Snow covers fields
Park City staffers opted against removing snow from an artificial-turf field that is part of the new recreation complex at Quinn’s Junction.
In a report to Mayor Dana Williams and the Park City Council this week, staffers outline the decision, saying that there are several reasons to keep the snow on the field rather than opening it earlier.
The report, though, indicates that soccer and lacrosse players have been walking on the field to speed up the melting.
Ken Fisher, who manages recreation programs, said this week that the snow was between 9 and 39 inches deep at the complex. The average depth was 18 inches, he said.
The city estimates that it would require 541 dump-truck loads to remove the snow.
Also, staffers claim that removing all the snow could damage the turf and the manufacturer does not recommend the practice.
However, in future years, staffers could remove the snow a few times in the winter so not as much ice builds up, the report said. That decision could be made during upcoming budget decisions.
If the staffers remove the snow in future years, the manufacturer recommends that they use what are described as small utility tractors with 35 horsepower or less.
“Even a light pick-up truck will create tracks/dents” and “ruin the flatness and playability of the field,” the staffers wrote.
There will be four fields at the recreation complex, one of which, referred to in the report, will be artificial.
Two of the grass fields are expected to be ready for play in October and the final grass field is scheduled for a spring 2007 opening, Stacey Noonan, the general manager of the recreation complex, said.
An ice-skating arena anchors the complex. It opened in late February.
Park City has suffered from a lack of playing fields for sports like softball, soccer, rugby and lacrosse for some time, spurring the construction at Quinn’s Junction.
PCMR wins suit
Judge Bruce Lubeck in early March dismissed a lawsuit against Park City Mountain Resort in which the plaintiff claimed that he was injured on the resort’s ‘thrill sleds.’
Lubeck dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning that lawyers for George Luck, who is from Boca Raton, Fla., cannot re-file the complaint, according to the Third District Court. The lawsuit was filed in 2004.
Attorney Kevin Simon, who represented PCMR, said the resort’s side obtained sworn affidavits from witnesses from the Luck side that supported the resort’s defense. The attorney for Luck withdrew from the case and it was then dismissed, Simon said.
Luck’s attorney had claimed that his client was injured when he was ejected from the thrill sled and that he suffered a fractured sinus, a fracture of his left eye area and spinal fractures. He suffered a head injury as well, the lawsuit claimed.
Luck’s side argued that the resort allowed him to ride on the sled in a rainstorm, making the ride unsafe, and that the sled was designed with defects.
Luck visited PCMR in 2002 and rode the sled once during the day before the incident, his lawsuit said. It claimed that Luck lost income and he incurred medical expenses because of the crash.
The sleds debuted at PCMR in 2001, the resort said at the time of the lawsuit.
Compiled by Jay Hamburger