PCMC Newsletter-March 2011

Post Date:03/07/2011

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March, 2011                                                                          Community E-Newsletter

Park City Council Targets for Action 2011
At last month’s annual visioning session, City Council identified the following targets for action in 2011.
• Preserve Park City Character
• Maintain World Class, Multi-Seasonal Resort Community Status
• Continue Effective Transportation
• Protect Water and Park City’s Natural Environment
• Safeguard Recreation, Open Space and Trails
• Sustain Regional Collaboration and Partnerships
• Uphold Open & Responsive Government to the Community

Park City Road Show

The Park City Road Show highlights the accomplishments of the past year and the goals for 2011. To arrange a presentation to your professional or business group, Home Owners Association or community organization, email Phyllis Robinson, Park City Community and Public Affairs Manager.

 


Winter Trails Survey

Over the past several years, local entities have worked to provide additional opportunities for winter recreation outside of traditional alpine skiing. Grooming services are now provided. Since 2007, the amount of available groomed trails has more than doubled to almost 70 kilometers. Trail counters are used to gauge the actual number of users accessing the system.

In 2011, staff created a survey to better understand the winter use of trails in Park City. The survey’s intent was to collect demographic information, types of use, economic impact, trail experience, conditions, concerns relating to dogs and their impact on wildlife in the area, and general feedback.

The survey was posted on the Park City Municipal and Mountain Trails Foundation websites January 11th - 31st. A total of 864 people participated in the survey.
View survey results.

Summit County Beef
Park City Municipal Corporation is one of the founding members of the Summit County Beef program. Over the past twelve months the City, along with representatives from Uinta Headwaters RC&D, Summit County, Utah State University Ag Extension, The Park City Chamber/Bureau, Utah’s Own, Summit Land Conservancy, Flashpoint Media, and local ranchers have worked to bring grass-fed beef from eastern Summit County to western Summit County grocery stores, restaurants, and consumers. February 22, Salt Lake Magazine awarded the program the Green Fork Sustainability Award - exactly one year from the first meeting of the group.

"Summit County Beef is the first project of Summit County Food Coalition, made up of ranchers, government officials, concerned citizens and non-profit organizations. The group hopes to create a steady supply of local grass-fed beef for Utah consumers and started with a bang in November. Not only is grass-fed beef better for human and bovine health, it also helps ranchers keep their land in agricultural use and preserves open space, the reason we all love Utah." -Salt Lake Magazine, February 2011

Under the leadership of Uinta Headwaters RC&D and Summit County, the program is looking forward to expanding in the coming year. More details and to buy beef direct.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)-Open House! (3/10/2011; 7-9:00 p.m.)
Do you like fresh local produce? Would you like a convenient pickup option? Come learn about community supported agriculture options available in Park City. Uinta Headwaters and Recycle Utah would like to invite you to a free CSA Open House on Thursday March 10th at the Miners Hospital on Park Avenue. Stop in between 7 and 9 p.m. You’ll have a chance to meet the farmers and ask questions about their farming methods, standards, and program details. Many will be offering a special promotion if you sign up at the event. There will also be snacks, treats and prizes!

Event Summary Details
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2011
Time: 7 PM - 9 PM
Location: Miners Hospital (1354 Park Ave.; Park City, UT)
Sponsors: Uinta Headwaters RC&D Council & Recycle Utah

Transit Facility Construction

The Transit Facility, located at 1053 Iron Horse Drive, is steadily moving forward for an August 2011 completion. The project consists of a 34,000 square foot bus barn that will house 38 of the Park City Transit buses and includes parking for 86 employee vehicles on the roof. Also included in the project is a 14,000 square foot Maintenance Building and a Fueling Station for Transit buses and fleet vehicles.

 Public Officials from the Hainan Province in China
Public officials from the Hainan Province in China visited Park City in February. Mayor Dana Williams (center right), City Manager Tom Bakaly (center left) and Summit County Councilman Chris Robinson (not pictured) met with the students to talk about the role of local government in economic development and the growth of Park City from a winter to a multi-season resort economy. Hainan is an island resort southwest of Hong Kong and on the same latitude as Hawaii. The public officials are part of a special Master of Public Administration program at the University of Utah.

Bus, Bike, Walk Program
City employees participated in the 6th annual internal Park City Municipal Bus, Bike and Walk Program during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The goal of the program is to limit the number of cars entering and exiting Park City during Sundance, in addition to mitigating parking concerns within town.

The program is simple; participants earned a ‘card’ any time they “Leave the Car at Home” and still make the trip to work, or in other words “Bus, Bike, Walk”. All cards earned from January 20th through January 29th were eligible for a prize drawing.

The program resulted in reducing 3,065 lbs. of CO2 and saving $2,220 in fuel consumption.

News You Can Use
In February, City Council . . .
• Conducted its annual visioning session
• Denied an appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval for a conditional use permit at 1440 Empire Avenue.
• Amended the Municipal Code regarding for-hire vehicle licensing to include vehicle age limits, background checks and a drug free workplace policy requirement. 

Green Your Routine
Dishwashers
It's commonly assumed that washing dishes by hand saves hot water. However, washing dishes by hand several time a day can be more expensive than operating an energy-efficient dishwasher. You can consume less energy with an energy-efficient dishwasher when properly used and when only operating it with full loads. More 

Recreation
NewsletterThe annual Play Magazine will be mailed out this month to all City and western Summit County residents. Find all the great program offerings from Recreation, Ice, Library, Golf and McPolin Farm events. Registration opens April 1 for all Summer recreation programs.

Recreation Services continues with its free “spotlight classes” in March. Zumba on Wednesdays, 8:00am and Pilates on Tuesdays, 11:00am. Drop in for a free class and receive a “Be Our Guest Card” to use for any class or facility drop in.

Visit our webpage often for updated program information, dates and deadlines. 

Ice
The Park City Ice Arena has a few early spring activities coming soon. Our early spring sessions of Learn to Skate/Play Hockey classes will begin the first week of March. We offer classes for all ages and ability levels. For complete class descriptions click here for Learn to Skate or here for the Learn to Play Hockey class flyer. Call our front desk at (435) 615-5707, or stop in the ice arena to register – classes fill up fast! The next session after this will start mid-April 

Bonanza Bulletin
The pedestrian tunnel and access ramps will be available for public use May 1.

Comstock Talk
The Comstock/Sidewinder Walkability Project is slated for construction this summer. The project includes an 8’ separated pathway along the east side of Comstock Drive and a 6’ sidewalk on the south side of Sidewinder Drive from Comstock Drive to Gold Dust Lane. The project will complete the walkability spine route through Park Meadows and Prospector, connecting the McLeod Creek trail to the Rail Trail. The project also represents an integral upgrade to the ‘safe routes to school program’, sponsored by the Park City School District. 

 

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Regeneration

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Park City’s natural setting is the reason why we live here. Our open spaces are at the core of who we are. Park City has 9540 acres of land that has been set aside as open space, protected from development with conservation easements.

Not only do these lands the Park City lifestyle represent the Park City lifestyle, they can help us reach our carbon neutral goals.

Carbon sequestration explained: 

Park City’s open spaces, if managed properly, can pull out vast amounts of carbon away from the atmosphere and store it in vegetation and soils. This carbon storage capability can help balance our carbon footprint and help balance those emissions that we cannot eliminate.

Park City is working to quantify how much carbon is stored in the vegetation and soils on its open spaces, and how much additional carbon is pulled away from the atmosphere on a yearly basis. According to a study completed in 2017, our open spaces are soaking up 7,686 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MT CO2e) per year. If you are interested in knowing more about our methodology, get in touch.

Regenerative agriculture:

In the summer of 2018 Park City decided to initiate regenerative agriculture on the iconic piece of land at McPolin Barn. This piece of land had remained relatively undisturbed since it was set aside under easement in 1991. The lack of disturbance on the land led to the grasses that grow and die each year to thatch together, never properly decomposing into the soil. To restore the function of returning nutrients and mixing soil, cattle were reintroduced to the former dairy. Rather than allowing them to spread out and graze on their favorite species, the cattle were herded together which forced them to eat down the grasses and weeds indiscriminately. The disturbance by the cows hooves, as well as what comes out of their tail ends, helped to mix dead matter with the soil and facilitate the decomposition process. This accelerated decomposition is key in releasing nutrients, thus creating a healthy environment for microbiota to trap more carbon away from the atmosphere and build up the health of our soils. The healthy soils are also more able to retain water, and allow for better growth of native species instead of noxious weeds.
Regenerative Agriculture on City Property

Tree planting: