sorts of large signs warning people of the charge before entering Little Cottonwood Canyon. I don’t recall seeing any. Maybe I missed that.
I could be wrong, but I am still sticking with theory that this is all a cash grab. Why wouldn’t you try to get an extra $10,000 a day for free, if you’re Snowbird? The only problem is that if it ends up costing them more than that in the end.
Is There Anyone Still Opposing the Mountain Accord?
I received an email this week from a Friend of the Park Rag. He forwarded news that Wasatch Backcountry Alliance was now supporting the Mountain Accord. I guess the old motto of “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” still holds true.
A couple of thoughts come to mind:
- I wonder if anyone is still out there opposing the Accord?
- This has been a good education on how things work… If you can just get something passed, even outspoken critics will join you. Why? Because it will seem they have no choice.
That’s not entirely fair. Sometimes, by staying part of the process, you can still elicit the change you want. That said, by staying part of the process you are also putting your name behind the endeavor.
Here is the group’s reasoning (which I must say is well thought out, as usual).
h/t to the friend who sent this in
Parkrag
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