City Watch

The thud of the ball against boards and the subsequent clatter of scattering pins is a familiar soundtrack. From the birthday parties of our wistful youth to the Lebowski-esque escapism of adulthood, the bowling alley has served as the quotidian cultural center of our communities. For the past decade Jupiter Bowl’s been that hub in Park City. But after it shuttered its doors last fall in the face of rising rent costs, there’s a void in town.   

“We all bowled as kids. Our parents bowled. Our parents’ parents bowled. It’s just what we did,” says Amy Baker, owner of Jupiter Bowl. “We thought Jupiter Bowl would be really valuable to the community. We would have been happy just to break even. And if we could have, we would have stayed open forever.”

Baker and her partners ran Jupiter Bowl at a loss for 10 years. The third rent hike proved too much, costing Park City a locally owned and operated institution.

The closure contributes to growing anxiety about a cost-driven transformation in Park City that’s threatening the viability of local businesses. A fickle, seasonally dependent resort market is difficult enough, especially when combined with some of the highest lease prices in the state.

“There’s still a small full-time community here, so we rely on three big weeks a year in wintertime. You just can’t survive on that,” Baker says. Baker declined to disclose exact figures, but based on the going rates in Park City, the costs to run the 23,000 square-foot bowling alley, restaurant and entertainment center were likely astronomical.

“Park City is essentially divided into four commercial pods: Main Street, Prospector, Kimball Junction and Silver Creek,” Katie Wilking Clinard, Park City Commercial Division Director for Cushman Wakefield, said. “In all those areas, costs are still going up, though it’s held relatively steady for the past 12 months. People want to be here and there’s lack of vacancy. It doesn’t look like that’s going to change.”

Wilking Clinard provided us with approximate triple net lease fees (NNN) for each of Park City’s commercial pods, which are the annual, per-square-foot costs for rent, utilities, taxes, building insurance and maintenance a tenant agrees to pay. NNN Fees are $65-75 along Main Street, $20-30 in Prospector, $24-29 in Kimball Junction and $17-21 in Silver Creek. Add to that increasing employee costs required to remain competitive in Park City—with its dearth of affordable housing and largely commuter-based workforce—and you begin to understand the difficult calculus business owners are faced with in Park City.

Average Retail Space Cost Per Square Foot:

Salt Lake City

$25.23

vs.

Main Street, Park City:

$70

Average Monthly Cost for 2,500 Square Foot Retail Space:

Salt Lake City:

$5,416

vs.

Main Street, Park City:

$14,583

Average Retail Sales Associate Hourly Pay Rate:

Salt Lake City:

$11.41

vs.

Park City:

$17.56

 

Some Park City businesses get creative to stay ahead. On Main Street, Prospect—a clothing store—Billy’s Barber Shop and Pink Elephant Coffee have created a thriving co-working space in one building. It helps to split costs, and walk-in customers for each separate business complement the other tenants. Other businesses have moved operations to the Salt Lake Valley where costs are lower. Park City Brewery recently moved their production to a shared facility in South Salt Lake with Shades Brewing, which also used to brew in Park City. Park City Brewery, however, is opening a new taproom in Kimball Junction to maintain a presence in Summit County. Boutique bamboo ski pole manufacturer Soul Poles moved out of their facility on Munchkin Road last summer. Though rent prices in that specific area were substantially lower than other areas, the location was not a long-term solution as that property is being bulldozed along with several others in April as part of the upcoming Park City Arts and Culture District.

A town inundated with single-branded shops like Patagonia, The North Face and Lululemon looks like any other. “If all we have are chain stores, you can get everything online. There’s no reason to come to town, and you risk losing all our local charm,” Wilking Clinard says.

A born-and-bred Park City local, she stresses it’s not all doom and gloom. “Communication between parties to find creative solutions that work for everyone is vital. Whether that’s creating unique payment schedules or helping arrange co-working spaces, I’m proud to help keep a local identity in Park City.”

The city hasn’t sat idly by either. In 2017 the City Council passed an amendment which capped the number of chain stores in the immediate Main Street area. Mayor at the time Jack Thomas espoused the need to “balance business and authenticity” in Park City, which is more important than ever as growth and development continue. High commercial rent prices in Park City aren’t going anywhere. The city is doing what it can. Commercial real estate experts like Wilking Clinard are chipping in too. What can we do? It’s simple. Vote with our wallets and support the local businesses that lend Park City its identity.

For more articles on Park City, click here.

Did you know that in the 2019 Utah State Legislative session, Rep. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork was pushing a statewide ban on the ban of plastic bags? House Bill 320, which got shot down by several House members, never went to debate, but potentially would have prevented cities from even considering a ban of single-use plastic bags, straws and containers. And, because recycling efforts are generally a local government’s job, if a city or county wishes to improve the planet by reducing the use of consumer plastic—for heck sake—we should let them.

Ban the Bottle too.

Does the # really matter? Resin codes (#1 – #7) are used to identify the type of resin used in making the product, not necessarily whether the product is recyclable or not. A better qualifier is just that the product is made from plastic. Any containers with a screw on top, typically used for soap, beverages, etc. are recyclable in any program.

Logan is now the third city in Utah to adopt a plastic bag ban. In 2017, one of Utah’s more liberal communities, Park City adopted the state’s first ban on plastic bags, followed by Moab in 2018. Being Utah’s big city, the big question is if SLC will join them? While a plastic bag ban may or may not be in works, this is what you can do now.

SLmag recently wrote a revealing post about the do’s and don’ts of our local recycling program, “Is Recycling Broken?” And it’s tricky. Jennifer Farrell, director of education and outreach for Salt Lake City’s Waste and Recycling Division explains, that the renewed priority list for environmental stewardship starts with reducing and reusing plastic packaging and non-recyclables and, adding one new “R” word to that trope: “Refuse.” Don’t take plastic lids. Ask your server not to bring you a straw when you order. Refuse plastic forks and spoons when you order take out. Don’t buy bottled water (like really, ever) and so on and so on. After that, way down the line, priority wise, comes recycling.

How long does plastic take to decompose? According to The Balance Small Business website, “Normally, plastic items can take up to 1,000 years to decompose in landfills. Even plastic bags we use in our everyday life take anywhere from 10 to 1,000 years to decompose, and plastic bottles can take 450 years or more.” Bio-based (made from corn) plastics are a great alternative, but note when recycling, they cannot be mixed with non-biodegradable plastics because they can contaminate the plastic waste and make it non-recyclable.

In recent weeks Park City has erupted into debate over the limits of tolerance, free speech and the community responsibility to protect children from bullying. The catalyst of the imbroglio was the inclusion of a professional development curriculum for teachers at Trailside Elementary School called Welcoming Schools. The program is part of an anti-bullying campaign that aims to train elementary school teachers “to embrace family diversity, create LGBTQ and gender inclusive schools, prevent bias based bullying and support transgender and non-binary students,” according to the Welcoming Schools website. Such programs are unequivocally positives in our schools and there simply isn’t a good-faith argument to be made against providing teachers with the resources to combat bullying or any type. Some in Park City and Summit County, however, have seized upon the opportunity to create controversy in response to the program.

After Trailside principal Carolyn Synan announced of the Welcoming Schools program, a group of parents from Trailside anonymously sent an email calling it “an LGBTQ indoctrination program and sex education program funded by the Human Rights Campaign.” Three days later, Synan and Park City Superintendent Jill Gildea were served with a cease-and-desist letter from the Pacific Justice Institute on behalf of the anonymous Trailside parents opposed to Welcoming Schools. There are three important takeaways to unpack from these events.

First, Welcoming Schools is a teacher-training program aimed at preventing bullying, and is in no way, shape or form a sex education program for elementary school students. Assertions to the contrary are demonstrably false. Second, Welcoming Schools is part of the district’s Safe Schools Program, wherein some version of an anti-bullying campaign with state-provided training is state requirement. Welcoming Schools is not, as some would have you believe, overreach via a cabal of woke influencers. Third, the Pacific Justice Institute—which sent the cease-and-desist letters on behalf of the anonymous parents—is classified as an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

At this point I’d be remiss in omitting the disclaimer that people are entitled to their own opinions and that healthy debate is welcome in our communities. The discourse around Welcoming Schools, however, has degraded with some attempting to “both sides” an issue in ways that aren’t intellectually honest. I’ll posit anyone using the term “LGBTQ indoctrination” in their argument is trading in bigoted tropes and specious reasoning. I’d also point out those hiding behind the maxims of free speech are ignoring that the First Amendment protects one from government persecution and does not render one immune to judgement or consequence in their private lives for espousing views that are intolerant or repugnant.

It’s a tale of two prevailing narratives surrounding Welcoming Schools in Park City. The first, backs the belief that providing teachers with the tools to combat anti-LGBTQ bullying unequivocally makes for a safer, more welcoming community. Park City Councilor Tim Henney is among those who have publicly voiced support for the program in an op-ed in the Park Record. The counter narrative concerns those who feel vilified for not supporting Welcoming Schools, a viewpoint articulated by Parkite Allison Cook in her own Park Record op-ed. Frankly, the latter is a tired argument about intolerance of intolerance being its own form of unredeemable intolerance. Pointing out prejudice is not, in fact, analogous to perpetuating said prejudice. The Paradox of Tolerance elucidates upon the dead ends of such logic for those interested in delving deeper.

Many Parkites are unsettled by the furor surrounding welcoming schools. A program aimed at eliminating bullying in elementary schools through teacher education is being twisted into a disingenuous argument about indoctrinating youth with “alternative” sex education. Park City may be a cultural outlier in Utah, but this isn’t an argument about freedom of expression or religion, as some assert. Welcoming Schools aims to create an environment where all students are treated safely with dignity and respect. Who among those wishing to end up on the right side of history can argue with that?

See all our community coverage here.

Kicked out, not enough money or out-of-work and no place to go. Homelessness is not an easy topic to address, but it’s not an easy life, and who can’t relate to that? From a place to sleep to housing assistance, consider what our community might look like without the resources provided from organizations like Catholic Community Services or The Road Home. What if the thousands of individuals (many who are children) had nowhere else to go?

Hands-On Volunteer opportunity!

Starting on Monday, November 18th, 2019 at the new Men’s Resource Center volunteers are invited to help with meal prep and service. Please sign up at .

In a recent article, “Homeless Millennials—Weighing In On Big Changes to City Programs,” Utah Stories, Richard Markosian shares the plight of some locals struggling with these issues, as well as interviews from two young adults who are living by choice on the streets. These “urban campers” sleep by day in an old sewer tunnel and stay awake by walking around at night to stay warm.

With the other recent news of the closing of the downtown Salt Lake Community Shelter, some have been confused or have been given the impression that The Road Home is no longer. As a local non-profit, The Road Home has been serving the SLC community for over 96 years, providing emergency shelter, housing and support services to assist in overcoming homelessness in our community. In the past year alone, The Road Home has provided temporary emergency housing assistance for over 8,000 individuals (1,500 were children) and housing for over 3,000 adults and children.

While the downtown Salt Lake Community Shelter is closing, the transition will play out like this: “The Road Home operates the Salt Lake Community Resource Center until the end of November, and the South Salt Lake Men’s Resource Center will open starting November 18th,” reports Kat Khan, who is the Director of Development for The Road Home. In addition, The Road Home will continue to do its supportive work at the Midvale Family Resource Center and through assisting individuals and families in permanent supportive housing facilities.

Good news, SLC. There will always be a Road Home. 

November 5, 2019, was the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new 300-men Homeless Resource Center at 1000 West. South Salt Lake City’s Mayor, Cherie Wood explains that “The 300-men who will occupy the facility will find opportunity and a fresh start. South Salt Lake intends to connect those in need to available resources and set them on a path of stability and success.”

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, it’s going to be one of the coldest winters on record, and most would agree, everyone should have a safe, warm place to sleep. As it turns out we’ve got some newly elected officials in office, like SLC’s Mayor-Elect, Erin Mendenhall. Make sure to weigh in your opinions about issues like homelessness to her and your district’s city council members, and consider support to CCS or The Road Home.

To read more about SLC’s complex and interesting city life, go here.