Interim Mayor Ralph Severini will enter his first full term in 2026. With January marking the start of his official tenure at the helm of the town, Severini has already laid the groundwork for what he hopes will be a successful year.  Severini is recognized for his business acumen, having serve d as a leader at Amazon Web Services. He left the job in July to give Hideout his full attention when he was selected to become its interim mayor in the spring. And since he was formally voted in during the general election, Severini has made headway on two of the main goals from his campaign. Pending legal issues and financial stability were both talking points for mayoral and Hideout Town Council candidates in the general election this year. Before the election, Hideout was facing over $400,000 in legal expenses on a $1.8 million budget. Severini said he will continue to chip away at those remaining legal issues this year.  In November, the town of Hideout reached a settlement agreement in Fourth District Court with Mustang Development, LLC. The legal dispute concerning impact fee payments resulted in Hideout paying $600,000 to Mustang Development. The settlement includes finalization of any balance potentially owed as of the end of September and consists of no admission of wrongdoing by either party. “We’re trying to create at least dialogues where we can settle these cases. We’re actually working on the second one right now of the four,” Severini said.  Hideout leaders also announced last week an update on the Larry H. Miller Real Estate project known as Silver Meadows. That project, which includes the development of a grocery store, retail services and dining opportunities, is expected to break ground on the first phase of development in the coming year.  Commercial development is something town residents have been asking for. The Larry H. Miller Real Estate project is a long time coming for Severini and the Town Council. For Hideout’s incoming mayor, the promise to introduce commercial development also means increased revenue in town.  “It builds a positive momentum going forward,” Severini said.  But Severini said there’s still a long way to go in terms of progress on his other goals, such as improving safety within town and on S.R. 248. “We’ve had some, call it accidents, and near-misses,” Severini said. “We’re working with UDOT and UDOT engineers to get some better signage and some other things that, long term, will result in actually moving Shoreline Road to meet up with Mountain Boulevard and getting a four-way intersection there.” That partnership with the Utah Department of Transportation is helped by Hideout’s coordination with the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office. The assistance from the Sheriff’s Office will help with traffic control and general safety measures, according to Severini. When he mentions safety, Severini is also referring to making Hideout a firewise community. Counties will be required to evaluate properties in high-risk wildland urban interface areas, such as Hideout, and enact fees for reducing risk with House Bill 48 going into effect. But Hideout is ahead of the game with some residents even doing their own fire risk assessments with the Wasatch Fire District.  “Just trying to create greater safety and awareness, I think, is critical,” Severini said.  True to his corporate background, Severini said he hopes Hideout will focus on creating a “better regional brand” by working with neighboring communities. That includes Summit County municipalities like Francis and Kamas.  “They know the area better than I do. I asked them questions about how they’re running things and I think they get the benefit of asking me questions about some of the things I bring in from any executive experience,” Severini said. “I would love to do that with the new mayor of Park City going forward.” Severini’s measure of success is customer service, relying on his community to gauge satisfaction levels. He wants to create a high-quality experience for residents and hopes to do that through new development and a reduction in costs. Improving safety and bettering trail systems and recreation doesn’t hurt, either, he said.  “That connects into this whole quality atmosphere, and so I’m looking at that as being a mechanism for how we continue to create a butter-run challenge, so to speak,” Severini said.  Severini has been acting as Hideout’s interim mayor since he was voted in temporarily in May. He will formally take office as an elected full-term mayor in January. The post Hideout’s best-laid plans may come to fruition in 2026 appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less