COuncil Chronicles: Pricey Potty, The case of the missing 109 feet,

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

By Jake Nichols

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-For some reason the back row of cushioned seats in the council chambers was replaced with those institutional metal folding jobs. This is of great concern to journalists who must spend the better part of two hours shifting their tender cheeks.  There was no asking Public Information Officer Shelly Simonton why the back row media was relegated to the Thanksgiving Day kids table. She had just quit.

Pricey potty
Perhaps the City of Jackson was looking to save some money to afford their new public restroom. The lone bid to construct the Home Ranch la Salle de Bains came in at $486,000 from GE Johnson – the same outfit currently erecting the town’s parking structure. The town set aside $58K to pave the parking lot at the new porcelain palace. Fat chance. GE Johnson’s estimate was $180,000.

Too high, said public worker Larry Pardee. He wanted the Council to open the project to a rebid in the hopes someone would step forward with smaller urinal cakes, scratchier toilet paper, and a thinner bottom line. The Council agreed.

The case of the missing 109 feet
“I’m not sure where the square feet disappeared, but 110 square feet is gone somewhere.” admitted City Planner-in-training Jeff Noffsinger. Timbers Residence Club had promised a 640-square-foot employee housing unit. When the construction dust cleared the employee housing unit looked more like a closet which meant the developer must pay the luxury tax – a $12,690.16 fee-in-lieu – since they already passed “Go.”
“We’re kind of stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place,” Mark Obringer said. “The building is up. It is not what we expected. I don’t know what else we could do other than hope it was an honest mistake.”

Pierson Land Works’ George Putnam took the dais to clear things up but they just got murkier. “As to the issue with the affordable housing unit, our firm was not involved with this phase of the application,” he said.

But what of the 109 feet? It disappeared faster than shrubbery on the Town Square. “I haven’t been told by the developer why that happened,” Putnam offered. “I don’t believe the other units were increased to account for the lost 110 feet,” Putnam added when it became evident some of the councilors were worried the lost feet may have “accidentally” sneaked over to the  free market condominiums.

Abe Tabatabai was willing to call it an honest mistake and stick the developer with a fee-in-lieu payoff but other council members felt that was too cheap a dodge for a bedroom in Jackson, Wyoming.

“I’m a little uncomfortable as to why the applicant isn’t here to explain to us what happened,” Mayor Mark Barron said.

“I don’t believe $12,000 covers the loss of that housing unit,” Melissa Turley added.
City attorney Audrey Cohen-Davis mentioned other harsher options like abatement, fines or a citation.

Bob Lenz just wanted to see the guy in charge who knew where the 109 feet went. “I think the applicant has to come and talk to us. They owe us an explanation.”
The council agreed to postpone any decisions until someone could account for the missing 11-by-10 box.

In other business
The council reluctantly agreed to let Ron Miller explore his options under a PMUD even though the upzone seemed unnecessary to Lenz and Tabatabai – who voted against – and scared the bedsheets out of  Rusty Parrot Lodge representative Brandon Harrison, who worried the max PMUD height of the proposed Miller Park Lodge could cast a dreary shadow on Conde Nast Traveler’s “Gold List World’s Best Hotel” recipient.

The Council also agreed to table discussions on how fast they want to let land grabbers raze historical buildings in Jackson. Previously, they had to wait a whole week to destroy an original log cabin homestead. The Jackson Hole Historical Preservation Society suggested they be allowed in the loop, which could hold up a developer’s Taj Mahal for a whole 21 days.
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COuncil Chronicles: Pricey Potty, The case of the missing 109 feet, | Planet JH News Article: Council Chronicles

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