Park City ends 2010 apparently having made it through the year without the shock of 2008 or even 2009, when the reeling economy overshadowed much of the rest of the community.
The economy, of course, continues to challenge rank-and-file Parkites as well as City Hall, and some of the top news stories of the year involved monetary issues, as they did in 2008 and 2009.
But the unexpected also helped define 2010 in Park City. Parkites were familiar with the Sweeney name heading into the year, but how many knew the name Banksy without looking it up.
The five news stories that shaped Park City in 2010:
5. Find a celebrity
The Sundance Film Festival each January attracts celebrity after celebrity to Park City, and many of them are in the city to be seen.
During the 2010 film festival, though, one celebrity avoided being spotted even as his handiwork was seen across Park City. Graffiti artist Banksy, famous by some standards and unknown by others, arrived in Park City at about the same time his movie “Exit Through the Gift Shop” was scheduled to premier at Sundance.
He left having put up at least six graffiti pieces, primarily on or near Main Street, causing a stir that was notable even by Sundance standards. A piece on the Java Cow building, portraying a person with a video camera filming a flower, became the best known of the lot. Most of the pieces were preserved in some fashion, leaving his mark on Park City.
“I love his uniqueness and his way of expressing things. He has a really different way of thinking. I admire that about him,” said Macey Truett, a 19-year-old from Huntsville who organized a petition to preserve the Banksy works.
While few people likely saw Banksy, many people saw some celebrities later in the year. The television show “One Tree Hill” shot on Main Street in March, with the episode involving a character’s film being shown in a festival. In October, meanwhile, the cast and crew of a movie entitled “Darling Companion” were in Park City shooting, with a scene set on Main Street.
The “One Tree Hill” and “Darling Companion” shoots each drew large crowds of spectators. In the case of “Darling Companion,” the camera-toting people had the rare opportunity of seeing three Oscar winners at once — Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline and Dianne Wiest.
“I about had a heart attack . . . I was so happy,” said Roselia Cedillo, who traveled to Park City from Brigham City for the “One Tree Hill” shoot.
4. Main Street makeover
The complaints about Main Street have been going on for years — it’s too expensive, the stores and restaurants don’t cater to everyday Park City people and drivers must pay to park on the street.
But in 2010, Main Street, understanding that it faced mounting competition from Kimball Junction and other districts in Park City itself, rallied as it tried to retain its standing. The moves started early in the year, first with the hiring of a veteran of City Hall to lead the Historic Park City Alliance, a business group. Alison Butz brought with her a background in municipal zoning and overseeing special events when she was named executive director of the business group.
the middle of the year, there was talk of new attractions to bring people to Main Street, most notably putting up dining decks on the street. Some Main Street restaurants had the desire to offer al fresco dining but lacked the patios or decks to do so. City Hall agreed that the dining decks would be a nice addition, and they appeared starting in late May, first outside Cisero’s and Bistro 412.
“Summer on Main Street needs to be revitalized . . . In the summertime, if the weather’s nice, people don’t want to eat indoors. They want to eat outdoors,” said Stephen McComb, the restaurateur who built the first two dining decks.
A few others followed, altering the Main Street streetscape during the summer and fall.
At the end of the year, meanwhile, the Butz-led business group convinced Park City leaders to allow a horse-drawn carriage on a section of Main Street, another way to bring people to the street during the holidays, the supporters said.
Even with the renewed efforts, there are continued worries about the overall business climate on Main Street, with some concerned about the price of leasing on the street and others wondering how to convince more Parkites to shop on the street.
3. Construction industry hammered again
The Park City construction industry, a bellwether sector that enjoyed record breaking numbers in the years between the 2002 Winter Olympics and the onset of the recession, started 2010 with a dud of a month in January.
In the first month of the year, the industry posted just $680,256.37 worth of permits, a slow month even by January’s standards. The numbers, though, foretold what would be a dismal year for the crucial industry.
The construction trade inside Park City sputtered along, with there not being any major private-sector projects having received high-dollar permits through the end of November. In the first 11 months of the year, the industry posted $54.4 million worth of construction. Through the same period the year before, itself a down year, $66.9 million had been permitted. The December numbers are not expected to push 2010 above 2009, which was the lowest year since 2003.
The industry suffered twofold — the recession led to a steep downturn in construction at the same time there was a dwindling number of major development parcels inside Park City. Without further groundbreakings on major projects, the industry could face another down year in 2011.
The numbers in 2010 would be even worse if not for City Hall propping them up through two public-sector construction projects. The renovation of the Racquet Club and a new transit facility being put up outside the Public Works Building accounted for approximately 25 percent of the year-to-date dollar amount through the end of November.
Meanwhile, Ron Ivie’s 30-year run as the chief building official in Park City ended with his retirement in the middle of they year. He oversaw the construction-boom years that started in earnest in the early 1990s. His service was widely praised by the industry and his peers.
“I’ve never tried to be tough, tough. I’ve tried to be consistent.” Ivie said in an interview after it was announced he would retire.
2. Treasure hunt continues
The Sweeney family had already spent years engaged with City Hall in talks about its Treasure development proposal when 2010 started, and it was anticipated at the beginning of the year that there could be some sort of conclusion to the talks during the year.
That was not the case, however, and instead the discussions became far more complicated than they had been.
The family holds longstanding development rights on a hillside overlooking Old Town close to the route of the Town Lift. The Sweeneys have proposed a development encompassing approximately 1 million square feet, but the family has encountered resistance from Park City officials and critics on streets like Lowell Avenue and Empire Avenue. Many want the land kept undeveloped.
The talks had hit a logjam, and in the spring top-ranking City Hall officials offered an intriguing change to the procedures in an effort to forge a breakthrough. The mayor and Park City Council would be removed as the body that would hear any Treasure-related appeals. Instead they would try to negotiate a conservation agreement for all or some of the Treasure land.
In the months since then negotiating teams from City Hall and the Sweeney family have been trying to craft a deal. The sides have only occasionally provided public updates about the talks.
“The intent of the parties is to move forward in as expeditious a manner as possible” and are “willing and open to exploring alternatives to the proposed Treasure Hill plan,” City Hall said in a midyear prepared statement.
In the final months of 2010, there was another twist to the Treasure talks linked to the idea that a conservation agreement could be reached. City Hall began discussions about creating a program that would allow landowners to shift their development rights elsewhere. Such a program might be needed to finalize a Treasure deal someday. The talks about allowing the shifts are expected to continue in early 2011.
“I’m very good friends with the Sweeney family. I certainly would like to be part of the solution,” said Mark J. Fischer, who has significant land holdings in the Bonanza Park district and has said he is interested in having the Treasure development rights shifted to his property. “I am engaged and willing to work with the Sweeneys and the city in any way to help resolve this complicated issue.”
1. More economic woes
Parkites who were anticipating 2010 would be the year the local economy would begin its climb toward the halcyon days prior to the recession are ending the year without being able to say ‘Told you so.’
As 2010 ends, the area’s economy continues to be in a funk, bumping along but avoiding a bottoming out as other places suffered during the height of the recession.
Businesses across Park City say sales are OK when compared to 2009 and the second half of 2008, but they are not what they were in the boom time just before the recession struck.
The companion industries of construction and real estate continued to perform well off the numbers from the best years. Lodging numbers were not what they were in the best years, and store and restaurants were generally down with them. Main Street, meanwhile, still has several high-profile vacant buildings as the year ends, most notably the empty Claim Jumper property.
The trouble in the private sector led to the toughest budget talks at City Hall in years. With municipal revenues down, Park City leaders in the spring and early summer encountered difficulties crafting a balanced spending plan.
The budget talks started with a stunner: a proposal from Park City Manager Tom Bakaly to raise the property-tax rate every other year for 15 years. The rate had not been raised in at least 20 years.
“This is just outrageous. This is ‘Twilight Zone’ material. If people aren’t outraged, then we really are in ‘The Twilight Zone,'” Howard Stephenson, the president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, said about the tax-increase proposal.
The Park City Council backed away from the tax-increase schedule, instituted some cuts and vowed to revisit long-range budgetary matters. Even with the difficulties, though, the elected officials agreed to press forward with the multimillion-dollar redo of the Racquet Club, among other expenses.
“What the message is we understand this is a tough time,” the mayor said. “This is a tough year. The community’s hurting.”