Hideout Councilor Chris Baier is seeking another 4-year council term. Her platform this time around will be different from 2017.
When Chris Baier ran for town council in 2017, her platform included overhauling town’s general plan, which she says the council accomplished. Other goals she says she achieved in her first term include, improving communication, and boosting public safety.
Her second campaign will have a different focus.
"Hideout is experiencing dramatic growth as is the entire area surrounding the Jordanelle," Baier said. "I'm looking across the reservoir, and watching stuff that's going in. And now is the time for us to start thinking about that."
Last October, Hideout Town Council voted to annex into Summit County. The controversial land use decision sparked lawsuits between the town and Summit County that are currently making their way through courts. Baier was one of three council members in favor of annexing the 350 acre parcel near Richardson Flat.
On June 22, Hideout residents can vote on an annexation referendum to overturn last year’s decision. Baier wrote the arguments in favor of annexation in an information pamphlet included with ballots.
But she said her feelings on the annexation have shifted a little since last year.
"I was in support of it at the time, like everyone else on the council, we all felt that the way that this came about wasn't ideal," she said.
She said she didn’t know about the last minute changes made to Senate Bill 359 - which allowed the town to annex into Summit County - until after the fact. Those changes drew statewide criticism and were repealed in a special session last year.
Despite the controversy, she said the area needs more amenities.
"So, I was always in favor of the annexation, because the town has very limited ability to develop additional commercial services," she said. "I live here and I have to get in my car, and I have to drive to Kimball Junction, or I have to go down the 248 corridor past the high school and into town to shop or to get my haircut, or to go to a restaurant, whether that's to go snowboarding or mountain biking, or go for a hike."
Baier moved to the Park City area 18 years ago. She’s been living in Hideout for the last six, working locally as an IT professional.
Before serving on the council, Baier didn’t have any experience in politics, but she said her time on the Hideout Trails Committee influenced her first bid for a seat.
"We did a three mile project of a single track in the Ross Creek recreation area of Jordanelle State Park that actually took us a couple of years because we had many regulatory hurdles to get over," she said. "But we were successful. And that turned out to be kind of a launching ground on some of our early town leaders, including myself."
There are four council positions up for grabs in Hideout as well as the mayor’s seat. Current councilmember Bob Nadelberg has also filed for another run.
