PARK CITY, Utah -- The lawsuit between Park City Mountain Resort and its landlord Talisker is making Main Street businesses uneasy.
The city's mayor took aim in a letter at the two companies which control the mountain's fate.
Locals are worried about the future of Park City. Many shared their feelings on camera with FOX 13 News and others who talked to us off camera describe what's happening as a boxing match between two rich people.
"What it comes down to is you have two billion-dollar entities that need to make a deal or else it's going to affect everybody on Main Street," said Tommy Bergin, who is the General Manager at Flanagan's in Park City.
The unknown is unsettling not only to Main Street businesses but also to longtime residents like Max Paap.
"Our thoughts are very guarded,” Paap said. “We want to protect the 50 years of Park City Mountain Resort here."
A judge ruled on the tug of war between Talisker and Park City Mountain Resort last week. The watered down version is: Vail owns some of the land that was being leased to PCMR, but the resort owns what's on the mountain, like the ski lifts and its amenities.
"Everyone is concerned that Vail and Park City Mountain Resort have not managed to come to a resolution," said Liza Simpson, the Mayor Pro Tem of Park City.
Park City's Mayor, Jack Thomas, fired off a two page letter to the CEO's of Powder Corporation and Vail Resorts, saying in part, "Your situation impacts the community hundreds of times over...and additional legal jockeying will further entrench both sides." In other words, work it out.
"We reached out to both sides before the judge's ruling last week and sent a letter offering to pay a mediator to come in and find a solution," Simpson said.
That, however, seems unlikely.
"If Talisker can't figure out through the litigation what's going on with Park City Mountain Resort, it's going to end up being a major loss not only for both entities battling over the rights to the land but for the town itself, to lose that much business is going to do a huge number on the town's economy," said Sam Nestor, who has worked four seasons at PCMR.
"If we don't have our tourists, we don't have a town," Bergin said.
