Summit in Six: Recent Episodes

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Hello, and welcome to Summit in Six from the Communication and Public Engagement Team at Summit County, Utah. Let’s kick things off and get caught up.

Hey everyone, so this is Derek Siddoway, the communication director with Summit County, and today I’m sitting down with our county manager, Shane Scott, to talk a little bit more about the Altus project update that we recently held a an open house or a public meeting for last week we wanted to get the word out to more people that weren’t able to attend, so we’re going to be talking a little bit about an amendment to the development agreement, which will have some exciting implications for our nonprofit community. So, to kick things off, Shane, just give us a little bit of an overview on what the meeting last Tuesday was for, and including maybe just a little bit of background on what an amendment to a development agreement is and why this was the right process for us to potentially be able to add these community benefits on the Altus project.

All right, thanks, Derek. It’s nice to be with you. I think it’s my first time on the podcast, and as an avid listener, I’m excited to be here. The development agreement amendment is simply just an amendment. I did sign a development agreement with Six Ridge Partners that are formerly Dakota Pacific Real Estate. It’s been over a year now that was signed, and the process to amend it is an administrative process, so that means that it doesn’t go back onto the county council’s desk, it just stays with the administration, and as the county manager, I get to sign both the amendment and the original development agreement. So, because it’s not a public process, in that it doesn’t land on the council agenda, we wanted to really highlight this amendment, and what it was, and so we went through that meeting that you referenced last Tuesday, I believe it was, and it was simply just an opportunity for us to involve the public to let them know what this amendment was, why I was citing it, and really to get some feedback, is this a good amendment or not. The basis of the amendment, there was a couple of little things in there that really were kind of inconsequential, and there, and there will be another amendment too. This will not be the only one that I sign, but those amendments come as we go through design processes, and we discover certain things. We’ll have to, we’ll have to tweak the development in some form or fashion, but this one, the major change is to accommodate up to 50,000 square feet of new space in this development, and that new space could accommodate is actually up to three different spaces. One would be a new building that’s up to 30,000 square feet, and this would accommodate the Kimball Arts Center. They have been quite public about their desire to move into this area, and this is just more or less a formality for them to accommodate them there. They would build a 30,000 square foot building just west of the Peak building, which is the former Skull Kenny building that the county owns. The other 210 1000 square foot spaces would be in existing buildings, so it’s there. What’s on in the what’s called the podium area, and we included a map as part of the public process there last last Tuesday, so that could be helpful to people. If they’re interested, they can go to our website and and check out the map. 10,000 square feet could accommodate a new visitor center. Existing visitor center is in Hugo Coffee, just to the south of this location, and an additional 10,000 square feet is is to allow for a nonprofit hub. One of the concerns about this situation right now is that we are, we’re making the decision to accommodate these spaces today. It’s actually at 10am this morning. After I get done with this interview, I’ll be going over there to sign that development agreement, but we’re making that decision today. But we still have a lot to decide on those 10,000 square feet spaces. When I say a nonprofit hub, that definition right now is different for everyone. Is it all nonprofits, is it one nonprofit? So, there’s still a lot of decisions to decide in the county right now. Still, even though we’re accommodating, accommodating that space, we have all of the control in what actually lands there. So I say that in really emphasizing to the public what this could be, could be a nonprofit hub, but it’s also not going to be retail, it’s not going to be housing, it’s not going to be a commercial space, it’s only for a community benefit, or it won’t be included in the project.

So, we’ve talked about this being a nonprofit hub. What are some of the kinds of organizations that have expressed interest in being part of this project and. And what is the benefit of having a nonprofit hub, kind of a central location, not only for the nonprofits in our community, but also for our residents in the community as well.

The location is great, of course. The Kimball Junction is more or less, or for all intents and purposes, the heart of the basin. This is the first exit that most people, when they’re visiting our community, take. This is how they get to Park City. It’s a very important location for us. It’s also right on the transit stop. We’re doing a new transit center in this location, so there’s a lot of things that are happening at the same time, between the housing and transit and shopping. There’s a lot of real community benefits already in this location, so the nonprofit hub idea, I’ve heard it described to me as kiln for nonprofits, so kiln is a business, as a business owner, you can—

Yeah, kind of like a co-working space for businesses where you don’t have to own the retail space for yourself or have a lease yourself, it’s kind of a shared space that multiple people can take advantage of, depending on how many hours a day or how many office spaces, exactly.

Right. So, as that is for businesses, this could be for nonprofits, sharing resources, sharing maybe staff. When we went to City Tour just this year, we were in Breckenridge, and there was a, I think it was a similar idea, it was called FERC F I R C, and it was kind of a nonprofit hub in that community, and I think there was a lot of both council members, staff, as well as members of the leadership class that really got excited about this and bringing this back to our community, between that being well timed in that visit and this amendment being requested by the nonprofit leaders in our community, this is a real opportunity for us to accommodate this space in this location.

Maybe another good way to put it is looking specifically at transit or transportation, is it can be a one stop shop for services for people, whether they’re riding the bus there or they’re driving their car there. They can come to one place, kind of walk around and hit several different things at once. We all know how annoying it is when you drive to one store and then you drive 10 minutes to another store and somewhere else to another store. So this kind of provides a one stop shop for people who may be taking advantage of these nonprofit services, but also just some of the civic services that will be in the area.

Absolutely, and and retail, and the walking around is really a key part of this this development in this area, and we’d love to get people out of their cars as much as possible, and and we’ll have, of course, almost a 1200 lot parking garage that will accommodate cars for anyone that wants to get out and visit the Kimball Art Center. We hope to have some civic spaces there that are really exciting. The library, not least of which is the library, so the really exciting opportunities for us.

So, why wasn’t this nonprofit space in the original plan for the area? Or why does the county have involvement not only with the amendment agreement, but also control over what goes into this additional space?

Well, I just think it’s the nature of the public-private partnership is that we work together. It’s not just us at the Summit County and Six Ridge Partners, but it’s also High Valley Transit. They are a partner of this in this agreement as well. It’s between the three of us that we make all the decisions, and we’re teaming up together on the development on the consulting from the construction consults to the to the architects. We’re teaming up together on all those consultants, so we get to have that say. And when the development first came to us, they asked for a certain amount of square footage, and we accommodated that square footage over time. We negotiated what that was. This is just a renegotiation of that square footage to accommodate these, these different what we’re considering community benefits.

And I think it’s important to note that the Kimball Art Center would be a new building, but aside from that, a space we’re talking about is adding additional space in commercial space that exists, so one way you put it recently was that you know it’s the difference in you probably can’t tell the difference in a 60 to 70,000 square foot building, it’s adding on a few more rooms, potentially kind of another area there, it’s not like we’re adding another floor on top of something or putting another building outside of the existing footprint.

That’s exactly right. This, this is just accommodating additional space in already existing buildings.

And one thing I want to go back to, the meeting last Tuesday, there was about 30, probably 40 to 50 people that attended there. What were some of the things that you heard from the community members at that meeting last week?

I think it was a really good opportunity to answer questions. Not only do we get our message out of what this development agreement amendment is, what we’re trying to do in this, in this space, but I also was able to talk a little bit about other exciting happenings in the area, between what we’re doing on the Peak Center, we were redoing the entire four. First floor to accommodate the library and the DMV. We talked about bus rapid transit and what’s happening with BRT High Valley Transits project there on 240 on 224 and just was another opportunity to talk about what this development is. What is Six Ridge doing here? How much housing is going in here? What’s the transit center look like, and having that map, I think, was real helpful for people. It generated a lot of questions, and we had, we had individuals from Six Ridge, from the Park City Chamber, from some of our nonprofits, and even the Kimball Arts Center there to answer questions for anybody who had them. And I think it was real, real good opportunity for people to just even just get a general update on on timing. Other than that, I only heard positive feedback. I received a lot of letters from the nonprofit community about what an exciting opportunity this nonprofit hub might be, and I think I had maybe 15 individuals send me, send me letters or sign letters that were supportive of this development agreement amendment.

So talking next steps. So we’ve teased an event we have coming up on September 12 a little bit, maybe just give people a little bit of an overview of what to expect there. There’s a couple different things going on at that, that’s really going to be the next big public event, or guess you could say kick off or unveiling.

I think it will be somewhat similar in what we did last Tuesday, in that it will be very informational. We hope to have similar partners there to explain what their role in this public-private partnership is. It will be a lot more casual, it will be during the day. We do hope to have food trucks and other other kind of amenities that would bring the public out, but I think it’ll be, I think we’ll also know a lot more about details, details around what does the development look like, what are some schematics that we can show that show what actually housing might look like. So I think we’re going to make a lot more decisions between now and then, and I think also with this community, with these community spaces, what does a nonprofit hub look like, and who’s involved? Is it again, is it all nonprofits? Is it one nonprofit? I think we’ll have some of those decisions made by September 12, and we can bring those back to the public for comments, and again to answer questions, but I’m really excited about September 12. I think it’ll be really not only informational, but a lot of fun too.

If anyone listening to this is looking for more information and wants to stay up to date on the latest of what’s going on in the Kimball Junction redevelopment area, go to summitcounty.info/kjupdates and that’s going to take you to the project page, where you can also sign up for email notifications to be aware of all the different steps and the timelines and things that we have coming up as work gets underway, not only with the Altus project, but with some of the other projects as well. Thanks, Shane.

Thanks, Derek. Thanks for having me. Bye.

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Hello and welcome to Summit in Six, from the communication and public engagement team for Summit County, Utah. Let’s kick things off and get caught up!

In this episode, we’ll take a deep dive into some recent land acquisitions by the county. We’re pleased to welcome our guest, Jess Kirby, director of the lands and Natural Resources Department.

Jess, the county has recently closed on two major purchases involving historic ranches combined. The acquisitions have brought more than 9,000 acres under public ownership. Can you tell me a little bit about why the county would be interested in purchasing land like this?

Thanks for that question. I’m glad to be here. We’re incredibly lucky in Summit County to have a county council and a county government that really supports conservation and land acquisitions. Our county council has as one of their objectives to put lands like this under conservation, and then, with the support from our community, we’ve been fortunate enough to have bond funds that allow us to do that work.

When you put it like that, it makes perfect sense. We want to get into some specifics here. So we’ll start with the larger of the two acquisitions, the 910 Ranch, located along both sides of East Canyon Road between Jeremy Ranch and East Canyon reservoir. The 910 contains almost 8,600 acres of pristine forest land and vital wildlife habitat. What can you share about the 910’s history and prior management?

The ranch has a very long history. Really exciting things have happened out there — starting way back with with the indigenous people. We have found some significant artifacts on the property. So we do know that we had significant use of the property from our Native American populations, which is exciting. And then fast forward into when settlement started happening in Utah, and in the 1890s the Jeremy family was the first owner of the land. They ran a sheep operation out there on almost 38,000 acres — a very big swath of land.

As they sold off different pieces, part of that land is now Jeremy Ranch the neighborhood and then the elementary school there. That acquisition happened in about the 70s, and then the current landowner took over in the late 1980s–early 1990s and has been the sole owner of the property ever since.

Why did the county want to acquire and protect the 910 Ranch specifically, and where did the funds come from?

This is a really unique property for Summit County. It’s one of the last large contiguous pieces of land that we have in the western part of our county. By contiguous, we mean a large swath of land with one owner. It provide incredible wildlife habitat connections to other protected lands and forested lands owned by the forestry and state lands offices. There’s a state park right next to it, and there’s other forest legacy parcels that are really near it, so it creates this large swath of protected land.

The funding, first and foremost, came from our community. The OSAC bond, which is the Open Space Bond that we passed in 2021, was a $50 million bond. It passed with over 70% support from our community. So we got a big thumbs up to go and do projects like this. So that $15 million as our first down payment came from the bond, and then I was tasked with finding the rest. The whole purchase was $55 million, so we had a $40 million deficit. Luckily, at that moment, we had an opportunity to go for a Forest Legacy Grant that allowed us to fill that gap, and we applied and were awarded those funds in 2023.

Fantastic! I’m sure every acquisition is a little bit different, but I know we’ll be hearing more about that Open Space Bond again, when we discuss the Ure Ranch next. Before we move on, can you share what’s next for the 910?

A lot of planning. For right now, it’s status quo. We’re keeping the land pretty much private. We’re not opening up, we’re not cutting the ribbon, and we’re trying to take our time and be very thoughtful about management and how we open up the property to the public.

Like I said, it’s been in one landowner’s hands for a very long time. It’s kind of a wilderness area out there. It hasn’t had a lot of human interaction. There’s lots of wildlife. So we want to be very mindful about how we open that up, though we’ve been spending the last year or two doing some very overarching baseline assessments and conservation easement writing. We’ve done a forest health plan. We’ve worked on the watershed plans. We have a grazing plan. And so now we’re going to take all these plans, put them together, and put an overarching management plan together for the property, which is going to include some recreation.

We’ve done several open houses and several surveys with the community, but we do hope to still engage with the community on the recreation plan coming forward. Some stakeholder meetings will be coming up here in the near future, then work session with council, and then we’ll adopt those final plans and make a plan for cutting that ribbon here soon.

Going back in time just a few weeks, and traveling across the county towards the southeast: the Ure Ranch was formally acquired by Summit County in December 2025. This transferred 835 acres, split between five distinct parcels, into county ownership and kickstarted the process of placing each parcel under a conservation easement.

As you enter the Kamas Valley on the east side, driving along State Route 248, you’d pass the Ure Ranch with most of the total area on the south side of 248. Who gave this ranch its iconic name, and what can you tell us about the ranch’s history?

The Ure Ranch is named for the Ure family: a historic family in the Kamas Valley. They’ve been there since 1892, so 130 years this family has been on the property. They’ve run a dairy farm, different cattle operations over the years, and there were sheep there for a small minute. But that entire time it’s been ranched by that family and handed down through the family over those years.

We definitely want to express our sincere gratitude to the Ure family for entrusting their legacy to Summit County and working alongside us towards this conservation goal. With that in mind, what natural resources and features can we protect now that the property is in public hands, and what changes might the public see in the coming years?

So first and foremost, I think the protection of this ranch was important for us to preserve the rural quality of eastern Summit County, to keep agriculture on the land, and to keep producers on the land. So really protecting that use of the property — the historic use of the property — but also the watershed. These ranches are flood irrigated. They have great connection to the amount of water that gets into the Weber River, which then passes all the way down to the Great Salt Lake. And the Kamas Meadow is just a great big sponge. If you take that water out of the sponge, it dries up. So we really want to keep the water on the land.

We want to keep the land in working hands, and protect that habitat, that resource. I think people forget about the fact that agricultural lands really serve as spaces for migrating birds like the cranes that come through every year. They nest out in those fields. They use those open spaces. It’s also winter habitat for mule deer and elk, and we have sage grouse populations out there as well. So I think there’s a lot of habitat that we’re protecting.

We’re protecting a lot of heritage. There is Native American culture that we found on the property as well relics of tipi rings and different flakes that we found out there. And so we want to preserve that history as well and keep that green space open in our valleys.

Are there any partners we can shout out that help make this acquisition happen?

Yeah, absolutely! We couldn’t have done this without the partners that we have. Summit Lands Conservancy, first and foremost, they’ve been at the table with us from day one. Bringing in different federal grants — they did some application and we did some applications. Summit Lands worked on that North Meadows piece.

We also received funding from the State of Utah’s Outdoor Recreation Initiative and the state’s Land and Water Conservation funds. So we had a lot of different funding streams that went in this to create that layer cake of funding that was needed to purchase this property.

Just because I think the public would like to know, how much did the total purchase price end up being?

$25 million was the final purchase price on the Ure Ranch.

Thank you so much for giving such great background on these two historic properties and sharing a glimpse of their respective futures. Before we end, what’s the status of the Open Space Bond? Is there any funding left to acquire more conservation easements or properties?

So with really great excitement, we’d like to announce that we have preserved almost 16,000 acres with the bond funds so far, and we do have money left! We’ve been really successful at leveraging those dollars.

So with the funds that we have left, we are putting a shout out to the community. If you have land that you would like in conservation, or if you have neighbors that have land, reach out to us. Fill out an NOI, which is a notice of intent, that can be found on our website. That just gives us an idea of your property, and we can evaluate that. Yes we do have funding left over, and we do hope to get that back into more conservation lands.

Whether you’re a land owner or just a local resident, how can one get involved with these conservation projects or maybe weigh in on future land acquisitions?

We do have a formal board that helps determine the qualifications for funding, and that’s our OSAC board. We just recently onboarded three new members, so those opportunities come about every couple of years. Keep your eyes out if you are interested in being part of our formal board.

Otherwise, you know, always can reach out to us via email or phone call, but if you’re just curious about the properties, please sign up for our newsletter. There’s a link on the lands page that you can get information.

We’ll have different stakeholder meetings and public engagement opportunities to weigh in on the final management plans for both the 910 and the Ure Ranch, and we always have just different events that are going to be held. Right now, we are only holding those events on the 910 Ranch. The Ure Ranch is currently being leased back to the Ure family for another year, so it technically is still in their hands for one more year. But into the future, we’ll have events on that property. We do different kind of walks — birding hikes and education and vegetation walks — so can always engage with the Natural Resources Department with those things.

Perfect! We’ll have links to all those pages as well as a way to sign up for the newsletter in our show notes. I just want to say thank you again, Jess, for joining the podcast. Best of luck in 2026 we hope to have you back with more good news in the future.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! We’ve got the latest from the Council of Governments meeting on Monday, and the county council’s Wednesday meeting. This includes a review of the Transportation Sales Tax policy, information on the Utah Renewable Communities program, and much more!

Alright, let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1: TRANSPORTATION TAX

The Council of Governments met earlier this week to discuss the Transportation Sales Tax, also known as the TST, which is a voter-approved .25% sales tax that pays for regionally significant transportation projects across Summit County. This includes things such as road improvements, active-transportation connections, transit, and safety projects that enhance connectivity, reduce congestion, and promote economic development.

The Council of Governments finalized its recommendation for how this year’s TST funds should be allocated. The County Council approved that recommendation during their meeting on Wednesday, meaning the 2025 project funding decisions are now set. This includes funding or partial funding for:

• A countywide vanpool program (Summit County)
• Upgrades to the bikeshare program (Summit County)
• The Hoytsville bridge replacement (Summit County)
• The Icy Springs Interchange project (Summit County)
• High Valley Transit’s SR-224 Bus Rapid Transit project (High Valley Transit)
• Phase 2 of Park City’s Thaynes Pathway project (Park City)
• Little Kate and Monitor Drive bike and pedestrian improvements (Park City)
• A transit signal priority technology upgrade in Park City (Park City)

Lastly, a total of $483,040.26 of Small Cities Grants will be awarded to Coalville, Henefer, Kamas, Oakley and Francis.

TOPIC 2: UTAH RENEWABLE COMMUNITIES

If you don’t already know, Utah Renewable Communities, or URC, is a coalition of 19 cities and counties, including Summit County, that are working with Rocky Mountain Power to provide a new option for clean energy. The program’s goal is to support the development of new clean energy sources that would match the amount of energy consumed by homes and businesses.

Before moving forward, the URC needs to be approved by the Utah Public Service Commission, which is reviewing the program now. There is a scheduled public hearing set for December 16 at 6 p.m. where anyone can share comments or ask questions. After the hearing, the Public Service Commission is expected to issue a decision as early as January 2026.

If the program is approved, Summit County would have 90 days to pass an ordinance to officially join. From there, Rocky Mountain Power would mail two opt-out notices to all local customers, giving them the choice to participate or stick with their current service.

If you are interested in attending the Public Service Commission hearing on December 16th, you can attend in person at the Heber M Wells Building in Salt Lake City, or virtually by going to summitcounty.info/URCmeeting.

TOPIC 3: CLINE DAHL PROPERTY

Next up is an update on the Cline Dahl property near Jeremy Ranch. This is a 30 acre site owned by Summit County that could include housing, a transit park-and-ride hub, and recreation amenities.

The current proposal from the developer team includes a recommendation to build more for sale units in place of rental units due to a revision in average income data. They are now proposing about 60% ownership and 40% rentals, with the overall plan calling for 173 total units.

The plan also includes community uses like a Basin Rec fieldhouse and space for a new Park City Fire District station, however details and final agreements are still being negotiated with the County and housing partners. Construction wouldn’t start until at least August 2026.

TOPIC 4: URE RANCH

Now moving on to Ure Ranch, the 848 acre property in the Kamas Meadows area of Eastern Summit County. On Wednesday, Council approved the conservation easements for the North Meadows and Recreation parcels located within Ure Ranch, ensuring the protection of the area’s natural and cultural features by limiting development.

These are just two of the six parcels that make up the Ure Ranch property. Staff will continue to advance the remaining four conservation easements for the rest of the property before the end of the year.

TOPIC 5: EAST CANYON ROAD CLOSURE

Quick reminder: East Canyon Road will begin its seasonal road closure on December 1st and will reopen on April 30th, 2026.

TOPIC 6: HOLIDAY OFFICE CLOSURES

To close out this week’s podcast, we want to wish all our listeners a happy Thanksgiving! As a reminder, Summit County offices will be closed on Thursday, November 27, and Friday, November 28, in observance of the holiday.

The Sheriff’s Office and local Fire/EMS crews will have limited staff working. Republic Services’ trash pickup will be delayed by one day for curbside pickup on Thursday and Friday. That means, residents who usually receive curbside pickup on Thursday should put their containers out on Friday morning, and Friday customers should put their containers out on Saturday morning.

All Summit County offices will return to regular hours on Monday, December 1. We hope all those traveling, stay safe and enjoy time with loved ones and friends!

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! We’ve got the latest from county council’s Wednesday meeting — including a breakdown of county employees, details for a newly approved sales tax, housing data, and more!

Alright, let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1: 2026 PERSONNEL BUDGET

County council continued its 2026 budget review in this week’s meeting. Kicking off the discussion, County Manager Shayne Scott and Finance Manager Matt Leavitt presented an overview of current employees and a request for funds to support new hires, raises, and employee benefits.

A few key stats that might interest you:

• Summit County currently has 19 elected officials and chief deputies, 373 full-time positions, and 38 part-time positions
• The average age of a county employee is 44
• The average length of service (meaning time working for the county) is 8 years
  • However, only 38% had more than 8 years of service, meaning there are some long-term employees that skew the result higher
• Year-to-year, the county spends an average of 62% of its budget on personnel (but the 2026 budget will actually be slightly under that average)

Eight new positions were proposed, including a full-time public records coordinator, an additional school resource officer through the Sheriff’s department, and more staff for the finance, engineering, facilities, IT, and waste collection departments.

The raises proposed in the upcoming budget include a 2.7% cost of living adjustment for all employees and an additional $1.2 million in funds for merit raises. The county is also raising its 401(k) match to be more competitive in retaining and attracting new employees.

The council will continue to hear more about the 2026 budget in the weeks to come. A public hearing on the budget will be held on December 3rd in the Snyderville Basin (location to be determined) and a second public hearing will be held on December 10th at the county courthouse in Coalville (after which the council is expected to adopt the budget).

TOPIC 2: COUNCIL APPROVES IMPACTED COMMUNITIES TAX

Near the end of the lengthy meeting, council voted 4-1 to approve the “Impacted Communities Tax” (formerly known as the Resort Communities Tax).

The new sales tax of 1.1% would be applied to purchases of specific goods and services within unincorporated Summit County, including:

• Retail sales of physical or digital goods
• Paid admission for entertainment and recreational activities
• Meals at restaurants, eateries, catering & other dining options

The tax would not apply to unprepared food (like groceries), prescription medications, and gasoline. The intent of this tax is to pay for bonds that would support long-term transportation improvements to benefit residents, visitors, and businesses.

The tax takes effect next summer and is expected to bring in about $17 million annually. The total sales tax for purchases in unincorporated Summit County would then be 8.75%.

Use of these funds is restricted to transportation infrastructure and transit projects. The goal is to reduce traffic congestion and provide public amenities to improve community connectivity and quality of life for residents, businesses, and visitors. The county needs to start preparing for the future by establishing a funding source to construct these improvements, some of which begin in 2026.

To learn more about the intent of the tax and where the money will be spent, check out the link in our show notes.

TOPIC 3: AFFORDABLE HOUSING HELPS KIDS

The Summit County Housing Authority is tasked with addressing the housing shortage facing Summit County’s medium and low-income residents — a growing problem facing residents of all ages and backgrounds.

Since the housing authority was created in May, the board of commissioners has been meeting monthly to talk with community partners, prepare a strategic plan, and start community outreach efforts. One goal for the housing authority is to increase awareness of the challenges faced by people experiencing housing insecurity.

We are excited to share an excerpt from the first of many educational articles from the Housing Authority: “Stable, affordable housing is essential for children — and for Summit County’s future,” written by Kristen Schulz, director of the Early Childhood Alliance and housing authority commissioner.

The article begins, “Providing families a safe, affordable, and stable place to live allows children and families to thrive. Research across public health, education, and economics shows that affordable and stable housing reduces toxic stress, improves physical and mental health, provides better educational outcomes, and creates economic stability and opportunities that last a lifetime…”

To read the article in full and find links to peer-reviewed research that backs up her claims, visit summitcounty.info/housinghelpskids.

TOPIC 4: ELECTION CERTIFICATIONS

Did you know? Election results aren’t final until the canvass. A canvass is when the governing body of the entity holding the election (in this case, each municipality, board, or special service district) reviews the election results and either approves them or asks for more information. Once they approve the results, they become final.

The local election officer for each entity that held an election will post the date, time, and location of the canvass on their website. You can find links to those sites at summitcounty.info/electionFAQ. Most are being held next Tuesday, November 18, so voters can likely expect official results of the municipal elections shortly thereafter.

TOPIC 5: PROPERTY TAXES

The Treasurer’s Office mailed tax notices in late October. If you want to view/download your notice online, visit summitcountyutah.gov/treasurer. Taxes are due on Monday, December 1, 2025.

Reminder: If you’ve moved here full-time, recently bought a home, or rent your property long-term to a Utah-domiciled resident (aka someone who pays Utah income tax), then NOW is the time to make sure you update and declare your primary residency status. Use the Primary Residential Exemption form online at summitcountyutah.gov/pre by December 1, 2025. A property that is granted a primary residence exemption is only taxed at 55% of the market value of the home and up to one acre of land.

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Hi everyone! Happy November, and welcome back to another episode of Summit in Six. This week, we’re going to be taking an in-depth look at information we learned from last night’s meeting about House Bill 48, which is the Wildland Urban Interface Code. Let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1: HB 48 – WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE

On November 6, the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands (FFSL) held a public meeting to discuss the upcoming of implementation of House Bill 48, a fee and enforcement imposed by the State Legislature to improve defensible space in Wildland Urban Interface (also known as the WUI).

Before we get into the recap from this meeting, we want to stress that there are still many details to be finalized moving forward. Here’s what we’ve learned so far:

For some background, the WUI is the area where development meets or intermingles with wildland. These zones are more prone to wildfires and require specific safety measures and mitigation strategies.

In addition to wildfire prevention efforts, the intent of HB 48 and the WUI code may be a tool in the future to prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage of properties in high risk WUI areas by providing a means for residents to take documented and certified measures to protect their property from wildfire risk.

Although this is a state law, municipalities such as counties and cities will be responsible for adopting and enforcing the WUI code.

Counties and cities are required to adopt this law by January 1, 2026 and will then work to produce a WUI boundary map for their area. The state is also working on a high-risk boundary map for all of Utah that has not been finalized at this time.

Beginning next year, FFSL will send notices to property owners in the high risk area.

Fees

In 2026 and 2027, there will be a flat fee between $20 to $100 dollars based on the square footage of every taxable structure on a property. This fee will be the same regardless of any wildfire prevention work you’ve done on a property.

While the fee schedule has not been finalized by Forestry, Fire, and State Lands, here’s a summary of the current proposals :

• Structures up to 1500 sq ft. will be charged $20
• Structures up to 3000 sq ft will be charged $40
• Structures up to 4500 sq ft will be charged $60
• Structures up to 6000 sq ft will be charged $80
• Structures beyond 6000 sq ft will be charged $100.

Beginning in 2028, the fees for properties in the high-risk WUI area (still to be defined) will be based on a Lot Assessment conducted by a certified WUI coordinator from the state, county, or city. The fee schedule will likely change to be based around the annual costs of implementing the WUI code.

Residents will not be charged for Lot Assessments directly, as the fee set by FFSL is meant to fund the cost. Fees will be collected by the county and given to the Utah Wildfire Fund with exact details based on agreements with each county. Fees can only be used to cover the cost of Lot Assessments, mapping, database softwares and other needs to implement the WUI code. The county may keep a portion of this fee to cover these direct costs.

Lot Assessments

Lot Assessments must be voluntarily requested by the property owner. Neither the state nor municipalities have the authority to conduct a lot assessment on private property without the permission of the property owner.

Any type of Lot Assessment done before the program begins in 2026 or not conducted by a certified WUI coordinator will not count. Properties that choose not to undergo a Lot Assessment will be classified at the highest risk level, which we’ll discuss in a moment.

The two main areas of focus for the lot assessment will be looking at the defensible space around structures and home hardening methods (such as the type of siding or roofing a structure has).

This assessment results in a triage score, based on the WUI code in HB 48 and national “Firewise” standards.

• A Classification III score is the most extreme, meaning a property is not fully compliant with survival space or home hardening measures.
• A Classification II score means a property has survivable space but not home hardening.
• A Classification I means a property is still in the high risk area but has done everything to be compliant with WUI code.

As risk is reduced, the fee for property owners is also reduced. After a Lot Assessment is conducted, homeowners will receive a full assessment report and can self certify improvements to their property.

Property owners may appeal the results of their Lot Assessment or their score within 45 days of the assessment being conducted and include evidence of why they think the results were wrong.

Data

Information from property Lot Assessments will be given to property owners, counties and the Forestry, Fire and State Lands Division.

Insurance companies will only be able to see the triage score but not the full assessment.

Stay tuned as more information and clarity on HB 48 and the WUI code becomes available from Forestry Fire and State Lands. As Summit County works to understand the implications of this new law, we will do our best to keep residents informed. If you’re looking for more information, an FAQ is available from the State at ffsl.utah.gov/wuirisk.

TOPIC 2: GREEN BUSINESS LUNCH & LEARN

And a couple other round-up items before we finish the podcast this week. We want to let everyone know about the Green Business Lunch & Learn.

On Nov. 12, you can learn practical buying strategies to cut costs, improve efficiency, and prevent waste before it happens. You’ll also hear from Swaner EcoCenter on their waste-reduction initiatives and sustainable gift shop.

Please register for this FREE event: summitcounty.info/greenbizlunch. Don’t forget to bring your re-usable water bottle and take-home container for leftovers. We look forward to seeing you there!

TOPIC 3: SR-32 OPEN HOUSE

We want your feedback on a draft for the SR-32 Corridor and City Centers Plan in Kamas Valley!

We’ll be holding an open house on Tuesday, November 18, from 5–7 p.m. in the Summit County Library Kamas Branch Auditorium. There you can learn about the draft plan for SR-32, see what’s in store for the city centers along it, and provide your feedback.

The team took your input from the last community open house in June and worked with a stakeholder committee to develop preferred concepts for Oakley, Kamas, and Francis. These concepts seek to balance the priorities for the corridor — sustainably accommodating growth, preserving rural character and open space, increasing roadway safety, building trails, and establishing vibrant city centers.

Find out more at SR32.org, where you can learn about the project and stay up to date on the latest work products. We appreciate your participation in this important project!

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Hey everyone and welcome to another week of news here on Summit In Six. We’ve got some important information on Early Voting for next week, an overview of the Resort Communities Tax Council is considering, a couple of open surveys and more!

TOPIC 1: EARLY VOTING AND MAIL-IN BALLOTS

With the 2025 General Election just around the corner, Early Voting begins this coming Wednesday, October 29, through Saturday, November 1.

Voters: please be aware that the Park City voting center has been RELOCATED to the Quinn’s/Round Valley Summit County Health Department at 650 Round Valley Drive, Park City. Voting will take place in the Lower Conference Room. The Marsac Building will not serve as a voting center for this election. This includes Election Day as well.

While early voting dates are the same in both locations, please pay close attention to the following times:

• Hours at the Health Department will be 8 AM–1 PM all four days.
• Hours at the Summit County Courthouse will be 8 AM to 4 PM EXCEPT on Saturday, November 1, which is 8 AM–1 PM.

And don’t forget to check your mailboxes, voters! The Summit County Clerk’s Office mailed ballots to active, registered voters for the 2025 General Election last week. If you didn’t receive a ballot, but believe you should have, please email elections@summitcountyutah.gov.

Questions about the upcoming election? Visit summitcounty.info/electionFAQ.

TOPIC 2: RESORT COMMUNITIES TAX

This week in County Council, Finance Officer Matt Leavitt and County Manager Shayne Scott gave council members an overview of the Resort Communities Tax.

This is a local sales and use tax the County can impose on certain taxable purchases from businesses in unincorporated Summit County (outside any city limits). Revenue from this tax can be used on public infrastructure and improvements, including transportation and transit projects. It was created to help resort communities support the needs of visitors and mitigate the impacts of tourism on the community.

The County Council can choose to implement the tax anywhere from 0.5% to 1.1% to bring in an estimated $7.7 to $17 million in annual revenue.

Examples of purchases this tax would apply to include:

• Retail sales of physical or digital goods.
• Paid admission for entertainment and recreational activities.
• Meals (prepared food and beverage) at restaurants, eateries, catering & other dining options.

Major industries contributing to the tax include:

• Utilities
• Restaurants
• Online sales
• Retail businesses
• Home improvement stores
• Resort lodging and nightly rentals

Items such as unprepared food (like groceries), prescription medications, and gasoline, diesel and other fuels are not affected by this tax. The Resort Communities Tax does not change property tax amounts, either.

The County is considering this tax to support long-term transportation improvements to benefit residents, visitors, and businesses by easing congestion and constructing public infrastructure for major future events (such as the 2034 Olympics).

If approved, potential projects include:

• Improvements to the I-80/Kimball Junction interchange and surrounding roads
• Transit center, bus rapid transit along State Route 224
• Structured parking with workforce housing
• Pedestrian bridge over State Route 224

The Council will decide whether or not to adopt the tax in the October 29th council meeting next week.

TOPIC 3: FEEDBACK ON WATER ELEMENTS OF COUNTY GENERAL PLANS

Do you care about thoughtful planning and development based on water availability?

Round 2 feedback on the Water Element of the Snyderville Basin and Eastern Summit County generals plans opens today, October 24 through November 5.

Visit summitcounty.info/waterelement to review the plans and provide your feedback on this vital component of the planning process.

TOPIC 4: SUMMIT BIKE SHARE: COUNTDOWN TO SEASON’S END

It seems like no time at all has passed since things kicked off for Summit Bike Share in May, but after almost 6 months of unprecedented ridership: we’re approaching the season’s end. Projections estimate we’ll have served over 20,000 riders, and our bikes will have traveled almost 70,000 miles!

There’s still time to try out a bike for the first time, or ride a few miles more if you already have a pass. To celebrate the incredible season we’ve had, we’re offering half price rides for the next 10 days. From today through Sunday, Nov. 2, you can enjoy a 30-minute ride for just $2.50.

Go to summitbikeshare.com to see a station map, purchase a pass, and learn about the bike share’s history. Barring any extreme weather, our last day of the season will be Monday, November 3.

We have many incredible sponsors to thank, especially title sponsors Intermountain Healthcare and Park City Chamber of Commerce. We also appreciate the continued support of Deer Valley Resort, Mountain Magazine, and Pocket Guide to Park City.

We have ambitious plans for next year, so stay tuned for more updates.

TOPIC 5: LAST CALL FOR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION SURVEY

We’re entering the last week of our survey for Active Transportation in Summit County, and we want to hear from YOU!

One emphasis for the updated plan is to address a need for more trails in Eastern Summit County. The ultimate goal is to create a countywide active transportation network that will link communities from east to west and north to south.

Every resident or visitor that enjoys getting around on their own two feet (or two wheels) is welcome to contribute their input to the official Active Transportation Plan for Summit County. To see a map of existing conditions, learn about areas of concern, and find out what’s planned for the near future: go to summitcounty.info/activetransportation.

You can go directly to the survey by clicking the link in our show notes. After reviewing public comments and working with a steering committee, the Transportation department plans to present final recommendations in spring 2026.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! We may have experienced the first snows of the season, but we have more autumn weather on the horizon and plenty of seasonal events to enjoy.

In today’s episode, we are going to cover a brief overview of the draft 2026 county budget, share some great sustainability news, answer your election questions, and highlight some great events and public engagement opportunities! Alright, let’s get into the news.

TOPIC 1: DRAFT BUDGET FOR 2026

At Wednesday’s meeting, County Council reviewed a draft budget for 2026 totalling $100 million. County Manager Shayne Scott and Finance Manager Matt Leavitt presented the draft figures and highlighted key details.

The roughly $10 million increase over this year’s budget was largely attributed to a 0.5% sales tax for emergency services implemented last November. Next year, the same tax is expected to bring in about $16.5 million in revenue. Revenue sources in general breakdown as follows:

• $36.2 million from property taxes
• $18 million through sales taxes
• $16.5 million from the aforementioned emergency services sales tax
• $4 million through licensing and permitting
• $13.9 million from grants and intergovernmental revenue (much of which supports Health Department programs)
• $8.2 million through fees and services (fees from commercial businesses, planning department, etc.)
• $5 million from other sources

As for where the money will be spent, the five highest expenditure sectors are public safety ($32 million), public works ($15 million), general fund ($22 million), governance ($13 million), and public health ($10.5 million). Between now and December 10, the county will be meeting weekly to review the budget in greater detail and discuss changes as necessary.

Some items that were considered or requested for the budget but not addressed in the 2026 draft include: funds for 8 additional full-time employees (in addition to 8 that would be funded), about $1.1 in miscellaneous requests, a courthouse remodel, the Park City Senior Services building, and no recommendation for a property tax increase.

The next meeting for council on Oct. 22 is expected to include a discussion on revenue and tax projections, as well as an overview of fund balances.

A public hearing on the budget is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 3 in the Snyderville Basin (at the Richins Building) with another hearing in Coalville scheduled for Dec. 10 (at the courthouse). After the public hearing on Dec. 10, the County Council is expected to adopt the budget later in that meeting.

TOPIC 2: EXCITING DIVERSION NEWS WITH RECYCLE UTAH

Earlier this week, Summit County, Park City, and Recycle Utah announced a partnership to ensure residents continue to have uninterrupted, accessible, and expanding options for responsible waste diversion now and in the years to come.

Together, they are developing a coordinated plan for the Summer of 2026, when Recycle Utah moves out of its current location, in order to guarantee residents continue to have access to the recycling options they have always enjoyed.

Included in the plan is an effort to find Recycle Utah a new home. Park City is relinquishing its rights to a 4.18-acre parcel of land in the U.S. 40 corridor specifically so Summit County and Recycle Utah can designate the property as the permanent location for Recycle Utah’s future operations. This site will allow Recycle Utah to continue operating a central drop-off and collections center, while remaining a hub for waste education, outreach, and community building.

Looking ahead, the three organizations are exploring opportunities to make recycling more convenient than ever for more of our community. This includes launching a joint effort to “refresh” Summit County’s 2018 Solid Waste Master Plan. This process has already begun and includes creating an action agenda with new and more robust waste reduction and diversion targets, as well as strategies to achieve them. Our goal is to create a roadmap for the next 5, 10, 20 years and beyond that reflects the values of our community, adapts to changing needs, and advances long-term sustainability.

It’s really cool to know Summit County, Park City, and Recycle Utah are united in this work. This joint success reflects the best of what we can accomplish together.

TOPIC 3: ELECTIONS UPDATE

Are you registered to vote yet? If not, the deadline to register and receive a vote-by-mail ballot for the 2025 General Election is just ONE WEEK away on Friday, October 24, 2025.

The easiest way to register if you have an up-to-date Utah driver’s license is to go to voter.utah.gov.

If you miss the October 24th deadline, you can register to vote at an early voting location or an Election Day voting location. However, you will need to present two forms of identification at the voting location to register, one that proves your identity and the other that proves your residence.

For our registered voters: check your mailboxes! The Summit County Clerk’s Office began mailing ballots for the 2025 General Election this past Tuesday, Oct. 14. After filling out your ballot, it must be RECEIVED by the clerk’s office on or before 8:00 pm on Election Day (November 4). In the past, ballots only had to be postmarked by the day before Election Day — voters should be aware of the shorter timeline to return their ballots.

You can also drop your ballot off at a dropbox location before 8 pm on Election Day. Get all your elections-related questions answered at summitcounty.info/electionFAQ.

TOPIC 4: HALLOWEEN HEALTH FAIR

And just in time for the spooky season: Summit County Health Department will be hosting a Halloween Health Fair on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 5–7 pm at the Ledges Event Center in Coalville. (that’s located at 202 Park Rd next to the fairgrounds).

Costumes are highly encouraged, but not required! Come learn about resources and services your local health department and community partners have to offer. We will have activities, prizes, and treats!

Flu and COVID vaccines will be available for those interested with no appointment needed. Bring any health insurance cards you have if you want to get a vaccine (we are unable to accept Cigna or University of Utah Health insurance plans).

Come enjoy a spooktacular time and protect your health at our Halloween Fair!

TOPIC 5: “KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:” AVALANCHE AWARENESS

If the Halloween Health Fair isn’t your scene, or maybe you spend a lot of time in the backcountry during the winter, you should consider joining a free avalanche awareness training held on Thursday, Oct 23, from 6–7 pm at the Sheldon Richins Auditorium (1885 W Ute Blvd in Kimball Junction).

“Know Before You Go” is a free avalanche awareness training hosted by Summit County Lands & Natural Resources. You can expect an informative and easy to grasp explanation of the when, why, and how of avalanches as well as how you can continue to have fun in the mountains and stay safe.

Learn from experts and have some fun next Thursday evening with “Know Before You Go.” For more information, go to kbyg.org.

TOPIC 6: ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION UPDATE

After 6 years of hard work securing funds, collaborating with partners, and building connections, Summit County is updating our Active Transportation Plan. This 2025 update will build on the 2019 recommended facilities to create a countywide active transportation network.

“Active transportation” includes all forms of human-powered mobility like walking, cycling, and even non-mechanized wheelchair use. We’re seeking public input on how to increase connectivity, safety, accessibility, and sustainability within our active transportation network. We especially want input on areas outside the boundaries of Park City Municipal to inform new trails and help us build linkages in collaboration with Park City.

Go to summitcounty.info/activetransportation to see a map of existing conditions, learn about areas of concern, and find out what’s coming in the near future.

Whether you live or work in Summit County, visit for recreation, or enjoy the trails and open spaces in any way: please submit your comments in the survey linked in our show notes.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six. Today, we recap this week’s County Council meeting & share upcoming event and engagement opportunities for our community to tap into. Alright, let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1: DISTRICTING MAP APPROVAL & DISTRICT ASSIGNMENTS

The Summit County Council approved the Districting Map on Wednesday, and Council members were assigned to their new districts. To view the approved district map, please visit: summitcounty.info/districtmap2025.

District 1, shown blue on the map and encompassing much of the North Summit area as well as neighborhoods like Upper and Lower Silver Creek, and Bitner North and South, will be represented by Tonja Hanson; District 2, which is green on the map and covers the South Summit area, will be represented by Megan McKenna; District 3, showing purple on the map and covering Park City Proper, will be represented by Roger Armstrong; District 4, which is orange on the map and encompasses neighborhoods including Upper Pinebrook, Park West and Park West South, Ranch Place, Silver Springs, Snyders Mill, Old Ranch Road South, and Highland Estates East and West, will be represented by Chris Robinson; and, finally, District 5, which is yellow on the map and covers neighborhoods including Kimball Canyon, Jeremy Ranch East and West, Pinebrook North, Lower Pinebrook East and West, Wagon Wheel, Moose Hollow, and Summit Park, , will be represented by Canice Harte.

Again, we recommend reviewing the approved district map at summitcounty.info/districtmap2025 to see which district your voting precinct falls in. If you don’t know your voting precinct, visit summitcounty.info/precinctmap and type in your address.

For the 2026 Election Cycle, the seats held by Councilmembers Harte and Robinson, in Districts 4 and 5, are the two seats up for election. The other three seats, so seats for Districts 1, 2, and 3, will be up for election in 2028.

TOPIC 2: SNYDERVILLE BASIN REC DISTRICT PROPOSED TAX INCREASE

Also at council this week, the Snyderville Basin Recreation District discussed its proposed tax increase. Dana Jones, District Director, shared that Basin Rec intends to increase 2026 property taxes in the amount of $1,337,367, which is an approximate 15% increase. If approved, the additional revenue will be used for the purpose of Staffing, Capital, and Ongoing Asset Maintenance Projects, Contract Services & Insurance Increase.

A public hearing on the proposed increase will be held on Wednesday, December 3, 2025. At that hearing, residents will have the chance to comment on the proposed increase. After, the Council will approve the district’s 2026 budget with or without the proposed increase.

TOPIC 3: SKULLCANDY BUILDING UPDATE

The Summit County Manager’s Office gave an update on the Skullcandy Building. Here’s what we learned:

• Since purchasing the building, county staff have been working with GSBS Architects on a design for the first floor of the building that includes a new library, DMV office, Council dais and meeting room, and more. The design is now complete, and construction documents are finalized.
• Highlights of the design include: A single point of entry for all of the public for easy wayfinding; a public lounge/lobby area near the front entry; several conference spaces, as well as a large multipurpose room that the county can use for a variety trainings, film screenings, meetings and other functions (meeting space is the biggest need currently in county facilities, particularly in the Kimball Junction area).
• The county has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a General Contractor (GC). The plan is to choose a GC and complete a contract by the end of October or, beginning of November, so construction can start mid-November. We anticipate the project to take around six months to be completed.
• The intent is for very limited construction and improvements to this space for cost purposes.
• The Richins Building will be demolished in the Spring of 2026 to make way for a parking structure and transit center as contemplated in the Public-Private Partnership with Dakota Pacific Real Estate.
• Because of this, services currently offered in the Richins Building will need to find a new home.
• The Park City Branches of the Summit County Library and DVM will go to Skullcandy. Other offices we are considering relocating to Skullcandy are: Lands and Natural Resources Team; Building Inspectors; Communications and Public Engagement; Emergency Operations Center & training space; Health Department (administration and nonclinical teams); Deputy County Manager office; Housing Authority Executive Director; Offices for IT and Facilities personnel dedicated to the building.
• The transportation planning and bike share team will move to the former Mountain Regional Water building in the Silver Summit area, which the county purchased in September 2025.
• We are still discussing where to move the MCOT and Latino Behavioral Health, which both require HIPPA compliance with patient privacy, creating a unique set of facilities’ needs.

And that’s the latest! We’ll be sure to keep the community up-to-date as more decisions and steps are taken.

TOPIC 4: UPCOMING EVENTS / ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

We’ll wrap things up today by highlight some upcoming Events and engagement opportunities our listeners should be aware of:

General Plan Water Element Feedback

First up, do you care about thoughtful planning and development based on water availability? If yes, tap into this feedback opportunity!

All counties are required to integrate a water use and preservation element into their General Plans by December 31, 2025 according to Utah State Code. Learn more and provide feedback on Summit County’s Water Element in the Snyderville Basin & Eastern Summit County general plans at summitcounty.info/waterelement.

• Round 1 of feedback is open online October 9-17, 2025.
• Round 2 of feedback is open October 24 – November 5, 2025.

If you prefer to give comments in person, the Water Element for each General Plan will be presented at the following planning commission meetings. Public comment will be taken.

• Join the Snyderville Basin Planning Commisson on October 14 at the Richins Building beginning at 6 p.m.
• Join the Eastern Summit County Planning Commission on October 16 at the Kamas Library also beginning at 6 p.m.

Halloween Health Fair

On Thurs., Oct. 23 from 5-7pm at Ledges Event Center in Coalville the Summit County Health Deparment is hosting it’s annual Halloween Health Fair! Learn about resources and services Summit County Health and its community partners have to offer. There will be tricks, treats and vaccines! (Flu and COVID vaccines available, no appointment needed.) Costumes are highly encouraged! Don’t miss out!

Compost Your Pumpkins!

Speaking of Halloween…did you know you can compost your pumpkins?! Drop-Off your pumpkins at Jeremy Ranch Elementary, Parley’s Park Elementary, Trailside Elementary, McPolin Elementary, Ecker Hill Middle School, Park City High School, PC MARC anytime from October 31 – November 12. Thanks to the Park City School District, Park City Community Foundation’s Zero Food Waste Initiative, and Momentum Recycling for making this possible!

We’re serious about car seat safety!

And, finally, the Summit County Health Department hosts car seat safety classes each month for parents and caregivers who want to make sure their car seats are installed correctly and being used the right way. The next class is Monday, October 27 from 5-6pm at the Quinn’s Jct. Health Dept. building. The class is taught in English and Spanish. Register today: summitcounty.info/carseatclass.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six!

In today’s episode, we are going to cover the latest on redistricting for county council seats, share an opportunity to gather public input on active transportation, and let you know more about vaccine clinics coming soon to your neighborhood. Alright, let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1: County Hears From Public on Redistricting Maps

This week the county council held a public hearing on the latest version of the Summit County districting map.

After listening to a handful of residents, who all supported the proposed map, council chair Tonja Hanson announced the hearing will be continued next week — Wednesday, October 8. That meeting will take place at the courthouse in Coalville & allow more opportunity for comment.

Ahead of the October 8 meeting, the Utah state legislature will meet in a special session on Monday, October 6 to potentially revise HB356. It’s unclear how that session will affect the proposed map.

For some context, in Summit County, a significant shift is underway in how residents will choose their County Council representatives. A new state law, House Bill 356, mandates that Summit County transition from an at-large election system to district-based representation. This means voters will elect a single representative from their geographic district every four years, instead of voting for all five council members.

The law also outlined the process to create a district commission made up of all municipal mayors in county boundaries and one representative from unincorporated Summit County.

The districting commission’s task was to divide Summit County into five distinct geographical districts, ensuring each district has roughly equal population, with only a 10% deviation based on the most recent census. The commission met throughout the summer to develop and refine their map, which they’ve now presented formally to the county council.

Stay tuned for more information next week!

TOPIC 2: Active Transportation Plan Survey

Chances are, if you live in, go to work, or visit Summit County, you love the mountain landscape. Easy access on trails from residential or shopping areas is a huge part of the appeal: whether you’re on two wheels or your own two feet.

“Active Transportation” is the term we use to describe human-powered travel like walking, running, and cycling. In 2019, Summit County completed its first Active Transportation Plan to start building a countywide network of trails, road crossings, and facilities. The transportation team has been hard at work bringing funds and planning resources to towns and cities to support their projects while connecting the unincorporated areas, as well.

After 6 years, it’s time for an update to the plan! And we need your input to shape the future of our beautiful county roads and trails. See a map of existing conditions, areas of concern, and recommendations at summitcounty.info/activetransportation.

This new plan will focus on areas outside of Park City, with particular emphasis on eastern Summit County. Some key considerations that will guide the new plan include safety, accessibility, connectivity, and sustainability. We want to preserve the county’s natural character and make living and visiting here even better!

Please share your thoughts and help inform the planning process through the community survey. Access the survey and review the background info at summitcounty.info/activetransportation.

TOPIC 3: Vax & Go Clinics

Gear up for cold and flu season with ease! Visit one of our drive-through vaccine clinics NEXT WEEK:

• October 7 at the Kamas Library
• October 8 at the Coalville LDS Church Lot, or
• October 9 at Park City Mountain Parking Lot

All of these clinics will run from 11 am – 6 pm. We have both flu and Covid vaccines available. If you have medical insurance, please bring your cards. If you are uninsured, you can still attend and receive a free flu vaccine.

There is no appointment necessary, but pre-registering is helpful at: summitcounty.info/vaxngo25.

TOPIC 4: Final Month for Summit Bike Share 2025 Season

To kick off the final month of its 2025 season, Summit Bike Share is offering $1 rides Oct. 2–4!

Cruise around town this evening (Friday Oct. 3) and all-day Saturday Oct. 4 and enjoy the many great events and activities set against an incredible autumn backdrop. Feel the crisp air, take in the views at your leisure, and skip the hassle of finding parking. Just download the app and sign up for an individual pass to take advantage of the discount.

For more information about how to get a pass and start riding, visit summitbikeshare.com. Thanks to the Restaurant Tax Grant for sponsoring Summit Bike Share and making this promotion a possibility.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six. Today, we recap this week’s County Council meeting, which included an affordable housing update and the latest on the County’s facilities planning process. Then, we wrap things up with some fun community engagement opportunities you won’t want to miss out on. Alright, let’s get into the news!

– TOPIC 1: Affordable Housing Update

This week’s County Council meeting kicked off with an exciting update on affordable housing in Summit County. Economic Development and Housing Manager, Maddy McDonough, presented a beta version of a brand new tool her team is calling the Land Use Prioritization Map.

The tool comes on the heels of the creation of a local Housing Authority and the drafting of a Housing Authority Strategic Plan. With a clearly identified need for affordable housing, the question becomes, as McDounough stated, “where do we put the housing?”

The Land Prioritization Map can be used to answer that question. It will help identify lots and parcels that are most suitable for affordable housing in Summit County. It can be used to inform Future Land Use Maps, regional and neighborhood level planning, and help the County prioritize land acquisition.

The tool is not available for public use yet, but this is a great example of really innovative, informative and useful work happening inside the county organization right now. We’ll be sure to keep our listeners updated as the Land Use Map continues to take shape!

– TOPIC 2: County Facilities Planning

Next, County Manager Shayne Scott provided the latest information on the county’s facilities master planning process.

For some background, the county has been going through this process since January of 2025. A study was conducted to better understand the current condition of the county’s facilities and their ability to respond to things like workforce needs, service delivery, and growth, giving the county a road map for the next 25 years. It involved interviews with county leadership, elected officials, department directors, an employee survey, and a physical evaluation of each county building looking at safety, space, condition, and ability to meet county purposes.

Now, a Master Plan has been proposed including recommendations for facility upgrades, renovations, and new construction. The Maste Plan will be broken into three phases, each with a specific timeline for improvements, as well as estimated costs of such improvements. At this week’s meeting, Councilmembers wanted to reiterate and make clear that the county seat will NOT be moving from Coalville at any point during this planning process.

Further discussion about facilities upgrades and renovations specifically for next year, 2026,

will occur as the 2026 budget discussions continue. Those budget discussions are important for our community to tune into beyond learning about this facility’s process. It is in those conversations that decisions about how taxpayer dollars are spent get made, so tune in! We’ll make sure to provide details on budget discussions as they begin to occur.

A recommendation for how to utilize the former Skullcandy facility will be a separate conversation with the Council in two weeks on October 8, 2025.

– TOPIC 3: Air We Share

The Summit County Health Department’s latest installment of their Public Health Speaker Series is happening NEXT WEEK! This session, called the “Air We Share”, will allow attendees to hear from local air quality and healthcare experts and learn practical tips to protect their health, including how to monitor local conditions and learning to build a DIY box fan filter.

Representatives from local and state agencies will also be present for conversation and connection. These speakers include: Seth Arens from Western Water Assessment; Kerry Kelly, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Utah; and Dr. Wing Province, Chief Medical Officer and Emergency Medicine Physician at Intermountain Health.

This is a don’t miss event! Join the Summit County Health Department at the “Air We Share” event on Tuesday, September 30 from 5:30 – 8pm at Kamas City Event Center. More information can be found at summitcounty.info/speakerseries.

– TOPIC 4: Book signing at Kamas Library

Summit County Library invites you to join authors Heather B. Moore and Allison Hong Merrill at the Kamas Valley Branch as they discuss “The Paper Daughters of Chinatown” (Young Readers Edition).

Their book, based on a true story, relates the experience of two friends who unite to help rescue immigrant women in the most dangerous corners of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the late 1890s. Come hear from the authors as they share how they combine their love for historical research with storytelling.

DATE: October 3

TIME: 5:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Kamas Valley Library

Ages 12+ are welcome. Refreshments will be served, and Dolly’s Bookstore will be on hand during the signing with books available for purchase. This event is made possible through partnership with the Utah Humanities Book Festival.

If you plan to attend, please register at the link in our show notes.

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Hi this is Bailey–and in this episode of Summit in 6 we are actually bringing back our Healthcast after we took a hiatus during the Covid years! We are back and recharged and ready to deliver health-related content to the same feed that gives you Summit in 6. Alright, let’s get into it!For today’s episode, we are going to get into a topic that is hard to talk about, but really doesn’t have to be… Today we are talking about suicide, because September is suicide awareness month. But before we begin and introduce our guest on the show, I just wanted to mention that if you or someone you know are having thoughts of suicide….you can always dial 911 for help. Or call or Text 988m the national suicide and crisis lifeline.Today we are talking with Chantel Guadarrama, Behavioral Health Specialist with the Summit County Health Department. Hi Chantal, take a moment to introduce yourself

My name is Chantal, and I’ve worked at the Health Department for just a little under four years. A large part of my work is on suicide prevention, where I get to work with youth, families, and community partners to build connection, reduce stigma, and make sure people know there are resources and hope available.

Tell me about Summit County’s suicide rates– is it even an issue here?

It’s a really important question, because suicide in Summit County is one of our top five leading causes of death for people under 44 here. Our suicide rate is about 17 per 100,000 residents, which is higher than the national average.

So in a small community like ours, that impact is huge I’m sure…because each loss ripples out to families, schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods.

Exactly, this really shows how important this topic is. Specifically youth suicide in Utah. Suicide is the number one leading cause of death for ages 10-17. Locally, we do see concern, school surveys here show that 15% of students in Summit County report they’ve seriously considered suicide in the past year. While that’s not the same as a death rate, it highlights there is real risk and worry among our youth. I also want to add that suicide can impact all of us but, suicide is preventable, and none of us are alone in this. Each of us has the power to notice, to reach out, and to connect someone to help.

I feel like people can wonder if by dialing 911 if they don’t think it’s a super emergency situation, but they (or someone else) does need help, they may be clogging the line, taking resources away from people who need them…

That’s such a common worry, people think, if I call 911 and it’s not a life-or-death emergency, am I taking resources away from someone else? The good news is, now we have 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you’re worried about yourself or someone else, but it doesn’t feel like a medical emergency, 988 is the right number to call. You’ll be connected directly to trained crisis counselors who will listen, talk you through what’s going on, and help figure out next steps. 988 is there to take that pressure off 911 and give you the specialized help you need.

So this is a place where people can get answers to their questions. Get advice. Even if it’s not for them…and they are trying to help someone else out. This line is to have a general conversation around wellbeing and give tools and strategies to get to a safer mental space…What are things you do in your work with the Health Department to educate our community around this topic and prevent suicide?

One of the programs we offer is an evidence based training called “QPR”. This stands for Question, Persuade Refer. It’s like CPR, but for mental health. It’s a short, evidence-based training that teaches everyday people how to recognize the warning signs of suicide, ask the direct question, persuade someone to get help, and connect them to resources. You don’t need to be a therapist, you just learn how to step in and possibly save a life. We have trained community leaders and the class is offered in both Spanish and English.

So I know there is some misinformation out there about asking someone if they are having thoughts of suicide. Can I just ask someone?A lot of people worry that asking might put the idea of suicide in someone’s head. The research is clear: it doesn’t. What it does is show– is that you care. So you can and you should ask. The key is how you ask. And that’s where QPR training comes in. You want to be calm, direct, and compassionate:

So I should be straightforward and ask: ‘Are you thinking about suicide?’
That honesty gives the person permission to share what they’re really feeling.

I am always struggling with how to correctly use the right words around this topic. In preparing for this interview today, I was wondering if it is OK to say “died by suicide”. I feel like there has always been hesitancy around sharing the facts about something terrible that has happened.

That’s such an important question. For a long time, people avoided saying the word ‘suicide’ because of stigma, or they thought not saying it would somehow protect people. What we know now is that avoiding the word actually adds to the silence and shame.

It is absolutely OK, and important, to use the word suicide when we’re talking about prevention. The key is being mindful of how we talk about it. For example, instead of saying ‘committed suicide,’ which ties it to crime or sin, we use terms like ‘died by suicide’ or ‘took their life.’ That language recognizes it as a public health issue, not a moral failing.

Being direct, and compassionate, breaks down stigma and opens the door for honest conversation. And that’s what saves lives.”

Well, is that where QPR training can be impactful? How does this help me as a person who is not a mental health professional?

Even one person can help save a life. It gives you the skills to know how to ask these tough questions properly, notice the warning signs and refer someone to help.

How do we know these trainings work?
The Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition legislative reports presented in 2023, it showed that 6,272 people took the skills based QPR classes and 94.2% of people who took the training said that it gave them the skills needed to have a successful intervention with a person at risk.

Ok–so how do I get this training?

Getting QPR training is actually really simple. The Summit County Health Department and some of our partners host FREE QPR sessions throughout the year for schools, community groups, and workplaces. The training is short, about 60 to 90 minutes — and once you complete it, you walk away with concrete tools: how to ask the question, how to persuade someone to accept help, and how to refer them to resources like 988.

And for organizations, we can bring the training to you. If you’re a business, church, or community group, you can request a trainer to come to your site.

The great thing about QPR is that it gives regular people the confidence to ask the tough question and connect someone to help.
Absolutely–suicide prevention works best when everyday people, friends, neighbors, peers, know how to recognize the warning signs and step in. We also host “train the trainer” events to either help refresh the memory of an existing trainer or to train new QPR specialists. We will have one of these coming up in 2026.
So all our listeners can stay up to date by subscribing to our Summit County Health newsletter: summitcountyhealth.org

Thank you so much for coming in today to speak about such an important topic, Chantal!

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Hey everyone and welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six. In this week’s episode, we’ve got some important info about construction work between HWY 40-I80, a list of upcoming events from the health department this fall season, and a message from Animal Control.

Let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1: US-40 to westbound I-80 ramp closure

On Sunday, Sept. 14, crews will close the off-ramp from northbound US-40 to westbound I-80 overnight from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. to complete road striping. Drivers should detour by traveling straight on northbound US-40 to the stoplight and then turn left onto westbound I-80.

For the remainder of this month, crews will stripe, add rumble strips, finish shouldering, add guardrail, and replace signage. Expect nightly intermittent lane closures on both eastbound and westbound I-80 until the project is complete. The project is currently expected to wrap up by the end of September.

TOPIC 2: Animal Control or Animal Rescue?

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between County Animal Control, an animal rescue organization or the Division of Wildlife Resources?
We’re lucky to have all of these great organizations working hard to protect animals in Summit County. While all of them share a love for animals and a mission to improve their welfare, they fulfill very different roles. Understanding the differences can help residents know who to call in various situations — and how they can help support both.

Animal Control is a government agency responsible for enforcing county codes and ordinances for domesticated animals. Summit County Animal Control is tasked with ensuring the safety of both animals and the people who live here.

Here are some situations where you would contact Animal Control directly:

• If you encounter a stray or aggressive animal.
• If you’ve been bitten by an animal or are concerned your pet may have been exposed to rabies.
• If you suspect an animal is being abused or neglected.

On the other hand, Animal Control is not always equipped or legally permitted to handle all situations. Here are some scenarios where you would want to contact another organization:

• If you encounter a wild animal in an urban area, please contact the non-emergency line of Summit County Dispatch.
• If you need help finding a new home for a pet, you should contact an animal rescue organization.
• If you want to foster an animal while it’s waiting for a permanent home, you could be a tremendous help to an animal rescue.

Animal rescues are nonprofit organizations or volunteer-based groups dedicated to saving animals from homelessness. These groups often take in animals from shelters, reservations, or unsafe environments and provide them with medical care, rehabilitation, and rehoming.

If you’d like to know more about how animal control and animal rescue collaborate and fulfill different roles, visit summitcounty.info/animalservices.

TOPIC 3: Health Department Event Roundup

Fall is a busy time for the health department, and we have a handful of events that we would like our listeners to know about:

1. Climate Change + Public Health Speaker Series will be on Tuesday, September 30 from 6:00–7:30 pm (doors open at 5:30 pm for networking and refreshments)This event focuses on air quality. It will be held at the Kamas City Event Center (50 East 400 South). Register at: summitcounty.info/speakerseries.
2. Vax n’ Go Drive Thru Clinics ( 3 days and locations):
   • Kamas: October 7th, South Summit County Services Building (110 N Main St), Clinic hours 11am – 6pm.
   • Coalville: October 8th, LDS Church (40 N Main St), Clinic hours 11am – 6pm.
   • Park City, October 9th, Park City Mountain Resort Base Village lot (intersection of Lowell Ave and Silver King Dr), Clinic hours 11am – 6pm
3. Our Health Promotion Team is introducing a new structure for car seat safety classes. Our first group class will be extra fun with prizes and popcorn on September 29 from 5-6pm at the Summit County Health Department’s Park City office. We will be offering one group class each month to:
   • Help you keep your family safe.
   • Connect you with other parents and caregivers.
   • Build a stronger community.

This class is for you if you are: bringing home a new baby (you’ll need a safely installed car seat to get home from the hospital!), sizing up a seat for your growing child, already own a car seat and need installation help, or your car seat has expired (YES! That’s a thing!). For more info and to register, visit: summitcountyhealth.org/carseatclass.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! We’ve got the latest from the week’s county council meeting, as well as a heads up about grant fund availability and the Weed of the Month!

Alright, let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1: County Council Repeals Ordinance 987, Reviews Redistricting Map****

At Wednesday’s county council meeting, councilmembers voted to repeal Ordinance 987 — the original approval granted by the council to Dakota Pacific for its development proposal in Kimball Junction. The council’s vote to repeal was made in order to remove an “orphan ordinance” or in other words a local law that no longer has effect.

The repeal was first considered by council members two weeks ago, but council members opted to wait until a district judge ruled on a legal case involving Ordinance 987, a resident’s petition opposing the ordinance, and the related legislation passed by the state through Senate Bill 26. Judge Richard Mrazik ultimately ruled the legal case for the petition moot as S.B. 26 supersedes the ordinance and lays out an entirely different approval process for developments.

Council members expressed that they hoped the judge’s ruling would address the referendum process more specifically and provide answers to all the parties involved in litigation related to the petition. However, since that was not addressed, the council members chose to proceed with the repeal and take Ordinance 987 off the books.

Earlier in the same meeting, council members also heard from Malena Stevens, the chair for the redistricting commission charged with drawing boundary lines for county council elections moving forward. Stevens presented a map approved by the commission that divides the county into 5 regions roughly equal in population.

The final map has only a 3.6% standard deviation between the populations of each district: which is narrower than the requirement outlined by the statute. However, some council members took issue with the division of some communities along boundary lines: particularly the shift of one Pinebrook neighborhood away from its neighbors.
However, Dave Thomas, the county’s chief civil deputy, clarified that the redistricting commission members are bound by the requirements set out in the bill — but as long as their map fits those requirements the county council is obliged to approve the map.

The presentation of the final map kicks off a 30-day window where the county must hold a public hearing and then vote to approve the map or send it back for revisions. The public hearing will be held before October 3, but a specific date has not been selected yet.

TOPIC 2: UDOT Makes Its Choice For the Future of Kimball Junction****

Also on Wednesday, the Utah Department of Transportation published its final environmental impact statement for road improvements at the I-80/SR-224 interchange in Kimball Junction. UDOT issued a record of decision selecting “Alternative C” as its preferred plan moving forward.

“Alternative C,” one of two finalists from an initial field of 30 plans, was chosen as the “winner,” because, according to UDOT, Alternative C offers:

• The greatest reduction in travel delay and faster travel speeds in the study area during AM & PM peak periods.
• All intersections in the study area would operate at acceptable levels of service.
• The shortest I-80 off-ramp vehicle queue lengths.
• A more reasonable expenditure of funds for the anticipated benefits.

The final design focuses on spot improvements to select intersections and adding turn lanes in critical locations. The plan also proposes an underpass beneath SR-224 for pedestrian use and new bike lanes and trail connections for active transportation.

It is projected to cost $48.5 million in 2026 dollars, though it will likely be several years before all the proposed improvements are complete. The next step involves UDOT obtaining all necessary permits and approvals to proceed with construction. If you’d like to stay in the know or get all the finer details for UDOT’s evaluation and decision making, visit kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov.

TOPIC 3: Rural County Grant Program****

Do you own or manage a business in Summit County? You may want to look into the Rural County Grant Program, which supports the economic development of Utah’s rural areas.

Some of the needs the rural county grant program is intended to support include:

• Business recruitment, development and expansion
• Workforce training and development
• And infrastructure or capital facilities improvements

The rural county grant program is a reimbursement grant and requires a 40% match. Job creation and retention is a required element for the use of these grant funds. These funding opportunities are limited, so get your applications in ASAP (before September 30, 2025) if you think your business or organization would be a good match.

Learn more at: summitcounty.info/ruralgrant.

TOPIC 4: Weed of the Month — Spotted Knapweed

Up next is a segment we like to call Weeds of the Month! In studio with us today is Summit County Weed Enforcement Officer, Dan Pena, to talk about Spotted Knapweed. So, Dan, why is it important to talk about Spotted Knapweed right now?

So on most years this is the time you’d treat for Spotted Knapweed. It’s in full flower. It’s a perennial plant, so when I say it’s the best time, you’re trying to get down into those roots.

And what is the best way to get down into those roots?

A herbicide offers some of the best results on Spotted Knapweed. There are other methods you can use like hand pulling, you just need to make sure you get most of the root. If not, they come back with a vengeance.

We certainly don’t want that, so it sounds like herbicide might be the best way to control this plant. Is there a way people can get the herbicide?

We sell all the herbicide at our county building at cost, so it’s probably the cheapest you can find around. We also have loaner equipment available for the public to use for up to two weeks and then we’ll start harassing you to get our equipment back.

And, that’s for free right?

Yes, free of charge. Two weeks.

Awesome. All the information you’ll need on the rental equipment can be found at bit.ly/sprayrentals. So, Dan, where can our listeners go if they want even more information on Spotted Knapweed?

Go to summitcounty.info/idweeds. There’s really good pictures and descriptions of the plant. You can also look at our Summit County Weed Books. We offer those out to the public. You can get one when you come pick up a piece of equipment or if you see us out in the community ask us for a book and we’ll usually have a few on hand!

That’s awesome. I definitely lean on that summitcounty.info/idweeds page a lot. Dan and his team have done a really great job at making that robust resource for our community. Dan, anything else you want to add?

Like I said, we’re always ready to talk to our community and help you find the best solution for your property – wether thats herbicide, hand pulling or tillage, or more creative solutions like biocontrol, grazing, and so much more. Please reach out anytime or stop by the shop.

I can speak from first hand experience this team is a GREAT resource for you to take advantage of if you have noxious weeds on your property. They’ve taught me so much!

We are really focused on education and helping our community. In fact, twice a year, we host a Community Noxious Weeds Tour, visiting sites around Summit County to show how to identify and control specific weeds. Partners like Swaner, Basin Rec, USU Extension, and Utah’s biocontrol expert, Amber Mendenhall, join us. It’s a great event for residents to join because noxious weeds are a community challenge, and we’re tackling them together.

The Community Noxious Weeds Tour is my favorite event of the year! Our next one is TOMORROW, Saturday, September 6. If our listeners want more information on that tour, visit summitcounty.info/weedstour25. Alright, I think that’s it for now. Thanks for being here today, Dan, and for sharing all your knowledge on noxious weeds.

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Hi everyone, Happy Labor Day weekend and welcome back to another week of news of Summit in Six.

Today, we’ll be talking about the recent court ruling on the Dakota Pacific referendum signature packets, the upcoming Public Health Speaker series, and more!

TOPIC 1: Judge rules Dakota Pacific referendum petition moot****

On Tuesday, Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik said the lawsuit filed by residents opposing the Dakota Pacific Real Estate development at Kimball Junction is irrelevant, or moot.

Supporters of the referendum brought a legal case against County Clerk Eve Furse, who stated she could not legally verify enough signature packets to bring the decision of the development application to the ballot for County voters this November.

In this year’s legislative session the Utah Legislature passed Senate Bill 26, which changed the approval process for developers working with counties to submit development applications.

Jude Mrazik’s ruling was that Senate Bill 26 made the referendum moot because the decision the petitioners were trying to overturn had no impact on what happened to the Dakota Pacific development.

“Ultimately, my office’s responsibility is to uphold the law, which I’ve remained committed to throughout this entire process.” Summit County Clerk Eve Furse said. “The Clerk’s office looks forward to seeing how the legislature clarifies the referendum processes for both voters and local governments across the state.”

Because the referendum was ruled to be moot, the Judge did not weigh in on the signature collection issue (or whether Furse was right or wrong to dismiss some of the signature packets). In July of this year, in response to this referendum dispute, the Utah Rules Review and General Oversight Committee voted to begin drafting reforms to Utah’s referendum statute.

TOPIC 2: Fall Weeds Tour 2025

The Summit County Weeds Division is hosting a Community Noxious Weeds Tour to educate residents on the “most-wanted” weeds here in Summit County!

This tour is extra special because Utah’s leading biocontrol expert, Amber Mendenhall, will be joining us. She’ll show AND tell us how Summit County is harnessing noxious weeds’ natural enemies (like insects) to slow, contain, and control their spread.

The event is next Saturday, September 6, 2025 from 9 AM – 12 PM at the Richardson Flat Park & Ride. If you’d like to attend, please RSVP (for free!) at summitcounty.info/weedstour25 to let us know you’re coming!

TOPIC 3: Volunteer Opportunities

The Summit County Council is seeking to fill vacancies on the Mountain Regional Water Special Service District Administrative Control Board and Administrative Control Board of the Timberline Special Service District.

To be eligible to serve on these boards, you must be a registered voter with a primary residence inside the boundaries of the special service district.

• Mountain Regional Water:
  • The board is seeking to fill ONE vacant seat
  • Meetings are typically held at least once a month on the second Thursday at 6:00 pm.
• Timberline:
  • The board is seeking to fill ONE vacant seat
  • Meetings are typically held at least once a month on the last Wednesday at 6:00 pm.

Interested applicants for either of these positions must submit an application online at: summitcounty.info/volunteer. For further information, contact Amy Jones: 435-336-3042. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.

TOPIC 4: Mobile Mammogram Clinics

1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Utah is among the lowest in the nation for mammography screening and breast cancer is the most common cancer among Utah women.

The Intermountain Health Mobile Mammogram Clinic will be in Kamas on September 29, 2025. Give Intermountain a call: their phone number is 1-833-626-6646. Or go online at: IntermountainHealthcare.org/mobilemammo.

TOPIC 5: Climate Change + Public Health Speaker Series****

The next event in Summit County Health’s Speaker Series coming up on Sept. 30 at the Kamas City Event Center (next to the Kamas rodeo grounds).

The event is titled, “The Air We Share: Changes in local air quality and how it impacts your health.”

At this event, you will learn how:

• Nature, humans, and a changing climate affect air quality
• Bad air days negatively impact our health + what we can do

Details and registration at summitcountyhealth.org/speakerseries.

TOPIC 6: Weed of the Month (Phragmites)****

Up next is a segment we like to call Weeds of the Month! In the studio with us today is Summit County Weed Enforcement Officer Dan Pena to talk about Phragmites. So, Dan, why is it important to talk about Phragmites right now?

This is the time you see it. This is the time to start treating for it. We do have some in our county, we don’t have a lot, but if you go to some of the other neighboring counties, they do have a lot, and we’re just trying to prevent that from becoming a bigger problem than it already is.

And, so, what’s the best way to control Phragmites?

Herbicide is probably the best option for treating phragmites. Some people have tried to mechanically control it, and a lot of times you just spread the seeds just because of extensive rhizomes.

So, it sounds like herbicide is definitely the best way to control the plant?

Yeah, I would definitely try to use an herbicide if possible.

And your team has herbicide available for the community, right?

So, actually, for this one, we do not. It’s one that you need to have someone professionally do it just because it’s usually around water areas and you have to have an applicator’s license to buy the herbicide to treat this. So, if you do see it out in the community, please let us know so we can assess the situation and go from there.

Awesome. If our listeners want more information on Phragmites, including information on other control methods, visual descriptions, photos, and more, you can visit summitcounty.info/idweeds, and on that page, you’ll also find the contact information for this team. Dan, is there anything else you want to add?

Like I said, we’re always ready to talk to our community and help you find the best solution for your property – whether that’s herbicide, hand pulling or tillage, or more creative solutions like biocontrol, grazing, and so much more. Please reach out anytime or stop by the shop

Yeah, I can speak from firsthand experience, this team is a GREAT resource for you to take advantage of if you have noxious weeds on your property. They’ve taught me so much!

We are really focused on education and helping our community. In fact, twice a year, we host a Community Noxious Weeds Tour, visiting sites around Summit County to show how to identify and control specific weeds. Partners like Swaner, Basin Rec, USU Extension, and Utah’s biocontrol expert, Amber Mendenhall, join us. It’s a great event for residents to join because noxious weeds are a community challenge, and we’re tackling them together.

The Community Noxious Weeds Tour is my favorite event of the year! Our next one is NEXT WEEKEND on Saturday, September 6. If our listeners want more information on that tour, visit summitcounty.info/weedstour25.

Alright, I think that’s it for now. Thanks for being here today, Dan, and for sharing all your knowledge on noxious weeds.

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INTROHey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! We hope all the area school districts had a great first week of school…and we are wondering to ourselves…”How is labor day weekend only one week away?”

In today’s episode, we are going to give a recap of this week’s County Council meeting, learn some details about the next installment of the Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series, and hear from Dan Pena, County Weeds Enforcement Officer with information about our weed of the month!

Alright, let’s get into the news!

– Council Meeting RecapFirst we have an update about the referendum related to the Dakota Pacific development, Summit County Council voted 4-1 to wait to repeal Ordinance No. 987 pending Judge Mrazik’s Third District Court ruling. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, August 26th.
Keep updated about this issue by reviewing Summit County Council agendas and meeting minutes by visiting summitcounty.info/agendacenter

Sheriff Frank Smith made public his formal resignation effective September 5, 2025. After 45 years of public service, he is looking forward to beginning a new chapter of enjoying retirement with his loving and supportive family. In his announcement, Sheriff Smith endorsed Chief Deputy Kacey Bates to serve as Interim Sheriff.

– Climate Change + Public Health Speaker Series – Sept. 30
The Summit County Climate Change and Public Health speaker series is designed to elevate public health as a critical consideration of climate change action in Summit County. The speakers series aims to:

• Raise awareness on the local level about the impact of climate change on environmental, physical, and mental health in Summit County
• Identify community themes and possible strategies to enhance community and individual resilience, awareness, and preparation to the health effects of climate change

We wanted to let you know about our next event in the series coming up on Sept. 30 at the Kamas City Event Center (next to the Kamas rodeo grounds).

The event is titled, “The Air We Share: Changes in local air quality and how it impacts your health”.

At this event, you will learn how:

– Nature, humans, and a changing climate affect air quality
– Bad air days negatively impact our health + what we can do

Details and registration at summitcountyhealth.org/speakerseries

– Weed of the Month: YELLOW STAR THISTLE[Bridget] Up next is a segment we like to call Weeds of the Month! In the studio with us today is the Summit County Weed Enforcement Officer, Dan Pena, to talk about Yellow Star Thistle. So, Dan, why is it important to talk about Yellow Star Thistle right now?

[Dan] So this is about the time of the year you would treat for Yellow Star Thistle. We don’t have a lot of it in our county, so we’re always looking to make sure it’s not having an outbreak somewhere. That’s why I always put it in the Weeds of the Month during August, because if someone finds it, we want to know about it.

[Bridget] And, what is the best control method for Yellow Star Thistle if you do find it here in the county?

[Dan] I found that herbicide works probably the best on this. You can pull it. It is a perennial plant, so you do need to get as much of that root as you can. I would say tillage or herbicide would be your option for Yellow Star Thistle.

[Bridget] And, herbicide is something your team provides to residents of Summit County, right?

[Dan] Yes. You can visit our shop, where we sell herbicides at cost. We also loan out equipment free of charge. You have two weeks to use it. When you visit the shop, we’ll do our best to provide you with the best options for treating the noxious weeds on your property.

[Bridget] Awesome, and if our listeners want to know more information about the herbicide or the spray loaner program, they can visit bit.ly/sprayrentals. Alright, Dan, so if our listeners want more information, specifically on Yellow Star Thistle, where should they go?

[Dan] They can visit our website at summitcounty.info/idweeds. There are really great pictures and descriptions of the plant on there. You can also always talk to me, Dave, or Juan (one of the guys who sprays for our county – you’ve probably seen him out and about). We’ll always try to give you the best solution for your problem.

[Bridget] Yeah, I can tell you from firsthand experience, this team is a great resource for you to take advantage of if you want to figure out the best ways to treat noxious weeds on your property. Dan is there anything else you want to add here?

[Dan] Like I said, we’re always ready to talk to our community and help you find the best solution for your property – whether that’s herbicide, hand pulling, tillage, or more creative solutions like biocontrol, grazing, and so much more. Please reach out or come by the shop!

[Bridget] Ok, so in addition to just being a great resource our community can call on, you also are also really focused on education opportunities. Can you tell us about anything that’s coming up?

[Dan] We’ll be having our annual Noxious Weed Tour for the fall here on September 6 – that’s a Saturday. Please come out, ask us questions (we love getting the questions) and we’ll help you find the best solution for your noxious weeds woes.

[Bridget] Yeah, that tour is a great event to tap into. There will be partners like Swaner, Basin REc, USU Extension, and even Utah’s leading biocontrol expert, Amber Mendenhall at the tour here in September. It’s a great event for residents to join because noxious weeds are a community problem that we’re tackling together! Alright Dan, well thank you so much for being here. I think that’s it for today!

[Dan] Thanks for having me!

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! A new school year is just around the corner, and we’re wondering how summer has passed so quickly.

In today’s episode, we are going to cover the results from primary elections, a few updates from this week’s county council meeting, a heads-up on road construction for I-80, and a deep dive into one of the noxious weeds that plagues Summit County. Alright, let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1: Primary Election Results

The 2025 Primary Elections took place earlier this week on Tuesday, August 12. Preliminary results as of Wednesday afternoon, August 13, are available through the Summit County Clerk’s Office at: summitcounty.info/2025primaries.

The canvass for the Primary Elections will take place on August 26, 2025, at the entity holding the election, so at Coalville City, Henefer Town, Francis City, and Park City. Our listeners should check their municipality’s website for canvass information.

As a reminder, a canvass is when the governing body of the entity holding an election receives the election results, examines them, and decides whether to approve them as final or request more information, clarification, or documentation. Once approved, the results of the election for that entity are final.

If you’d like to view preliminary results or find out more about the election process, go to summitcounty.info/2025primaries.

TOPIC 2: County Council Updates

At Wednesday’s county council meeting, the work session began with interviews for two candidates to fill vacancies on the Summit County Arts & Parks Advisory Committee (also known as the RAP Tax Cultural Committee).

Joe Frazier, Summit County historian and Oakley City councilman, joined Vincent Novak, a community resident and former member of the committee whose term recently expired. After discussing their qualifications and their ideas for the RAP Tax committee, both candidates were approved by council later in the meeting.

Council also heard from Jess Kirby and Rachael Brard of the County Lands and Natural Resources Department. Kirby and Brard asked the council members to approve changes to the term length of members sitting on the Open Space Advisory Committee. The proposed changes would stagger the terms of board members and allow a couple members currently serving to extend their term for a year or two.

The Open Space Advisory Committee receives recommendations and makes evaluations of properties that the county might acquire for open space, conservation easements, or constructing recreational amenities or environmental and wildlife mitigation measures.

Formerly, the advisory board served as a liaison between regional groups representing North, South, and West Summit County, respectively. However, to simplify the process, the regional groups will be dissolved and the advisory committee will be required to have 3 representatives from each region on the committee.

If you’re interested in learning more about how locals can shape open space preservation in the county, visit: summitcounty.info/osac. The county ultimately approved the suggested amendments to term limits.

Brard and Kirby also provided an update in the ongoing acquisition of the 910 Ranch property. They presented a Baseline Documentation Report that details the ecological condition of the property at the time a conservation easement is established. The conservation easement allows the county to outline certain allowed activities on the property (like recreation, research/education, forest management and grazing) while restricting further development and things like motorized use, deforestation, drone flights, etc.

Council acknowledged the hard work that our county lands staff and state officials have poured into the project, and ultimately accepted the Baseline Report unanimously. If you’d like to know more about the 910 Ranch, go to summitcounty.info/910ranch.

TOPIC 3: UDOT Maintenance on I-80

We have some more updates for ongoing road construction on I-80 between Kimball Junction and Silver Creek. Night owls may have experienced lane closures in the past week while crews worked in the dark. The overnight lane closures will start again on Sunday, Aug. 17 and run through Friday, Aug. 22.

During this time, I-80 will be reduced to one lane for either eastbound or westbound traffic alternating each night on the east half of the project area (closer to US-40).

Later next week — as early as Thursday, Aug. 21 — the US-40 on and off-ramps at Exit 146 will temporarily close overnight for paving. The closest detour will be through Kimball Junction at Exit 145. Finally, beginning as early as Sunday, Aug. 24, crews will be working on the shoulders during daytime hours. Drivers can expect alternating eastbound and westbound shoulder closures as crews install guardrail and the concrete barrier.

To see a map of the project area, visit udotinput.utah.gov/pavingi80 or call (435) 565-6070 for questions. To avoid delays in the project area, we recommend you:

• Plan ahead
• Travel before or after the construction work hours
• Use alternate routes when possible.

Please note that nightly lane closures may still be in place on I-80 during regular work hours. Drivers should expect minor travel delays and follow the posted signage and traffic control.

TOPIC 4: Weed of the Month — Canada Thistle

Up next is a segment we like to call Weeds of the Month! In the studio with us today is Summit County Weed Enforcement Officer, Dan Pena, to talk about Canada Thistle. So, Dan, why is it important to talk about Canada Thistle right now?

Well, right now is actually the best time to be treating this plant. It’s a perennial plant, so the best way to treat this plant is by using a herbicide because you want to get down into those roots. Canada Thistle has a really extensive root system, and if you don’t get all of the root system, most of the time they will come back. That’s not to say you’re going to wipe it out in one shot, but you’re going to put a pretty good dent in it the first year as long as you can time it correctly.

Ok, so herbicide right now, so we’re in mid to late August, is the best way to control this plant. Where can people get the herbicide to tackle this weed on their property?

So that’s a great question. The county offers a loaner program, so you can get the herbicide from us as well as loaner equipment. You have up to two weeks to use the loaner equipment, and then we’ll start harassing you for our equipment back.

And you can get all those details on both the herbicide and the loaner program at bit.ly/sprayrentals. So Dan if our listeners want more information on Canada Thistle, summitcounty.info/idweeds is still the best place to go, right?

Absolutely, or you can even try to contact me, Dave, even Juan, he’s one of our sprayers out and he talks to the public quite frequently. Just let us know what kind of weeds you got, and what kind of issues you’re dealing with, and we’ll try to come up with a solution.

And, even though herbicide is often one of the most effective control methods for these plants, that’s not the only tool in your toolbox right?

No, like I said we’re always ready to talk to our community and find the best solution for your property – whether that’s herbicide, hand pulling or tillage, or more creative solutions like biocontrol, grazing, and so much more. Please reach out anytime or stop by the shop, and find more info at summitcountyutah.gov/weeds.

Yeah, I can speak from first hand experience this team is a GREAT resource for you to take advantage of if you have noxious weeds on your property. They’ve taught me so much!

We are really focused on education. In fact, twice a year, we host a Community Noxious Weeds Tour, visiting sites around Summit County to show how to identify and control specific weeds. Partners like Swaner, Basin Rec, USU Extension, and Utah’s biocontrol expert, Amber Mendenhall, join us. It’s a great event for residents to join because noxious weeds are a community challenge, and we’re tackling them together.

The Community Noxious Weeds Tour is my favorite event of the year! Our next one is right around the corner on Saturday, September 6. If our listeners want more information on that tour, visit summitcounty.info/weedstour25. Alright, I think that’s it for now. Thanks for being here today, Dan, and for sharing all your knowledge on noxious weeds.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! Today, we 1) cover the latest on the Beulah Fire, 2) give a quick update on districting here in Summit County, 3) talk about some important primary election information, 4) and so much more. Alright, let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1: Beulah Fire The latest update we have on the Belulah Fire as of 3:30 PM today, Friday, August 8, 2025.

The Beulah Fire was reported the morning of Thursday, August 7, 2025 and is burning on the north slope of the High Uintas Wilderness on the Evanston-Mountain View Ranger District. The fire, estimated to be 1,400 cares, is located 7.5 miles southeast of the Bear River Ranger Station on Highway 150. There are critical fire weather conditions in effect for today, Friday, August 8th. The area is experiencing high winds and very low relative humidity. Fuel conditions are at critically low levels. Yesterday, firefighters observed erratic and extreme fire behavior. Initial attack and air resources responded to the incident. Campers in the East Fork of the Bear River, Mill Creek, and the West Fork of the Blacks Fork areas were evacuated by the Summit County Sheriff. Firefighter and public safety are the number one priority. Approximately, 140 people are working on the fire with resources engaged in full suppression activities. Today, crews will be focused on structure protection in the Hinkley Boy Scout Camp and mapping the fire perimeter. Challenges to firefighters include steep rocky terrain, accessing the fire, and fire weakened and standing dead trees.

This morning, on Friday, August 8, the Uinta Wasatch Cache Forest put Stage 1 Fire Restrictions in place. This means that on Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest land:

• Fires are only allowed in Forest Service-made fire pits or approved gas/liquid stoves in cleared areas—NO open fires or charcoal fires allowed outside those designated spots. Rock fire rings are NOT allowed.
• Smoking is NOT allowed unless you are in enclosed spaces (like a car or building) or clearings at least 3 feet wide.

As a reminder, ALL UTAH STATE LANDS AND UNINCORPORATED SUMMIT COUNTY LANDS have Stage 2 restrictions are in place. THIS MEANS NO OPEN FIRES OF ANY KIND.

• To clarify: If you live within a city’s limits you are incorporated in Summit County. Residents of Park City, Henefer, Oakley, Francis, Kamas, Coalville cities should check their municipal websites for more clear restrictions.
• If you are NOT within a city’s limits, you live in unincorporated Summit County and NO open fire is allowed.

For the latest information during wildfires, please visit summitcounty.info/emergency. Visit summitcounty.info/fire to sign up for emergency alerts, active fire updates, fire conditions & more.

TOPIC 2: Districting CommissionAlso this week, on Monday, August 4, the Summit County Districting Commission approved new districting map boundaries. To view the new district map, visit summitcounty.info/districtsmap. As a reminder, the change in districts is a result of House Bill 356, which mandated that Summit County transition from an at-large election system to district-based representation.

TOPIC 3: Elections InfoThe 2025 Primary Elections are NEXT WEEK, on Tuesday, August 12! As a reminder, there are races for the Coalville Mayor and City Council, Henefer Mayor, Francis City Council, and Park City Council.

Let’s recap all the ways YOU can cast your ballot:

• Early Voting: The last day to cast your vote early is TOMORROW, Saturday, August 9, at Park City Hall OR the Summit County Courthouse in Coalville from 8 AM to 1 PM.
• By Mail: You can return your ballot by mail. As a reminder, due to legislation passed by the Utah Legislature, ballots must be RECEIVED by the Clerk’s Office by 8 PM on Election Day (Tuesday, August 12, 2025). In the past, ballots had to be postmarked the day before Election Day. Voters should be aware of the shorter timeline to return their ballots.
• Drop Box: You can also utilize drop boxes for the 2025 Primary Elections. For a full list of available drop box locations, please visit summitcounty.info/2025primaries.
• In-Person Voting: Finally, in-person voting on Election Day, Tuesday, August 12, will be available! Cast your vote anytime between 7 AM and 8 PM at Coalville City Hall, the Kamas Branch of the Summit County Library, or at Park City Hall/Marsac Building.

Please note: if you or a loved one are temporarily or permanently disabled and need an accommodation to vote, please call 435-336-3040 or email elections@summitcountyutah.gov.

TOPIC 4: County Fair And don’t forget, the annual Summit County Fair is in full swing this week! Tickets are still available for the PRCA Rodeo events happening TONIGHT, Friday, August 8 and TOMORROW, Saturday, August 9. There are also a ton of free events, including the parade, livestock show, live music, and more. For a full schedule and links to tickets, check out summitcountyfair.org/schedule.

TOPIC 5: Back-to-School Vaccination RemindersUp next, with school right around the corner, the Summit County Health Department wants to remind parents to check that their child’s vaccines up-to-date so that they are protected and ready to learn!

The Health Department is committed to providing affordable immunizations to clients at all of our clinics, offering immunizations for insured and uninsured individuals. For those that qualify, the vaccines are low to no cost.

Call a Health Department Office today to make an appointment.

• For Coalville, call: 435-336-3234.
• For Kamas, call: 435-783-3161.
• For Park City, call: 435-333-1500.

TOPIC 6: August is Overdose Awareness MonthFinally, August is Overdose Awareness Month. Overdose affects more people than you might think.

An overdose happens when someone takes more of a substance than their body can handle—this could be anything from alcohol to street drugs to prescription medications. It’s not just about illegal drugs; even medications prescribed by a doctor can be dangerous if misused.

What’s one big risk factor? Tolerance. When someone builds up a tolerance to a substance, they need more of that drug or alcohol to feel the same effects. But using more can push the body past its limit—sometimes with deadly consequences.

It doesn’t take long to become dependent on a substance, either. In just 5 to 7 days, someone can start down the path toward addiction. Here’s a shocking fact: according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 80% of heroin users started with a prescription opioid.

So, what can you do to help prevent overdoses?

• Safely dispose of medications you’re no longer using. Click here for drop-off locations in Summit County.
• Keep prescriptions locked up or out of reach—half of all misused prescriptions are taken by friends or family.
• Talk to your doctor about non-opioid options for managing pain—for yourself and your loved ones. Visit knowyourscript.org for tips and resources on how to be safe and keep your loved ones safe.

Every action counts. Let’s work together to raise awareness and save lives.

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Today, we cover…

• Continued conversations related to a potential public-private partnership with Dakota Pacific
• Voter reminders
• Opportunity for Summit County photographers to get involved in our calendar competition
• Yellow Lake fire updates

Topic 1: Continued DPRE Discussions

The conversation between Dakota Pacific Real Estate and Summit County continues. In this week’s county council meeting, representatives from DPR walked the council through a master plan concept that had sketches of the proposed residential areas, amphitheater and plaza that were discussed last week. The County Council discussed the improvements that were made on integrating open space with the existing goals of fitting 500 market rate housing units and an additional 250 affordable housing units.

Speaking of open space, DPR also went over a map of different walkable trails in the proposal and mentioned that they aim to connect these new trails to the already existing trails and open space network to the south. One of the overall goals in this project is to have this newly developed area benefit and add to the surrounding areas inviting people in to use services and community amenities. The council plans on doing a site visit with the developers next week to get a better idea of the proposed sketches.

To watch the full work session, visit summitcounty.info/councilrecording.

Please keep in mind these are work sessions, which means no formal action is being taken during the meetings; Council and Dakota Pacific are just working through the details of this potential partnership in public.

Topic 2: Voter reminders

Voting season is right around the corner. We want to remind everyone to register to vote if you are not already registered. You can check your voter registration status at vote.utah.gov. Make sure that both your residential and mailing addresses are correct so that you can receive your ballot in the mail, which will be mailed out on October 15. After the ballots are mailed out, you will have three weeks to return your ballot.

There are three ways you can turn in your ballot. You can return your ballot to any of the 10 dropboxes in Summit County. Alternatively, you can put your ballot in a mailbox if postmarked and mailed back before November 4th, or you can vote in person on October 31st, November 1st, November 2nd, or November 4th. That’s the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday before the election. If you choose to vote in person you can vote at the Richins building from 8AM to 1PM or you can vote at the Coalville Courthouse from 8 AM to 4PM. Note that voting closes at 1PM on Saturday the 2nd. On election day there will be four voting centers you can choose from and those are The Richins building in Kimball Junction, The Park City Hall Building on Marsac Avenue, Coalville City Hall, and the South Summit Services Building in Kamas. On election day, which is November 5, you can vote any time from 7AM to 8PM.

Topic 3: Calendar Submissions

Calling everyone who loves to photograph Summit County scenery! We want to include YOUR photos in our 2025 Summit County Calendar. Submit now through October 5 at summitcounty.info/calendar25 for a chance to showcase your photography.

All images must be taken in Summit County, be YOUR original work, and be high-resolution (that means no smartphone photos)!

Winners will receive 3 calendars and will be featured on Summit County’s social media channels! We can’t wait to see your submissions. Once again, submit now through October 5 at summitcounty.info/calendar25.

Topic 4: Yellow Lake fire updates

By now, you’ve probably heard of the Yellow Lake Fire, which is burning in Wasatch County east of Mill Hollow Reservoir on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and sending drift smoke across many parts of Summit County.

Thanks to continued hard work by fire crews, the Yellow Lake Fire is 18% contained, and currently mapped at 3112 acres. A red flag warning is in effect, and the area continues to see unseasonably high warm and dry conditions.

These conditions also increased Summit County’s Fire Danger Level from Moderate to Very High. Burn permits are closed until the weather is safer for burning.

While the Yellow Lake Fire is actively burning, air quality may be poor throughout locations of Summit County, especially in the morning hours. During this time, sensitive groups should use caution or remain indoors when drift smoke is present.

For real-time air monitoring in Summit County visit: https://www.summitcountyhealth.org

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Today, we cover…

• Continued conversations related to a potential public-private partnership with Dakota Pacific
• Upcoming open house related to the General Plan Update process
• Opportunity for Summit County photographers to get involved in our calendar competition

Topic 1: Continued DPRE Discussions

The Summit County Council and representatives from Dakota Pacific continued their conversation regarding a public-private partnership on the Kimball Junction development property this week.

The conversation focused largely on open and public spaces that could be offered through the partnership, which includes corridors and streets designed to be pedestrian focused (think: corridors with 15 ft. sidewalks and a woonerf, or living street, that forces cars to slow down), as well as an amphitheater and other designated park-like areas.

The group also discussed a residential layout concept broken out between two different residential areas, A + B. In Dakota Pacific’s design concept, Residential Area A would be primarily apartments or larger condo buildings approximately 3-4 stories high, while Residential Area B would be lower density housing types like townhomes.

In terms of density or number of units, Dakota Pacific is looking at 500 total market rate units and an additional 250 Affordable Units. In that 750 unit count, they’d like to include 90 Senior Units delivered through a licensed assisted / independent / memory care facility.

To watch the full work session, visit summitcounty.info/councilrecording.

Please keep in mind these are work sessions, which means no formal action is being taken during the meetings; Council and Dakota Pacific are just working through the details of this potential partnership in public.

Eventually, before any decisions are made, there will be a public comment opportunity for the community to weigh in on a more defined proposal. For now, Council and Dakota Pacific will continue these discussions with another work session at next week’s Council meeting, so be sure to tune in!

Topic 2: General Plan Open House

Join Summit County staff for an Open House focused on the Snyderville Basin General Plan Update on October 1 from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at the Richins Building (1885 W Ute Blvd).

For some context: a general plan is a guiding document that is used to inform future decisions about the built environment. Community input is used to create policies. Policies become rules. And the built environment conforms with those rules. We need to hear from you now so that we can plan for the future!

At this event, you’ll learn more about the different elements of a General Plan and have the chance to give feedback that will shape the future of your community, so don’t miss out!

To learn more about the general plan update process, please visit summitcounty.info/generalplanupdates.

Topic 3: Calendar Submissions

Calling everyone who loves to photograph Summit County scenery! We want to include YOUR photos in our 2025 Summit County Calendar. Submit now through October 5 at summitcounty.info/calendar25 for a chance to showcase your photography.

All images must be taken in Summit County, be YOUR original work, and be high-resolution (that means no smartphone photos)!

Winners will receive 3 calendars and will be featured on Summit County’s social media channels! We can’t wait to see your submissions. Once again, submit now through October 5 at summitcounty.info/calendar25.

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Today, we recap some big ticket items from this week’s County Council meeting which included a conversation on the county’s 2025 budget, the latest on the Dakota Pacific discussions, and some key updates on the Ure Ranch property.

TOPIC 1: 2025 County Budget

County Manager, Shayne Scott and County Finance Officer, Matt Leavitt kicked off discussions about the 2025 county budget this week with a look at some possible scenarios the county could face next year regarding revenues and expenses.

Due to several council initiatives, specific unexpected expenses, and unfunded state mandates, Summit County is faced with a shortfall between expected revenues and department requests for 2025.

Certain expenditures that may be new next fiscal year include but are not limited to:

• Defense expenses of high-profile county attorney cases
• School Resource Officer requirements mandated by the Utah State Legislature
• Mental Health service contract changes
• Expenses around the potential acquisition of the 910 Cattle Ranch
• Landfill Cell Expansion
• Reductions to Senior Citizen programming

The Emergency Services Sales Tax (ESST) ballot initiative could fund the difference between current budget requests and estimated 2025 revenues (which is a difference of approximately $12 million).

Because the ESST must be approved by voters, however, the County won’t know if those funds will be available until after the November election.

If the ESST does not pass, County Manager Shayne Scott recommends the Council go through the Truth in Taxation process to raise property taxes in the General & Municipal funds, which have not been raised in more than 7 years.

If Council chooses to begin the Truth in Taxation process, the timeline requires a public meeting before the November election. Even if Council takes this direction, they could choose to abandon the process after the election, when the results of the ESST ballot initiative have been determined.

If the ESST is not approved by voters AND the county does not go through Truth in Taxation, the County Manager & Finance Officer anticipate a significant cut in services and loss of County personnel.

To learn more about the ESST, please visit: summitcounty.info/ESST. Stay tuned to upcoming Council meetings for more discussions related to the 2025 budget.

TOPIC 2: Dakota Pacific Discussions

Council Members Canice Harte and Chris Robinson gave an update on their discussions with Dakota Pacific regarding a public-private partnership on the Kimball Junction development property.

To review, the primary objectives of the proposed partnership include:

• Traffic improvements to SR 224 and the I-80 interchange
• Creating a destination with public amenities
• Alignment with the Kimball Junction Neighborhood Plan

These goals culminate in a mixed-use area master plan for the property owned by Dakota Pacific, as well as the Skullcandy and Richins buildings, which are owned by the County. This could include a new, expanded transit center, an expanded civic center, county-owned affordable housing, senior housing and medical facility, an ampitheater, connection to existing pedestrian trails and space for a potential gondola, which is pre-approved for the area but would likely not be an immediate part of the build out.

If you watch the presentation, keep in mind the proposal is a master plan focusing on the big picture concept, and not a site plan for specific amenities in specific areas.

The presentation culminated in an estimated civic budget that would be split between the County and High Valley Transit, as part of the larger public-private partnership. The budget, estimated at $39 million, is proposed from a combination of HTRZ monies, potential grant funding, affordable housing land purchases and additional areas.

To watch the presentation yourself, visit summitcounty.info/councilrecording. Stay tuned as more details are discussed and public hearings are scheduled.

Topic 3: Ure Ranch Updates

County Lands & Natural Resources Director Jess Kirby provided an update on next steps in the county’s purchase of the Ure Ranch in Kamas.

At this time, 57% of the property has been funded and the county is working with the Ure family on a partial closing by December 31 of this year. Council approved bringing additional GO Bond funds (approximately $5.2 million) to meet the December closing for applicable parcels of the Ure Ranch, with the possibility of recuperating those funds through additional funding down the road.

Based on public input, Council also determined to remove community housing from the use plan for part of the “Homestead” area; and supported moving forward with a preapproved advanced wetland mitigation site on one parcel, and to explore community desire for a USU Agricultural Extension educational facility on the homestead.

For more information on the Ure Ranch and public lands, visit summitcounty.org/countylands.

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The Summit County Council was at the Utah Association of Counties Conference this week, so there was no meeting to report on.
– TOPIC 1: VOTER REGISTRATION

National Voter Registration Day is NEXT TUESDAY, September 17! Did you know? If you haven’t voted since the last Presidential election, your voter registration becomes inactive, meaning the Summit County Clerk’s Office won’t send you a ballot in the mail.

Each year in the United States, millions of eligible voters find voting a challenge because of easily prevented issues like forgetting to update their registration.

In celebration of National Voter Registration Day, now is the perfect time to check your voter registration status (and change it to active if needed), register to vote, or change your address at voter.utah.gov today so you are VOTE READY for the November 5, 2024 Election.– TOPIC 2: COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSESSMENT

If you live, work or play in Summit County then the Health Department wants to hear from you in their 2024 Community Health Assessment! This assessment is a short, ten-minute survey that lends the opportunity for the public to share their ideas, suggestions, and concerns about public health in our community.

The Health Department is a little over half-way to their goal of 1,000 responses by the end of October…So help Summit County reach their goal to create a healthier community for all by visiting summitcountyhealth.org/cha24 to take the survey!

– TOPIC 3: KIMBALL JUNCTION EIS UPDATE

Earlier this week, UDOT reached the next milestone for the environmental study they’re working on in the I-80 and SR-224 area. They published the Final Alternatives Development and Screening Report, which among other things, identifies Alternatives A and C as moving forward for detailed evaluation in the Draft EIS. The input UDOT received during the public comment period held in the spring helped them identify additional improvements to Alternatives A and C.

To view the full report, including more detail on proposed improvements to each alternative, please visit: kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov/

From here, UDOT will begin work on the Draft EIS which will be published sometime later this year or early 2025 and will include a public comment period and hearing.

The Draft EIS will include a detailed evaluation of Alternatives A and C – including the assessment of impacts on land use, neighborhoods, residential and commercial properties, noise, air quality, water resources and floodplains, special status species, and the visual setting among other resources. The Draft EIS will identify a preferred alternative.

– SPEAKER SERIES EVENT 9/19 IN KAMASLearn from experts in our area about new and existing strategies to make sure farmers and ranchers find success even in times of extreme weather and drought on September 19 at the DeJoria Center in Kamas!

This is a FREE event open to anyone who has an interest in learning and supporting themselves or those in our community that ranch or farm on land both big and small. Refreshments are provided. Our panelists include: Summit County Residents Colby Pace of Half Circle Cross Ranch, Craig McKnight of Bill White Farms, Gregg Simonds of Open Range Consulting, and Leah Trapp from the USDA. To register and learn more visit: summitcounty.info/speakerseries.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! We have a quick episode for you today covering some important voter registration news, the Summit County RAP Tax Grant, and some community engagement opportunities for you to get involved in! Let’s get into the news.

TOPIC 1 – Voter Registration

Did you know? If you haven’t voted since the last Presidential election, your voter registration becomes inactive, meaning we won’t send you a ballot in the mail. Each year in the United States, millions of eligible voters find voting a challenge because of easily prevented issues like forgetting to update their registration.

Check your voter registration status (and change it to active if needed), register to vote, or change your address at voter.utah.gov today so you are Vote Ready for the November 5, 2024 Election.

TOPIC 2 – Speaker Series

Learn from experts in our area about new and existing strategies to make sure farmers and ranchers find success even in times of extreme weather and drought on Monday, September 19 at the DeJoria Center in Kamas!

This is a FREE event open to anyone who has an interest in learning and supporting themselves or those in our community that ranch or farm on land both big and small. Refreshments are provided.

Our panelists include: Summit County Residents Colby Pace of Half Circle Cross Ranch, Craig McKnight of Bill White Farms, Gregg Simonds of Open Range Consulting, and Leah Trapp from the USDA. To register and learn more visit: summitcounty.info/speakerseries.

TOPIC 3 – RAP Grant

Applications for the Summit County Recreation, Arts and Parks (aka “RAP” ) Grant are available now through Monday, September 30th at 5:00 PM. The recreation grant applies to any publicly owned or operated facility that is used for recreational purposes. The term “recreational facility” is defined in Utah Code to mean “a publicly owned or operated park, campground, marina, dock, golf course, playground, athletic field, gymnasium, swimming pool, trail system, or other facility used for recreational purposes.”

The grant fund application specifies that ONLY those uses qualify for funding with RAP/Recreation taxes. Please visit the Summit County website summitcounty.org/grants for instructions regarding grant eligibility and to complete the application. For additional information, contact Amy Jones, at (435) 336-3042.

TOPIC 4 – Connect with your County

If you’re listening to this podcast, thank you for connecting with us every week! Did you know there are several other ways you can receive information from Summit County too?

1. In times of emergency, like fire, flood, major interstate closure, and other significant events, Summit County can send you alerts straight to your phone via text. You can sign up to receive emergency alerts from us at summitcounty.info/getalerts.
2. If you want to receive text updates specifically on Summit County’s fire outlook and conditions, Red Flag Warnings, prescribed burns, active fire updates & more text SCFIREINFO to 888777.
3. And, finally, we also have a monthly e-newsletter where we round up the month’s most important news our residents should know and send it straight to your email inbox. Sign up to receive these emails at summitcounty.info/getemails.

Connecting with us on these various platforms is a great way to help us involve YOU in the decisions and actions of your local government. When we can provide you with information on what’s happening in Summit County and HOW you can get involved, we are ultimately better able to address YOUR values, needs, and concerns while also ensuring transparency and accountability.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of Summit in Six news here at the last unofficial weekend of summer. We’ve got a full lineup of September events and important info for you to know with fall just around the corner. Let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1 – Safe Kids Day North Summit

Next Thursday, September 5, the Summit County Health Department is hosting Safe Kids Day at the North Summit Fire Station in Coalville. Join us any time between 3:30 & 6 pm to meet our first responders, check out their rescue vehicles and enjoy free hot dogs! There will also be a chance to win gift cards, scooters, and life jackets.

In addition to the health department, North Summit Fire, Summit County Sheriff & Summit County Search & Rescue are all joining the fun. We hope to see you there!

TOPIC 2 – Fall Weeds Tour

The Summit County Weeds Division is hosting a Community Noxious Weeds Tour on Saturday, September 7 from 9 AM to 12 PM to educate residents on the “most-wanted” weeds here in Summit County.

Residents will meet Dave Bingham, Weed Superintendent, Dan Pena, Weed Enforcement Officer, and other special guests at Richardson Flat Park and Ride to learn to identify and control noxious weeds on their own properties.

Please RSVP (for free!) at summitcounty.info/falltour24 to let us know you’re coming.

TOPIC 3 – Fall Speaker Series: Extreme Weather & Drought for Farmers & Ranchers

Learn from experts in our area about new and existing strategies to make sure farmers and ranchers find success even in times of extreme weather and drought on Monday, September 19 at the DeJoria Center in Kamas!

This is a FREE event open to anyone who has an interest in learning and supporting themselves or those in our community that ranch or farm on land both big and small. Refreshments are provided.

To register and learn more about our panelists visit: summitcounty.info/speakerseries.

TOPIC 4 – Voter Registration Reminder

Did you know? If you haven’t voted since the last Presidential election, your voter registration becomes inactive, meaning the Summit County Clerk’s Office won’t send you a ballot in the mail. Each year in the United States, millions of eligible voters find voting a challenge because of easily prevented issues like forgetting to update their registration.

Check your voter registration status (and change it to active if needed), register to vote, or change your address at voter.utah.gov today so you are Vote Ready for the November 5, 2024 Election.

TOPIC 5 – Emergency Services Sales Tax – Bailey

And speaking of the election, you may have heard about the proposed Emergency Services Sales Tax that will appear on the ballot for Summit County Voters.

This is a proposed one-half (.005) percent increase to sales taxes in Summit County (that’s 50 cents on applicable purchases of $100) to reduce the impact of tourism on Summit County locals.

Revenue generated from the Emergency Services Sales Tax could support solid waste and these emergency response services in Summit County:

• Emergency Medical Services
• Search and Rescue
• Law Enforcement
• Fire Protection

Approximately 65% of sales tax revenue is generated by non-residents, which means nearly two-thirds of revenue generated from this tax would be paid by visitors.

Gas & Diesel, Medical prescriptions, and groceries or unprepared foods are not taxed.

• Examples of taxable purchases include:
• Retail sales of physical or digital goods.
• Paid admission for entertainment and recreational activities.
• Meals (prepared food and beverage) at restaurants, eateries, catering & other dining options.

Learn more at summitcounty.info/esst

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! Bridget* (and Bailey!) here with you today to cover some exciting community engagement opportunities coming up! Let’s get into it!***

TOPIC 1 – Election Work Promo

The 2024 General Election is just over two months away. Did you know that by signing up to work the polls on Election Day you’d be helping to strengthen our democracy, giving back to our community, and ensuring accurate and secure elections for all?

To offer to help with the November 5, 2024 Election, please submit your application to the Summit County Clerk’s Office as soon as possible at summitcounty.info/electionworker.

TOPIC 2 – Community Health Assessment

If you live, work or play in Summit County then the Health Department wants to hear from you in their 2024 Community Health Assessment or CHA! The CHA is a short, ten-minute survey that allows the public to share their ideas, suggestions, and concerns about public health in our communities.

Their goal is to reach 1,000 responses to the CHA by the end of October and they’re halfway there! Help Summit County reach their goal and create a healthier community for all.

Visit summitcountyhealth.org/cha24 to take the survey in English or Spanish.

TOPIC 3 – Fall Weeds Tour

The Summit County’s Weeds Division is hosting a Community Noxious Weeds Tour on Saturday, September 7 from 9 AM to 12 PM to educate residents on the “most-wanted” weeds here in Summit County.

Residents will meet Dave Bingham, Weed Superintendent, Dan Pena, Weed Enforcement Officer, and some other special guests at Richardson Flat Park and Ride to learn to identify and control noxious weeds on their own properties.

Please RSVP (for free!) at summitcounty.info/falltour24 to let us know you’re coming.

TOPIC 4 – Summit Bike Share Season Pass Sale + Try Transit Week

ICYMI Summit Bike Share Season Passes are currently 55% off! Take advantage of this awesome mid-season sale and get over two months of unlimited e-bike rides for only $59! Get your discounted season passes today at summitcounty.info/midseason.

AND, in even more exciting Summit Bike Share news, next week is Park City Transit’s Try Transit Week! In celebration of this awesome initiative, Summit Bike Share will be offering FREE 30-minute rides all day on Thursday, August 29 using code TRYTRANSIT.

TOPIC 5 – Safe Kids Day

The Summit County Health Department is bringing Safe Kids Day to the North Summit Fire Station in Coalville on September 5 for kids of all ages! This family-friendly resource fair will have an opportunity drawing with cool prizes like scooters and life jackets! Plus, there will also be FREE hot dogs provided by Summit County Sheriff’s Department. Safe Kids Day is a perfect way for parents and children to learn about necessary safety information around our community. We hope to see you and your children there! Save the date for September 5 from 3:30-6:00pm at the North Summit Fire Station in Coalville.

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Hey everyone, welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six. Today we are going to give some updates on the fire danger level in Summit County, a reminder to look out for your Notice of Valuation from the County Auditor’s Office, and some community engagement opportunities perfect for all, including Summit County’s annual concert.

Let’s get into the news!

Fire Danger

Summit County’s Fire Danger Level has moved to HIGH as of yesterday August 15, 2024. There are no active wildfires in Summit County at this time.

Even though we’ve moved from extreme fire conditions to high, its important we continue to practice fire sense and follow local fire restriction orders. In Summit County, that means the use of any kind of fireworks, tracer ammunition, or exploding targets is prohibited on unincorporated and state land within the county.

As always you can Text SCFIREINFO (all one word, all caps) to 888777 for updates on Summit County fire outlook, conditions, prescribed burns & more.

Notice of Valuation Statement

Summit County Residents should keep an eye out for your Notice of Valuation statement which is sent through the mail by the Auditor’s Office annually on or before August 1st.

There is a 45-day window of opportunity to review your property. As the taxpayer, you should be watching for market changes and whether your property is coded correctly, and receiving any exemptions that may be available.

If you have questions on property valuation info you can visit summitcountyassessor.org and if you have any questions on how to appeal your property’s value through the Board of Equalization you can visit summitcounty.info/boe

Safe Kids Day

The Summit County Health Department is bringing Safe Kids Day to the North Summit Fire Station in Coalville on September 5 for kids of all ages!

This family-friendly resource fair will have a free opportunity drawing where you’ll have the chance to win cool prizes like scooters and life jackets AND FREE hot dogs will be provided by Summit County Sheriff’s Department.

Safe Kids Day is a perfect way for parents and children to learn about necessary safety information around our community.

Again, Mark your calendars for September 5 and come to the North Summit Fire Station in Coalville located at 86 W Center St. We hope to see you and your children there!

Community Health Assessment

You may have heard the news around the community health assessment recently. Summit County Health is looking to gather 1,000 surveys by November. We need YOUR help to shape the future of public health in Summit County! If you live, work, or play in Summit County, your opinion matters. The Community Health Assessment is a short, ten-minute survey that allows the public to share their ideas, suggestions, and concerns about public health in our communities. Visit summitcountyhealth.org/CHA24 to take the survey in Spanish or in English. Let’s help create a healthier community for all!

Rodney Atkins Concert

Don’t forget THIS WEEKEND, Saturday August 17, Rodney Atkins will be performing at the Summit County Fairgrounds! Ticket are just $15. Get yours today at summitcounty.info/rodneyatkins.

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TODAY, WE COVER…

• Information about this weekend’s county fair in Coalville
• Updates from the Sustainability Department
• A call for election volunteers from the Clerk’s office

– Summit County Recognizes Fair RoyaltyThe Summit County Fair is underway this week and Fair Royalty attended the Summit County Council Meeting on Wednesday and were recognized by our council members. A congratulations to the following members of our 2024 royalty:

• Rodeo Queen: Terra Hicken
• 1st Attendant: Peyton Bristol
• 2nd Attendant: Sierra Christiansen
• Miss Summit County Queen: Tyler McMillan
• 1st Attendant: Jacqueline Cabrera
• 2nd Attendant: Laureli Tippetts
• Little Buckaroo Princess: Berklee Noss
• 1st Attendant: Keslee Richins

– Summit County Fair TransportationSpeaking of the fair… are you headed to the Summit County Fair this weekend in Coalville? Did you know that you can bike there from Coalville’s Main St.!? On Saturday, August 10, from 11 AM (after the parade) until 8 PM, Summit Bike Share e-bikes will be available to ride to the Summit County Fair for free!

How it works:

• Enjoy hassle free parking for your car at the Summit County Courthouse, located at 60 N. Main Street in Coalville.
• Grab a free e-bike from the Summit Bike Share station at the Courthouse.
• Bike straight down 50 N. to the Fairgrounds. The Summit Bike Share electric assist bikes will make your ride a breeze!

Bikes will also be available at the Fairgrounds for when you want to head back to your car at the Courthouse. If biking isn’t a good solution for you or your family, shuttles will also be running for folks who park on Main Street and the North Summit High School parking lot.

Visit summitcountyfair.org for a complete schedule of this weekend’s festivities! We hope to see you there.

– General UpdatesThe sustainability department has various updates to share with our listeners today:

First: The Green Business Program is hosting their next event on Wednesday, August 14th from 9 to 10 am at the City Park Pavilion where you can learn about zero-food waste initiatives in the Park City area. The event will be a panel discussion with local leaders and business owners, with Andy Hecht of the Park City Community Foundation moderating. This is a great opportunity to learn from and engage with community leaders on the latest developments in food waste reduction.

Second: Are you looking for a place to charge your car in the Kimball Junction area? Check out the new fast chargers at the Kimball Junction Transit Center (behind the library!). The four new Electrify America brand chargers are owned and operated by Rocky Mountain Power. Thanks to a partnership between Rocky Mountain Power, High Valley Transit, and Summit County, these chargers are available for public use for a fee.

Our last update: is about some simple ways to improve energy and water efficiency in your household. All Summit County libraries are now offering FREE take-home energy conservation kits with items such as a toilet tank bank and weatherstripping foam, refrigerator temperature monitor—all designed to save energy, water, and money! Whether you are a homeowner or a renter, this interactive kit can help you find where energy and money are being wasted in your home. For more information visit: summitcounty.info/energydetective. Thanks Summit County Library, Utah for collaborating with the Sustainability Team on this program!

And now for an update from the Summit County Clerk’s office about the upcoming 2024 Elections:
Did you know…signing up to be an election worker is a great way to serve your community and to ensure that elections are accurate and trustworthy. You can offer to help with the November 5, 2024 Election by submitting an application to the Summit County Clerk’s Office as soon as possible at summitcounty.info/electionworker

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TODAY, WE COVER…

• Fire safety message
• Highlights from this week’s County Council meeting including the Emergency Services Sales Tax and a presentation celebrating Civic Health from the Health Department
• A reminder to look out for your Notice of Valuation in the mail
• The 2024 Summit County Fair
• Updates from the Sustainability Department

Alright, let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1: FIRE SAFETY MESSAGE

Summit County has seen four wildfires in the last week. With conditions remaining hot and very dry, it’s so imperative that we all follow our local fire restriction orders and continue to practice our fire sense.

Here in Summit County, the use of any kind of fireworks, tracer ammunition, or exploding targets is prohibited on unincorporated and state land within the County. Any of the above acts is a violation of state law and is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

For tips on fire sense best practices, visit https://utahfiresense.org.

As always, you can text SCFIREINFO to 888777 for updates on Summit County’s fire outlook and conditions, Red Flag Warnings, prescribed burns, active fire updates & more.

We’d also like to take a moment to express gratitude to our first responders, including our local fire agencies, Sheriff’s Office, and the Summit County Public Works Department, who act quickly to make sure our residents and their property remain safe.

TOPIC 2: EMERGENCY SERVICES SALES TAX

At this week’s County Council meeting the Council approved a ballot proposition that will pose the question to Summit County voters during the November General Election if they want to approve a .5% sales tax increase to help the county mitigate the impacts of tourism on residents.

A .5% increase on sales tax is the equivalent of one penny for every two dollars spent. The tax is not applicable to gas/diesel, medical prescriptions, groceries and unprepared foods.

Approximately 65% of sales tax revenue is generated by non-residents, which means nearly two-thirds of the revenue generated from this tax would be paid by visitors.

Revenue generated from the Emergency Services Sales Tax could support these emergency response services in Summit County:

• Emergency Medical Services
• Search and Rescue
• Law Enforcement
• Fire Protection

…and other vital services impacted by tourism, such as solid waste collection and the Three Mile landfill cell expansion.

If approved by voters in November, the tax is in place for 10 years. Summit County Council cannot raise or alter the tax without voter approval.

TOPIC 3: HEALTH DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION (ISAAC)

Also at this week’s County Council meeting, Kendra Babitz, Deputy Director of the Summit County Health Department, gave a presentation on the county’s civic health, which refers to the specific health conditions that support local health and wellbeing.

There is a saying out there that says your zip code matters more than your genetic code when it comes to length and quality of life. This is because there are more factors to health than just your health care! Things like your behaviors, your physical environment, and socioeconomic factors along with age, race, or ethnicity also play a huge role in your overall health. These factors are often called social determinants of health.

A healthy geographic area, like Summit County, achieves great health outcomes by coming together as a community at an individual, interpersonal, organizational, and community level to influence public policy and social drivers. The Summit County Health Department works on all of these levels to ensure the health of our community.

In the state of Utah, Summit County ranks number one in the areas that most influence social determinants of health including: tree canopy where people live, work and play, number of people with a bachelor’s education or higher, good hardship index score which is a measure of economic conditions based on crowd housing, dependency, education, income, poverty and unemployment.

We are also number one in areas related to mental health. In fact, here in Summit County, 93.2% of adults report that they always or usually have the social or emotional support that they need. No county in the rest of the state comes close to this data point. In addition, our physical health is in the top 1%.

Overall, Summit County is in the 88.5 percentile of a healthy county.

Shout out to our Health Department, County Council, Board of Health, County Management, all the partners in the community and our staff. Summit County wouldn’t be the healthiest place to live in Utah without you!

TOPIC 4: NOTICE OF VALUATION IN MAIL

Summit County Residents should keep an eye out for their Notice of Valuation statement in the mail. They were sent by the Summit County Auditor’s Office last week.

There is a 45-day window of opportunity to review your property. As the taxpayer, you should be watching for market changes and whether your property is coded correctly, and receiving any exemptions that may be available.

If you have questions on your property valuation information, please visit summitcountyassessor.org.

If you have questions on how to appeal your property’s value through the Board of Equalization, please visit summitcounty.info/boe.

TOPIC 5: SUMMIT COUNTY FAIR

The 2024 Summit County Fair is finally HERE! Fair activities kick off tomorrow, Saturday, August 3, with the Demolition Derby happening at 7 PM!

Other key events include:

• Youth Pet Fest on Wednesday, August 7 @ 1 PM
• Little Buckaroo Rodeo on Wednesday, August 7 and Thursday, August 8 @ 6 PM
• Jr. Livestock Auction on Thursday, August 8 @ 12 PM
• PRCA Rodeo Night 1 on Friday, August 9 @ 8 PM
• Parade on Saturday, August 10 @ 10 AM
• PRCA Rodeo Night 2 on Saturday, August 10 @ 8 PM

For a full schedule of fair activities, please visit summitcountyfair.org.

Please note: the Fair is not hosting any events or vendors on the freshly planted grass at the fairgrounds. They have instead moved the entertainment tent, carnival and food vendors to the fields to the east, across the creek. So, while it will look a little different this year, you can still expect the same fantastic Summit County Fair!

TOPIC 6: CONCERT SERIES

Speaking of fun events happening in the county this month, in case you missed it, Summit County is proud to be presenting Rodney Atkins in Concert on August 17th at the Fairgrounds Rodeo Arena. All tickets are $15! Buy yours today at summitcounty.info/rodneyatkins.

TOPIC 7: SUSTAINABILITY UPDATES

Finally, we have a few updates to share with you from our Sustainability Team:

Are you looking for a place to charge your car in the Kimball Junction area? Check out the new fast chargers at the Kimball Junction Transit Center (behind the Kimball Junction library branch!). These four new “Electrify America” brand chargers are owned and operated by Rocky Mountain Power. They were installed thanks to a partnership between RMP, High Valley Transit, and Summit County.

Are you interested in finding out how your home may be wasting energy and therefore…money!? You can now check out a FREE energy detective kit from any Summit County Library branch. Whether you are a homeowner or a renter, this interactive kit can help you find where energy and money are being wasted in your home.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! Today, we are excited to announce that the Olympics are officially coming back to Utah in 2034! We also cover some fire restrictions and air quality information as we celebrate and head into Pioneer Day Weekend.

Alright, let’s get into the news!

– OLYMPIC ANNOUNCEMENT

It was officially announced early this morning, Wednesday, July 24, at the 142nd IOC Session in Paris, that Salt Lake City, Utah 2034 has been elected to host the 27th Olympic Winter Games.

In a recent interview, Council Chair Malena Stevens said: “Summit County is approaching the Olympics with an eye toward improving the long-term future of our county and residents while preserving everything we love about Summit County before and after the Games. We embrace the opportunity and responsibility this represents for our residents, businesses, and visitors. We have to be engaged at the table during the planning phase for these things to happen.”

This marks the fifth time the Winter Games will be held in the United States of America. At the time of the Games in 2034, 32 years will have elapsed since the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.

– FIRE RESTRICTIONS

As we celebrate and head into Pioneer Day Weekend, please remember the use of any kind of fireworks, tracer ammunition, or exploding targets is prohibited on unincorporated and state land within Summit County.

Any of the above acts is a violation of state law and is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Text SCFIREINFO to 888777 for updates on Summit County’s fire outlook and conditions, Red Flag Warnings, prescribed burns, active fire updates & more.

– AIR QUALITY

As of today, our air quality level in Summit County is in the orange on the AQI scale. People with upper respiratory problems may experience coughing and congestion. Those with asthma could also experience symptoms.

Please stay safe this holiday weekend and if you are sensitive to air pollution, think about limiting outdoor activities.

For more info and to see the live air quality map in Summit County, visit

summitcountyhealth.org and check out the Environmental Health section.

– WEED OF THE MONTH
July’s final Weed of the Month is Spotted Knapweed!

Originally found in Eurasia, Spotted Knapweed infests rangeland, pastures, roadsides, or any disturbed soils. Knapweeds release chemical substances into the soil that inhibit the growth of competing vegetation.

If you’re trying to spot Spotted Knapweed in your community, it is a short-lived, creeping herbaceous perennial that is usually 1-to-3 feet tall. It’s rosette leaves are deeply lobed and may be 6 inches in length. The stems are moderately leafy. Flowers are typically pink with black-tipped flower bracts. Bloom is in early summer.

Several biocontrol agents are available for Spotted Knapweed and offer fair to good control. Select herbicides can offer good to excellent control when applied between rosette and pre-bud stages.

For more information on Noxious Weeds in Summit County, please visit: summitcounty.info/idweeds.

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Hey everybody, welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six. On today’s episode we have some reminders about summer safety, some updates on fire restrictions in Summit County, and a fun opportunity for Pioneer Day. Let’s get into the news!

Fire Conditions update and Fireworks Ban information

Beginning Friday, July 19, 2024, at 12:01 AM, the use of any kind of fireworks, tracer ammunition, or exploding targets is prohibited on unincorporated and state land within Summit County. As a reminder, Summit County’s Fire Danger Level is currently at Extreme, so please be careful and use your fire sense.

Any of the above acts is a violation of state law and is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Text SCFIREINFO to 888777 for updates on Summit County’s fire outlook and conditions, Red Flag Warnings, prescribed burns, active fire updates & more

Summer Safety Tips from Summit County Health

As summer heats up, it’s the perfect time to enjoy the great outdoors. Here are some crucial summer safety tips. Remember to stay hydrated and drink plenty of fluids, especially when you’re outside. Don’t forget to protect your skin and apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30, reapply every two hours, and wear hats and sunglasses.

When it comes to swimming, practice water safety. Never swim alone, keep a close eye on children, and make sure everyone knows basic swimming skills. Keep up with your rest and avoid heat-related illnesses by taking breaks in the shade or indoors, wearing light clothing, and knowing the signs of heat exhaustion. You’re not the only one getting out to enjoy the nice weather, be mindful of insects! Use insect repellent, check for ticks, and be aware of bee stings if you’re allergic. Stay safe, stay cool, and have fun!

Community Health Assessment

Summit County, if you haven’t heard the news, Summit County Health is conducting a community health assessment to gather information about the health of our community. The Summit County Health Department is trying to find out how to better serve the community. We want to learn about social and economic factors that impact your life, such as education, transportation, housing, and healthcare access. Your input on topics like the physical environment, sustainability & climate change in Summit County is valuable. There’s a lot to tackle in public health and we can’t make a better future without you. Join us in making a healthier community for all. Take the Community Health Assessment today at summitcountyhealth.org/cha24.

Summit Bike Share Pioneer Day Competition

Summit Bike Share wants to see you get out and ride this Pioneer Day. Submit a photo or video of you on one of our bikes (with a helmet on!) to summitcounty.info/sbspioneer and you’ll have the chance to win an SBS Swag Pack. Submissions are due Monday, July 29 at 5 PM. The winner will be announced Tuesday, July 30 on Summit County’s social media outlets.

Pioneer Day County Closures

Speaking of Pioneer Day…All County offices will be closed Wednesday, July 24, in observance of the state holiday. The Sheriff’s Office and local fire/EMS crews will have limited staff working throughout the day. All Summit County offices will return to regular hours on Thursday, July 25. Republic Services trash and recycling schedules will not be affected.

Weed of the Month

July’s third Weed of the Month is Scotch Thistle! Scotch Thistle is native to Europe and Eastern Asia. It grows well in waste areas, pastures, rangeland, and along canal and stream banks. So what does Scotch Thistle look like? This biennial plant commonly grows 3-to-8 feet tall but may grow as high as 12 feet. Rosettes may be 4 feet wide. Large, spiny leaves are covered with dense hair, giving a grayish, blue-green coloration. Stems are winged. The flowers are violet to reddish with spine-tipped bracts, blooming in mid-summer. The best way to control Scotch Thistle is through biocontrol. Biocontrol research is currently being conducted. Herbicides can offer good-to-excellent control when applied between rosette and pre-bud stages.

For more information on Noxious Weeds in Summit County, please visit: summitcounty.info/idweeds.

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TODAY, WE COVER:

• Dakota Pacific Public Private Partnership
• Basin Recreation E-Bike Regulation Changes
• Fire Restrictions & Outlook
• Summit County Nonprofit Grant Funding
• Official Elections Results

TOPIC 1: Dakota Pacific Public Private Partnership Update

Council Members Canice Harte and Chris Robinson provided an update on the discussions with Dakota Pacific Realt Estate (also known as DPRE) regarding a Public-Private Partnership in the Kimball Junction area.

For some background, the County Council proposed a “Public Private Partnership” to Dakota Pacific back in April. Since then, Summit County also announced the acquisition of the Skullcandy Headquarters building to serve as a future county facility.

Proposed Terms from the County at that time included:

• The county would trade the Richins Building and Transit Center parcels for land west of the Skullcandy building.
• A Public-Private-Partnership to redevelop the Richins parcel, Transit Center Parcel, and DPRE owned 3.45 acre parcel to south.
• This partnership would include an expanded transit center and capture lot, and complimentary public, commercial, and residential uses.

The county believes there are numerous benefits to this partnership for the community:

• The expanded Transit Center will have additional capacity and efficiency.
• The new, expanded capture lot will encourage High Valley Transit ridership.
• Commercial and residential uses, combined with programmed public gathering spaces, will activate and enhance civic use.
• The civic & public uses are prominent and expanded.

A subcommittee comprised of Canice, Chris, County Manager Shayne Scott, other county staff, High Valley Transit Director Caroline Rodriguez, and DPRE met over the past two months to find a solution that benefits the public and mitigates the impact of development and traffic.

Their primary objectives include:

• Developing preliminary requirements for an expanded transit center and capture lot.
• Identifying complimentary public, commercial, and residential uses.
• Testing the fit of uses within the planned area.
• Developing partnership terms that can be agreed to by the County, HVT, and DPRE.

During the presentation, Council members stressed that no decisions will be made in private subcommittee meetings, and that they will all be done in public Council meetings. There will be opportunities for additional public input before any decisions are made by Council.

A timeline for the process moving forward goes as follows:

In the next 2-3 months

• Transit Center site studies
• Concepts for pedestrian access across SR 224
• Analysis of adjacent land uses
• Establishing draft terms for the public private partnership (land swap, roles and responsibilities, co-investment)
• A Master Plan framework concept for the surrounding area that the full body of Council can review

3-4 months

• Obtain agreement for terms of the public-private partnership
• A public hearing or hearings
• Seek Council approval on key terms of the Development Agreement modification (including planning approach and density, for example)

And finally, over the next 5-6 months, Council will review the revised Development Agreement for approval.

Stay tuned for additional updates and agenda items.

TOPIC 2: Basin Recreation E-bike Regulation Changes

Following the results of a public opinion poll, Basin Recreation Leadership attended this week’s Council meeting to discuss how ebikes are managed with the Basin Recreation special service district. Staff proposed the following additions to County code. These changes make ebike regulation consistent with Park City.

1. Establish a speed limit on transportation trails of 15 mph.
2. A range of 10-15 miles per hour was the most agreed upon speed limit range in the survey.
3. Staff believe 15 mph is a reasonable limitation for e-bikes and non-e-bikes on multiuse-pathways.
4. Additional Ranger presence and education campaigns will also be increased to encourage compliance.
5. Create a conditional allowance for Class 1 e-bikes on natural surface trails to include operators 65 years of age and older.
6. Additional language would clarify that mobility disabilities qualify users to operate on District trails.

County Council unanimously approved both changes.

TOPIC 3: Fire Restrictions & Outlook

With no rain and soaring temps, Summit County’s Fire Danger Level is now Very High.

Based on fuel conditions, weather conditions, and resource availability, Fire Warden Bryce Boyer asked Council for a recommendation to the State Forester to implement Stage 1 Fire Restrictions, which the majority of the state is already in.

Stager 1 Restrictions include:

• No campfires in rock rings. They can only be in improved/permanent pits with running water on hand to douse.
• No cutting, grinding, or welding (unless exempted with a waiver through State Forestry).
• A fireworks ban.
• No smoking outside of vehicles in dry vegetation areas.
• No exploding target shooting.

Council gave their recommendation for Stage 1 restrictions, which should go into place next week.

To keep up to date on all things wildfire in Summit County, text SCFIREINFO to 888777. You’ll receive updates on Summit County’s fire outlook and conditions, Red Flag Warnings, prescribed burns, active fires & more.

In addition to Stage 1 Fire Restrictions, residents should be aware of a new policy from Rocky Mountain Power related to wildfires:

If there is a fire start within 6 miles of any RMP infrastructure (including power lines, or substations), Rocky Mountain Power will shut down power to the line until the fire is 100% contained. As we progress into wildfire season, residents should expect more frequent power outages that will last longer.

We encourage our listeners to prepare for extended power outages by reviewing the checklists and guidance from Be Ready Utah, which you can find at https://summitcounty.info/nopower.

TOPIC 4: Summit County Nonprofit Grant Funding

Summit County is accepting applications from non-profit entities for fiscal year 2025 grant funding. The deadline for the grant application is 5:00 PM, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Applications must be submitted online.

The Summit County Non-Profit Entities Grant Application can be found at https://www.summitcounty.org/374/Grant-Information (you can also see this link in our show notes). Summit County’s grant policy is also available there.

If you have questions, please contact Annette Singleton at 435-336-3025

TOPIC 5: Elections Results

Results from the 2024 Primary Election were certified this week. View the official results at summitcounty.org/elections.

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Hey everyone and welcome to another week of news here on Summit in Six!

I’m Bridget and I’m Bailey and we work in the Summit County Communication and Public Engagement Department – the team that brings you Summit in Six every Friday!

Today, we kick things off with the preliminary results of Tuesday’s Primary Election. Then, we’re gonna recap a conversation about establishing a Summit County Housing Authority.

We’ll also cover the Elektron Solar Ribbon Cutting Ceremony that happened earlier this week, and then we’ll wrap things up with a trail closure announcement and a reminder about next week’s Green Drinks hosted by our friends at Recycle Utah!

Alright let’s get into the news!

Topic 1: Primary Election Results

The 2024 Primary Election happened this past Tuesday, June 25. We just wanted to take a quick moment to share the preliminary results as reported by the Summit County Clerk’s Office.

As a reminder, there was a Republican Primary for: U.S. Senate, U.S. House District 1, U.S. House District 3, Governor and Lt. Governor, Attorney General and State Auditor.

So far, in that order, John Curtis, Blake Moore, Mike Kennedy, Spencer Cox + Deidre Henderson, Derek Brown and Tina Cannon are all leading in Summit County in their respective races.

There was also a Democratic Primary for State House District 23, for which Jeff Howell is leading in Summit County, and Summit County Council Seat C, for which Megan Mckenna garnered about 55% of the votes.

And, finally, there was a Nonpartisan Primary for South Summit School Board Seat 2, for which Dan Eckert is leading.

Official results will be posted after the Board of Canvassers meets and certifies the Election Results on July 9 at 4:00 at the Coalville Courthouse in Council Chambers.

If voters received letters in the mail asking them if they voted and questioning their signature, they should respond to those letters as soon as possible and no later than July 8 at 5:00 pm.

As we look towards the General Elections, having a recent signature on file with the Clerk’s Office will help ensure that your November ballot will count and your signature on any petitions will count.

Have any questions? Email elections@summitcounty.org.

Topic 2: Summit County Housing Authority

The conversation around housing in Summit County continued this week during Wednesday’s County Council meeting when Economic Development & Housing Director, Jeff Jones, presented the idea of a Summit County Housing Authority to the Council.

For some context, Housing Authorities are entities of state statute created by the Federal government. In Utah, housing authorities are registered as limited purpose entities, meaning they are established to serve a specific function or goal, rather than having broad or general powers. Housing authorities manage affordable housing programs, provide rental assistance, and develop and maintain housing projects to ensure low-income individuals and families have access to safe and affordable housing.

The Summit County Housing Authority is a new approach (adjusted from the 2023 concept of a Regional Housing Authority) that would:

• Develop a housing and economic development data dashboard to provide residents, community advocates, developers, business leaders, and elected officials with high quality data to drive decision making around housing.
• Create an Employee Assisted Housing Program that would provide a channel through which employers can help their employees with the cost of owning or renting a home, typically in neighborhoods close to the workplace.
• And Facilitate a Utility Allowance Assessment/Study to help reduce the financial burden on low-income residents and allow them to spend more on other essentials.

There are a ton of other things that this Housing Authority could do to help improve the affordable housing landscape here in Summit County.

Before an adoption resolution is brought to the table, Council members have asked the Economic Development & Housing Director, Jeff Jones, for a detailed plan and budget for establishing a housing authority in Summit County. Stay tuned for future updates on this matter.

Topic 3: Elektron Solar Ribbon Cutting

Summit County staff attended the ribbon cutting for the Elektron Solar project on Monday, June 24 in Tooele. The project began construction in 2021 and officially came online this May. The energy harnessed by this new solar infrastructure will contribute to the County’s renewable energy goals. The Elektron Solar facility is expected to generate enough clean energy to power approximately 19,700 homes each year, according to metrics provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Summit County, Basin Recreation, Mountain Regional Water SSD, Vail Resorts on behalf of Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and City Government of Park City, Utah are the area partners who are involved in the project and attended the event. Other regional partners include UVU and Salt Lake City Government.

Topic 4: Rob’s Trail Closed July 1

Parking at Rob’s Trail will be CLOSED and inaccessible Monday, July 1 due to Summit County roads work. Parking will not be impacted Saturday or Sunday.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation and encourage you to shift your hike or ride to another day or start from a different area along the trail system.

Topic 5: July 9 Green Drinks

Mark your calendars for Recycle Utah’s next “Green Drinks” on July 9 @ 6pm at 3 Springs Ranch in Oakley! What’s “Green Drinks”, you ask? Green Drinks is a Recycle Utah-sponsored event which originated in 2016. It aspires to educate adults about our environment including recycling, energy and water conservation, local food systems and more.

At the July 9th event, attendees will learn about numerous local farms and food-related businesses so we can all be better at buying local! Please carpool if possible. This family-friendly event is also “bring your own picnic”. Sign up TODAY at summitcounty.info/greendrinks.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! While we had a crazy cold snap earlier this week, it looks like summer is here to stay!

In today’s episode, we are going to go over primary election day next week on Tuesday, June 25th, the weeds of the month for June, the Zero Waste Food Compact, an upcoming event with Recycle Utah in Oakley, and some wildfire prevention tactics.

Alright, let’s get into the news!

June 25 Primary Election
Let’s talk about some important information for the upcoming Primary Election happening THIS COMING TUESDAY, June 25! Early voting began this week! Summit County voters can still vote early today, June 21, Saturday, June 22 and on Monday, June 24. For locations and hours, please visit summitcounty.info/earlyvoting.

• If you plan to vote by mail, ballots must be postmarked by Monday June 24, 2024, the day before Election Day.
• If you plan to vote using a drop box, ballots must be in a drop box on or before 8:00 p.m. June 25, 2024, Election Day. For a list of dropbox locations, visit: summitcounty.info/dropbox.

And, finally, if you plan to vote in-person on election day, June 25, you can do so from 7 AM – 8 PM at Coalville City Hall, Park City Hall (the Marsac Building), the Kimball Junction Branch of the Summit County Library, and at the South Summit Services Building in Kamas. A list of these locations can be found at summitcounty.info/votinglocations.

Please be aware that as the June 25 Primary Election approaches, voters can only vote in ONE party’s primary election. Each ballot is assigned a unique ballot number, which is connected to a specific voter. The Summit County Clerk’s Office will count the first ballot they receive from you. If a second ballot is received, it will alert the Clerk’s Office that you have already voted. The second vote will not be counted, and the Clerk’s Office will notify the Sheriff that you attempted to vote twice (which is illegal).

Weed of the MonthAnother Weed of the Month for June is Garlic Mustard! Garlic Mustard is native to Europe and is found in deciduous forests and wetlands, along roadsides, and in disturbed areas like new construction zones. It thrives in shady sites, and can form dense areas covered by the weed. Garlic mustard is especially harmful to our community because it chemically inhibits the growth of other nearby plants, including our beloved aspen stands, not to mention it is toxic to some native butterflies.

If you’re trying to spot Garlic Mustard in your community, look out for a plant that is up to 4-feet tall. Its rosette leaves have a rounded kidney shape, and its mature leaves are arrow shaped with unevenly toothed margins. Branch tips produce clusters of four-petaled white flowers, and narrow seed pods grow upright from the stalk. Seeds are sticky when wet, and can remain viable for 5 years in the soil. Finally, when a garlic mustard plant is broken or smushed, parts of it can actually smell like garlic!

For control, hand-pulling or digging before seed production is effective, but make sure to completely remove roots and destroy plants that have seed pods. Cutting stems at ground level prevents seed production. Herbicides can also be effective.

For more information on Noxious Weeds in Summit County, please visit: summitcounty.info/idweeds.

Zero Food Waste CompactWhat we eat and how that food is grown is not the only connection between our food systems and our health – what happens with our food scraps and leftovers after a delicious meal is part of the picture too! Get involved in the local movement to eliminate the food waste that winds up in the Summit County landfill by signing the Zero Food Waste Compact and, if you live in zip codes 84098 and 84060, consider signing up for curbside food waste collection. Keep in mind: discounted rates for this collection service are available for folks that need it. The compact and food waste collection programs are part of the Park City Community Foundation’s Zero Food Waste initiative, which our Health Department and County at large supports.

July 9 Green DrinksMark your calendars for Recycle Utah’s next “Green Drinks” on July 9 @ 6pm at 3 Springs Ranch in Oakley! What’s “Green Drinks”, you ask? Green Drinks is a Recycle Utah-sponsored event which originated in 2016. It aspires to educate adults about our environment including recycling, energy and water conservation, local food systems and more. At the July 9th event, attendees will learn about numerous local farms and food-related businesses so we can all be better at buying local! Please carpool if possible. This family-friendly event is also “bring your own picnic”. Sign up TODAY at summitcounty.info/greendrinks.

Wildfire Prevention Tactics
Temperatures are rising, and summer is in full swing. As of Thursday, June 20th, the Summit County Fire Warden has designated our area to “Moderate” fire danger. The warm dry weather of the past few weeks have contributed to this increased level of wildfire risk. Do your part to be Fire Wise and practice your #FireSense.
Just one more thing to share related to wildfire risk and our role as humans in preventing it: According to the National Park Service, nearly 85% of wildland fires in the United States are caused by humans. This includes fires that are unintentional, unwanted, or escaped, such as campfires left unattended, debris burning, and discarded cigarettes. Other causes include malfunctioning electrical equipment and arson.

In the words of Utah Fire Info “You know the fire drill, let’s help protect Utah’s great outdoors”– and communities!

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Today we have some information around some upcoming roads projects, the conversation about Lake Rockport Estates Request to connect with Mountain Regional Water, a reminder for The Eastern Summit County General Plan Open House, and an announcement on Vote Early Day. Let’s get to it!

Upcoming Roads ProjectsIt’s no secret in Utah that if it’s not ski season, it’s road projects season! We want to give our listeners a heads up about a big project along US-Hwy 40 beginning Monday, June 17 and continuing through the fall.

If you are familiar with the massive backup that happens on the southbound I-40 off ramp at exit 2 then you know the area we are talking about, and our engineering and transportation planning teams have been hard at work to remedy that with a new roundabout on the West side of the overpass that connects the Silver Creek Village/Home Depot area and the Trailside neighborhood/Highland Drive area. Most drivers have become accustomed to the temporary traffic signals that have been there since the fall. This roundabout will replace those stop lights and improve traffic circulation.

Summit County received the go ahead from UDOT this week to begin construction on this new roundabout on the West Highland Drive side of the I-40 overpass. So beginning next Monday, June 17, drivers exiting Southbound I-40 at Exit 2 will be guided slighting to the east side of the existing offramp. Traffic shouldn’t be significantly impacted. Drive with caution and obey all signage. We’ve had 6 messaging boards up in the affected areas over the past few weeks to alert travelers about the upcoming construction. If you can avoid driving through this area at peak times, please do so.

Lake Rockport Estates requests to connect with Mountain Regional WaterIn Wednesday’s Council meeting, Mountain Regional Water General Manager Andy Garland brought a proposal from the Lake Rockport Estates Board of Trustees requesting a connection of the two water systems.

To provide some background, Lake Rockport Estates was established in 1971 as a seasonal summer cabin community. The water system at the time was designed for seasonal use only.

As growth happened over the past decades, including a spike in occupancy due to the pandemic in 2020, well production failed to keep up with increased full-time residency in the area.

After securing a $3.65 million loan, Lake Rockport Estates completed a new well in February 2024 that was expected to generate 100 gallons per minute. Unfortunately, the source is only producing 21 gallons per minute, leading to the request to connect to Mountain Regional Water’s system.

Connecting the two systems poses a number of challenges and would require an overhaul of the entire Rockport Estates system costing millions of dollars. In addition, annexation into the system would also require 100% of the Lake Rockport Estates landowners to approve the connection unless Council is willing to consider a forced annexation.

Eastern Summit County General Plan Open HouseSummit County is hosting a second public open house in Kamas to gather the public’s input as the Planning Department prepares to write a new General Plan for Eastern Summit County.

Tuesday, June 18 at the Kamas Library/ South Summit Services Building from 6-8 pm.

The General Plan is a comprehensive plan addressing the present and future needs of our communities. It is also an advisory document for land use decisions made by the planning commission, county council, and county staff.

The goal of the Eastern Summit County General Plan is to use information gathered during the 2023 visioning process to create a specific, actionable, and usable plan. Staff will update policies, objectives, and strategies based on community feedback.

Feel free to show up at any time during the 2-hour block. We hope to see you there!

June 25 Primary Election InfoLet’s talk about some important information for the upcoming June 25 Primary Election!

Early voting begins next week! Summit County voters can vote early from Thursday, June 20 through Saturday, June 22 and on Monday, June 24. For locations and hours, please visit summitcounty.info/earlyvoting.

If you plan to vote by mail, ballots must be postmarked by June 24, 2024, the day before Election Day.

If you plan to vote using a drop box, ballots must be in a drop box on or before 8:00 p.m. June 25, 2024, Election Day. For a list of dropbox locations, visit: summitcounty.info/dropbox.

And, finally, if you plan to vote in-person on election day, June 25, you can do so from 7 AM – 8 PM at Coalville City Hall, Park City Hall / the Marsac Building, the Summit County Library – Kimball Junction Branch, and at the South Summit Services Building in Kamas. A list of these locations can be found at summitcounty.info/votinglocations.

Please be aware that as the June 25 Primary Election approaches, voters can only vote in ONE party’s primary election. Each ballot is assigned a unique ballot number, which is connected to a specific voter. The Summit County Clerk’s Office will count the first ballot they receive from you. If a second ballot is received, it will alert the Clerk’s Office that you have already voted. The second vote will not be counted, and the Clerk’s Office will notify the Sheriff that you attempted to vote twice (which is illegal).

June’s second Weed of the Month is Leafy Spurge!What is this history of Leafy Spurge?A native plant of Eurasia, Leafy Spurge is an aggressive invader of pastures, rangeland, stream banks, and waste areas. It reproduces by seed and rootstock. It is toxic to cattle and may result in their death.

What does Leafy Spurge look like?This creeping herbaceous perennial plant grows up to 3-feet tall. The leaves are narrow, and 1-to-4 inches long. In late spring, yellow-green flower bracts appear, which cup tiny, inconspicuous flowers that develop in early summer. Seeds are contained in a three-celled capsule, with one seed per cell. When dry, capsules can shoot seeds up to 15-feet from the parent plant. Stems exude a milky fluid when damaged. An extensive root system, up to 20-feet long and more than 14-feet deep with multiple shoot-producing buds makes this plant very difficult to control.

What is the best way to control Leafy Spurge?Biocontrol is extensive and control is fair to excellent. Herbicides can offer fair to good control, especially when combined with biocontrol. Apply herbicides from spring to the killing frost.

For more information on Noxious Weeds in Summit County, please visit: summitcounty.info/idweeds.

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WE COVER…

• Council’s approval of a parameters resolution to authorize the issuance and sale of $30M in sales tax bonds for the Skullcandy Property
• Childcare Needs-Based Scholarship Program Expansion
• Upcoming Cline Dahle Open House
• Dominion Energy News
• June’s first Weed of the Month

TOPIC 1: PARAMETERS RESOLUTION

In case you missed it, in early May of this year, Council voted to approve the execution of an agreement to purchase the facility known as the Skullcandy Building. The property includes a 45,000-square-foot facility located on

7.38 acres in the Kimball Junction area. The initial purchase price of the property is $17.5 million, with estimated renovation costs not to exceed $12.5 million for a total cost of $30 million.

To finance the purchase and subsequent renovations, the County Council opted to issue sales tax revenue bonds. The county is using existing sales tax revenues to pay off any bonds issued. The County Council does not intend to impose additional taxes or increase sales taxes to acquire the property. 

In a few weeks, on June 26, the Council will hold a public hearing regarding the Issuance and Sale of these bonds. The public will have the opportunity to comment on the proposal before any bonds are issued.

At this week’s Council meeting, the Council adopted a parameters resolution to authorize the Issuance and Sale of Approximately $30M of Sales Tax Revenue Bonds for this project.

The resolution puts a cap on the amount of the bonds and the interest rates of the bonds.

In other words, staff are allowed to pursue up to $30M in bonds. As the project moves forward, staff may or may not pursue that full amount, but they cannot go above the $30 million amount

The resolution also:

• Caps the interest rates so as not to exceed 6.0%.
• Determines that the maturity of the bonds is not to exceed 21 years.

We’ll be sure to keep our listeners informed about the June 26 public hearing in the coming weeks.

TOPIC 2: CHILDCARE NEEDS-BASED SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM EXPANSION

On Monday, June 4, Summit County, Park City Municipal and Upwards, a leading childcare network, announced the expansion of the Childcare Needs-Based Scholarship Program. This new chapter broadens the program’s geographical reach, to all those who live and work throughout Summit County, addressing the vital need for accessible quality childcare in the Wasatch Back.

In a press release, Council member Canice Harte said: “Summit County Council is proud to support this initiative to improve access to vital childcare services for our residents and workforce.This collaboration is an important foundation to address this vital need in our communities.”

The Summit County Program offers the following benefits, mirroring the pilot Park City initiative:

• Needs-Based Childcare Tuition Scholarships: This program provides financial assistance to families with children up to kindergarten age. To qualify, at least one parent must reside or work within Summit County, and the total family income cannot exceed 100% of the Summit County Area Median Income (AMI).
• Regulated Childcare Provider Incentive: This incentive program supports qualified caregivers who provide care for children enrolled in the DWS Childcare Assistance program in Summit County.

Summit County scholarships and childcare provider incentives will be available on a first-come, first-served basis each month beginning now, in June 2024, and will be distributed directly to regulated child care providers by Upwards. Information on where to access full eligibility criteria and to sign up for the program can be found at summitcounty.info/childcare.

TOPIC 3: CLINE DAHLE OPEN HOUSE

Summit County is hosting an open house for the Cline Dahle property near Jeremy Ranch Elementary. The open house is Thursday, June 13 from 5-7 pm at the Richins Building in Kimball Junction.

For some background, the Cline Dahle property is owned by Summit County and consists of approximately 15 acres of developable land located between Jeremy Ranch Elementary and the Summit Center on Rasmussen Road.

The county is currently exploring many options for how the site could address community needs and enhance opportunities within the nearby neighborhoods.

This open house will help the county narrow the possibilities for the site to focus on what is most appropriate given the natural environment and surrounding areas. Now is the best time to get involved and share your ideas!

TOPIC 4: DOMINION ENERGY NEWS

ABC 4 Utah reported Tuesday that “Dominion Energy is now operating as Enbridge Gas Utah as of June 1. The company says the change will be “seamless” to customers and they will be notified of any additional changes to come. Their website says gas and service rates, customer service numbers, and service programs won’t change due to the acquisition.”

TOPIC 5: JUNE WEEDS OF THE MONTH

June’s first Weed of the Month is Houndstongue! Houndstongue is a native of Europe. It thrives in disturbed soils along roadsides, trails, in pastures, and rangelands. Because of the bur-like seed, it spreads widely along travel corridors as a passenger on clothing or animal fur. It is toxic to livestock.

If you’re trying to spot houndstongue in your community, houndstongue is a 1-to-4 foot tall biennial. Leaves at the base of the plant are about 3-inches wide with a hairy surface. Upper leaves are more narrow, about 1-inch wide and have a curled appearance and partially clasp the stem. Small reddish purple flowers form in the upper portions of the plant along the stems. Each flower produces four green, bur-like fruits that turn brown as they mature. Bloom is in early summer.

Herbicides can offer good to excellent control when applied between the rosette and bloom stages for houndstongue. Digging before seed development can offer good control. For more information on Noxious Weeds in Summit County, please visit: summitcounty.info/idweeds.

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Hi everyone and welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six. This week, we’ll discuss some upcoming open houses for the Eastern Summit County General Plan Update process, some important information regarding your ballots for the upcoming primary elections, and, finally, we’ll wrap things up with some information on some of Summit County’s most-wanted noxious weeds!

Alright, Derek…Let’s get into the news!

Eastern Summit County Open house

Summit County is holding two public open houses in Kamas and Coalville to gather the public’s input as the Planning Department prepares to write a new General Plan for Eastern Summit County.

The General Plan is a comprehensive plan addressing the present and future needs of our communities. It is also an advisory document for land use decisions made by the planning commission, county council, and county staff.

The goal of the Eastern Summit County General Plan is to use information gathered during the 2023 visioning process to create a specific, actionable, and usable plan. Staff will update policies, objectives, and strategies based on community feedback.

The first open house is Tuesday, June 4 at Ledges Event Center from 6-8 pm.

The second is Tuesday, June 18 at the Kamas Library/ South Summit Services Building from 6-8 pm.

Feel free to show up at any time during the 2-hour block. Presentations will be the same at both events.

Elections

Heads up Summit County Voters! Your ballots for the June 25 Primary Election will be mailed NEXT WEEK on Tuesday, June 4. Local voters should have their ballots around June 7. Learn more at summitcounty.org/elections OR if you have questions you can contact the Summit County Clerk’s Office directly at elections@summitcounty.org.

CHA

The Summit County Health Department officially launched its Community Health Assessment! This is a survey that is run every five years and gathers data on social and economic factors such as education, transportation, housing, and healthcare access, that impact the lives of our residents.

We know you might be tired of taking surveys, but this is an important opportunity to share your experiences to help shape future health programming and initiatives, lending our health professionals perspective on gaps in services provided in Summit County.

Take the 15-minute survey today, and help us build a healthier community for all! Visit summitcountyhealth.org/cha24 for more information.

Weeds of the Month

Welcome to a new segment we’ll be introducing this summer: Weeds of the Month! During this segment, we’ll cover one or more of Summit County’s most-wanted noxious weeds.

May’s Weeds of the Month are Dyers Woad, Hoary Cress, Myrtle Spurge, and Black Henbane.

For images of all of May’s Weeds of the Month at various stages of their growth as well as information on how best to control them on your own property, please visit summitcounty.info/idweeds.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! We hope everyone is gearing up for a fun and safe Memorial Day Weekend with friends and family.

In today’s episode, we are going to cover some opportunities for a virtual birding class with the County Lands and Natural Resources Department, upcoming Open Houses for the Eastern Summit County General Plan and a big announcement: that the Community Health Assessment is now LIVE and we need your help taking this survey!

Alright, let’s get into the news!

– Virtual Birding CourseAre you interested in learning how to spot and identify local birds? Want to learn more about local avian wildlife? Summit County’s Lands & Natural Resources Department is teaming up with some of their awesome volunteers to bring the community a virtual birding program. We highly recommend attending our “Virtual Introduction to Birding” next Wednesday, May 29 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. as a precursor to future in-person events the department will be holding on the 910 Ranch. More information at: summitcounty.info/virtualbirding

– Proclamation Declaring June as Pride MonthDuring this week’s council meeting, LGBTQIA+ Taskforce members Kris Campbell and Virginia Solomon recited a proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month. Here is an excerpt from the proclamation which was approved by Council:

“Pride Month serves as a reminder of how much we have to celebrate, and should prompt us to never let up in our efforts to ensure full equality, inclusion, and empowerment for every member of our LGBTQ+ community, and all communities.LGBTQ+ Pride month is the positive stance against discrimination and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus (LGBTQ+) people; promotes their self-affirmation, dignity, and equality rights; increases their visibility as a social group; builds community; and celebrates sexual diversity and gender variance.Summit County is committed to learning how to advance inclusion for LGBTQ+ residents by creating and supporting policies and programs that stand against discrimination and by promoting equality and opportunity for all members of the LGBTQ+ community.”

Visit parkcitypride.org for upcoming events information related to Pride Month, and to learn more about the taskforce.

– Community Health Assessment is LIVE!The Summit County Health Department officially launched their Community Health Assessment! This is a survey that is run every five years and gathers data on social and economic factors such as education, transportation, housing, and healthcare access, that impact the lives of our residents.

We know you might be tired of taking surveys, but this is an important opportunity to share your experiences to help shape future health programming and initiatives, lending our health professionals perspective on gaps in services provided in Summit County.

Take the 15-minute survey today, and help us build a healthier community for all! Visit summitcountyhealth.org/cha24 for more information.

– Eastern Summit County General Plan Open HousesSummit County is holding two public open houses in Kamas and Coalville to gather the public’s input as the Planning Department prepares to write a new General Plan for Eastern Summit County.

The first open house is Tuesday, June 4 at Ledges Event Center from 6-8 pm.

The second is Tuesday, June 18 at the Kamas Library/ South Summit Services Building from 6-8 pm.

The information presented will be the same at both events and residents can stop by any time during the two-hour event to share their thoughts and ideas. For some background, the General Plan is a comprehensive plan addressing the present and future needs of our communities. In Summit County, we have two General Plans: one for Eastern Summit County and one for the Snyderville Basin.

So why does this matter to residents? The goal of the Eastern Summit County General Plan is to use information gathered during the 2023 visioning process to create a specific, actionable, and usable plan. The General Plan is also an advisory document for land use decisions made by the planning commission, county council, and county staff. Staff will update policies, objectives, and strategies based on community feedback.

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Hi everyone and welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six. This week, we’ll discuss the county’s new agenda and meeting minutes platform, some exciting grant funding news, the launch of Elektron Solar, and how you can bid on surplus county vehicles. Let’s get into the news!

GRANICUSAs of Wednesday, May 15, the Summit County Agenda Center has been replaced with a new meeting platform called Granicus, which can be found at www.summitcounty.org/meetings. This new platform provides greater functionality for residents and staff and allows for greater compliance with the state’s legal requirements for minutes. Features include a search function for meeting minutes and agendas and time-stamped minutes, which allows the public to easily jump ahead to topics in the meeting recording via embedded links. Older meeting recordings, minutes, agendas, and packets will continue to be available at https://summitcounty.org/AgendaCenter.

910 GRANT FUNDINGThis week, the United States Forest Service (USFS) awarded $40 million in funding from the Forest Legacy Program (FLP) to Summit County’s Wasatch Back Forest Conservation Project for the purchase of the 8,588-acre 910 Cattle Ranch property. The property is now 100 percent funded by this grant award in combination with the $15 million in funding from the General Obligation Bond for open space that Summit County voters passed in 2021. It could be as late as next summer 2025 when the County assumes full ownership of the property. In the meantime, it will be stewards of the land, developing and implementing plans for land management. This includes documenting current conditions of the land, what animal species are present and identifying sensitive areas such as spaces for elk calving.

The County has trained and vetted volunteer ambassadors to assist in monitoring the property, and the Summit  County Sheriff’s mounted posse and deputies will be actively patrolling the area. As we welcome springtime, the County reminds everyone that recreating is only permitted on the dirt East Canyon Road, and to obey all signage. In addition, bringing your dog with you is a privilege, so leash and clean up after your animal to prevent further “poo-lution” of East Canyon Creek—the fish will thank you. Visit summitcounty.org/countylands to follow the latest efforts of Summit County’s Lands and Natural Resources Department.

ELEKTRON SOLARBig news for sustainable energy: the Elektron Solar Project, a solar facility located in Tooele County, has reached commercial operation and will serve several Utah customers including, Summit County, Park City Municipal, Park City Mountain, and Deer Valley Resort. Elektron Solar is expected to generate enough clean energy to power approximately 19,700 homes each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. “The Elektron project exemplifies Summit County’s core value of collaboration, demonstrating how renewable energy initiatives can deliver results for the environment and economy,” said Sumit County Council Chair, Malena Stevens. “We are proud to be part of this project that will help us meet our goals for using renewable electrical energy to power County operations.”

BIDDING OPEN FOR COUNTY SURPLUS VEHICLESThe Summit County Auditor’s Office is accepting bids to purchase county surplus vehicles. Check out the available stock at summitcounty.info/surplus You can place a bid via the online bidding form found in the description of each vehicle. Bidding ends May 20. The winning bid will be the highest reasonable submitted. If a tie occurs, the Auditor’s Office will accept the bid that was placed first. If you have questions, contact the Summit County Auditor’s Office at (435) 336-3027 or auditor@summitcounty.org.

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We cover the Council’s approval of an agreement for the purchase of the Skullcandy headquarters building, let you know that bidding is now open for County Surplus Vehicles, and discuss a TON of community engagement opportunities happening now!

SKULLCANDY PURCHASE

On Thursday, May 9, the Summit County Council voted to approve the execution of an agreement for the purchase of the Skullcandy headquarters building for $17.5 million using sales tax bonds. Located at 6301 North Landmark Drive in Park City, the 7.38-acre property includes a 45,000 square-foot building with dedicated parking areas. The purchase agreement represents the culmination of a widely marketed sales process by the building’s owners, an affiliate of Dakota Pacific Real Estate.

County Council Chair, Malena Stevens, said in a quote: “Summit County has worked for years to identify a suitable location for a new county facility in the Snyderville Basin. The Council has explored options to acquire an existing property such as the Skullcandy headquarters compared to the cost feasibility of building a new facility. Existing infrastructure may best serve our community in a more fiscally responsible manner.” 

The approved agreement means Summit County will inherit Skullcandy’s lease agreement. The County Council intends to explore potential modifications to the lease with Skullcandy to facilitate shared use of the building to allow for County specific uses. To fund the purchase, the County will pledge its existing sales tax revenues to pay off bonds issued. The County Council does not intend to impose additional taxes or increase sales taxes to acquire the property. 

There is no definitive timeline on when Summit County will move into the space or what services and amenities will be located there. While the Skullcandy property is not included in the proposed Dakota Pacific project, the property could become part of a larger public-private partnership in the area. There are no plans to relocate the County Seat from the courthouse in Coalville to this facility.  

COUNTY SURPLUS VEHICLES

The Summit County Auditor’s Office is accepting bids to purchase county surplus vehicles. Check out the available stock at summitcounty.info/surplus.

To place a bid, the online bidding form can be found in the description of each vehicle. Bidding ends May 20.

The winning bid will be the highest reasonable submitted. If a tie occurs, the Auditor’s Office will accept the bid that was placed first.

Questions? Contact the Summit County Auditor’s Office at (435) 336-3027 or auditor@summitcounty.org.

COMMUNITY EVENT ROUNDUP

• • The Third Annual Trails, Trash & Tunes event is happening on Saturday, May 11th from 12pm – 4pm at the Wanship Trailhead (1975 Hoytsville Rd). RSVP (for free!) at summitcounty.info/trailstrashtunes24.
  • Summit Bike Share opens for its eighth season on Tuesday, May 14. Explore the expanded pass options and join in on the fun this summer at www.summitbikeshare.com.
• • The Summit County Health Department Climate Change & Public Health Speaker Series is back! Join us for a conversation on health + our changing environment on Tuesday, May 14: 5:30 – 7:00pm @ Kamas Services Building OR join Monday, May 20: 5:30pm – 7:00pm @ Swaner Preserve + Eco Center. summitcountyhealth.org/speakerseries.
• • The Green Business Program is hosting a Lunch + Learn for Summit County-area businesses on May 15 from 12pm – 1pm at the Blair Education Center at Park City Hospital. Register for this FREE lunch today to hear from industry experts about water efficiency, with a focus on minimizing landscape water waste. RSVP at summitcounty.info/greenbusiness.
  • The Eastern Summit County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the Cedar Crest Village Overlay on Thursday, May 16, beginning at 6 PM at the Ledges Event Center. You can also join and give comments virtually on zoom. More details can be found at summitcounty.org/cedarcrest.
• • And, finally, the Summit County Weeds Division will host its FOURTH Community Noxious Weeds Tour on Saturday, May 18 from 9 AM – 12 PM starting at the Richardson Flat Park and Ride. Join us to learn how to identify and control noxious weeds on your own property! Learn more and RSVP for FREE to let us know you’re coming at summitcounty.info/weedstour24.

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Welcome to the first week of May and the latest county news here on Summit in Six! Today, we’re covering a County revenue and budget discussion, updates in the county’s behavioral health services, and information about the Noxious Weeds Tour and other events taking place this month. Let’s get into the news!

County Council revenue discussion

In this week’s Council meeting, Summit County Finance Officer Matt Leavitt gave a presentation on potential revenue and funding for county programs, which included a discussion about the Truth In Taxation process and the Rural Hospital Sales Tax.

For some background, Summit County Council went through the Truth in Taxation process last year in 2023 and ultimately decided to only increase the Assessing and Collecting fund, and to not increase the General Fund or the Municipal fund. This left the county with a $5.25 million ongoing shortfall in operating funds.

As the county grows, things like a Local Housing Authority, Landfill expansion, long-term planning for county properties, emergency medical services, mental health programming, and senior citizen services all require additional funding.

Matt listed three potential options for Council to consider to meet these rising costs of service. The first is a “null” option which reduces the budget in other areas to fund these additions. The second is a property tax increase through the Truth In Taxation process for the General Fund and/or the Municipal Fund. The third is to increase sales tax revenue as allowed under the new Rural Hospital Sales Tax.

The Rural Hospital Sales Tax would allow Summit County to increase sales tax on certain items by up to 1%. This is intended to mitigate the impact of visitors to the County by using these funds to support EMS, solid waste disposal, Search & Rescue, law enforcement, fire protection, and avalanche forecasting, for example.

It is estimated that visitors and tourists to Summit County result in an approximately $11.8 million dollar impact on these services. A potential sales tax increase of less than .4% could cover those costs. However, it should be noted that a sales tax increase must be approved by Summit County voters.

Moving forward, County Council expressed an interest in communicating with county residents to understand if voters prefer a sales tax or property tax increase to fund these needs. Matt and County Manager Shayne Scott were tasked to provide additional information on all funding options before any decisions are made.

The future of mental health services in Summit County

In September of 2019, Summit County signed a contract with Healthy U Behavioral to provide mental health and substance abuse services in the county. These services are set to expire on June 30th, 2024 and unfortunately, due to issues related to the cost of providing care in Summit County, a long-term extension agreement was not made.

As a result, Council approved a maximum six month extension to provide time to develop a plan to ensure ongoing care for current clients. For the months of July, August, and September, the county will pay $50,000 for ongoing services from Healthy U Behavioral. That amount increases to $75,000 if the extension continues into October, November, and December.

As a long-term solution, Behavioral Health Director Aaron Newman asked County Council for their support to develop a plan to operate a behavioral health clinic within the behavioral health division of the Summit County Health Department.

Council unanimously supported this move and asked Aaron to return in a future meeting to present a transition plan for bringing these services in-house. The Summit County Health Department is committed to making this transition in an effective and sustainable manner with no disruptions to service for current clients.

Weeds Tour

The Summit County’s Weeds Division is hosting a Community Noxious Weeds Tour on Saturday, May 18 from 9 AM to 12 PM to educate residents on the “most-wanted” weeds here in Summit County.

Residents will meet Dave Bingham, Weed Superintendent, Dan Pena, Weed Enforcement Officer, and representatives from Summit CWMA, Basin Recreation, Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter, Mountain Trails Foundation, and Park City Municipal, at Richardson Flat Park and Ride (located at 3345 E Richardson Flat Rd in Park City) to learn to identify and control noxious weeds on their own properties.

Please RSVP (for free!) at summitcounty.info/weedstour24 to let us know you’re coming. Gloves are suggested, but not required.

Event Roundup

Before we go, here’s a roundup of all the exciting Summit County events happening in May:

• • The Third Annual Trails, Trash & Tunes on Saturday, May 11th from 12pm – 4pm at the Wanship Trailhead (1975 Hoytsville Rd).
  • Summit Bike Share opens for the 2024 season on Tuesday, May 14
• The Summit County Health Department Climate Change & Public Health Speaker Series
• • Tuesday, May 14: 5:30 – 7:00pm @ Kamas Services Building
    OR
  • Monday, May 20: 5:30pm – 7:00pm @ Swaner Preserve + Eco Center
• The Cedar Crest Village Overlay Public Hearing
  • On Thursday, May 16 | 6 PM | Ledges Event Center

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Hi everyone and welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six, your local news podcast for all things Summit County Utah.

This week, we’ve got info on an important interlocal agreement between Summit County and the cities of Kamas, Francis, and Oakley, a bunch of important upcoming dates for events & some volunteer opportunities.

Let’s get into the news!

Interlocal agreement with South Summit cities

Summit County partnered with the cities of Kamas, Oakley, and Francis to receive a Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Technical Planning Assistance (TPA) grant of $150,000 to conduct a State Route 32 Corridor and City Centers Plan.

For some background, State Route 32 is a regional corridor that connects Oakley, Kamas, and Francis to recreation and economic activities in Summit and Wasatch Counties. The highway also forms the main streets for community life in those cities.

The SR-32 Corridor and City Centers Plan will create a vision and plan for addressing transportation, land use, and economic development issues along Highway 32.

Staff requested the council approve the Interlocal Agreement, including a local funding match of $15,000, with Summit County committing to $5,000, with the remaining $10,000 from the partner cities. The county matching funds have been allocated to the transportation department budget for 2024.

The project begins this summer with an expected completion of Summer 2025.

Council unanimously approved the funding in this week’s meeting. Next steps are formal adoption by all three municipalities, which is expected.

May Speaker SeriesThe health of the environment around us has a direct impact on our human health. The Summit County Health Department encourages the public to attend their next session in the Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series this May 2024 focused on “Health + Our Changing Environment”.

Attendees will have the opportunity to share their ideas, concerns, and questions about how a changing environment along the Wasatch Back is impacting their health, and that of their family and community.

We will be hosting two events with the same topics and format to encourage participation and gather feedback from both the Eastern and Western sides of Summit County. The details are as follows:

• The first option is May 14: 5:30 – 7:00pm @ Kamas Services Building
• The second option is on May 20: 5:30pm – 7:00pm @ Swaner Preserve + Eco Center

For more info and register visit: summitcountyhealth.org/speakerseries

Summit Bike Share launch

Exciting news! Summit Bike Share will officially kick off its eighth season on Tuesday, May 14!

Summit Bike Share is the country’s first fully electric bike share. With stations located throughout the Snyderville Basin and open 24/7, Summit Bike Share offers an easy, fun and comfortable transit option for residents and visitors to explore all the greater Park City area has to offer. Learn more about the 2024 season (including our expanded pass options and brand new stations) at summitbikeshare.com.

Trails, Trash & Tunes

The Summit County Stormwater Coalition and the Summit County Planning Department are presenting the THIRD Annual “Trails, Trash and Tunes” event on Saturday, May 11th from 12pm – 4pm at the Wanship Trailhead (1975 Hoytsville Rd).

The purpose of the event is to welcome in springtime and celebrate the Earth with some rail trail cleanup, education about stormwater, noxious weeds identification and more! There will be LIVE music, food for purchase, a beer garden, and a “Kids Corner” for the younger ones thanks to the Summit County Library.

Registration is free and not required to attend, but we would like to know who is coming! Please register at: summitcounty.info/trailstrashtunes24

We encourage event goers to bring water and an umbrella or hat for shade. We will have some seating available, but picnic blankets, camp chairs are welcome. Carpooling and biking/e-biking to the venue is highly encouraged.

VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE OPPORTUNITIES
Applications are due next week on May 1 to serve as a Volunteer on Citizen Committees within Eastern Summit County or Snyderville Basin. These committees are focused on providing feedback and recommendations to county leadership regarding the County’s Moderate Income Housing strategies for both of these regions.

Summit County is seeking: Two individuals to serve on the committee representing Eastern Summit County Moderate Income Housing Plan and two individuals representing the Snyderville Basin Moderate Income Housing Plan.

Applications are due by 5 p.m. next week on Wednesday, May 1. The requirements and additional details can be found online at: summitcounty.org/VolunteerBoards

For questions, contact Summit County’s Economic Development & Housing Manager, Elyse Kats, ekats@summitcounty.org

Upcoming Events

And, last but not least, here are some additional dates for important upcoming meetings:

• Cedar Crest Village Overlay Public Hearing
  • Thursday, May 16 | 6 PM | Ledges Event Center
• Eastern Summit County General Plan Open Houses
  • Tuesday, June 4 | 6 PM – 8 PM | Ledges Event Center
  • Tuesday, June 18 | 6 PM – 8 PM | Kamas Services Building aka Kamas Library
• Cline Dahle Open House
  • Thursday, June 13 | 5 PM – 7 PM | Richins Building

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! The signs of springtime are in the air—The tulips and daffodils are starting to make an appearance. In today’s episode, we are going to highlight an exciting partnership between the Sheriff’s Department and South Summit School District, give details about upcoming speaker series events hosted by the Health Department, cover the latest updates on the Cedar Crest Overlay project in Hoytsville, and go over some important tick awareness and safety tips—remember when temps start to climb, these unwelcome hitch-hikers appear!

Alright, let’s get into the news!

COUNCIL RECAP – SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER HIGHLIGHT

At this week’s Council meeting, Summit County Sheriff Frank Smith and Chief Deputy Kacey Bates honored and delivered thanks to South Summit School District Superintendent, Greg Maughan for his idea turned into reality— to bring a School Resource Officer into the South Summit School District. Summit County helped make this possible by providing half the funding for the position. Deputy Wes Stewart is the officer making strides in this important role in keeping students and staff safe at South Summit Schools.

Here is what Superintendent Greg Maughan had to say about the partnership during the council meeting:
“And that’s what this whole partnership has felt like is: the right people in the right place, at the right time to make this happen. So thank you to you as a council for supporting that, thank you to the Sheriff’s department, and thank you, personally, to the Board for also being willing to invest in that kind of a partnership. IT’s already been fantastic and kids are already benefiting just from the relationship piece of things. They love our SRO, and that’s what it’s all about…”

CEDAR CREST OVERLAY UPDATE

The Eastern Summit County Planning Commission held another work session related to the Cedar Crest Village Overlay project on Thursday, April 18.

The primary purpose of the meeting was to hear from the applicant and have an open discussion on their proposed enabling ordinance document, which includes development standards and the community structure plan.

The applicant is hopeful that the ordinance will receive a recommendation from the planning commission soon. From there, it would be presented to the county council for their final approval.

To be clear, an approval of the ordinance would not mean final project approval. Basically, the possible approval of this ordinance would provide guidelines for what the applicant’s future land map has to include.

The Planning Commission had the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback for the applicant on the ordinance. From here, they will take the feedback and come back for a public hearing. The next tentatively scheduled meeting is on Thursday, May 16 at 6 PM. For more information about the project please visit summitcounty.org/cedarcrest.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT SPEAKER SERIES EVENTS IN MAY

The health of the environment around us has a direct impact on our human health. The Summit County Health Department encourages the public to attend their next session in the Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series this May 2024 focused on “Health + Our Changing Environment”.

Attendees will have the opportunity to share their ideas, concerns, and questions about how a changing environment along the Wasatch Back is impacting their health, and that of their family and community.

We will be hosting two events with the same topics and format to encourage participation and gather feedback from both the Eastern and Western sides of Summit County.

The details are as follows:

• May 14: 5:30 – 7:00pm @ Kamas Services Building
• May 20: 5:30pm – 7:00pm @ Swaner Preserve + Eco Center

For more info and register visit: summitcountyhealth.org/speakerseries

TRAILS TRASH TUNES

We’ve been talking about this event for the past few weeks on the podcast…but we’re here to spread the good word that The Summit County Stormwater Coalition and the Summit County Planning Department are presenting the THIRD Annual “Trails, Trash and Tunes” event on Saturday, May 11th from 12pm – 4pm at the Wanship Trailhead.There are some exciting new developments to share about this already spectacular event: the first 50 attendees to arrive at the event to get a FREE meal voucher for food by Savoury Kitchen Park City!!!

The purpose of the event is to welcome in springtime and celebrate the Earth with some rail trail cleanup, education about stormwater, noxious weeds identification and more.

There will be LIVE music from Pixie and the Partygrass Boys, presented by Mountaintown Music, a beer garden with brews for sale by Offset Bier, kids activities thanks to Summit County Library with coloring, books, and games.

Registration is FREE and not required, but we would really like to know how many people to expect, so do us a favor and register TODAY to let us know you’re coming at: summitcounty.info/trailstrashtunes24

TICK SAFETY

Tick season has begun. Spending time outside could bring you in close contact with ticks. Ticks live in grassy, brushy, and wooded areas, or even on animals. Many people get ticks in their own yard or neighborhood. Long-sleeved clothing and certain insect repellants can help keep the ticks away. Light-colored clothing also makes the ticks easier to spot.

We want to encourage everybody to take protective action as the bugs come out this season. Here are things you can do to prevent tick and other bug bites:

• Use (EPA)-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, or Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE)
• Avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass
• Walk in the center of trails
• Treat clothing and gear with 0.5% permethrin

If you find a tick attached to your skin, remove the tick as soon as possible. There are several tick removal devices on the market, but a plain set of fine-tipped tweezers works very well.

If you get a tick bite and develop symptoms like rashes, aches and pains, and the fever/chills within a few weeks, see your healthcare provider.

VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE OPPORTUNITIES

Apply now through May 1 to serve as a Volunteer on Citizen Committees within Eastern Summit County or Snyderville Basin. These committees are focused on providing feedback and recommendations to county leadership regarding the County’s Moderate Income Housing strategies for both of these regions.

Summit County is seeking: Two individuals to serve on the committee representing Eastern Summit County Moderate Income Housing Plan and two individuals representing the Snyderville Basin Moderate Income Housing Plan.

Applications are due by 5 p.m. on May 1. The requirements and additional details can be found online at: summitcounty.org/VolunteerBoards

For questions, contact Summit County’s Economic Development & Housing Manager, Elyse Kats, ekats@summitcounty.org

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Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of news here on Summit in Six. We hope you are enjoying the sunshine and crisp air while it’s here. Today we cover an update regarding the Cedar Crest Village Overlay, some history in Summit County and some community engagement opportunities our listeners may be interested in.

CEDAR CREST VILLAGE OVERLAY:Mark your calendars! On Thursday, April 18 beginning at 6 PM at the Ledges Event Center in Coalville, the Eastern Summit County Planning Commission will meet for a work session and public comment period related to the Cedar Crest Village Overlay. A virtual option for this meeting is also available and can be found, along with a lot more information about the project, at: summitcounty.info/cedarcrest

ROAD SAFETY OPEN HOUSE:Did you know? Mountainland Association of Governments is working closely with city and county leaders to develop a Safety Action Plan and roadway safety projects to reduce the number fatal and serious injury crashes in Summit County.

On Tuesday, April 16 from 4:30 – 6:30 PM at the Sheldon Richins Auditorium in Kimball Jct., they are hosting a Roadway Safety Open House to share information about where in our community the greatest number of crashes take place, what’s causing them, and how Mountainlands Association of Governments and our local leaders plan to lower the number and impact of serious and fatal crashes in Summit County.

The agency’s Safety Action Plan is part of a national grant project giving $5 billion in funds to communities for projects that improve transportation safety. So far, the plan has identified “high injury” networks where numbers of serious and fatal crashes are greatest and developed a potential list of projects that will improve conditions in these areas. Once the plan is complete this spring, Mountainlands or local governments may apply for funds to build the identified projects.

Visit their website to learn more about the project and how you can get involved: www.mountainland.org.

TRAILS TRASH TUNES EVENT ON MAY 11!The Summit County Stormwater Coalition and the Summit County Planning Department are presenting the THIRD Annual “Trails, Trash and Tunes” event on Saturday, May 11th from 12pm – 4pm at the Wanship Trailhead (1975 Hoytsville Rd). The purpose of the event is to welcome in springtime and celebrate the Earth with some rail trail cleanup, education about stormwater, noxious weeds identification and more!

There will be LIVE music from Pixie and the Partygrass Boys, presented by Mountaintown Music. There will be food for purchase, a beer garden with brews for sale by local brewery Offset Bier for the 21+ crowd, a “Kids Corner” for the younger ones thanks to the Summit County Library with activities such as coloring, books and games.

Registration is free and not required to attend, but we would like to know who is coming! Please register at: summitcounty.info/trailstrashtunes24

The event is sponsored in part by Big-D construction and Blue Sky Ranch. We are encouraging event goers to bring water and an umbrella or hat for shade. We will have some seating available, but picnic blankets, camp chairs are welcome. Carpooling and biking/e-biking to the venue is highly encouraged.

HISTORY SEGMENT
This episode, we wanted to share some history in honor of National Garden Month about the old Echo Depot that once served as an agricultural and community railway hub. Outside the Echo Depot it is said that Mike Tsoukatos, a railroad employee and native of Greece, designed and planted this garden in the early 1940s. Tsoukatos spent his own money to purchase the plants and flowers. After his retirement, unfortunately the spectacular garden fell into disrepair. The Echo Depot was moved to Coalville in 1975 where it now serves as the North Summit Senior Center.

HEALTHY FOCUS ON GARDEN MONTH

What better way to celebrate the beauty of spring than by diving into National Garden Month! National Garden Month encourages people of all ages to dig in the dirt, connect with nature, and experience the joy of gardening. But National Garden Month is about more than just growing plants—it’s about fostering a deeper connection to the natural world and reaping the countless benefits that gardening brings. Research shows that spending time outdoors and engaging in gardening activities can reduce stress, boost mood, and improve overall well-being. Plus, growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs empowers you to make healthier food choices and reduces your carbon footprint. For some helpful gardening tips this month follow the Summit County Health social media @SummitCountyHD on instagram and Facebook.

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In today’s episode, we cover Summit County’s revised proposal to Dakota Pacific Real Estate, an upcoming Rocky Mountain Power Outage, a Zero Food Waste Compact the County signed this week, and International Dark Skies Week. Alright, let’s get into the news!

> DPRE REVISED PROPOSAL

On Thursday, April 4, Summit County presented Dakota Pacific Real Estate, or DPRE, with a counterproposal to DPRE’s request to modify the development agreement that governs the land commonly referred to as the Park City Tech Center.

Highlights of the revised proposal include:

• 600 residential units which is an increase from the county’s proposal of 500 units earlier this year, but a decrease of DPRE’s proposed 695 units.
• A public-private partnership between the county and DPRE that would include a civic plaza, transit center, parking, and more.

You can view the entire revised proposal on the homepage at summitcounty.org under the news item titled: Summit County’s Revised Proposal to Dakota Pacific Real Estate.

So what happens next? DPRE will take time to formally react to the counterproposal. No date has been set for another work session. Stay tuned on summitcounty.org and @summitcountyut on all social media channels for more information as it becomes available.

> RMP OUTAGERocky Mountain Power is conducting a scheduled power outage Wednesday, April 10, 2024 from 8am to 6pm. The estimated duration is 10 hours.

• What neighborhoods are affected?
  All of Summit County Service Area 3 + their constituents + businesses and all of Tollgate and Red Hawk (minus the east creek ranch HOA). You can view a detailed map of the affected areas at: bit.ly/aprilpoweroutage.
• So, what exactly is being done?Rocky Mountain Power poles have been relocated on Mammoth Drive. Now that they have been installed, the company needs to transfer the power to these new lines and they estimate it will take 10 hours to complete the task.
• And, how do affected residents prepare?Rocky Mountain Power has organized some awesome tips on how to prepare for power outages at bit.ly/poweroutagetips2024.

> ZERO WASTE FOOD COMPACTAt this week’s Council meeting, the County was the first to sign a Zero Food Waste Compact presented by the Park City Community Foundation.

For some context, the Park City Community Foundation announced a goal to achieve Zero Food Waste by 2030 last April. They’ve since released a comprehensive strategic plan that serves as a roadmap for reaching that ambitious goal. The plan focuses on three main objectives and outlines steps to engage businesses, local governments, nonprofits, residents, and visitors in an effort to reduce food waste and divert food waste from Summit County’s Three Mile Landfill.

Summit County’s Solid Waste Superintendent, Tim Loveday, said of the compact:
“I’m excited about this because we have a third party now who is focused on doing something to divert from our landfill which saves money for every resident in the county. Food waste is over 30% volume of what’s going in that landfill so that’s a pretty significant piece that we can divert. What’s also really exciting is that there is no new technology involved. The technology is already there, already in place, there’s nothing experimental about this. This can actually work.”

Andy Hecht, PCF’s Climate Fund Manager, noted in the presentation that these efforts could save $1.47 million per year. If you’d like to read the Zero Food Waste Compact, please visit: summitcounty.info/zerofoodwaste.

> INTERNATIONAL DARK SKIES WEEKAlso at this week’s County Council meeting, the Summit County Council approved a proclamation declaring April 2nd to 8th as, “International Dark Sky Week”. The purpose of the proclamation is to promote International Dark Sky Week as a worldwide celebration to build awareness about light pollution and the importance of preserving the nighttime sky.

To help save Summit County’s night sky, all outdoor light bulbs in Park City Municipal and unincorporated Summit County must be 3,000 degrees Kelvin or less, and all outdoor lighting fixtures must be fully shielded and down-directed by December 31, 2024.

Wondering what all those fancy dark sky-compliant words and phrases mean? Visit: summitcounty.info/darkskies to see examples that help illustrate!

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TODAY WE COVER…

• Number of committee appointments
• Election Updates
• Rail Trail Corridor Plan
• Third annual Trails Trash and Tunes

Committee Appointments

During this week’s council meeting, there were a number of appointments to various committees:

• Congratulations to Stacey Keahon who will serve on the Recreation Arts and Parks Advisory Committee until 2025.
• Cheers to Don Sargeant and Alex Peterson for their reappointment to the Eastern Summit County Planning commission–their terms expire in 2027.
• Tiane Mooney was reappointed and Matt Nagie was appointed for his first term Snyderville Basin Planning Commission.

Congratulations to everyone. Summit County appreciates your dedication and service.

Legislative Session Highlights

Deputy County Manager, Janna Young, appeared before Council this week to recap the 2024 Utah State Legislature General Session and highlight bills signed by the Governor that impact Summit County residents or require some type of action from the County.

We won’t go in-depth this week, because next week, we’ll have Janna on for a special episode of Summit in Six covering the 2024 General Session in-depth. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, you can browse her presentation at the link in our show notes.

Elections Updates

During the Summit County Democratic nominating convention on Tuesday night, current councilmembers Roger Armstrong and Tonja Hanson won the nominations for council seats “A” and “B”. That leaves candidates Megan McKenna and Thomas Cooke vying for seat “C”. Voters will be able to choose between these two seat “C” candidates during the June 25 primary election.

Keep in mind that a new law is taking effect in May that allows unaffiliated candidates to get on the November ballot by gathering signatures, so there may be write-in candidates. As of right now, the following individuals do not have Republican challengers…Frank Smith is the democratic nominee for sheriff, Greg Wolbach for recorder, Stephanie Poll for assessor and Corie Forsling for treasurer.

The Summit County Republican Nominating Convention is Tuesday, April 2 and will also be held at Ecker Hill Middle School.

Rail Trail Award

Summit County has been selected as a recipient of the 2024 Vernon Deines Award, presented by the American Planning Association (APA), for the county’s Union Pacific Rail Trail Corridor Plan. The Vernon Deines award is presented annually to recognize outstanding individuals and projects for their contribution to planning excellence in small towns and rural communities.

The Rail Trail Corridor (RTC) Plan envisions a unified land use strategy along its Corridor to encourage coordinated, sustainable planning adjacent to the Trail. The plan is designed to cultivate a strong sense of community and offer opportunities for revitalization and resource protection along the 24-mile Corridor. It considers improvements to trail conditions and connections while simultaneously supporting the diverse needs of community members, trail users, and local businesses.

The Rail Trail Corridor Plan was approved by the Summit County Council on May 24, 2023 and can be found by visiting summitcounty.org/railtrail.

Trails Trash Tunes

Speaking of the Rail Trail—the Summit County Stormwater Coalition and the Summit County Planning Department are presenting the THIRD Annual “Trails, Trash and Tunes” event on Saturday, May 11th from 12pm – 4pm at the Wanship Trailhead located at 1975 Hoytsville Rd. The purpose of the event is to welcome in springtime and celebrate the Earth with some rail trail cleanup, education about stormwater, noxious weeds identification and more!

There will be LIVE music from SLC-favorite Pixie and the Partygrass Boys, presented by Mountaintown Music. There will be food for purchase, a beer garden with light bites and brews for sale by local brewery Offset Bier for the 21+ crowd, a “Kids Corner” for the younger ones thanks to the Summit County Library for activities such as coloring, books and games.

Registration is free and not required to attend, but we would like to know who is coming! You can register online at: summitcounty.info/trailstrashtunes24

View Details

TODAY WE COVER…

• Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail
• Deadlines for Restaurant Grant and Cultural Grant applications
• Subsidized rain barrel sale
• Kimball Junction EIS public comment period
• UofU Work/Life Balance Survey

HISTORIC UNION PACIFIC RAIL TRAIL

This Monday, March 18, Summit County Manager Shayne Scott submitted a Letter of Intent to potentially assume ownership of the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail from Utah Division of State Parks. This is a non-binding commitment and jump-starts a process to study the feasibility of acquiring the property and next steps if we do.

We want to be clear: there are no costs associated with Summit County acquiring the Rail Trail from Utah State Parks. the county is, however, assessing funding options and details related to management and maintenance that would come into play if we did assume ownership.

Follow along for updates at summitcounty.org about this exciting potential acquisition.

RAP TAX INFO

The Summit County Recreation, Arts and Parks (RAP) Grant and The Summit County Restaurant Tax Grant applications are still available online.

The deadline for the RAP cultural grant applications is Thursday, March 28, 2024, at 5:00 PM. The deadline for the Restaurant grant application is Friday, March 29, 2024, at 5 PM.

RAP Cultural Tax requirements must be a private nonprofit organization or institution registered with the State of Utah OR A municipal or a county cultural council – any other agency of the state or a political subdivision of the state is not a cultural organization – IN ADDITION: THE APPLICANT’S main purpose must relate to the themes of: Natural History, History, Art, Music, Theatre, Dance or, for (private nonprofits only) cultural arts.

Restaurant Tax Grant applicants must be a governmental entity, governmental subdivision, or nonprofit and use grant funds for the primary purpose of bringing new tourism from outside Summit County, preferably overnight visitors.

Applications must be submitted online. If you have any questions, contact Amy Jones at 435-336-3042.

You can find the Restaurant Tax Grant application at summitcounty.info/restaurantgrant

You can find the RAP Cultural Grant application at summitcounty.info/RAPcultural

RAINHARVEST PROGRAM 2024

Summit County is partnering with the Utah Rivers Council to bring our residents a limited number of heavily discounted American-made rain barrels as part of the Rain Harvest program. Rain Harvest is a program that distributes rain barrels to Utah residents for the purpose of collecting rainwater that falls on rooftops for later use on lawns and gardens. This program offers residents the opportunity to affordably conserve water through rainwater collection. Residents of Summit County are invited to order these $55 rain barrels a rainbarrelprogram.org/urc, while supplies last.

Once the subsidized barrels run out, $83 rain barrels are available for purchase by any member of the public. The sale window will remain open until late April 2024.

The barrels will be distributed at a one-day, in-person event, on May 5 from 12-2pm at the Park City Sports Complex at Quinn’s Junction. Rain barrels will not be shipped to residents, so you really need to come to this in person pick up day.

KIMBALL JUNCTION ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

This is the last week for the Kimball Junction EIS comment period, which closes March 27.

For some context, UDOT has reached the next milestone for the environmental study they’re working on for the I-80 and SR-224 area.

They published the Alternatives Development and Screening Report, which identifies criteria and measures to evaluate each multi-modal alternative such as potential transportation improvements, details for the screening process– such as how options move forward or are eliminated, and identifies which alternatives are carried forward for detailed evaluation in the Draft EIS.

They evaluated three alternatives–these were presented to you last year based on the Kimball Junction Area Plan–and two are moving forward for further consideration in the EIS process.

Alternative A: a new split-diamond interchange that directs local traffic off of Interstate 80 prior to Kimball Junction, a pedestrian underpass at state Route 224

And Alternative C, extended turn lanes, lane widening, and a pedestrian underpass at SR-224.

UDOT is looking for feedback on all characteristics presented in each alternative for the final design and evaluation.

UDOT is asking for Summit County residents’ help to find transportation solutions for our community by taking some time to review their report. They are looking for your input on the alternative screening process, the initial impacts analysis, the alternatives they’ll evaluate in the Draft EIS, and any new ideas you might have.

As mentioned before, there are only a few more days left to give your feedback! The comment period closes March 27, 2024. To give comment and learn more, you can visit the project website: kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov/

You can also share your ideas with UDOT by emailing kimballjunctioneis@utah.gov or calling 435-255-3186.

WORK/LIFE BALANCE SURVEY

The Social Research Institute at the University of Utah is still looking for about 200 more responses for their Work/Life Balance Survey. The purpose is to gather information to help employers know what they can do to better support low to moderate-income families to retain employment.

Participants are paid $25 for a 25-30-minute interview that can be done over the phone. They hope to have respondents from all across the state so you are welcome to forward this info to anyone in Utah – staff, clients, community partners, anyone!

To participate a person must be:

• A caregiver of a child under age 12, or a caregiver to a child 12 and older with a disability;
• Middle to low income (annual household income of $50,000 or less);
• English speaking

Visit bit.ly/uofuwlbs to sign up to participate.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND PUBLIC HEALTH SPEAKER SERIES

The Climate Change and Public Health speaker series planning team has been putting in a lot of work to bring some awesome events in 2024! If you are interested in receiving updates about this year’s events, visit summitcountyhealth.org/speakerseries.

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TODAY, WE COVER…

• A quick Cedar Crest Village update
• Kimball Junction EIS public comment period
• Upcoming Restaurant Tax Grant deadline
• Trout Unlimited Award for Summit County Lands + Natural Resources Department

CEDAR CREST

Up next, we have a quick update related to the Cedar Crest Village Overlay. The public meeting originally scheduled for next Thursday, March 21, has been canceled. The next tentatively scheduled meeting is set for April 18, 2024 (6 PM, Ledges Center).

You can find more information about the overlay at summitcounty.info/cedarcrest or at cedarcresthoytsville.com.

KIMBALL JUNCTION PUBLIC COMMENT

Moving on, we have another reminder about the public comment period that is open now until March 27 related to the Kimball Junction Environmental Impact Statement or EIS.

For some context, the Kimball Junction EIS is all about building a gateway corridor into the Park City and Snyderville Basin area that is safe, efficient, and comfortable for all users whether that be in a car, bus, bicycle, or on foot.

We are working towards a solution would accomplish the following:

• Less vehicle queuing on I-80 meaning fewer crashes and saved lives
• A more comfortable pedestrian connection to neighborhoods on both sides of SR-224 which would create a more livable community
• Faster access to resorts and other destinations in the Wasatch Back which would mean more economic development and tourism​, and as a result, a successful 2034 Olympics

The study began in 2020 and as of this March 2024, UDOT has published the Alternatives Development and Screening Report online and is asking for public input on each of the alternatives they proposed. So this means they’re looking for guidance on what options move forward, are eliminated, or are revised to best serve the community. UDOT is planning to wrap up the study at the end of this year. The detailed evaluation is included in the Draft EIS—All of this is available online at: kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov

*Keep in mind that Alternative B, the grade-separated intersections with frontage roads did not continue into this next phase of planning. However, we still want to know if there are aspects from this proposed plan that you liked, for instance: the grade-separated “flyunder”, the public area connecting the neighborhood, or something else! This is your time to share your thoughts.

A quick note about the public comments: We hope everyone takes the time to weigh in. You can submit your feedback online about different aspects of each design alternative at kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov. Making comments to the county or anywhere else like on social media will not be included in the official UDOT record.

We also want to be clear…this comment opportunity is not a “vote” and we won’t be tallying the number of times a person “likes” an alternative. UDOT is looking for the public to identify characteristics of all alternatives that they’d like to see for the final design and evaluation.

Before we close out on this topic, it is important to note that Summit County is requesting UDOT add the Kimball Junction Interchange to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) which would mean that this project gets funding with plenty of time for design and construction prior to the 2034 Olympic games. Your comments are really important and have an impact on whether or not this project gets added to the Transportation Improvement Program.

Once again, you can visit: kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov to read more about the project and submit comments.

RESTAURANT TAX GRANT

The Summit County Restaurant Tax Grant Application is open now through Friday, March 29 at 5 PM. The application can be found at summitcounty.info/restaurant and must be submitted online.

Some requirements to be aware of before you start applying: Restaurant Tax Grant applicants must be a governmental entity, governmental subdivision, or nonprofit and use grant funds for the primary purpose of bringing new tourism from outside Summit County, preferably overnight visitors. The exact criteria for funding are outlined on the county website, again summitcounty.info/restaurant, and are attached to the applications.

Once applications close, the Grant Committee will review applications and make recommendations to the County Council in May. If you have any questions, please contact Amy Jones at 435-336-3042.

TROUT UNLIMITED AWARD

And, last but certainly not least, County Lands and Natural Resources Director, Jess Kirby attended the Utah Trout Unlimited State Council annual banquet on March 14 where she accepted two awards that recognize Summit County for efforts in conservation and restoration of Utah’s watersheds.

Summit County is the first ever recipient of the Community Action Towards Conservation Habitat (“CATCH”) award which spotlights the county’s continual effort to improve the overall health of the Weber River watershed, years of collaboration on state World Resource Institute grants, and most recently efforts associated with the 910 Ranch and East Canyon Creek that runs through it.

The “Community Conservation Partner” award was created by Trout Unlimited staff to honor the communities that are going above and beyond in local conservation and embodying the mission of their organization to bring together diverse interests to care for and recover rivers and streams for future generations.

In his written remarks, Trout Unlimited director Scott Catton mentioned that this award specifically honors Jess Kirby, Director of Summit County’s County Lands and Natural Resources Department, for her work as a leading partner in conservation. He went into detail about how “she has teamed up with Trout Unlimited for many years to secure funding for projects that range from improving fish passage infrastructure on the Weber River, to building beaver dam analogs on small tributaries to improve water quality…” Reflecting upon her recent leadership in the acquisition of the almost 9,000 acre 910 Ranch near Jeremy Ranch, Catton said Kirby has wasted no time in initiating habitat restoration projects on the ranch throughout the forest area and along the four miles of East Canyon creek that flows through the property.

A huge congratulations are in order County Lands and Natural Resources Department! Visit summitcounty.org/countylands to follow along with the latest efforts of our Lands and Natural Resources Department.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six! Winter storms churned through the Wasatch this past week. For those powder-hounds out there we hope you’re getting some great skiing and riding in!

In today’s episode, we are going to cover the latest info from UDOT on the Kimball Junction interchange project, announce some appointments to our Board of Health, share council’s decision regarding the Maverick gas station project near Quinn’s Jct. and hear from the County Clerk about how this year’s presidential primary elections went.

Alright, let’s get into the news!

– Kimball Junction Interchange EISThis week’s council meeting kicked off with an update from UDOT on the Kimball Junction Interchange project. UDOT representatives summarized their most recent progress on the Environmental Impact Statement (also referred to as “EIS”).

But before we get into the weeds of it, let’s take a step back and reiterate what this project is all about: building a gateway corridor into the Park City and Snyderville Basin area that is safe, efficient, and comfortable for all users whether that be in a car, bus, bicycle, or on foot.

We are working towards a solution would accomplish the following:

• Less vehicle queuing on I-80 meaning fewer crashes and saved lives
• A more comfortable pedestrian connection to neighborhoods on both sides of SR-224 which would create a more livable community
• Faster access to resorts and other destinations in the Wasatch Back which would mean more economic development and tourism​, and as a result, a successful 2034 Olympics

The study began in 2020 and as of this March 2024, UDOT has published the Alternatives Development and Screening Report online and is asking for public input on each of the alternatives they proposed. So this means they’re looking for guidance on what options move forward, are eliminated, or are revised to best serve the community. UDOT is planning to wrap up the study at the end of this year. The detailed evaluation is included in the Draft EIS—All of this is available online at: kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov
*Keep in mind that Alternative B, the grade-separated intersections with frontage roads did not continue into this next phase of planning. However, we still want to know if there are aspects from this proposed plan that you liked, for instance: the grade-separated “flyunder”, the public area connecting the neighborhood, or something else! This is your time to share your thoughts.

A quick note about the public comments: We hope everyone takes the time to weigh in. You can submit your feedback online about different aspects of each design alternative at kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov. Making comments to the county or anywhere else like on social media will not be included in the official UDOT record.

We also want to be clear…this comment opportunity is not a “vote” and we won’t be tallying the number of times a person “likes” an alternative. UDOT is looking for the public to identify characteristics of all alternatives that they’d like to see for the final design and evaluation.

Before we close out on this topic, it is important to note that Summit County is requesting UDOT add the Kimball Junction Interchange to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) which would mean that this project gets funding with plenty of time for design and construction prior to the 2034 Olympic games. Your comments are really important and have an impact on whether or not this project gets added to the Transportation Improvement Program.

Once again, you can visit: kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov to read more about the project and submit comments.

– Also at Council this week…

• We had some Board of Health re-appointments: so congratulations to Ilyssa Golding and Chris Cherniak. Thanks for your continued service. And congratulations to newly appointed Michelle Downard and Stephen Trapp. All of these terms will expire December 31, 2026.
• The council also approved the permit for Maverick to build a Gas Station with a Convenience Store near the Quinn’s Junction interchange off I-40 exit 4.
• And lastly, during manager’s comments, Summit County Clerk Eve Furse went over the Presidential primary elections that took place this Tuesday, March 5th. She clarified why the Democratic Party nomination process was through an election process (mail in ballot, in person voting, ballot drop box voting) run through the County Clerk’s office and the Republican Party chose to hold and run their own Presidential Preference Poll through their caucus.

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INTRO

Welcome back to another week of Summit County news on Summit in Six. We’ve got important election news and updates on some big projects like Cedar Crest and the Ure Ranch as well as Kimball Junction/ 224 traffic study updates. Let’s get started.

ELECTIONS INFORMATION

The 2024 Democratic Presidential Primary Election is coming on March 5, 2024. If you’re a registered voter that has declared their party as “Democrat”, or requested a Democratic ballot in writing, you should have received your ballot in the mail in mid-February. For voting information, please visit summitcounty.org/elections.

Also on March 5, 2024, both the Summit County Republican and Democratic parties will hold a caucus to choose their party’s leadership for the next two years. The Republican Caucus will vote on their preferred presidential candidate nominee in addition to selecting their party’s leadership. Questions? Visit: summitcountyutgop.org/caucus/ or scdems.org/

CEDAR CREST (Derek)

The Cedar Crest Village Overlay project was back in front of the Eastern Summit County Planning Commission this week.

On Thursday, February 29, the commission held another work session related to the project. They heard specifics from Larry H. Miller Real Estate about infrastructure phasing, water and traffic impacts, and their affordable housing proposal. If you couldn’t make the meeting, you can listen back to hear the details at summitcounty.info/cedarcrest229.

Following the applicant’s presentation, the Planning Commission continued the public hearing related to the overlay project and heard from several members of the community. Comments were mostly focused on how the proposal will impact surrounding properties, traffic and road impacts beyond Hoytsville Road, and what community benefits the project will bring the community outside of additional housing.

Another work session and public hearing for Cedar Crest is scheduled for Thursday, March 21 at the Ledges Event Center beginning at 6 PM. More information on that meeting, including a virtual Zoom attendance option, can be found on the homepage of summitcounty.org under the News section.

And now, we’re going to take a quick break to learn about a short bit of Summit County History, from our intern, Alaina.

HENEFER, ECHO, and the PONY EXPRESS

Despite its modest size, Henefer holds a significant amount of Western history. John’s Park is a small park in the town of Henefer that serves as a historical marker of the area in which Pony Express riders once passed through.

The new pioneer spirit drew settlers to the area, making it an ideal stopping place for goods, services, and information.

Weber Station was a multipurpose space that included a general store, blacksmith shop, saloon and jail. Its location at the mouth of Echo Canyon made it an ideal stop along the Pony Express route.

Young Pony Express riders, William Page and George Little, would thunder past Cache Cave, and down into Echo Canyon as they headed to Salt Lake City carrying messages and goods.

URE RANCH OPEN HOUSE

On Thursday evening, Summit County hosted a second information session in Kamas about the Ure Ranch Property acquisition and gathered public input on what the community would like to see the land used for in the future. County Lands and Natural Resources Director Jess Kirby gave a short presentation summarizing findings from hundreds of public comments received at the first open house and online since late January.

She went into detail about what a conservation easement is and the positive outlook of the county’s efforts to preserve the North Meadows for agricultural use and open space thanks to collaborative efforts with Summit Land Conservancy. The evening closed out with an engagement activity where attendees used stickers to indicate their sentiments about proposed ideas for portions of the 834-acre property.

If you would like to contact Jess and her team directly with questions about this land acquisition, feel free to email: countylands@summitcounty.org

Stay up to date on all things related to the Ure Ranch by subscribing to the project-specific email list: summitcounty.info/ureranchnews and visiting summitcounty.info/ureranch

KIMBALL JUNCTION Environmental Impact Statement

UDOT has reached the next milestone for the environmental study they’re working on for the I-80 and SR-224 area.

They published the Alternatives Development and Screening Report, which identifies criteria and measures to evaluate each multi-modal alternative (potential transportation improvements), details the screening process (how options move forward or are eliminated), and identifies which alternatives are carried forward for detailed evaluation in the Draft EIS.

They evaluated three alternatives (presented to you last year based on the Kimball Junction Area Plan) and two are moving forward for further consideration in the EIS process.

Alternative A: a new split-diamond interchange that directs local traffic off of Interstate 80 prior to Kimball Junction, a pedestrian underpass at state Route 224

And Alternative C, extended turn lanes, lane widening, and a pedestrian underpass at SR-224.

UDOT is looking for characteristics of all alternatives for the final design and evaluation.

UDOT is asking for Summit County residents’ help to find transportation solutions for our community by taking some time to review their report. They are looking for your input on the alternative screening process, the initial impacts analysis, the alternatives they’ll evaluate in the Draft EIS, and any new ideas you might have.

The comment period is open now through March 27, 2024. To give comment and learn more, you can visit the project website: kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov/

You can also share your ideas with UDOT by emailing kimballjunctioneis@utah.gov or calling 435-255-3186.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six!

In today’s episode, we are going to cover some updates from this week’s county council meeting and the Dakota Pacific hearings. Then, we’ll wrap things up with some community engagement opportunities to keep on your radar. Let’s get into the news.

CHALK CREEK & INDUSTRIAL PARK ROAD.

In this week’s Council meeting, Council Members approved a petition request by the public to officially change the name of a section of a Summit County road from Industrial Park Road to Chalk Creek Road. Previously, the portion of Chalk Creek Road in Coalville City limits that makes a bend near the cemetery was called Industrial Park Road for approximately 630 feet, Industrial Park Road is a city-owned road that begins on the west side of the Coalville Cemetery.

There were a few reasons for this requested name change:

• There are no stop signs on this road from Coalville Main Street to the Wyoming border, which has caused issues and confusion with emergency response vehicles and package delivery services attempting to find Chalk Creek Road.
• All of Chalk Creek is a County Road, and Industrial Park Road is a city-owned road. except for this small portion that was in line with Chalk Creek.

We appreciate the public bringing this issue to the county’s attention.

DAKOTA PACIFIC UPDATES

County Council resumed discussions with Dakota Pacific Real Estate, DPRE, this past Thursday, February 22 where representatives of Dakota Pacific provided a response and counter-proposal to Council’s requested changes to the development plan.

Highlights of the counter-proposal include:

• An increase from the Council-requested 500 total units to 695 total units
• A decrease from the total Council-requested affordable units at or below 80% AMI from 250 to 240.
• The number of 100-120% AMI units remained the same
• An increase in market rate united deed-restricted to ages 55+ from 82 to 90
• The addition of surface parking for apartments (compared to a parking structure)
• An allocation of $2.5 M in HTRZ or other public funds in exchange for moving an additional 20 market-rate apartments to affordable.

In addition, Dakota Pacific requested changes to the phased development schedule, which would allow them to begin building Senior Care, Medical Facilities, and up to 240 affordable units within 1 year of the signed development agreement amendment, which would allow DPRE to apply for affordable housing tax credits with the state.

In Phase 2, which begins with UDOT adding State Road 224 to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, DPRE could build the majority of their market-rate units within 3 years.

In Phase 3, which begins with the start of construction on SR 224 (or no later than June 2029) DPRE could build their final 80 market-rate units.

After a Q&A session, individual Council members provided comments and shared concerns on the updated proposal. As a next step in the project, Council and DPRE agreed to conduct a third-party financial analysis of the proposal to be paid for by the County before further discussions, including a public hearing, are scheduled.

Please note the DPRE work session item scheduled during Council on Wednesday, February 28 has been canceled. Visit https://summitcounty.info/DPRE (all caps, case sensitive) to view the most current schedule of upcoming meetings and recordings of previous work sessions.

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH WORK-LIFE BALANCE SURVEY

The Department of Health and Human Services is working with the University of Utah on a survey about Work/Life Balance. The purpose is to gather information to help employers know what they can do to better support low- to moderate-income families to retain employment.

Participants are paid $25 for a 25-30 minute interview that can be done over the phone. Their goal is to find 600 participants across the state.

To participate a person must be:

• A caregiver of a child under age 12, or a caregiver to a child 12 and older with a disability;
• Middle to low income (annual household income of $50,000 or less);
• English speaking

Visit https://bit.ly/uofuwlbs to sign up to participate!

URE RANCH OPEN HOUSE

A second information session for the community to attend and give input on the Ure Ranch property is coming up next week. Join us at the Kamas Library Building from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 29.

You may be wondering: “What’s the difference between this upcoming information session and the last one?” At the February 29th meeting there will be a short presentation by County Lands and Natural Resources Director, Jess Kirby. She will summarize the findings from the hundreds of comments received so far from the community online and in person. The presentation will dive into what a conservation easement is and what protections it provides regarding this property.

The evening will close out with an engagement activity. If you can’t attend the presentation, you should still come for the activity and ask questions one-on-one with staff familiar with the project.

We must reiterate that no action has been taken in regard to the planning for this property. We are still in the public input stage and exploring what the community does or does not wish to see.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six!

In today’s episode, we are going to cover some important upcoming elections info, changes to the Dakota Pacific meeting schedule, updates on last year’s 910 Cattle Ranch and Ure Ranch property acquisitions, as well as an overview of Basin Recreation’s 10-year strategic plan that was presented to council this week.

Alright, let’s get into the news!

2024 Elections – Ballots Mailed!

Earlier this week, the Summit County Clerk’s Office put ballots in the mail for the 2024 Presidential Primary Election, so voters can expect those ballots to hit their mailboxes by this weekend. To learn more about this year’s election cycle and what you can expect, listen to a special episode of “Summit in Six” with County Clerk, Eve Furse, out now!
Visit: summitcounty.info/elections2024 to tune in.

Dakota Pacific Meeting Schedule Update

We want to make the public aware of some scheduling updates involving Dakota Pacific meetings:

• There will be a meeting on February 22 at 3 p.m. at the Richins Building
• Dates and times for a public hearing/comment and final decision by Council are all postponed and to be determined. So stay tuned here for additional updates to the schedule.

You can view the current meeting schedule and recordings of past meetings as they become available at https://summitcounty.info/DPRE (all caps).

910 Cattle Ranch Update to Council

During the Council meeting this week, County Lands and Natural Resources Director, Jess Kirby gave an update on the two properties the County entered into option agreements to purchase in 2023: The 910 Cattle Ranch near Jeremy Ranch, and the Ure Ranch in Kamas.First let’s dive into Ure Ranch Updates and upcoming opportunities for public engagement surrounding planning for this property:

• It has been almost a year since Summit County has come under an option agreement to purchase the Ure Ranch which is an 834-acre family farm located in the Kamas Valley. The Ure Family chose the County as the optimal owner and steward of this land for future generations. The first information session about the property was held on January 22nd. Around 150 community members attended.
• On February 29th, there will be a second information session for the community to attend and give input on the property. It will be held at the Kamas Library Building from 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm.

You may be wondering: “What’s the difference between this upcoming information session and the last one?” At the February 29th meeting there will be a short presentation by County Lands and Natural Resources Director, Jess Kirby. She will summarize the findings from the hundreds of comments received so far from the community online and in person. The presentation will dive into what a conservation easement is and what protections it provides in regard to this property.

The evening will close out with an engagement activity. If you can’t attend the presentation, you should still come for the activity and to ask questions one-on-one with staff familiar with the project.

It’s important that we reiterate that no action has been taken in regards to the planning for this property, we are still in the public input stage and exploring what the community does or does not wish to see.

Now we will shift gears to updates regarding the nearly 9,000-acre 910 Cattle Ranch located in Jeremy Ranch which the County entered into an option agreement to purchase in August 2023. The property is one of the last contiguous mountain ranches privately held by a single landowner in western Summit County and the Snyderville Basin area.

Since August, County staff has been:

• Focused on gathering data on what wildlife are present in the area
• Creating a volunteer Ambassador Program
• Taking into consideration information from a USU extension capstone project on the “Prospects and Constraints for a Recreational Fishery on East Canyon Creek”

During the presentation, an update on funding for the property was given. So far $15 million has been secured and $40 million in pending grants, most of which should be announced in the spring.

You can stay up to date on information about this property at: summitcounty.org/910ranch

Basin Recreation Updates

Director of Basin Recreation, Dana Jones, presented to council this week on a 10-Year Strategic Plan and a 5-Year Trails Plan for the special service district.

The strategic planning process began in August 2022 and included extensive public engagement, an analysis of existing facilities and resources, feedback from stakeholder groups, and more.

For some background: Basin Recreation manages over 2,700 acres of open space and over 170 miles of paved, soft surface and natural surface trails. Like many mountain communities, Summit County has experienced significant growth over the last decade. This rapid population growth has surpassed the capacity for much of the existing recreational infrastructure provided by The District and surrounding recreation providers creating a shortage of facility space.
During their presentation to council, Basin Recreation staff also reviewed their 5-Year Trails Plan. Some of the key takeaways from that plan include:

1. Providing high-quality trail experiences
2. Developing a connected network of trails
3. Providing and supporting a diversity of trail experiences
4. Developing a sustainable and environmentally responsible trail system
5. Develop an all-season trail network
6. Provide programs to build a community culture of trail use

The plans will be finalized and released this spring, so stay tuned for updates at basinrecreation.org

Reminders…

Summit County Nonprofit Tax Exemption

We are going to close out today’s episode with a few reminders. The first reminder concerns Summit County nonprofits. The deadline to submit applications for tax exemption is March 1, 2024. This is for all renewal applications and new exemptions.

Organizations can complete their annual renewal or submit an application for a new exemption using the online application system. The system will allow an organization to apply online and submit all necessary documentation. Access the online system at summitcounty.info/exemptnpo

President’s Day: Lastly, we want to give a reminder that County offices are closed on Monday, January 19th in observance of President’s Day and we open our doors again on Tuesday, February 20.

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Today, we cover…

• 2023 Municipal Primary Elections Unofficial Results
• Upcoming Community Engagement Opportunities (Fall Noxious Weeds Tour, Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series, Our Summit Questionnaire #3, 2024 County Calendar Photo Contest)
• National Suicide Prevention Week

Elections Update

The 2023 Municipal Primary Elections took place for Coalville City, Park City and South Summit Fire District earlier this week on Tuesday, September 5. Unofficial results shared by the County Clerk’s Office on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 6 show the following results.

Coalville City Council will have the following 6 candidates on the General Election ballot:

• Lynn Wood
• Shaun H. Powis
• Stefanie Bowen
• Brandon Brady
• Tyler Rowser
• Cindy Padgett

Park City Council will have the following 6 candidates on the General Election ballot:

• Ryan Dickey
• Ed Parigian
• Matthew Nagie
• Bob Sertner
• John Greenfield
• Bill Ciraco

And, South Summit Fire District Commission will have the following 4 candidates on the General Election ballot:

• Julie Anna Black
• Thayne D. Stembridge
• Larry Leifson
• David Ure

The canvasses to certify these results will take place on September 19, 2023 at each entity that held an election, so at Coalville City, Park City, and South Summit Fire District.

As a reminder the 2023 Municipal General Elections will take place on November 21, 2023. We’ll be sure to keep our listeners updated with information on the general elections in the coming weeks.

Community Engagement Opportunities

Noxious Weeds Tour

Did you know fall is the best time to take care of noxious weeds? Summit County’s Weed Control program is hosting a Fall Community Noxious Weeds Tour TOMORROW Saturday, September 9 from 9 AM to 11:30 AM beginning at Richardson Flat Park and Ride to learn about the “most-wanted” weeds here in Summit County. There will be a specific focus on rosette identification and treating biennial weeds. Transportation will be provided for up to 14 people. RSVP for free at summitcounty.info/fallweedstour.

Speaker Series

The 2023 Summit County Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series is designed to elevate public health as a critical consideration of climate change action in our community. The second session of the speaker series will highlight how local risks to the natural environment influence the public’s physical and mental health. More details and FREE registration at summitcountyhealth.org/speakerseries.

Questionnaire #3

Don’t miss your chance to participate in Phase 3 of “Our Summit,” the county-wide community visioning process! Your responses will directly impact and guide the future of Summit County. In this phase, you’ll help us understand how YOU prioritize certain features of your local community, what enhancements you would like to see and how you think growth should be handled. Take Questionnaire 3 at oursummitcounty.com.

2024 County Calendar

Calling everyone who loves to photograph Summit County scenery! We want to include YOUR photos in our 2024 Summit County Calendar. Submit now through Sept. 15 at summitcounty.info/calendar24 for a chance to showcase your photography.

All images must:

• Be taken in Summit County
• Be YOUR original work
• Be high-resolution (no smartphone photos)

Winners will receive 3 calendars and will be featured on Summit County’s social media channels!

Suicide Prevention Week

And finally, in honor of National Suicide Prevention week, we want to share a mantra of hope. “Live On” is a statewide effort here in Utah to prevent suicide by promoting education, providing resources, and changing our culture around suicide and mental health. Together we can get through, reach out, lift up, look ahead, and Live On.

Talking is the first step to preventing suicide. Make a difference by learning the warning signs and risk factors, having REAL conversations with people you care about, and sharing resources and creative ways to help those who are struggling.

If you or a loved one needs to speak with a licensed clinician text or call 988.

For more information and resources on suicide prevention please visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at afsp.org.

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Today we cover… Today, we’re going to kick things off with some details on the latest opportunity to get involved with “Our Summit,” the county’s year-long community visioning process. Then, we will share some reminders about the upcoming Municipal Primary Election next Tuesday September 5 and the Health Department’s Climate Change and Public Health Speaker … Continue reading September 1, 2023 – Our Summit Phase 3, 2023 Municipal Primary Elections, Weeds Tour →

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Today, we cover… The 910 Cattle Ranch Property Acquisition Phase Three of Our Summit 2023 Municipal Primary Elections The Health Department’s Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series 910 Cattle Ranch On August 24, 2023, the Summit County Council held a special meeting to consider the Summit County Manager’s recommendation to approve an option agreement … Continue reading August 25, 2023 – 910 Cattle Ranch Property Acquisition, Our Summit Phase 3, 2023 Municipal Primary Elections & Health Department Speaker Series →

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BRIDGET:  Hey everyone and welcome to a special edition of our weekly news podcast, Summit in Six. As many of you may know, UDOT is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement – or EIS – to evaluate improvements at the I-80 and State Route-224 interchange at Kimball Junction, and on SR-224 from Kimball Junction through the … Continue reading August 18, 2023 – Kimball Junction Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) →

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BRIDGET Hey everyone and welcome to a special edition of our weekly news podcast, Summit in Six.  As many of you may know, municipal election season is right around the corner, but in case you missed it, earlier this summer, Utah Governor Spencer Cox issued a set of proclamations, moving the primary and general election … Continue reading August 16, 2023 – 2023 Municipal Primary Elections →

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Intro  Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in 6. Today, we’re back again covering all things related to property tax season! We’ll kick things off with some info on the Truth in Taxation process and remind listeners to look out for their Property Tax Notice! Then, we’ll give one … Continue reading August 11, 2023 – All things related to property tax season & Updates on Our Summit, Weber Watershed Coalition and Resilience Fund Weber, and the Jana Kramer Concert! →

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Today, we cover… All things related to property tax season Assessor’s new property valuation mapping tool Property Tax Disclosure Notices Truth in Taxation public hearings A reminder that the Summit County Fair is BACK this weekend Property Tax Valuation Tool  The Assessor’s Office has been working hard to create an online interactive web platform that … Continue reading August 4, 2023 – All things related to property tax season & a reminder that the 2023 Summit County Fair is HERE! →

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This week, we cover:  Assessor’s Office Property Valuation Maps Summit County Curbside Yard Waste Program ‘Let’s Talk’ initiative Summit County Fair + Jana Kramer Concert Property Valuation Maps  The Summit County’s Assessor was in front of the council this week to demonstrate the Assessor’s property valuation mapping tool! The Assessor’s Office has been working hard … Continue reading July 28, 2023 – Property Valuation Maps, Curbside Yard Waste Program, Let’s Talk Initiative & Summit County Fair →

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Hey everyone and welcome to a special edition of our weekly news podcast, Summit in Six. While we usually try to keep things short around here, today we’re going to have a longer form conversation with Summit County’s Landfill Superintendent, Tim Loveday and Republic Services’ Municipal Contract Administrator, Ashlee Cawley. Republic Services, in partnership with … Continue reading July 21, 2023 – Introducing the Summit County Curbside Yard Waste Program with Tim Loveday and Ashlee Cawley →

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Today, we cover: Mosquito Safety Information from the Summit County Health Department Summit Envisions Learning Series Public Input Opportunity for the State’s Long Range Transportation Plan Jana Kramer in Concert Mosquitoes  As a result of increased moisture this winter and spring, Summit County has seen an unwelcome increase in mosquito populations. The Summit County Mosquito … Continue reading July 14, 2023 – Mosquito Safety, Summit Envisions Learning Series, UDOT Public Input & Jana Kramer in Concert →

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Today, we cover: Some quick County Council news Our Summit, Summit Envisions Learning Series Road construction updates from UDOT County Council News We’ll kick things off with some quick County Council news…the July 12 and July 19 meetings have been canceled. We’ll see you back at Council on July 26.  Summit Envisions Event  The FIRST … Continue reading July 7, 2023 – County Council Schedule, Summit Envisions Learning Series & UDOT Road Construction →

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Today, we cover: Results of a childcare needs assessment in Summit County Exciting news about Summit Bike Share Fire safety and prevention information  Childcare Needs Assessment  At this week’s County Council meeting, the results of a childcare needs assessment conducted here in Summit County were presented. Some key findings from the report, which has been … Continue reading June 30, 2023 – Childcare Needs Assessment, Summit Bike Share & Fire Safety Info. →

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Congratulations and Farewell to Sheriff Justin Martinez At this week’s Council meeting, staff said a fond farewell to Sherriff Justin Martinez as he embarks on his next role as U.S. Marshal for the District of Utah. Sheriff Martinez began his law enforcement career in 1996, working for Sandy City Police Department. Justin has also worked … Continue reading June 23, 2023 – Farewell to Sheriff Martinez, Dumpster Days & Construction Updates →

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Today, we cover… Dakota Pacific Update Fire Season Safety and Prevention Info. Upcoming 2023 Community Noxious Weeds Tour Dakota Pacific  First up, we have a development in the conversation surrounding the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement. On Thursday, June 15, a Third District Court Judge ruled that Dakota Pacific’s 2023 special purpose legislation, SB84, does not … Continue reading June 16, 2023 – Dakota Pacific Update, Fire Season Safety Info, & Community Noxious Weeds Tour →

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Today we cover… Proper sandbag disposal Tick Season Info. Upcoming Community Noxious Weeds Tour Road Construction Projects Sandbag Disposal Up first, we just wanted to give one more reminder about how best to dispose of your sandbags when the time comes… Once acquired, sandbags are your responsibility, including proper disposal. Summit County does not offer … Continue reading June 9, 2023 – Sandbag Disposal, Tick Season Info, Community Noxious Weeds Tour & Road Construction →

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Today we cover…

• Updates regarding sandbag disposal
• The latest on the county-wide EMS study
• UDOT US40 Flyover project + closure
• Important info on noxious weeds

Sandbag Disposal

Ok first up, we wanted to quickly talk sandbags! The snowpack at higher elevations is still well above average for this time of year. Residents in flood plains and waterways are encouraged to keep sandbags on hand until mid-June.

Remember the following when it is time to dispose of sandbags:

• Once acquired, sandbags are your responsibility, including proper disposal. Summit County does not offer sandbag pickup or individual disposal. Residents who live within city limits can contact their municipality to see if they offer disposal options.
• Residents who are physically unable to dispose of their sandbags can request help from the Sandbag Samaritan volunteer list by emailing pio@summitcounty.org.
• Be aware that sunlight quickly degrades bags.
• Do not dump sandbags in rivers, creeks, streams, canals, ditches, roadway gutters, storm drain inlets, or anywhere but your property.
• Basic safety precautions, such as wearing gloves, long pants, and long sleeves, are also encouraged when disposing of bags and sand.
• Suggested disposal options include: reusing sandbags on your personal property or disposing in landfills and trash receptacles. If you do plan on using your curbside bin to dispose of sandbags, please only dispose one bag at a time and do not place multiple bags on the curb for pickup.
• Sand or sandbags that have been in contact with flood water specifically should not be reused in ways that involve direct, regular, human contact, such as sandboxes or playgrounds.
• If you believe your sandbags may have come in contact with sewage, fuels, or other non-household chemicals, contact Summit County Environmental Health at 435-333-1502.

As always, you can stay up to date on all things sandbags and flooding at summitcounty.org/flooding.

EMS Study

At this week’s County Council meeting, consultants from SafeTech solutions presented their final recommendations about the best way to provide EMS or Emergency Medical Services to our community.

There were initially three models on the table, but Safe Tech ultimately recommended the first model, which means creating a single county-wide EMS system operated by a single EMS provider, funded and governed by a single governing body. They recommended creating a special tax district to fund the EMS service.

SafeTech noted that the other models would have cost $2 – $3 million more expensive annually. Moreover, using the model of a single EMS provider is the most efficient way to get resources to the most rural areas of the county.

Ultimately, no action was taken by the council this week, so be sure to stay tuned in the coming weeks to hear more about next steps in the decision making process.

Road Work

Moving on, last week we talked about some current, ongoing road projects happening throughout the county. You can find more information on these projects at summitcounty.org/roadprojects.

This week, we wanted to take some more time to highlight another project UDOT is starting shortly on the US40 Flyover.

Beginning on June 5 UDOT will start the first phase of construction on the US-40 Flyover from northbound US-40 to westbound I-80.

To safely complete this work, the US-40 flyover will be closed for up to one-month. The ramp will open by the 4th of July weekend.

Drivers should expect…

• Day and night work (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
• Increased noise, vibration, dust and lighting
• Up to one-month closure of the US-40 Flyover
• Traffic shifts, detours and lane closures
• Travel delays

Again, you can always find this information and more at summitcounty.org/roadprojects under the UDOT tab.

It’s Weeds Season – Equipment Available for Rent

And last but certainly not least, its noxious weed season! The county is lucky to have a crew of Weeds Experts in our Weeds Division that are responsible for identifying and eliminating noxious weeds throughout the county, as well as educating the public about how to identify and control noxious weeds on their own property.

As part of their education efforts, the Weeds team rents weed spraying equipment for FREE to the public! When you come to rent equipment, the team will work with you to understand the individual situation on your property and figure out what control method may be best for you—whether that’s herbicide or other methods like hand pulling or even biocontrol!

Come on down to learn from the weeds team at 1735 S. Hoytsville Rd. in Coalville Monday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. You can also always visit summitcounty.org/weeds to learn more about Noxious Weeds in Summit County or contact the Weed Division at 435-336-3992 with any comments, suggestions, or questions that you have.

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This week we cover…

• Updates About the Rail Trail Corridor Project
• Public Works Appreciation Week
• Noxious Season
• Road Projects Download

Ok…let’s get into the news.

Rail Trail Corridor Project Approved in Council

This week, the Summit County Council approved the Rail Trail Corridor Plan which has been two years in the making. The plan focuses on improving the Rail Trail Corridor from Echo to Quinn’s Junction.

The next steps in the plan include meeting with Utah State Parks to discuss a change in ownership, management, and maintenance. Currently the trail is managed and maintained by Utah State Parks and the County is looking into taking over these responsibilities. For more information and to keep up to date with the project’s progress, visit summitcounty.org/railtrail.

Public Works Week

We want to take a moment to express our gratitude for the employees of the Public Works Department. This week was National Public Works Week and all the employees of the Public Works Department deserve a huge “thank you” for all they do year-round to take care of our County and ensure things are running safely and smoothly. If our listeners want to leave a message of gratitude to the County’s Public Works Department, you can do so at bit.ly/pwappreciation.

It’s Weeds Season – Equipment Available for Rent

Shifting gears within the Public Works realm to talk about the Summit County Weed Division. Springtime is prime time noxious weed season! The Weeds Division is responsible for identifying and eliminating noxious weeds in the county, as well as educating the public about how to identify and control noxious weeds on their own property.

You can also rent some weed spraying equipment from us at 1735 S. Hoytsville Rd. in Coalville Monday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. They have a variety of sprayers for rent, and herbicide for sale as well!

Please take some time and read the information provided on summitcounty.org under the Public Works tab and contact the Weed Division at 435-336-3992 with any comments, suggestions, or questions that you have.

Upcoming and Ongoing Road Work

We also wanted to give our listeners a quick overview of some ongoing and upcoming road projects we think you’ll want a heads up about!

In case you missed it, UDOT crews have started work on US-40 from SR-248 to the Wasatch County line.

The most up to date schedule we have from UDOT is…

• From Friday, May 26 through Monday, May 29: Crews will be off the road for the the holiday weekend.
• Then, from Tuesday, May 30 through Saturday, June 3: there will be daytime single lane closures on US40 in both directions from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. for concrete grinding operations.
• And, finally, from Monday, June 5 through Saturday, June 10: there will be continued daytime single lane closures on US 40 in both directions from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. for concrete grinding operations. Nighttime ramp closures are tentatively planned – equipment and weather pending.

For more information about the project, please visit bit.ly/us40project

Bitner Ranch Rd. to Silver Creek Rd. Connector Project Begins

The Bitner Ranch Rd. to Silver Creek Rd. Connector Project is anticipated to begin the week of June 5. The first area to experience slow-downs will be where US-40 meets Silver Creek Rd. by the Sinclair gas station. Traffic in and out of the service area along Silver Creek Rd. will be one-lane, and there will be flaggers directing cars.

This first stage of the project entails the beginning of work to the south end of the new civic center which includes a Parking Lot and a mailboxes area. Residents will be able to use the existing mail area until the new one is set up.

Do you have questions about the project? Contact Spencer Nielson, Summit County Roads Engineer at 435-336-3291, or via email at snielson@summitcounty.org.
If you are a resident that wants to stay in the know throughout the project, please subscribe to our mailing list at bit.ly/connectorroad. As for all these roads projects, we’ll be posting project updates on all Summit County social media channels, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

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Did you enjoy this episode? Are you eager to make your voice heard? Click HERE for 4 quick & easy ways you can engage with your local representatives and make a difference at the state legislature!

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Today we cover…* Sandbag Info * High water safety tips * Road Projects * 2023 Trails, Trash and Tunes Event

Flooding

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again! Sandbags are a great way to help prevent or reduce flooding on your property. As always, you can find the full list of locations throughout Summit County, along with plenty of other flooding information and resources, at summitcounty.org/flooding.

Please remember that while our AWESOME Public Works Departments and some amazing volunteers around the county are doing their best to prefill bags for those in need of them, pre-filled bags are not guaranteed. Be prepared to fill your own.

If you are physically able, please fill your own sandbags even if pre-filled ones are available. Pre-filled bags should be reserved for those who are unable to fill their own.Thank you in advance for your consideration.

We also wanted to talk briefly about high water safety. Even with cooler temps coming in the next few days, our rivers, creeks, and canals in Summit County are still running high, fast, and very cold.

And, so, The best practice is to stay away from the banks and keep an especially close eye on children and pets. Do not enter waterways to remove debris or retrieve items.

Road Work Ahead

Up next, we wanted to give our listeners a quick overview of some ongoing and upcoming road projects we think you’ll want a heads up about!

I-80 Bridges

The first project is part of UDOT’s I-80 Bridges Improved project. UDOT crews will continue work on the I-80 bridges over Echo Dam Road and SR-32 in Wanship now through early June 2023. Drivers can expect the following:

• Daytime work (7 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Monday through Saturday
• Reduced speed limit
• Intermittent lane closures and traffic restrictions
• Minor traffic delays

For more information about the project, as well as a project map, visit bit.ly/i80bridges.

Bitner Connector

The second project is the Bitner Ranch Rd. to Silver Creek Rd. Connector project, which will begin this summer! This road will increase connectivity for residents of Silver Creek and surrounding neighborhoods (that currently do not connect), in the following ways:

• Silver Creek residents will now have access to Kimball Junction and the frontage roads leading to Jeremy Ranch without needing to use I-80 or US 40.
• Glenwild, Lower Glenwild (Canyon Creek, Blackhawk Station, etc.), and surrounding neighborhoods will have access through Silver Creek to I-80 or US 40 without needing to travel to Kimball Junction for an onramp.
• Silver Creek residents should expect delays this summer as this project begins. The first area to see slow-downs will be where US 40 meets Silver Creek Rd. by the Sinclair.

Do you have questions about the project? Attend our public information session at Mountain Life Church in Silver Creek on Thursday, May 18th at 6pm. The project’s contractor and County Engineers will be there to share their plans, anticipated project start and end dates, and to answer questions about what to expect when the project is underway.

US40 + SR248

And, the third and final project we’ll cover today, is another UDOT one! ​​UDOT crews are scheduled to begin work on US40 from SR248 to the Wasatch County line this coming Monday, May 15.

Drivers can expect the following schedule of events:

• Single lane closures on US40 from 5am to 5pm on US40 Monday, May 15 through Friday, May 19.
• Continued intermittent daytime lane closures as well as single lane closures beginning at 6pm on US40 Sunday, May 21 through Thursday, May 25.
• Northbound on and off ramps for SR248 are expected to close from 10pm to 5 am Monday, May 22 and Tuesday, May 23.
• Southbound on and off ramps for SR248 are expected to close from midnight to 6 am Wednesday, May 24 and Thursday, May 25.

For more information about the project, please visit bit.ly/us40project.

We’ll also be keeping up project updates on all Summit County social media channels, so be sure to follow up on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Trails, Trash and Tunes

The second annual “Trails Trash and Tunes” is just around the corner and you don’t want to miss out! The event will take place on May 20th from 12-4pm at the Wanship Trailhead, located at 1975 Hoytsville Rd.

And guess what! The event is free! We just ask that you register in advance so we know you’re coming at bit.ly/trailstrashtunes. There will be food available from Lush’s BBQ; a beer garden provided by Offset Bier; and music played by local band Honky Blue Tonkey.

And it doesn’t stop there. Thinking of bringing your kids? Definitely do! Kids can color, read books about the environment and play games with a Summit County librarian. There will be also be opportunity drawings available for those who participate in our trail cleanup and scavenger hunt activities!

Sounds like a blast to me! I can’t wait! Again, this event is happening May 20 from 12-4 at the Wanship Trailhead. Register today (again, for FREE) at bit.ly/trailstrashtunes.

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Today we cover…* Updated sandbag locations * High water safety tips * Summit County Fair tickets * Summit County Health Department Speaker Series * 2023 Trails, Trash and Tunes Event

Flooding

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again! Sandbags are a great way to help prevent or reduce flooding on your property. The Summit County Public Works Department added two new sandbag locations around the county this week that we wanted to make sure our listeners were aware of:

There are now sand and bags available and accessible 24/7 at the Intersection of Hwy. 150 and Beaver Creek Rd AND also on Highway 150 at the Notch Driveway (2392 E. Mirror Lake Hwy.) Please remember to bring your own shovel.

As always, you can find the full list of locations throughout Summit County, along with plenty of other flooding information and resources, at summitcounty.org/flooding.

Please remember that while Public Works Departments and volunteers around the county are doing their best to pre-fill bags for those in need of them, pre-filled bags are not guaranteed. Be prepared to fill your own.

If you are physically able, please fill your own sandbags even if pre-filled ones are available. Pre-filled bags should be reserved for those who are unable to fill their own. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

We also wanted to talk briefly about high water safety. Even with cooler temps coming in the next few days, our rivers, creeks, and canals in Summit County are still running high, fast, and very cold.

And, so, the best practice is to stay away from the banks and keep an especially close eye on children and pets. Do not enter waterways to remove debris or retrieve items.

Summit County Fair

There might still be snow on the ground, but we’re already thinking about August and the Summit County Fair! This coming Monday, May 8, at 9 AM tickets to the PRCA Rodeo and Demolition Derby go on sale!

So, Make sure to get yours early before they sell out! Tickets will only be sold online and can be found at bit.ly/scfair2023 again that’s bit.ly/scfar2023!

Speaker Series

The Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series kicks off next month on May 9, 2023 at the Blair Education Center at the park city hospital. The three-part series hosted by the Summit County Health Department and the Woodwell Climate Research Center is designed to elevate public health as a critical consideration of climate change action in our community.

This first session of the speaker series is a conversation focused on climate change and how it is impacting environmental health in Summit County and beyond. At next week’s event, attendees will listen to national and local perspectives from climate change research experts
and establish connections between local risks to the natural environment and their influence on public health outcomes. For more info, speaker bios, and to register to attend, visit: summitcountyhealth.org/speakerseries.

Trails, Trash and Tunes

The second annual “Trails Trash and Tunes” is just around the corner and you don’t want to miss out! The event will take place on May 20th from 12-4pm at the Wanship Trailhead, located at 1975 Hoytsville Rd.

And guess what! The even is totally free! We just ask that you register in advance so we know you’re coming at bit.ly/trailstrashtunes. There will be food available from Lush’s BBQ; a beer garden provided by Offset Bier; and music played by local band Honky Blue Tonkey.

And it doesn’t stop there. Thinking of bringing your kids? Definitely do! Kids can color, read books about the environment and play games with a Summit County librarian. There will be also be opportunity drawings available for those who participate in our trail cleanup and scavenger hunt activities!

Sounds like a blast to me! I can’t wait! Again, this event is happening May 20 from 12-4 at the Wanship Trailhead. Register today (again, for FREE) at bit.ly/trailstrashtunes.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in 6. We kick things off with some important information regarding sandbags around the county. . Then, we talk about a couple of exciting upcoming events and wrap things up with an update on the Kimball Junction Environmental Impact Statement process.

Flooding

Sandbags are a great way to help prevent or reduce flooding on your property. We know there continues to be questions surrounding sandbag availability, so we wanted to take a second to cover everything sand and bags. All of this info is all listed on our website at summitcounty.org/flooding. So on that website, you can find sandbag locations for each municipality and unincorporated areas within the county

While we are on the topic of sandbags: Public Works Departments and volunteers around the county are doing their best to prefill bags for those in need of them. Pre-filled bags are not guaranteed. Be prepared to fill your own. Also, shovels are not always available. So please arrive prepared with your own shovel.

If you are physically able, please fill your own sandbags even if pre-filled ones are available. Pre-filled bags should be reserved for those who are unable to fill their own.Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Once again, visit summitcounty.org/flooding to access other important flooding information and resources

Household Hazardous Waste Day

Join Recycle Utah TOMORROW, Saturday, 4/29, for Household Hazardous Waste Day from 9am to 1pm at Canyons Cabriolet Parking Lot! Hazardous Waste includes items like paints, solvents, chemicals, fertilizers, oil, herbicides and more.

Can’t make it this weekend? Don’t worry! Our friends at Recycle Utah accept small amounts of these specific materials from residents everyday!

To protect our water and local environment, it’s very important that these items are properly disposed of. Do not pour hazardous items down the drain or into the toilet, and remember if you don’t want to drink it.. don’t dump it!

Speaker Series

The Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series kicks off next month on May 9, 2023 at the Blair Education Center at the park city hospital. The three-part series hosted by the Summit County Health Department and the Woodwell Climate Research Center is designed to elevate public health as a critical consideration of climate change action in our community.

This first session of the speaker series is a conversation focused on climate change and how it is impacting environmental health in Summit County and beyond. At the May event, attendees will listen to national and local perspectives from climate change research experts
and establish connections between local risks to the natural environment and their influence on public health outcomes. For more info, speaker bios, and to register to attend, visit: summitcountyhealth.org/speakerseries.

Kimball Junction EIS

The latest comment period for the Kimball Junction Environmental Impact statement opens TODAY (April 28) and is open through May 28. To remind our listeners, UDOT is conducting an environmental impact statement (or EIS) in the I-80 and SR-224 area and they want your input. The purpose of this EIS is to address transportation-related mobility for all users of the Kimball Junction area.

Comments may be submitted through the project website, email, voicemail/text, or by sending a letter to the study team postmarked by May 28. For more information, please visit kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in 6.

We’ll kick things off with some important information regarding sandbags around the county. Then, we’ll give a quick preview of some important council agenda items that our listeners might want to tune into next week. Finally, we’ll wrap things up with info about the May 9th Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series.

Ok…let’s get into the news.

Flooding Preparation Resources

Sandbags are a great way to help prevent or reduce flooding on your property. We know there have been questions surrounding sandbag availability, so we wanted to take a second to cover everything sand and bags. All of this info is all listed on our website at summitcounty.org/flooding. On that website, you can find sandbag locations for each municipality and unincorporated areas within the county.

While we are on the topic of sandbags: Public Works Departments and volunteers around the county are doing their best to prefill bags for those in need of them. Pre-filled bags are not guaranteed. Be prepared to fill your own. Also, shovels are not always available. So please arrive prepared with your own shovel.

If you are physically able, please fill your own sandbags even if pre-filled ones are available. Pre-filled bags should be reserved for those who are unable to fill their own.Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Once again, visit summitcounty.org/flooding to access other important flooding information and resources

Did you know Summit County has an in-house laboratory facility to test water samples for bacteria?! This flood season poses high risks to private springs and drinking water wells. If you’re interested in testing your drinking water, you can pick up sample bottles at any of our three Health Department locations. Visit summitcountyhealth.org for more water safety information.

Child Abuse Prevention Month

At this week’s County Council meeting, the Council proclaimed April 2023 as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Child abuse and neglect is a complex and ongoing problem in our society and unfortunately it affects many children in Summit County.

Summit County believes every child is entitled to be loved, cared for, nurtured, feel secure and be free from verbal, sexual, emotional and physical abuse, and neglect. It is the responsibility of every adult who comes in contact with a child to protect that child’s inalienable right to a safe and nurturing childhood.

In service of these beliefs, the county has dedicated individuals and organizations who work daily to counter the problem of child maltreatment and to help parents obtain the assistance they need.

Effective child abuse prevention programs succeed because of partnerships among families, social service agencies, schools, religious and civic organizations, law enforcement agencies and the business community.

For more information on child abuse prevention in Summit County, please visit summitcounty.org/cjc.

Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series

The Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series kicks off next month on May 9, 2023 at the Blair Education Center at the park city hospital. The three-part series hosted by the Summit County Health Department and the Woodwell Climate Research Center is designed to elevate public health as a critical consideration of climate change action in our community. This first session of the speaker series is a conversation focused on climate change and how it is impacting environmental health in Summit County and beyond.

At the May event, attendees will listen to national and local perspectives from climate change research experts and establish connections between local risks to the natural environment and their influence on public health outcomes. For more info, speaker bios, and to register to attend, visit: summitcountyhealth.org/speakerseries.

Alright, that’s all the news we have for this week, tune in next week for more on Summit in 6.

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in 6.

We’ll kick things off with some important information regarding sandbags around the county. Then, we’ll give a quick preview of some important council agenda items next week that our listeners might want to tune into. Finally, we’ll wrap things up with the upcoming Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series.

Ok…let’s get into the news.

Flooding + Sandbags

We hit temperatures in the high 70’s earlier this week so it’s safe to say spring runoff is upon us. We know there have been some questions surrounding sandbag availability recently, so we wanted to take a second to cover everything sand and bags really quickly.

1. For Summit County residents who live in unincorporated parts of the county, there are currently 12 locations around the county for you to access sandbags. They are all listed on summitcounty.org/flooding under “Summit County Public Works”.
2. Also on summitcounty.org/flooding, you can find sandbag locations for each municipality in the county.
3. While Public Works Departments and volunteers around the county are doing their best to pre-fill bags for folks, please understand that pre-filled bags are not guaranteed. Be prepared to fill your own bags. Helpful tips and tricks on filling sandbags can be found at summitcounty.org/flooding.
4. Every location is equipped with sand and bags, but shovels are not always available. Come prepared with your own shovel.
5. Finally, if you are physically able, please fill your own bags even if pre-filled are available. Pre-filled bags should be reserved for those who are unable to fill their own (seniors, people with a disability, etc.).Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Again, we keep this information updated and continue to provide other important flooding information and resources online at summitcounty.org/flooding. One more time, that’s summitcounty.org/flooding.

Next Week’s Council Meetings

Up next, we wanted to give a quick preview of next week’s County Council meetings.

On Monday, April 17 starting at 6PM there is a Council of Governments meeting. At the meeting the Council, along with each city mayor, will receive the preliminary report and recommendation from the County’s outside consultant for an operations and governance model for Summit County’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Information on how to tune in is available at summitcounty.org/agendacenter.

And, then on Wednesday, April 19, at the Council’s regularly scheduled meeting Deputy County Manager, Janna Young, will present a final wrap up and review of the 2023 Utah State Legislature General Session. This will be a great opportunity to hear about the bills that came from this year’s general session and how they affect Summit County. Again, information on how to tune in can be found at summitcounty.org/agendacenter.

Speaker Series

The Climate Change and Public Health Speaker Series kicks off next month on May 9, 2023 at the Blair Education Center in Park City, Utah. The three-part series hosted by the Summit County Health Department and the Woodwell Climate Research Center is designed to elevate public health as a critical consideration of climate change action in our community.

This first session of the speaker series is a conversation focused on climate change and how it is impacting environmental health in Summit County and beyond. At the May event, attendees will listen to national and local perspectives from climate change research experts. They will come away from the event drawing connections between local risks to the natural environment and their influence on public health outcomes. For more info, speaker bios, and to register to attend, visit: summitcountyhealth.org/speakerseries.

Outro

Alright, that’s all the news we have for this week, tune in next week for more on Summit in 6.

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Today we cover:

• Important information related to flood season
• Some quick updates on the County’s 2023 Work Plan
• Community engagement opportunities for our listeners to participate in

Flooding

The sun is back and we’re expecting some warm weather this weekend through next week! While the Salt Lake Office of the National Weather Service has noted that flooding is not expected for most areas this weekend, be aware that some rivers and streams may be running high, swift, and cold.

As we enter into flood season and begin to witness spring runoff, be sure to review our online resources atsummitcounty.org/flooding. It is a useful tool for Summit County residents to access important flooding safety information and resources.

At summitcounty.org/flooding you will find info on:

• How to sign up for emergency and non-emergency alerts from the county related to flooding.
• How to properly fill a sandbag, where to access FREE sandbags throughout the county, and who to contact for more in case of a flooding emergency.
• There is other flood-related information there as well, including info on flood insurance, how to determine if your house falls in the floodplain, the do’s and don’ts during flood season, and more.

This page will continue to be updated throughout flood season, so make sure you have it bookmarked Summit County! Again, all of this info can be found at summitcounty.org/flooding.

2023 Work Plan

At this week’s County Council meeting, the County Manager’s Office introduced amendments to the 2023 work plan.

What exactly is a work plan again?

In 2018, the County Council began adopting an official Work Plan each budget cycle as a way to help staff focus their hours on work that aligns with the budget. Traditionally, the proposed Work Plan lists projects for County offices and departments related to council’s strategic objectives or are critical to advancing a County’s functions. This list demonstrates to the public and the county staff the areas where staff hours and the County budget will be spent throughout the year and its budget cycle.

Some, but not all of, of the amendments to the Work Plan included:

• Emphasizing the council’s strategic priority to manage and mitigate the impacts of growth in our county.
• Adding an action item that analyzes development codes, ordinances, and processes as they relate to growth and population management.
• It also adds in exploring the formation of a regional housing authority.
• Adding an action item that will investigate the possible development of a Continuing Care Residential Community (CCRC) in Summit County in coordination with the Gray Ribbon Committee and other senior citizen advocates.
• Adding an action item related to improving relationships with the Utah State Legislature to affect more positive outcomes for Summit County during the annual legislative session

The council approved the amendments. To view the amended 2023 Work Plan in its entirety, please visit: bit.ly/workplan23.

Rail Trail Last Chance

The Summit County Planning Department has a draft of the Rail Trail Corridor Plan ready to review and now is the final chance for community members to give feedback.

You can review the draft plan at summitcounty.org/railtrail and share your approval rating at the bottom of the page.

If you have further suggestions on the plan, we recommend you attend the final Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, April 11 at the Richins Building in Kimball Junction at 6:00 pm.

If you have any questions, please email mmcdonough@summitcounty.org.

Community Planning Lab

The Community Planning Lab participants are some of your friends and neighbors and they have spent 10 weeks learning the ins and outs of planning in Summit County. As part of the lab, they’ve designed a project to benefit our community!

Unfortunately, the snow last week delayed the 2023 Community Planning Lab final project presentations. BUT a new date has been scheduled for Monday, April 17 from 6-8 pm at the Kamas Valley Library Branch at 110 N Main Street in Kamas. We hope to see you there!

Our Summit

Phase one of the County’s community visioning project has come to a close, but we’re already gearing up for phase 2 later this month! There will be a ton of exciting opportunities in the near future for Summit County residents to get even more involved in helping to shape the future of this wonderful place we call home. While we’ll be sure to keep you updated here and on the Summit County Website and social media channels, you can also stay in touch with at oursummitcounty.com.

Alright, that’s all the news we have for this week, tune in next week for more on Summit in 6.

View Details

Today, we cover…

• Important information related to flooding season
• Our Summit mini-questionnaire
• Community Planning Lab final project presentations
• Energy Burden Survey

Flooding

We’ve seen a record breaking snow pack this winter. Now, as a skier that makes me happy, but also with all that snow, I know the possibility of flooding from spring runoff becomes very real.

In response, the Summit County Communications and Public Engagement Team has put together a useful tool for our residents to refer to for important flooding safety information and resources.

Please visit summitcounty.org/flooding to learn about:

• How to sign up for emergency and non-emergency alerts from the county related to flooding.
• Where to access sandbags throughout the county and who to contact for more in case of an emergency.
• Other flood-related information, including: info on flood insurance, how to determine if your house falls in the floodplain, do’s and don’ts of flooding season, and so much more.

This page will continue to be updated throughout the flooding season, so make sure you have it bookmarked Summit County! Again, it can be found at summitcounty.org/flooding.

Our Summit

Don’t forget to check your mail! Our Summit, the county’s community visioning process, has sent you a mini questionnaire that gets to the root of what YOU love about living in Summit County!

You still have time to return the questionnaire by mail with the enclosed return envelope OR drop it off at your local ballot box.

This is your opportunity to shape the community vision for the future. Don’t miss out!

To learn more, or to take the survey online, please visit www.OurSummitCounty.com

Community Planning Lab

The 2023 Community Planning Lab participants, some of your friends and neighbors, have spent 10 weeks learning about planning in Summit County and designing a project to benefit our community!

They will be showcasing their final presentations to the Summit County community on Monday, April 3 at the Kamas Valley Branch of the Summit County Library (110 N. Main Street, Kamas).

All are welcome! Please join us anytime between 6-8 PM.

Energy Burden Survey

And, finally, Summit County and Park City are concerned about the energy burden of households with lower incomes in our community. Energy burden is the proportion of residents’ income that goes toward paying for heat and electricity in their home.

We are seeking input regarding ways that local governments can help decrease utility bills and increase the level of comfort in the homes of our residents through a survey studying residents’ energy burden.

Please visit: bit.ly/energyburdensurvey

View Details

Today, we cover:

• Important information related to flooding season
• An update on the county’s EMS Master Planning process
• Energy Burden Survey
• Community Visioning Questionnaire #1

Flooding

We’ve seen a record breaking snow pack this winter. In fact, as of Thursday, March 23, Utah was only 0.9 inches away from breaking the overall snowpack record set in 1983. As a skier that makes me happy, but also with all that snow, the possibility of flooding from spring runoff becomes very real.

In response, the Summit County Communications and Public Engagement Team has put together a useful tool for our residents to refer to for important flooding safety information and resources.

Please visit summitcounty.org/flooding to learn about:

• How to sign up for emergency and non-emergency alerts from the county related to flooding.
• Where to access sandbags throughout the county and who to contact for more in case of an emergency.
• Other flood-related information, including: info on flood insurance, how to determine if your house falls in the floodplain, do’s and don’ts of flooding season, and so much more.

This page will continue to be updated throughout the flooding season, so make sure you have it bookmarked Summit County! Again, it can be found at summitcounty.org/flooding.

EMS

Up next, we just wanted to give you a quick update regarding Emergency Medical Services in Summit County.

To rewind since it’s been a while since we last talked about this one. Last August, a master planning process for Emergency Medical Services across the county began to make sure the County’s EMS system is reliable, viable, and sustainable for all residents and visitors now and into the future.

The process has been facilitated by SafeTech Solutions, an independent national EMS consulting firm with broad experience in strategic planning, EMS assessment, and rural EMS.

At this week’s Council of Governments meeting, Deputy County Manager, Janna Young, provided a brief update on where we’re at in that master planning process. She shared that SafeTech will present their draft report and initial recommendations to the COG in mid-April. Then, we can expect an official report presented to the County Council and the public in May.

Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks regarding these presentations and how to tune in.

Energy Burden Survey

Summit County and Park City are concerned about the energy burden of households with lower incomes in our community. Energy burden is the proportion of residents’ income that goes toward paying for heat and electricity in their home.

We are seeking input regarding ways that local governments can help decrease utility bills and increase the level of comfort in the homes of our residents through a survey studying residents’ energy burden.

Please visit: bit.ly/energyburdensurvey

Community Visioning

And, last but certainly not least, Summit County is undertaking a community visioning plan to establish a roadmap for the future of our County! Community members have the opportunity to take the “Summit County Talks” questionnaire now through March 31.

The questionnaire is an important opportunity to share how you view Summit County as it is now, what you love about our community, and what opportunities you see for it in the next 10-20 years. The survey is available at oursummitcounty.com.

View Details

Today, we cover…

• An exciting property acquisition that will help preserve open space in the Kamas Valley
• Summit County challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 84
• 2023 Rain Harvest Program
• Summit County visioning project called “Our Summit.”

Ure Farm

At this week’s County Council meeting, the Council approved and entered an option agreement with the Ure family to acquire their approximately 834-acre farm in the Kamas Valley.

To fund the purchase, Summit County will combine 2021 GO Bond (Open Space) funds with funds from Summit Land Conservancy, the development community, state and federal grants, and other open space partners. The majority of the property acquired by this option will become protected open space.

“The Kamas Meadow is a critical part of the Summit County water ecosystem and its preservation has been prioritized by the County as well as the Open Space Advisory Committee’s guidelines for open space acquisitions in the South Summit region,” County Council Chair, Roger Armstrong, said. “This purchase is an important step in preserving the Kamas Meadow and supports the preservation of agricultural values in the Kamas Valley.”

To read more, please visit the homepage of summitcounty.org and click the Ure Family Farm item under the Summit County News section.

Dakota Pacific

On March 15, 2023, Summit County Attorney, Margaret Olson, filed a 46-page complaint in the Third District Court in Summit County against Park City Junction, LLC dba Dakota Pacific Real Estate (Dakota Pacific) and the State of Utah. The complaint challenges the constitutionality of Senate Bill 84 (SB 84), seeks to enforce Summit County’s rights under the 2008 Park City Tech Center Development Agreement (Development Agreement), and asks for the Court to find that Dakota Pacific breached its covenant of good faith and fair dealing under the Development Agreement.

Read more and find the full complaint on the homepage of summitcounty.org right under the Summit County News section.

Rain Barrels

We are excited to announce that Summit County is partnering with the Utah Rivers Council for the 2023 Rain Harvest program! Summit County residents can now purchase an American-made, 100% recycled, rain barrel made by Rain Water Solutions for a discounted price of $55. There is a limited number of these subsidized barrels so place your order TODAY! Rain barrels are an easy way to affordably conserve water and improve water quality.

To purchase a rain barrel, visit bit.ly/urcbarrels. Rain barrels can also be purchased for the price of $83 after the subsidized barrels run out or if you are not a Summit County resident.

Community Visioning

And, last but certainly not least, Summit County is undertaking a community visioning plan to establish a roadmap for the future of our County! Community members have the opportunity to take the “Summit County Talks” questionnaire now through March 31.

The questionnaire is an important opportunity to share how you view Summit County as it is now, what you love about our community, and what opportunities you see for it in the next 10-20 years. The survey is available at oursummitcounty.com.

View Details

This week we cover…

• An update regarding the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement
• Exciting energy-related news for Summit County
• Info on the Summit County visioning project, “Our Summit.”

Ok…let’s get into the news.

Dakota Pacific Update

At this week’s County Council meeting, another public hearing took place regarding Dakota Pacific Real Estate’s application to amend their development agreement for the land commonly referred to as the Park City Tech Center. Once again, more than 100 community members showed up to express their opinions about the amendment application to the council.

What to expect next: on Wednesday, March 15, the Council will meet again with Dakota Pacific representatives and, hopefully, on that date make a final decision regarding the proposal.

Community Renewable Energy Agency

Also on the Council agenda this week was an update from Summit County Sustainability Program Manager Emily Quinton on The Community Renewable Energy Agency. This agency is an interlocal cooperative of 18 Utah cities and counties working together and with Rocky Mountain Power to establish the Utah Community Renewable Energy Program.

For a little more background: The goal of the Utah 100 Communities is to acquire renewable energy to serve residents and businesses in participating communities so that by 2030, the amount of electricity participating communities use every year is matched by the same amount of renewable energy delivered to the Rocky Mountain Power system. This “net-100%” goal shared by all the Utah 100 communities sets the Agency on the path to create the Community Renewable Energy Program.

This is a multistep process….and the step the agency is on now is having each community to review and sign a Utility Agreement with Rocky Mountain Power, hopefully later this month or in April. This will be one agreement, approved by the board of the Community Renewable Energy Agency, and signed by each individual community involved so that the communities continue to be eligible for the Community Renewable Energy Program that will hopefully get approved later this year! The Utility Agreement will address a number of topics, such as how the communities will work with Rocky Mountain Power to cover the costs of mail notices sent to customers once the program launches (potentially towards the end of 2023).

To learn more about the Community Renewable Energy Agency, and what communities are involved visit utah100communities.org. Guess what? Out of the 18 communities involved, five are in Summit County! In addition to the County, there is Coalville, Oakley, Francis, and Park City too. There will be public engagement about the topic later this year, so stay tuned for information on that too!

Energy Burden Study

Did you know? Energy burden is the proportion of residents’ income that goes toward paying for heat and electricity in their home. Summit County and Park City are concerned about the energy burden of households with lower incomes in our community.

We are seeking input regarding ways that local governments can help decrease utility bills and increase the level of comfort in the homes of our residents through a survey studying residents’ energy burden.

Please visit: bit.ly/energyburdensurvey

Our Summit Promo

And, last but certainly not least, Summit County is undertaking a community visioning plan to establish a roadmap for the future of our County! Community members have the opportunity to take the “Summit County Talks” survey now through March 31.

The questionnaire is an important opportunity to share how you view Summit County as it is now, what you love about our community, and what opportunities you see for it in the next 10-20 years. The survey is available at oursummitcounty.com.

We’ll also be at the Summit County and Park City Art Council’s Winter Art Showcase THIS weekend (March 10 and 11). Stop by and support local artists at the Winter Arts Showcase and find Our Summit Project representatives at the event. You’ll have the opportunity to help us visualize what elements make up Summit County to YOU! Together, we’ll create a fun art installation about Summit County that was built for and by the community who calls it home.

For more information, please visit pcscarts.org.

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Intro

Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in 6.

We’ll kick things off with the latest info involving the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement. Then, we’ll talk about some important information regarding the County’s Restaurant Tax Grant application process. Finally, we’ll finish up with info about another survey opportunity involving the Summit County visioning project, “Our Summit.”

Ok…let’s get into the news.

Dakota Pacific

At this week’s County Council meeting, a public hearing took place regarding Dakota Pacific Real Estate’s application to amend their development agreement for the land commonly referred to as the Park City Tech Center. More than 100 community members showed up to express their opinions about the amendment application to the council.

From here, there will be one more public hearing opportunity for the public to provide input on Dakota Pacific’s latest proposal to both the developers and the Council before a decision is made. The final hearing will take place next week on Wednesday, March 8 from 6 pm-8:30 pm at the Ecker Hill Middle School Auditorium.

Then on Wednesday, March 15, the Council will meet again with Dakota Pacific representatives and, hopefully, on that date make a final decision regarding the proposal.

RAP Tax

The Restaurant Tax Grant Application is now OPEN. To apply or to learn more about the restaurant tax grant, please visit summitcounty.org, then hit the “services” tab and navigate to “grant information”.

There is also an opportunity to join a workshop this Monday, March 6th at the Coalville Courthouse Executive Conference Room (located at 60 N Main Street in Coalville). The workshop will start at 10AM and will cover the application process, review application guidelines/deadlines, and discuss financial reporting guidelines. We hope to see you there!

Community Visioning

And, last but certainly not least, Summit County is undertaking a community visioning plan to establish a roadmap for the future of our County! Community members have the opportunity to take the “Summit County Talks” survey now through March 31.

The questionnaire is an important opportunity to share how you view Summit County as it is now, what you love about our community, and what opportunities you see for it in the next 10-20 years. The survey is available at oursummitcounty.com.

We’ll also be at the Summit County and Park City Art Council’s Winter Art Showcase NEXT weekend March 10 through the 12th. Stop by and support local artists at the Winter Arts Showcase and find Our Summit Project representatives at the event. Help us visualize what elements make up Summit County to YOU! Together, we’ll create a fun art installation about Summit County for and by the community who calls it home.

Outro

Alright, that’s all the news we have for this week, tune in next week for more on Summit in 6.

View Details

Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in 6.

We’ll kick things off with the latest info involving the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement, and then we’ll talk about the Summit County Travel Dashboard and the Summit County Trash Dash. Finally, we’ll finish up with info about another survey opportunity involving the Summit County visioning project, “Our Summit.”

Ok…let’s get into the news.

Dakota Pacific Update

Last week, we briefly talked about Senate Bill 84, a bill that, in effect, seizes land use authority from Summit County concerning Dakota Pacific Real Estate’s amendment application for an existing 15-year-old development agreement.

The Utah House passed SB 84 on February 15, and the Senate concurred on February 16. Now, the bill awaits the Governor’s signature (or veto).

Despite SB 84, the Summit County Council proceeded with a fair and open process concerning Dakota Pacific’s Amendment Application at this week’s County Council meeting. The Council held a work session with Dakota Pacific representatives to discuss the final issues concerning the “Plan C” proposal they submitted just a few weeks ago on February 1.

From here, there will be two public hearings for the public to provide input on the new proposal to both Dakota Pacific and the Council before a decision is made. Those hearings will take place on Wednesday, March 1 from 5 pm-8:30 pm and Wednesday, March 8 from 6 pm-8:30 pm both at the Ecker Hill Middle School Auditorium.

Roads Dashboard

If you haven’t heard yet, together with UDOT and Park City Municipal, Summit County launched the brand new Summit County Travel Dashboard! You can use this brand new tool to get updates every 10-20 minutes on travel times & road conditions for state routes in Summit County. It’s a great way to help ensure a safe trip, especially with all this snow! Visit summitcounty.udot.utah.gov to check it out!

Trash Dash

Speaking of all this snow, we also wanted to remind listeners to keep an eye on the Summit County Trash Dash for information from Republic Services on weather-related service delays. The dashboard is updated every weekday evening at summitcounty.org/trashdash.

Before we move on, a very heartfelt thank you to all the drivers, our summit county snowplow drivers and Republic Services crews, who are operating in these snowy conditions. Our community appreciates all you do.

Community Visioning

And, last but certainly not least, Summit County is undertaking a community visioning plan to establish a roadmap for the future of our County! Community members have the opportunity to take the “Summit County Talks” survey now through March 31.

The questionnaire is an important opportunity to share how you view Summit County as it is now, what you love about our community, and what opportunities you see for it in the next 10-20 years. The survey is available at oursummitcounty.com

View Details

IntroHey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in 6.

We’ll kick things off with the latest info involving the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement, and then we will share some important info for parents of students in 6th, 8th, 10th, or 12th grades regarding the SHARP survey. Then we’ll end the episode with info about another survey opportunity involving the Summit County visioning project, “Our Summit.”

Ok…let’s get into the news.

Dakota Pacific Update
This week there has been so much going on regarding the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement and we recommend our listeners visit summitcounty.org and on the homepage you can view a press release titled Senate Bill 84 Seizes Land Use Authority From Summit County Concerning Dakota Pacific Real Estate to read more.

Stay tuned on our social media and the website for updates on upcoming public hearing opportunities involving the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement as well.

SHARP SurveyAttention Summit County Parents! Have you heard about the SHARP survey yet? It’s an anonymous, voluntary, and confidential survey administered state-wide to students in 6th, 8th, 10th, or 12th grades every two years. Topics include mental health, substance use, bullying, and other health issues. It is the only survey offered in Utah that collects this level of risk and protective factor data used to identify community needs.

The results of this survey play a heavy role in helping secure funding for grants that the Summit County Health Department and other nonprofit organizations focused on behavioral health receive in the area.

Without a 60 percent participation rate from students, the survey results aren’t substantial enough to write compelling grants. Parents need to provide their consent by the end of February! Visit summitcountyhealth.org/sharpsurvey for more info and access to the consent form.

Community VisioningSummit County is undertaking a community visioning plan to establish a roadmap for the future of our County! Community members have the opportunity to take the “Summit County Talks” survey now through March 31.

The survey is an important opportunity to share how you view Summit County as it is now, what you love about our community, and what opportunities you see for it in the next 10-20 years. The survey is available at oursummitcounty.com

OutroAlright, that’s all the news we have for this week, tune in next week for more on Summit in 6.

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Improved Access to Library Resources

On Wednesday, the Summit County Library held a ribbon cutting for the opening of a remote book locker at the Kimball Junction Branch. There’s another one that is outside of the Kamas Branch and one in Henefer too! These lockers provide 24/7 access to patrons’ holds on books, movies or other library resources like wifi hotspots.

After the ribbon cutting, Library Director Dan Compton gave presentation to Council on all the various initiatives the Library has been implementing to provide increased library resource access.

We want to remind listeners about Open Plus program at the Coalville Branch which started in July 2021 and allows registered patrons to access the library before it opens and even after it is closed for certain hours and days of the week

And we also want to spread the word about the Sunday Hours Pilot Program which is coming this Spring to the Kimball Junction Library. From 10 am to 2 pm on Sundays in March and April, the Kimball Junction Branch will be open to help the Library report attendance data during their 2024 budget process.

For more details on all of these resources and initiatives, visit summitcountylibrary.org

Thanks for all you do, Library Staff, Library Board and Friends of the Library!

Council Recap: Dakota Pacific Traffic Information Study

After a presentation from Traffic information Study firm, Fehr + Peers and commentary by Wall Consulting Group, the firm conducting the peer review, the Council did not advise Fehr + Peers to make any modifications to their study or present any new data. Council felt as though they had the information they needed from both the traffic study and the peer review of the traffic study to make informed decisions about the project.

Public Engagement Opportunities

Now let’s shift gears to some upcoming opportunities to give feedback on the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement. There will be two public hearing opportunities for Summit County community members to comment about the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement. These hearings will be held February 22 at 6 pm and March 1 from 6pm – 8:30 pm at the Ecker Hill Middle School Auditorium.

We do want to point out that you don’t have to attend physically in person to make your voice heard:

One way to tune if you’re out of town is via Zoom. For detailed instructions on how to join the Zoom meeting and give virtual public comment, visit summitcounty.org and select “agenda and minutes”. Find the agenda for the upcoming council meeting and you’ll see the instructions link under “Public Hearing”.

Another way to submit your comments is by emailing them to publiccomments@summitcounty.org by 12 pm the day of the public hearing and your comments will made part of the meeting record.

We have all this information up on social media as well so if you don’t already follow us on Facebook, Instagram and NextDoor, you should! It’s just another way to get important information from us.

More Opportunities for Public Engagement

While the Our Summit Kick-Off Events ended this week with a well-attended open house style event in Kamas, you still have the opportunity to take the “Summit County Talks” survey now through March 31. It’s an important opportunity to share how you view Summit County as it is now, what you love about our community, and what opportunities you see for it in the next 10-20 years. The survey is available at oursummitcounty.com

View Details

Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in 6.

We’ll kick things off with a recap of this week’s Council of Governments meeting. Then, we’ll cover Dakota Pacific’s revised proposal for the Tech Center in Kimball Junction. Finally, we’ll finish up with ways you can get involved in the county’s community visioning process.

Ok…let’s get into the news.

Council of Governments

On Tuesday, January 31 the Council of Governments, or COG, met for the first time in 2023! The first order of business was to introduce Summit County’s new County Manager, Shayne Scott, as well as our new Council Members, Canice Harte and Tonja Hanson, and the new Francis City Mayor, Jeremie Forman.

Also at the meeting, the County’s Community Development Director, Pat Putt, gave an update on the master planning process for Emergency Medical Services across the county.

So far, Safe Tech Solutions, the entity the County contracted to conduct the study, has analyzed data including things like ambulance activity, call volumes for emergency, non-emergency and interfacility transports, and financial data. They’ve also conducted a series of interviews with stakeholders from Summit County, Park City / Snyderville Basin, North Summit and South Summit.

From here, Safe Tech will present a possible EMS system to key Summit County Stakeholders in the coming weeks. After that meeting, they will take stakeholder feedback to modify and adjust a possible EMS system plan by the end of April. Finally, they’ll schedule and conduct three in-person community presentations of the possible EMS system in late April, early May.

This is an important step in ensuring the County’s EMS system is reliable, viable, and sustainable for all residents and visitors now and into the future. Stay tuned for more over the next couple of months on this topic as we get closer to a final solution option.

Dakota Pacific

Dakota Pacific was back in front of the Council this week to present an amended development proposal.

To refresh our listeners on the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement, in late 2021 the developers presented an original development proposal for the Summit Research Park or Park City Tech Center located in Kimball Junction to the Council.

Following their presentation, they received significant feedback from the community. The feedback took them back to the drawing board to come up with a revised proposal and update their traffic impact study. It was also agreed at that time that the impact study must be peer-reviewed before moving forward.

How the “Plan C” proposal from the developers differs from past proposals:

• 30 percent of residential units we were decreased
• Eliminated some of the overall density
• Eliminated the full-service hotel which improved the net affordable housing benefit
• Reduced the tallest building of the development by 10 feet
• Increased the ratio of affordable and workforce housing by a small margin
• Increased the ratio of privately-owned residences by almost double
• Added a “Central Park” 2 acre community amenity and retail opportunity
• Added age restricted apaprtments for our senior citizens
• Added 75,000 sq. feet of commercial space to promote economic diversity

In terms of what happens from here, the County Community Development staff have received the Traffic Impact Study peer review, which we mentioned earlier, was completed by the Wall Consulting Group. They are currently reviewing the report and a separate work session on the Traffic Impact Study is scheduled for NEXT WEEK at the Council’s regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, February 8.

Also at that meeting, the Council plans to work with the developers to outline clear-cut next steps in terms of reaching a final decision.

Our Summit Kick-Off Event

Summit County is undertaking a community visioning plan to establish a roadmap for the future of our County! There’s still one more kick-off event taking place from 6 – 8 PM on Tuesday, February 7 at the Kamas Branch of the Summit County Library. We hope to see you there to learn more about the visioning process and how you can get involved.

Community members also have the opportunity to take the “Summit County Talks” survey now through March 31. It’s an important opportunity to share how you view Summit County as it is now, what you love about our community, and what opportunities you see for it in the next 10-20 years. The survey is available at oursummitcounty.com

Outro

Alright, that’s all the news we have for this week, tune in next week for more on Summit in 6.

View Details

Council Retreat

On Friday, January 20, the County Council and County Department Heads gathered at the Kamas Branch of the Summit County Library to review the Council’s strategic priorities, hear from staff on the successes and lessons learned from 2022, and discuss how both of these will affect and guide the work plan for 2023.

The group covered topics from transportation and congestion to local housing choice to environmental stewardship to land use and regional planning. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks when the 2023 Work Plan is established. We will review that when it comes to give listeners a look at what the county will be up to this year.

Public Lands News

At this week’s council meeting, the Summit County Council approved a recommendation by the Summit County Interim County Manager, Janna Young, to enter a joint funding agreement with Summit Land Conservancy to acquire an agricultural easement for 99 acres in the Kamas Meadows known as Andrus Farm. This easement marks the first use of the $50 million General Obligation Bond funds approved by voters in 2021 to preserve open space in Summit County.

County Council Chair, Roger Armstrong, shared: “The Meadows are a vital part of the Kamas Valley’s agricultural heritage, scenic open space and vital watershed. We’re pleased to move forward with this agreement in partnership with Summit Land Conservancy and are eager to protect and preserve additional areas of Summit County for future generations, while working together to leverage our public funds with Summit Land Conservancy’s federal grants to extend the life and reach of the GO Bond funding.”

The Open Space Advisory Committee reviewing purchase opportunities for the GO Bond funding made it clear that Eastern Summit County is a high-priority area for the committee to conserve and protect. This is really exciting news in achieving that mission.

You can read more about the purchase and the history of the property on the homepage of summitcounty.org.

And, in more public lands related news…On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which included $1 million for Summit County’s Weber River Watershed Resilience Partnership.

The Weber River Watershed Resilience Partnership includes Summit County, the United States Forest Service, Utah Forestry, Fire, and State Lands, the Weber Basin Water Conservancy, private landowners, and other state agencies and nonprofits. It focuses on watershed restoration and fire mitigation treatments in the headwaters of the Weber River aimed at building landscape-scale resilience to catastrophic wildfire and protecting this critical water source to Summit County and downstream users.

This funding will go towards planning and implementation of fuel reduction initiatives within the Upper Weber Watershed, such as selective timber harvest and thinning operations. These tactics, when used in conjunction with returning controlled fire to the system, will help make our forested lands healthier and wildfire adaptive, as well as reduce the negative effects of post-fire impacts on the watershed.

Again, you can read more about this funding and the Weber River Watershed Resilience Partnership on the homepage of summitcounty.org.

Community Visioning

Summit County is undertaking a community visioning plan to establish a roadmap for the future of our County! There’s still one more kick-off event taking place from 6 – 8 PM on Tuesday, February 7 at the Kamas Branch of the Summit County Library. We hope to see you there to learn more about the visioning process and how you can get involved.

Community members also have the opportunity to take the “Summit County Talks” survey now through March 31. It’s an important opportunity to share how you view Summit County as it is now, what you love about our community, and what opportunities you see for it in the next 10-20 years. The survey is available at oursummitcounty.com.

Next Weeks’ Preview

Finally, we just wanted to give a quick preview into some important topics being discussed at next week’s County Council meeting, happening on Wednesday, February 1 at the Ledges Event Center.

Next week’s agenda includes a public hearing and possible action on a special exception for High Valley Transit, as well as a continued work session and discussion related to the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement. Information on how to participate in or just listen into weekly Council meetings can be found at summitcounty.org/engage.

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RAP Recreation Grant Recipients

The Summit County RAP Recreation Committee was in front of the Council this week to present their amended 2022 grant recommendations to the Council.

For some context, the RAP Recreation funding is used to finance, in whole or in part, parks, botanical operations and recreational facilities throughout the County.

The committee received sixteen (16) online applications from across the County for a total funding pool of $1,140,000. They recommended fourteen (14) organizations be funded.

Council approved the recommendations. You can find a full list of recipients on the news section on the summitcounty.org homepage.

Community Visioning Open Houses

Summit County is undertaking a community visioning plan to establish a roadmap for the future of our County! Please attend one of the three kick-off events to learn about the project and how to stay involved.

The events will all take place from 6 – 8 PM on….

1. Tuesday, January 17 at the Ledges Event Center
2. Thursday, January 26 at the Richins Building in Kimball Junction
3. And Tuesday, February 7 at the Kamas Branch of the Summit County Library.

For more information please visit www.oursummitcounty.com

Kimball Junction Open Houses

Earlier this week, UDOT hosted two public scoping meetings, one in-person and one virtual, to share information on their Kimball Junction Environmental Impact Study and answer questions.

In case you missed the open houses, you can still watch a live stream of Wednesday’s meeting on the Summit County, UT Facebook change. It was a great conversation with the project team and members of the public asked some insightful questions. I highly recommend.

Just a reminder to the community, UDOT is still hosting a public scoping comment period for the project that will be open until Jan. 27, 2023. Community members can give comment online at the bottom of the project website: kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov. The website also has more information on the study, the public meetings so be sure to check it out.

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County Manager

In a special session on January 5, the Summit County Council unanimously appointed Shayne Scott as the new Summit County Manager. Shayne will begin February 7.

The County Council said the following in a joint statement:

“The Council deliberated in multiple sessions concerning the finalists to ensure we selected the best candidate to lead our organization. We believe Shayne will make an excellent County Manager and look forward to working closely with him in this role.”

A little background on Shayne…he served as the City Manager of Kaysville for more than six years. Before his time in Kaysville, he was the City Manager of Parowan City for six years. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a bachelor’s degree in Geographic Information Systems from Utah State University.

Following Tom Fisher’s resignation last July, County Council initiated an extensive process to recruit, evaluate and appoint a new county manager. This process included working with a national recruiting firm and a screening committee of county employees and county residents from a variety of backgrounds. Shayne was selected from three finalists who interviewed with the County Council and groups of elected county and municipal officials, department heads and community members.

The Council also extended gratitude and appreciation to Janna Young for her dedication serving as Interim County Manager over the past six months. We echo that sincere thanks to Janna for stepping up and leading us well the last ½ a year.

Welcome aboard to Shayne.

Swearing In Ceremonies

This week’s County Council meeting started out with back-to-back swearing-in ceremonies for the officials who were elected into office by voters this past November.

Chris Robinson and Canice Hart were officially sworn in to the County Council.

Margaret Olson was sworn in as the County Attorney; Cindy Keyes as the County Auditor; Justin Martinez as the County Sheriff; and Eve Furse as the County Clerk.

Finally, council member Roger Armstrong was appointed as the County Council Chair and Malena Stevens as the Vice Chair. They will serve in these roles for the next year.

Glenn Farewell

Also, at this week’s council meeting, we said goodbye to Glenn Wright whose term on the County Council has come to an end.

Since 2017, Glenn has been a fierce steward of the environment, helping to advance Summit County’s renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals through his leadership on the Community Renewable Energy Agency program and his heavy involvement in the County’s public lands program, as well as fuel reduction and fire mitigation efforts in the Wildland Urban Interface of the County.

Glenn was a stalwart representative of the County in more ways we can mention. He will be greatly missed in his role on the County Council. Thank you for your service and dedication to improving the health, safety, and welfare of this community. Your work has helped make Summit County an all-around better place for those who live and visit here.

Community Visioning Open Houses

Summit County is undertaking a community visioning plan to establish a roadmap for the future of our County! Please attend one of the three kick-off events to learn about the project and how to stay involved.

The events will all take place from 6 – 8 PM on….

1. Tuesday, January 17 at the Ledges Event Center
2. Thursday, January 26 at the Richins Building in Kimball Junction
3. And Tuesday, February 7 at the Kamas Branch of the Summit County Library.

For more information please visit www.oursummitcounty.com

Kimball Junction Open Houses

Finally, UDOT is preparing an environmental impact statement or “EIS” to evaluate improvements at the I-80 and SR-224 interchange at Kimball Junction, and on SR-224 from Kimball Junction through the Olympic Parkway intersection in Summit County.

The EIS is building on the work done in the Kimball Junction and SR-224 Area Plan which analyzed several solutions (30 to be exact!) and narrowed the options down to three alternatives. These include intersection and pedestrian improvements and larger, more complex transportation solutions all to be further evaluated in the EIS.

UDOT is hosting two public scoping meetings, one in-person and one virtual, to share information on the study and answer questions.

The in-person open house is Jan. 10th from 5:30 – 8:00pm at Ecker Hill Middle School. The community will have an opportunity to review the materials and speak directly with team members.

The virtual public meeting is on Jan. 11 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm on Zoom, with a presentation followed by a question & answer session.

In addition, a public scoping comment period for the project will be open until Jan. 27, 2023. Community members can give comment online at the bottom of the project website: kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov. The website also has more information on the study, the public meetings so be sure to check it out.

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Dakota Pacific Traffic Impact Study Peer Review

Up first, we have a quick Dakota Pacific-related update for our listeners. Recently, Dakota Pacific submitted an updated Traffic Impact Study for its proposed redevelopment of the Summit Research Park or Park City Tech Center in Kimball Junction.

As part of the review of the updated study, the County Council elected to commission an independent, third-party peer review of the study based on input received by residents last December who wanted the County to verify Dakota Pacific’s data. At this week’s council meeting, after an RFP process conducted by county staff, Community Development Director, Pat Putt recommended to the Council that the county hire Wall Consulting Group (WCG) as the third-party who will conduct a peer review of Dakota Pacific’s updated traffic impact study.

The Council supported the recommendation. From here, a contract and disclosure affidavit will be drafted and executed, and the peer review will commence. We’ll keep you updated in the coming months on what comes next for the Dakota Pacific Development agreement.

Truth in Taxation + Budgets

Last week, we reported on North Summit Fire District’s Truth in Taxation public hearing, noting that the Council pushed the decision on the district’s proposed tax increase to this week.

At this week’s meeting, the Council heard from North Summit Fire Chief, Ben Neilson, who gave more detail on the over 1 million dollars that the district allotted towards payroll in their 2023 budget. After reviewing the breakdown Chief Neilson provided, the Council approved the tax increase and the district’s 2023 budget.

This week it was Snyderville Basin Special Service District’s turn to hold their Truth in Taxation public hearing regarding their proposed 19.9% tax increase. After hearing from several members of the public, the Council approved the increase.

Finally, the Council approved the 2023 County budget, which included a 10% COLA for county employees and a 12% COLA for sworn officers in the Sheriff’s Office, as well as the 2023 county fee schedule.

Acknowledgement of Retirements

Also at this week’s Council meeting, the council recognized the retirements of two long-serving employees who made a tremendous impact on Summit County throughout their 25- and 30-year tenures, respectively.

Robin “Nino” Judd retired this week from the County’s Finance Department, taking with her a huge amount of institutional knowledge. There was not a single purchase made in the County with which she was not involved. The County will miss her skill and oversight of our finances, her humor, and great friendship. We wish Robin well in her retirement.

Derrick Radke also retired this week after 30 years combined as the County Engineer and Public Works Director, his contributions visible throughout the County for there is not a single transportation facility, construction project, or road improvement which he did not touch. Colleagues spoke about how Derrick lifted up others, his tremendous work ethic, invaluable advice and guidance, among other attributes that made him an excellent coworker and leader. Derrick will be greatly missed as well.

Episode 50 + Survey

Before we go, we just wanted to recognize that this is our 50th episode! It’s been so fun breaking down county council meetings, letting you know about community engagement opportunities, and more every week.

We’ve learned a lot on this podcasting adventure this year, but we know we can always do better! We’ve created a short feedback survey for our listeners to share their thoughts! Let us know what you liked, what you didn’t, or what you’d like to see more of! You can access the survey at summitcounty.org/engage under the ‘get involved’ header!

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2023 Budgets + Truth in Taxation

Ok, let’s talk about public hearings. At Wednesday’s Council meeting, North Summit Special Recreation District, Park City Fire Service District, and Mountain Regional Water Special Service District all held public hearings on their 2022 budget amendments and 2023 budgets. After hearing from members of the public, all three entities had their budgets for next year approved.

There was also a public hearing on the County’s proposed 2023 budget, including the proposed 10% COLA or cost of living adjustment for county employees. No decision will be made until next week, on December 14, when another public hearing will be held. More on that a bit later in the episode.

And, finally there was a Truth in Taxation public hearing held for the North Summit Fire Service District.

Before we move forward talking about the public hearing, can you explain what Truth in Taxation is?

Sure! Truth in Taxation is a process established by the Utah State Legislature where the county and its taxing entities (like school districts or special service districts) are required to hold a public hearing and inform taxpayers of proposed tax increases prior to the Council voting on and making changes. The process encourages transparency and provides an opportunity for residents to comment on the proposal before the County Council makes any final decision.

Ok, now back to the North Summit Fire District’s Truth in Taxation public hearing. The Council heard from dozens of community members who expressed concerns and asked questions about the district’s proposed tax increase. Ultimately, the Council pushed the decision on the increase to next week, December 14, awaiting more detail from NSFD on the $1 million + they’ve allotted towards payroll in their 2023 budget.

To be clear, the public hearing regarding NSFD’s proposed tax increase is now closed. Next week, on 12/14 at the Richins Building in Kimball Junction beginning around 4:10 PM, the Council will make their final decision on the increase and their 2023 budget.

Upcoming Public Hearings + Truth in Taxation

Speaking of next week, on Wednesday, December 14th there will be a few more public hearings we think our listeners should be aware of!

There will be a continued discussion and final decision on the County’s fee schedule, which we reported on last week, as well as on the County’s 2023 Budget. In addition, the Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District will be hosting a Truth in Taxation public hearing regarding their proposed 19.9% tax increase.

Again, these hearings will take place on Wednesday, December 14, beginning at 6 PM at the the anchor location Sheldon Richins Building, 1885 West Ute Blvd, Park City, UT 84098

Please join in person if you would like to comment on any of the topics being discussed. If you can’t make it in-person, comment will be taken on Zoom. We’ll have the Zoom info up on the homepage of the County’s website right there under the news section.

Don’t want to comment, but still want to listen in? The Council meetings are always streamed live on the Summit County, UT facebook page.

BRT Community Engagement

Ok, moving on…in case you haven’t heard dedicated bus transit lanes are coming to Summit County and Park City!

The County has been working on this project for the last 5 years as a solution to traffic congestion and safety along SR-224. So far, we’ve secured $24m in federal funding and $30.3 m in state monies for the project.

Now, together with the Federal Transit Administration and in cooperation with project partners High Valley Transit, Park City Municipal and UDOT, the county has prepared a Categorical Exclusion, or CatEx under the National Environmental Policy Act for the SR-224 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project. Basically, the CatEx is a federal requirement that allows us to move into a final design of the project, which is expected to start in January of 2023.

The BRT project is specifically intended to enable the existing 10 White Electric Xpress bus service to operate as a true BRT system by providing frequent, fast, and reliable transit service in dedicated lanes.

More information about the project will be provided on December 12 at an open house, where project team members will be available to answer questions and talk with members of the public. The open house will be from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Summit County Sheldon Richins Building, located at 1885 W. Ute Boulevard in Park City.

In the meantime, you can always visit the project website for more information about the study at sr224brt.com.

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Canvass The Canvass of the 2022 General Election happened on Tuesday, November 22, where the Council certified the election results.  We anticipate the results will be as follows: Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson, Summit County Sheriff Justin Martinez, and Summit County Clerk Eve Furse held their offices.   Cindy Keyes, former Finance Director for the Summit … Continue reading November 22, 2022 – 2022 General Election Results, New County Council Member, & Property Taxes →

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Council Schedule Ok first up, we wanted to give a rundown of the Council’s schedule through the end of this year.  The Council will not meet in regular session this week, on Wednesday, November 16. Their November 23 meeting was canceled as well.  The Canvass of the 2022 General Election, where the Council will certify … Continue reading November 18, 2022 – County Council Schedule, Winter Safety Reminders, & Property Taxes →

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2022 General Election The 2022 General Election took place this past Tuesday, November 8 and we just wanted to take a moment to review some key local preliminary outcomes.  To clarify, we’re reporting these as of Thursday, November 10. The canvass to certify the official results is not until November 22.  Okay so…  Summit County … Continue reading November 10, 2022 – Veterans Day, 2022 General Election, Wasatch Back Rural Planning Organization, Mental Wellness Strategic Plan, & more! →

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General Election  Up first, the 2022 General Election is this coming Tuesday, November 8, so we want to cover some important information for Summit County voters.  Early voting is taking place as we speak. If you need to vote early for any reason, you can do so now through Saturday, November 5 AND on Monday, … Continue reading November 4, 2022 – Election Info, EMS Update, Property Taxes, Winter Parking Restrictions & more →

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Because the State of Utah’s internet systems were down on Wednesday of last week, we weren’t able to report on last week’s Council meeting. So up first this week, we’re circling back to some topics we missed!  Then, we’ll jump to topics from this week’s County Council meeting including a policy discussion for maintaining cattle … Continue reading October 28, 2022 – Election Info, Kimball Junction Environmental Impact Statement & a Community Visioning update →

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We usually start out with recapping topics that were covered at this week’s County Council meeting. Unfortunately, the State of Utah’s internet systems were down on Wednesday, and we were unable to stream the meeting. We promise we’ll double down next week to cover what you need to know! Be sure to check back in … Continue reading October 21, 2022 – Community Engagement Opportunities Galore! →

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Today, we’ll… Cover some items from this week’s council meeting, including a proposed study on the Echo Divide Wind Park and Community Reinvestment Area, as well as give an update on the North Summit Special Service Recreation District Project. Preview the upcoming community input sessions for the future of EMS in the county. Share some … Continue reading October 14, 2022 – NS Recreation Beacon Hill Park update, 2023 Manager’s Budget & EMS Community Input →

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Today, we: Cover a few items that were discussed at this week’s council meeting, including some updates on the ongoing Emergency Medical Services discussion and the council’s support of a community-wide sustainable tourism plan Share some amazing opportunities for community engagement—There’s a new program called “The Community Planning Lab” for County residents to enroll in … Continue reading October 7, 2022 – Community Planning Lab, Truth in Taxation, & Summit County Historical Archive →

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In today’s episode we: Cover a few topics that were addressed at this week’s County Council meeting including an exciting opportunity for residents to participate in a Community Planning Lab and some Truth in Taxation information.  Then, we’ll talk about how YOU, our Summit in Six listeners, can help build the Summit County Historical Archive!  … Continue reading September 30, 2022 – Community Planning Lab, Truth in Taxation, & Summit County Historical Archive →

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In today’s episode we: Cover a few topics that were addressed at the Council’s special meeting on Monday, September 19 including an update from High Valley Transit and some more moderate income housing news.  Then, we talk about National Preparedness Month, the 2022 General Election, and an upcoming community engagement opportunity our listeners won’t want … Continue reading September 23, 2022– High Valley Transit Facility Update, Moderate Income Housing News, National Preparedness Month, Voter Registration, & Public Engagement Opportunity →

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In today’s episode we: Cover a few topics that were addressed at the County Council meeting on Wednesday including a quick Dakota Pacific Development Agreement update and some Moderate Income Housing news. Share information about several community engagement opportunities that are happening within the County in the coming weeks that you won’t want to miss.  … Continue reading September 16, 2022– Dakota Pacific Update, Moderate Income Housing, & Numerous Public Engagement Opportunities →

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In today’s episode we: Cover the Wasatch Back Transportation Tour which took place this week with members of the Utah Senate, Summit County and Wasatch County staff and councilmembers, and key transportation and tourism partners in the area Then we’ll share info about numerous opportunities to get involved and have your voice heard on the … Continue reading September 9, 2022– Wasatch Back Transportation Tour, Numerous Public Engagement Opportunities →

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In today’s episode we’ll talk about: County weed mitigation efforts Updates on the Long Range Transportation Plan Newly adopted Waterwise Landscaping Regulations in the Snyderville Basin area Volunteer opportunities for stream restoration within the county  The upcoming Easton Corbin Concert THIS Labor Day Weekend Weed Mitigation Dave Bingham, Summit County Weeds Superintendent, and Sara Jo … Continue reading September 2, 2022 – Noxious Weed Mitigation, Waterwise Landscaping Regulations, Long Range Transportation Plan Updates, Stream Restoration Volunteer Opportunity, & Easton Corbin →

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In today’s episode we’ll talk about: Congressman Blake Moore’s visit to Summit County  Property Tax Season: Board of Equalization, Primary Residence Exemption, Tax Abatement Programs The upcoming Easton Corbin Concert on Labor Day Weekend Congressman Blake Moore Visit On Tuesday, August 23, Summit County council members, staff, and representatives from the Weber Basin Water Conservancy … Continue reading August 26, 2022 – Congressman Blake Moore Visit, Property Tax Reminders, & Easton Corbin →

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In today’s episode we’ll talk about: Property Taxes: Board of Equalization, Tax Abatement Programs, Primary Residence Exception  Summit County and High Valley Transit RAISE Grant  The 2022 Wild & Woolie Sheepdog Trials The upcoming Easton Corbin Concert on Labor Day Weekend Property Tax Information   Attention Summit County property owners! Tax disclosure notices were sent out on … Continue reading August 19, 2022 – Board of Equalization and other property tax info, federal RAISE grant, 2022 Wild & Woolie Sheepdog Trials, & Easton Corbin →

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In today’s episode we’ll talk about: An upcoming Community Visioning Project Frequently asked questions about property taxes  Details of a jam-packed weekend at the Summit County Fair in Coalville  The upcoming Easton Corbin Concert on Labor Day Weekend Community Visioning Project  At Council this week, the Communication and Public Engagement Department, the Planning Department and … Continue reading August 12, 2022 – Community Visioning Project, Property Taxes, Summit County Fair & Easton Corbin →

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In today’s episode we’ll talk about: An upcoming presentation on property taxes  Some public safety discussions that happened at this week’s Council meeting The County’s new Transportation Planning Director   Some very exciting Summit County events coming up later this summer! Property Taxes 101   First up, we want to talk about property taxes here in … Continue reading August 5, 2022 – Property taxes, public safety, new Transportation Planning Director & upcoming events →

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In today’s episode we’ll talk about: The County Manager Selection Committee appointments Fee adjustments happening in the Sustainability Department and Recorder’s Office.  Developments in High Valley Transit’s facilities upgrade plans  Summit County events coming up later this summer!  County Manager Selection Committee  Let’s kick it off with information about the County Manager Selection Committee. Nine … Continue reading July 29, 2022 – County Manager Selection Committee, sustainability fee adjustments & upcoming events →

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Today, we’ll cover: The Wanship Fire that occurred earlier this week.  Discuss the County Manager Selection Committee. Remind listeners about their Solid Waste Services Fee due early August.  And, talk about some very exciting Summit County events coming up later this summer! Wanship Fire   On the evening of Sunday, July 17, around 4 PM, … Continue reading July 22, 2022 – Wanship Fire, County Manager Selection Committee, Solid Waste Services Fee, & Summit County Fair / Concert →

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Today, we’ll cover: The appointment of an interim County Manager Truth in Taxation process for four taxing entities in Summit County  And, several events happening in Summit County this week that our listeners should have marked on their calendars!  Janna Young named Interim County Manager   The Summit County Council has appointed Janna Young as … Continue reading July 15, 2022 – Interim County Manager Appointed, County Manager Selection Committee & Truth in Taxation →

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This week we’ll talk about:  County facility improvements and the new Silver Summit County Campus An update on the OSAC Regional Advisory Groups The County’s Emergency Operations Plan The resignation of County Manager, Tom Fisher. Silver Summit County Campus  First up, we want to take a couple minutes to talk about and give context to … Continue reading July 8, 2022 – Silver Summit County Campus, OSAC Update, Emergency Operations Plan, & County Manager Resignation →

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This week we’ll talk about:  Preliminary results of the 2022 Primary Election  2022 Certified Tax Rates 2022 RAP Tax Grant Recipients Solid Waste and Recycling Agreement with Republic Services New Public Works Director OSAC Update Preliminary Election Results The 2022 Primary Election happened this past Tuesday, June 28. We just wanted to take a quick … Continue reading July 1, 2022 – Preliminary Primary Election Results, RAP Tax Grant Recipients, & New Solid Waste and Recycling Agreement →

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This week we’ll talk about:  Important information for the 2022 Primary Election. Exciting news about the “Summit County, UT” Mobile App. A Community Noxious Weeds Tour happening THIS weekend. Election Info. The 2022 Primary Election is happening THIS Tuesday, June 28.  Ballots were mailed to Summit County voters earlier this month. Completed ballots can be … Continue reading June 24, 2022 – Primary Election Info, “Summit County, UT” Mobile App, & Community Noxious Weeds Tour →