Looks like last week's latest court drama between Park City Mountain Resort and Vail Resorts did little to calm the nerves of Park City locals. As both sides enter mediation in order to figure out a solution to this multi-year lease battle, the community is starting to get seriously concerned about what will happen to the ski area for the 2014-2015 season.
According to quotes from the Salt Lake Tribune, anxiety is high for businesses, residents, and taxpayers. The municipality has calculated that it would lose $4.1 million in taxes in the upcoming ski season if the resort were not to open (especially if PCMR follows through with their plans to dismantle all the lifts). Some key quotes:
"It's crystal clear to everyone with a business. The longer this goes on without a resolution the uncertainty just gets worse and worse for the rest of us," said City Councilwoman Liza Simpson, who also works at Dolly's Bookstore. "Part of what is feeding the uncertainty," Simpson said, "is that the longer people are in a fight, the less willing they are to compromise."
Mike Lindbloom of the Main Street Deli: "I don't know anybody who's happy about it," he said. "One person told me, 'Just because of them, now we have to rearrange our lives."
Powdr Corp and PCMR claim that the judge's latest stay of eviction "will help ensure minimal disruption to the Park City community while the parties try to resolve the case and surrounding issues so that the 2014-2015 season will proceed business as usual."
But no one in town seems to want this drawn-out battle to continue. And while PCMR says they are dedicated to finding a resolution, they have also said they are appealing the judge's original rulings and want this to end up in the Utah Supreme Court. So unless something constructive happens in mediation, this battle isn't going anywhere.
· Parkites sweating it out: Will PCMR open for ski season? [Salt Lake Tribune]
· BREAKING: Judge Signs Eviction For PCMR, Orders Mediation [Curbed Ski]
· PCMR Threatens Catastrophe, Outlines Lift Dismantling [Curbed Ski]
· All Talisker-PCMR Coverage [Curbed Ski]
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