Mountain Accord Board Members Need to Think Broadly When Disclosing Conflicts
During Wednesday’s online Mountain Accord Debate, Laney Jones, consultant to Mountain Accord was asked a question:
“We heard on our local radio station, KPCW, that a citizen raised questions about conflicts of interest with regard to members of the Mountain Accord’s Executive Committee. Will Mountain Accord commit to publishing on its website all conflict of interest forms from each person on the Executive Committee before the process continues?”
The answer was..
Laney Jones (of Mountain Accord): “I can address that. The executive board is made up of about 20 entities. A lot of them are elected officials and some are private entities. I think the question has arisen as to whether any of the board members have a financial interest in land or ownership around where transit lines may have been proposed where that land might benefit. To date, the decisions that have been made have not made any specific decisions about where those transit lines go or their locations. So, there haven’t been any decisions about where someone may of financially benefitted but we do think it is a good idea for all our executive board members to disclose any of their financial interests. That is going to be the recommendation to the Executive Board that those are going to be disclosed and posted on the website. And they would recuse themselves from any that would have conflict.”
We appreciate Ms. Jones comments. We believe there should be no conflicts and every decision made should be based purely on benefits to citizens. Yet our fear is that people will voluntarily disclose direct conflicts but hide the real ones. The obvious conflicts would be the Mountain Accord buying your land to put a train on it. The less obvious conflict might be if you owned a piece of property between Little Cottonwood Canyon and Big Cottonwood Canyon where you could put hotels and restaurants. Would you benefit from a hotel being a mile away from a transit line? Probably. Should everyone know that you have this conflict. Yes.
If we receive a voluntary list of conflicts that aren’t wide ranging it does no good. We need to demand that it is a requirement that all executive board members list all financial interests for them and relatives in Salt Lake, Summit, and Wasatch Counties. Only with a complete list, untainted by their own opinions, will we truly know there are no conflicts. We should also extend this request/requirement to legislators pushing the appropriations of $5 million to Mountain Accord in the legislature.
It’s not that we don’t trust what is happening… we just want to have complete faith that decisions are being made in the public interest.
The Best Forum on Mountain Accord Yet
Yesterday on KPCW, Leslie Thatcher asked Summit County Council member Chris Robinson about an online meeting, happening later that day, related to the Mountain Accord. He said he had no idea what that was about. Perhaps he should have, as it was the best discussion we have heard on the topic.
The online “debate” featured:
Laynee Jones, Mountain Accord
Carl Fisher, Save Our Canyons
Paul Marshall, SkiUtah
Peter Metcalf, Black Diamond Equipment andOutdoor Industry Association
The moderator was from Boston and the insight into the real issues was outstanding. This felt like the first discussion we had witnessed where it was like a bunch of your friends talking about what they thought. It is very compelling. If you have a little bit of time, we recommend you watch it. Introductions are at the beginning and questions from the Internet start at about 45 minutes in.
in Development
A New Whole Foods Grocery Across From the Outlet Mall
Perhaps you drive along Landmark Drive, between Walmart and Tanger Outlet and have wondered, “what’s that parking lot on the north side of the street?” Wonder no more. If the developers of the land have their way, you’ll be looking at a new 45,000 square foot Whole Foods Grocery Store, in addition to a couple of buildings housing retail and restaurants.
There is currently a Whole Foods in Redstone, which is about half the size the proposed new grocery. If this moves forward, it is likely that building will join the ranks of the other completely half-empty buildings in Redstone.
Right now the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission is introductory talks with the developer about the proposal. The developer never formally named Whole Foods as a tenant but documents filed with the Summit County Planning Department indicate the building will house a Whole Foods. Previously the developer had the rights to build more buildings on the site, each with a smaller footprint than the new proposal. They want to amend that proposal and add 7,000 more square feet but with fewer buildings. It appears the developer wanted to see what potential issues there could be with the change.
So, we are at the beginning of the process but it could have big implications for the area. We’ll let you know as we hear more.
If You Are Against Mountain Accord … You Had a Small Victory This Week
This morning on KPCW, Summit County Council Member and Mountain Accord Executive Member, Chris Robinson announced that Mountain Accord was keeping open public comment on the Mountain Accord through June. Public input was scheduled to end in mid March, with a plan to move forward being implemented shortly thereafter. It appears that schedule is no longer on the table.
While KPCW guests Mr Robinson and Park City Senior Policy Advisor Ann Ober couched the change as providing an opportunity to get more input from citizens, it really is a temporary victory for opponents of Mountain Accord. KPCW’s Leslie Thatcher asked the duo what the response from citizens was on the Mountain Accord. They both said that the comments had been “split.” We feel a bit like we are listening to Hillary Clinton tell us about her email scandal. Words are being parsed.
The word “split” implies 50/50 but really means two or more parts. We can’t imagine that the Mountain Accord really received equally positive and negative comments. That’s not because of anything to do with Mountain Accord but because few people email to say they are happy with something. So, we are guessing split in this context means 90% against and 10% for.
Regardless, a delay isn’t good for the proponents of Mountain Accord. It was likely their hope was to push this through as quickly as possible. They are likely now in damage control mode and trying to figure out the next steps on how to rebrand the message. There is also likely the hope that “further study” and “allowing additional public comment” gives them high ground in June to relaunch the concept. They will of course hope that the opposition has softened by then, too. It’s seems like a textbook play.
So, if you are against the Mountain Accord, you appear to have won the battle. The public consensus is behind you. However, your powerful enemy is tactically retreating and getting retrenched for the war. You have more work to do this summer.
If you are for the Mountain Accord, save your ammo. Your next battle comes in June.
The only thing for certain is there is another fight on the horizon. The question is whose armies show up.
Does Utah Need to Become “Weird” Again to Save Itself?
We were reading in the New York Times about Utah bringing back firing squads and it got us to thinking…. Everyone attributes the 2002 Olympics to the start of Utah’s growth. The experts say that the Olympics showed the world what Salt Lake City and Park City had to offer. Once they witnessed it, they had to come here and see the beauty for themselves… then they never left. Extrapolate that sentiment forward to 2040 and Park City will grow from a town of 7,000 to over 7 million, with Hong Kong Style high-rises as far as the eye can see (ok, that may be a bit of a stretch — except in bonanza park).
Yet, what if it wasn’t the Olympics that really changed things? What if it was the changes, that accompanied the Olympics, that drove growth. We’re sure you remember a time when you had to find a “sponsor” to enter a bar. Have you been around long enough to have brought your blender to your local, in order to have a frozen margarita? Ever sucked down a beer because your waitress couldn’t leave your next beer until you finished the first? We specifically remember a time seeing two young tourists taking a picture of a Utah State Liquor Store because it was so weird to them.
A lot of that is gone.
Utah used to be weird and the weird used to keep people away. Since 2002, Utah has become a lot like every other place in the US. We even have a distillery on Main Street. Now we are forced to account for traffic. We have the biggest ski resort in the US being sewn together in front of our eyes. Frankly, we have problems that we never knew existed.
What’s the solution?
Well, your average politician will tell you that we need plans to confront the growth. As Chris Robinson, Summit County Council Member, said on KPCW radio this morning, “growth is coming whether we want it or not.” We believe that most people in our parts would prefer no growth. Yet, we are told that it’s inevitable.
We don’t think so. All we need to do is return to our roots:
- Require bar memberships and sponsors again.
- Allow only half bottles of wine to be sold (375 ML).
- Allow only beer less than 3.2% to be sold in Supermarkets (yes, that would leave only Guinness being sold).
- Make people mix their own drinks at bars.
Unlike the LDS Church, we aren’t trying to save your soul. We are trying to save your lifestyle. The more “solutions” we see to the problem of growth, the more we realize there is no solution to growth. The only choice is not to grow. Stopping growth requires something out of the ordinary…something weird… something like firing squads and bad liquor laws.
Occasionally you’ll see a bumper sticker around town that says, “Keep Park City Silly.” We say, let’s borrow from Austin Texas and instead “Keep Park City Weird.”
in Schools
Are You Willing to Trade Early Release for a Later School Start?
In a recent Park City School District Master Planning Committee meeting, School Board President Tanya Knauer said that “all things are on the table” when talking about realigning grades. The talk shifted to starting school later, especially for high school students. According to the University of Minnesota, it appears there is research that says starting school later is better for high school students.
Yet, it’s hard to start school at 10 AM and have early release a few hours later. Early release is a program that allows students to end their school day early to pursue other activities. We believe that was the point that Master Planning Committee member and Park City High School Principal Bob O’Connor was trying to make when he said, “are you willing to give up early release?” in response to the discussion.
We’ve talked to a few parents, and unless they think they have the next Lindsey Vonn (or Lindsey Van), they don’t seem to mind if early release was no longer an option. If starting classes later is really better for performance and health, it seems like a no brainer. For those that need to follow their olympic dreams, there is always the Winter Sports School.
Impact of Mountain Accord Tunnels on Water Rights
A Friend of the Park Rag recently pointed out something about the Mountain Accord that we hadn’t heard discussed… the impact on water and water rights. Evidently one of the things known by those mining the Wasatch is that the mountains are very “wet.” That means that a large amount of water is stored in the mountains. The water that does not runoff is stored in the mountains and eventually finds its way through the rock and comes out through springs, months or years later.
What the miners report is that when you dig tunnels in the Wasatch, you encounter a great deal of water. When those tunnels are built, they likely displace the water and potentially change how the water is stored in the Wasatch. There are at least two impacts to this.
First, how much water is lost in process of building and maintaining the tunnels? Is water that comes into contact with the tunnel treated as sewer water and lost to treatment facilities? Is it in effect “wasted water.”
Second, if a tunnels displaces water that would have belonged to someone (their water rights), how will this be accounted for? Is it a case of eminent domain… just like the Tesoro Pipeline?
We have more research to do to better understand the impacts, but we thought it was a topic worthy of considering since its impact could be so great.
Online Debate Serves as an Example for Park City and Summit County Governments
On Wednesday Mountain Meister is holding an online debate about Mountain Accord. We are excited for the debate but perhaps more excited about the technological aspects. Holding an event online allows a broad audience to participate and the fact that it will likely be recorded will make it even easier for community members to participate. Perhaps more exciting, is that questions can be submitted beforehand via their website and social media and they will be answered during the meeting.
While we are looking forward to seeing how it works out, the simplicity of the idea leaves us wondering why our local governments aren’t doing this already. The Park City School Board is as close as we come to this concept. They record videos of each meeting and post them on their website within a few days. Park City and Summit County councils don’t even do this.
As for taking questions online, no local government organizations, that we are aware of, take questions online and then answer them during meetings.
This really is the future of transparency and serving citizens interests. Here is how it could work:
- City Council, County Council, Park City Planning Commission, and Snyderville Basin Planning Commissions would be brodcasted via Youtube Live Events
- Questions could be posted to the Summit County, Park City, or Park City School District websites. They could also be posted to Twitter or Facebook with special hashtags (i.e. #ParkCityCouncilQuestions).
- As part of the Public Comment portion of each meeting, all questions (as long as they met certain guidelines) would be answered.
In today’s world, why do we have to drive to Coalville at 6PM to formally ask a question of our County Council? More importantly if you were really involved and had a lot of questions, you would be in Coalville at 6 PM on Wednesdays, at the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission on Tuesdays at 6 PM, at the Park City Planning Commission on Wednesday’s at 5:30 PM (yes two places at once), and the Park City City Council on Thursdays at 6 PM.
We do understand the apprehension involved with live meetings. We’ve filmed enough meetings to know that it changes the dynamic. We’ve also heard our public officials ask us “please do no put that online?” more than once. If the comment doesn’t serve the public interest, we kindly oblige. So, there is risk from our officials’ point of view. However, the good it does for our community far outweighs the small snafus that inevitably take place.
We often talk about wanting to bring technology to Park City. If you want to bring technology, you have to live technology. We have an opportunity here to not only implant technology into our DNA but serve our citizens interest in a much better way.
While we understand we are likely far away from this happening, there are no impediments that are stopping it. Going forward, if we hear from our officials “we haven’t really heard anything from the public on that.” We are no longer going to view that as the public’s acceptance, we going to view that as our government officials not taking the time to ask.
Is Mountain Accord’s Plan for a Train Built for A Different Kind of People?
Sometimes you want something so badly that you ignore reality in order to fool yourself into thinking that it will work.
We’ve learned more about trains in the last few weeks than we ever thought we would (and 6 of my uncles used to drive/ride trains for Union Pacific).
- We’ve learned that it likely won’t be high speed rail, like Trax, going up Little Cottonwood.
- We’ve learned that Cog Rack and Pinion rail will likely be necessary to go up a steep hill like the Cottonwoods.
- We’ve learned that a Cog Rack train travels between 6 and 16 mph. Pikes Peak’s Cog Rack train averages 9 MPH.
- We’ve learned that Brighton is almost 1900 feet above PCMR.
- We’ve learned that a train won’t likely be able to come down the grade between Brighton and PCMR in a straight shot. It will have to switch back and forth.
- We’ve learned that it will likely take about 2 hours to go between the base of Little Cottonwood and PCMR via the train.
Yeah, we guarantee we knew nothing of that in January. Yet, a conversation we had this weekend With a Friend of the Rag, causes us to ask even more questions.
He asked, “How does snow get removed from the tracks? They must have it figured out because they do it in Europe.” That’s another question we knew nothing about, so we researched it. It appears that a “plow engine” clears the track for Cog Rack trains. Here is Engine No 22 at Pikes Peak.
According to Cograilway.com, this engine allows Pike Peak operations to open the mountain after most storms. Of course, they are closed five days a week in the winter.
So, we imagine something similar to this “500 horse-power, 12-cylinder Cummins diesel engine” will be used as part of the Mountain Accord. Our question is, how long will this actually take to plow the track up the Cottonwoods in the Winter? After Avalanche Control and track plowing, will the road open at 11AM on a good snow day? Will the road open before the railway? Will the plow slow travel during the day, if there is significant snow?
The reason we ask is that we’ve heard it can take 2-3 hours to get up some of the slopes in Switzerland via rail. Now we see why. More importantly, would that timing work here?
We’ve travelled Europe and there seem to be an innate patience there, not often duplicated here. Vacations are long and tolerance can be high. People in Switzerland may be willing to get to the mountain a few hours later than your average Utahn… Do fresh tracks exist at Alta at 10 AM?
We wonder if Mountain Accord’s hopes and dreams may be stronger than their logic. The current plans seem to fly in the face of the old “Quickstart” program where you could ski for free on the same day you flew into the SLC airport. In this case, you fly in today and ski a half day tomorrow.
It just doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. As they say, “Hope is not a strategy.”
Parkrag
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