Officials in Summit County are bracing for what might happen if the military builds a resort hotel at the outskirts of Park City.

The latest speculation about the controversial proposal has included possible construction of a big retailer in the Snyderville Basin, which would help offset the costs of giving soldiers room discounts at a hotel that could be built near the banks of Jordanelle Reservoir.

When he signed Senate Bill 216 into law last spring, then Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. may have paved the way for private builders to cooperate with the federal Military Installation Development Authority to bypass local zoning codes and develop near Quinn’s Junction.

The legislation was needed to keep officials in Summit County from stopping construction of the military hotel, according to state Sen. Mark Madsen, a Republican who sponsored the bill.

Members of the Summit County Council met Wednesday at the state Capitol with Senate leadership and discussed the new law.

“I know MIDA is progressing on their part and they’re cooperating with different partners,” County Councilman David Ure said at the meeting. “We can’t say we’re really grateful for (SB) 216.”

However, that doesn’t mean local officials are anti-military, Ure said.

“Our problem is not with the military. Our problem is with other people,” he said. “They want more than we think we are able to give.”

On contiguous land, SB 216 could allow the military to build their hotel alongside a sizable commercial project. But state lawmakers might consider changing the legislation to allow the same development on noncontiguous parcels.

“We don’t really want a Costco in Park City and our codes specifically prohibit it,” Councilwoman Sally Elliott said about big retailers chatted about on the West Side of Summit County.

According to Ure, military officials have recently envisioned building their hotel in Wasatch County with the commercial space to complement the resort located in Summit.

Still, this is all speculation, Summit County Councilman Chris Robinson said.

“It still is very much a moving target,” Robinson said, adding that MIDA officials would like to firm up the plans within 60 days.

The military has also eyed “three or four locations right along that (U.S) 40 corridor,” Elliott said about other possible places for the hotel.

The military hotel would likely have rooms available to the public.

“The subsidy from MIDA would basically be allowing a military member who wants to use the hotel to get a discount,” Robinson said.

At Wednesday’s discussion, Assistant Senate Majority Whip Wayne Niederhauser acknowledged that there is already development near Quinn’s Junction.

“But it doesn’t seem to me that it’s primed for big retail,” Niederhauser added.