New Mayor Ryan Dickey had limited comments this week as Park City Mountain launched another effort to win municipal approval for a set of lift upgrades that previously did not advance. As a candidate for the office last fall, Dickey had considerably more to say. The resort this week filed app lications at City Hall to build a six-passenger lift as a replacement for two existing ones — Eagle and Eaglet — and to install an eight-passenger lift as an upgrade to the current six-passenger Silverlode Express. The earlier effort that began in 2022 became polarizing, with supporters saying the upgrades would better manage the skiers and snowboarders on the slopes and critics worrying about the potential impacts of increased crowds, additional traffic and parking issues. The effort became entangled in questions about City Hall procedural matters and ultimately moved to state court, which effectively rejected the ski company’s bid. The current proposal will go to the Park City Planning Commission rather than be considered administratively. A Planning Commission process is more robust than an administrative one. The mayor on Tuesday released a brief statement calling Park City Mountain “an important community partner, and we appreciate their continued desire to invest in the on-mountain experience to benefit both locals and visitors.” He also said the municipal government would “carefully review the details through our established process and land management code.” The issue of the lift upgrades was addressed during the city election campaigns last fall for mayor and two seats on the City Council. Dickey won the mayor’s office by seven votes and was sworn in for a four-year term earlier this month. Dickey, then a member of the Park City Council running for mayor, in October addressed the relationship between the municipal government, and the mountain resorts and their owners. Vail Resorts owns Park City Mountain. “With Park City Mountain, it’s time to reset. Past obstruction cost us years of progress and investment. But with new leadership — in City Hall and in Broomfield — we can rebuild trust, modernize responsibly, and ensure every upgrade delivers value for locals, not just shareholders. To be clear: It’s time to move lift improvements forward,” he said, referring to the Colorado location of the corporate headquarters of Vail Resorts. “As mayor, I’ll capitalize on my relationships with resort leaders to move the local experience forward, and ensure partnerships are transparent, accountable and laser-focused on community benefit.” Dickey also addressed the topic during a candidate forum in October. Dickey told the crowd it was a mistake for the City Council not to have intervened in some fashion in the dispute about the lifts. “I look back at the situation with Vail being unable to upgrade two lifts at that mountain over four years. We can talk about the details. We can talk about what led to it, but fundamentally when I look (at) a ski town that stands in the way of its local resorts improving the ski experience for locals over four years, something has gone wrong,” he said. Dickey added: “If you’ve been waiting in a lift line and seeing what’s happening at that mountain over the last four years or wondering about the lack of investment in that mountain, you know, I think you have the city to blame.” In September, he outlined his vision for the first 100 days of his administration should he win the mayor’s office. One of the issues he mentioned as important was the resort industry. “I will also bring our resort partners to the table to set a clear path forward, work together, and find compromise to enhance the ski experience for locals and (visitors) alike and prepare for what’s needed both immediately and into the future. It’s time to use common sense and move ski lifts and on-mountain improvements forward. We are a ski town,” he said. The post Park City mayor says little about lift upgrades after addressing the issue during campaign appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less