The Canyons owes Summit County about $400,000 for use of the county transit system at the resort and government officials want to collect the debt, according to Summit County Manager Bob Jasper.
Jasper said last week he was in negotiations with Toronto-based Talisker Corp., which owns The Canyons.
“Sometimes we think we’re close and it turns out we’re not as close as we thought,” Jasper said. “From our view they owe us a substantial amount of money.”
Officials at Talisker have disputed the amount, Jasper said.
Every business in the Snyderville Basin pays something for the public transit system, Summit County Public Works Administrator Kevin Callahan said.
“We bill The Canyons every year for transit service,” Callahan said.
At issue is how much The Canyons owes the county for other use of the bus system at the resort, Callahan said.
“The situation with The Canyons is that in addition to that general service, there are special services that we provide to them,” Callahan said. “We provide a shuttle during the winter out of Park City that goes directly to The Canyons and we have had a circulator that runs around inside The Canyons that moves people from one location to another.”
Summit County has billed The Canyons for bus service since 2002, he said.
“Part of it is that we’ve got a new owner, Talisker, and they are looking at things and they are asking why we are doing things this way,” Callahan said.
Several years ago Talisker acquired The Canyons from American Skiing Company.
Talisker executive David Smith referred questions to a company spokeswoman.
“Our recent discussions with the county are just a regular part of our ongoing business in working with municipalities,” Talisker spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley said in a one-sentence statement.