There was pressure on Park City leaders by the first days of January as tensions continued on the Park City Mountain slopes, and in the wider community, with a strike by the resort’s ski patrol wearing on.City Hall did not have a role in the talks between Park City Mountain owner Vail Resorts and the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association, but the miserable publicity the community was receiving had become an issue for Mayor Nann Worel and the Park City Council. Images of lengthy lift lines and stories of awful days on the slopes were circulating nationally after the Dec. 27 start of the picketing by union members.But even without a formal role, the mayor and members of the City Council were privately preparing to craft some sort of official response from the municipal government to the labor action, a cache of email correspondences between them show. City Hall released the correspondences in response to a Park Record request under state open-records laws, providing a dramatic look at the debate that transpired behind the scenes as Worel and the City Council prepared to make what would ultimately be a rare statement about a matter in which they did not hold authority.The correspondences highlight just how troubling the strike was and how far from the slopes the ramifications of the walkout by the patrollers reached. There was concern about a drop in business in the tourism industry, comments about the management of the Vail Resorts-owned Park City Mountain, and opinions from members of the City Council about the tone of the statement the mayor was readying to release.The mayor at 9:39 a.m. on Jan. 5, a Sunday, sent an email to Park City Manager Matt Dias and the Park City attorney, Margaret Plane, that also was distributed to the members of the City Council.“Another day, another day of the strike and unhappy residents and visitors,” the mayor said in the correspondence.Two days before, on a Friday, the mayor said in the email, herself and City Hall staffers “worked on a couple of possible statements the city could make if we choose to weigh in.” The statements under consideration and presented by the mayor were redacted from the copy of the email provided to The Park Record in response to the open-records response, but the correspondence shows Worel was proceeding with caution.“Issuing a statement will come with political fallout that each of you need to be prepared for if we do it. While I’m sure we all have strong feelings about both parties in the dispute, I don’t feel it is in the best interest of the city to take sides in the matter. Rather, I think, if we choose to issue a statement, it should be to encourage both sides to figure out a way to resolve this quickly,” Worel said in the email.She added: “My question for you is twofold —First, do you think we should issue a statement andIf so, do either of the drafts below strike a cord with you?”Some of the members of the City Council wondered whether the potential statements presented by the mayor were worded vigorously enough, providing their feedback in emails to Worel. The responses from City Councilors to the mayor included:“I guess I’d lean towards the first one. And yes we should say something. Would support even stronger wording on supporting our workforce,” City Councilor Jeremy Rubell wrote to the mayor and the city manager at 9:56 a.m. on Jan. 5. “I understand you feel like you are between a rock and a hard place, but both of these don’t say enough. I get that there is no policy option that we could immediately act on. But if that is where your thoughts are centered I would argue that you are missing the point. In our form of government here in PC ‘Strong Council’ the mayor has very very little policy power. What the mayor has is a bully pulpit. If the rest of the council or even a simple majority is behind you I would urge you to use it,” City Councilor Bill Ciraco wrote to the mayor and city manager at 11:12 p.m. on Jan. 5.Ed Parigian, another city councilor, responded to the mayor with a comment that he did not “like either” and that a statement should “tell it like it is.” He said Vail Resorts is “balking” at a pay raise for the ski patrollers. Parigian proposed a statement that read: “The Park City Council implores Vail Resorts to pay their ski patrollers a working wage commensurate with their ability, training and importance to maintaining on-mountain safety. We support the patrollers in their quest to have a suitable contract that enables them to continue their dedication to this vital position, and one that reflects the oftentimes hazardous work they do.”“Of course we won’t say that because for some reason we need to appear neutral. But this town is not neutral, they overwhelmingly support the patrollers and know that Vail is not a good partner to this town. I don’t want to say anything that mentions good partnerships, because there is no partnership here and there never has been. We have a symbiotic relationship at best,” Parigian said in the 11:34 a.m. message on Jan. 5 to the mayor and city manager.The mayor by the next day apparently made edits to a possible statement. Parigian at 4:32 p.m. on Jan. 6 provided more input to Worel, saying the statement was “getting much better in my view, and thank you for the leadoff statement in support of our workforce.”“I appreciate putting it on Vail, because to me that’s where the blame is appropriately put,” he said in the message.The back-and-forth messages between the mayor and the other elected officials seem to have influenced a statement made by Worel on behalf of the City Council issued on Jan. 6. It was one of the strongest public comments by a mayor of Park City regarding Vail Resorts in more than a decade, since one of Worel’s predecessors, Jack Thomas, drafted a letter that was made public during the litigation between Vail Resorts and the previous owner of Park City Mountain that led to the sale of the resort to the Colorado firm. The union and Vail Resorts reached an agreement on Jan. 7 after a strike that stretched through part of the holidays, one of the busiest periods of the ski season.The statement by Worel issued Jan. 6: “The Park City Council and I recognize that resort communities face significant livability challenges — and it is the workforce that all too often shoulders the weight of today’s economic pressures. Supporting a professional workforce is essential to the health, safety, and vitality of our town. After yet another weekend of confusion and disruption due to the unresolved labor dispute at Park City Mountain, the City Council and I urgently call on Vail Resorts to take immediate action to conclude negotiations and end the uncertainty. Park City Mountain is a cornerstone of Park City’s community well-being, and it is Vail Resorts’ responsibility as an essential employer to resolve this conflict without further delay. As we stand by ready to assist in any way necessary to help bring this matter to a resolution, we humbly ask everyone for civility and respectful behavior toward each other during this challenging time.”The post Park City leaders’ emails illustrate behind-the-scenes drama during ski patrol strike appeared first on Park Record.