Park City, UT
Home MenuPCMC Newsletter-January, 2011
January, 2011 | Community E-Newsletter |
Park City Public Works, Snow Report
Park City has experienced what is to date the largest snowfall in the last 23 years as recorded at The National Weather Service measuring device in Thaynes Canyon. In comparison, the graph below provided by The National Weather Service demonstrates the current snow total for this year in green, what a typical or normal winter would look like in blue and last winter which was slightly below normal in red. In a typical winter for this time of year, 10 inches of water which is roughly 10 feet of snow would have fallen in Thaynes Canyon. This winter season 16.8 inches of water or roughly 16.8 feet of snow has arrived to blanket the slopes in Park City. Good news for skiers but often bad news for homeowners who have already shoveled the equivalent amount of snow that wouldn’t have been experienced until February 20th during a normal winter season.
Hauling Snow Park City Style
Park City Public Works typically hauls around 15,000 cubic yards of snow during a winter season. The winter season begins November 15th and runs through April 15th. As of January 5, 2011, Park City has already hauled just over 11,500 cubic yards of snow with 3 months of winter remaining. Many areas throughout Park City have already benefited from the efforts of our snow hauling crews.
Hauling snow is a time consuming and extremely expensive undertaking. It costs as much as $2,000 per hour for a crew to haul snow from Main Street, lower Park Avenue and lower Empire Avenue. This operation generally takes about 10 hours to complete at a cost of about $20,000 per event.
Did you know?
It is every resident’s responsibility to remove snow from fire hydrants which are located at the perimeter of your property.
Winter Parking Tips
Respect parking restrictions to help snow plows navigate narrow streets
In Old Town, do not park on the downside slope of any street. Cars that remain on the street and restrict plowing may be ticketed and/or towed. Read our Snow Removal Guide.
Park City Winter Trail Survey
Over the past several years, local entities have worked to provide additional opportunities for winter recreation outside of traditional alpine skiing. For the most part, these opportunities have resulted from ‘grooming services’ on local trails. These services have provided significant access to areas that were once limited to more active or well- conditioned users, including cross country skiing. Since 2007, the amount of available groomed trails in the Park City area has more than doubled to almost 70 kilometers.
As part of the overall trail system management, trail counters have been used to gauge the actual number of users accessing the system. As of today, PCMC is sponsoring a web-based survey to collect further information pertaining to types of use, perceived conditions and amenities of the system. The survey timeframe is January 11-31st, 2011. for the survey. It only takes a few minutes and all trail users are encouraged to participate.
Park City Hits the Big Apple's Top Places To Go List
According to an article in the January 7, 2011, New York Times, Park City is number 9 on the list of top 41 places to go in 2011. Skiers and boarders alike have always been lured to Park City for the snow. With terrain expansion and new hotels at area resorts, on-mountain exploration is a not-to-be-missed experience. The Sundance Film Festival brings film aficionados here as well. There were only five U.S. cities included the in top 41locations.
Sundance Survival Tips
Avoid delays and miss much of the Sundance Film Festival traffic by doing your errands early in the day. Consider alternative transportation . . . riding the bus or walking are your best options. You will save time and reduce your carbon footprint by minimizing travel during the Festival, January 20-30, 2011.
Recreation Center Remodel Update
The Recreation Center Remodel project is proceeding on schedule despite the above average snowfall this past month. The steel framing and concrete block walls are underway and noticeable progress should be made through the month of January. Sustainable efforts continue on the project, where 100% of the waste since the demolition has been recycled. The recycled waste consisted of 4000 pounds of concrete generated by cleaning out the concrete trucks after placement. The project team will continue to track and provide updates on the sustainable practices employed on the project.
Leadership 101
Leadership 101 is an instructive and fun, one-day insiders' view on who things work in the greater Park City Area. Whether you've been here a day or a lifetime, you're certain to learn new and interesting things about our community. Join us for the 14th annual Leadership 101 class on Wednesday, February 2, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 1895 Sidewinder Driive. Read more and register
City Council Adopts Anti-Idling Ordinance
Park City is the first community in Utah to adopt an anti-idling ordinance and joins a growing number of communities across the country that have taken this step to protect air quality, improve public health, and conserve natural resources. The ordinance prohibits vehicles from idling for longer than three minutes within City limits, with exceptions for certain circumstances (e.g., temperatures below 32 degrees F). More information.
News You Can Use
In December, City Council . . .
• Appointed Linda McCausland to the Public Art Advisory Board
• Approved an Environmental Sustainability Letter of Intent with Summit County
• Modified the contract with Stanley Consultants for the Bonanza Drive Reconstruction Project in a amount not to exceed $141,845
• Accepted the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for 2010
• Approved a Contract Change Order with Granite Construction for Phase 2 of Bonanza Drive in an amount not to exceed $737,344.
• Approved an anti-idling ordinance within the city limits of Park City
Green Your Routine
Did you know there is more regulation of tap water than bottled water… Save over $100 per year by replacing two 1/2 liter water bottle purchases each week with filtered tap water at home.
Departments » Sustainability » For Homes
Cleaning Supplies
When looking for natural and non-toxic cleaning products, avoid anything with synthetic ingredients or fragrances, petrochemicals, VOCs, chlorine bleach, phthalates, formaldehydes and more. You should always read the labels of any product, and if a product does not have a label with ingredients then it almost surely has harmful chemicals inside. Look out for words like Caution, Warning, Notice and Danger, which could signal a potential harmful chemical. Learn more about healthy cleaning products here.
When purchasing natural cleaning products make sure they bottle includes a list of ingredients. You should be able to pronounce the names of all of them and should know exactly what each one is. The best kind of natural cleaning product you can buy should be made with simple ingredients that you could find in the store and make yourself.
Exposure to these toxins indoors can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; loss of coordination; nausea; and damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous systems. And we certainly don't want ourselves, our family or our pets to come in contact with these toxins or experience any of these health problems. Children and pets are especially at risk because they experience a higher dose of toxins, not to mention their immune systems are still developing and not able to shed toxins from the bodies as quickly as adults.
There are three categories into which most of the hazardous ingredients in household cleaning products fall are:
1. Carcinogens – Carcinogens cause cancer and/or promote cancer’s growth.
2. Endocrine disruptors – Endocrine disruptors mimic human hormones, confusing the body with false signals. Exposure to endocrine disruptors can lead to numerous health concerns including reproductive, developmental, growth and behavior problems. Endocrine disruptors have been linked to reduced fertility, premature puberty, miscarriage, menstrual problems, challenged immune systems, abnormal prostate size, ADHD, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and certain cancers.
3. Neurotoxins – Neurotoxins alter neurons, affecting brain activity, causing a range of problems from headaches to loss of intellect.
Here are some startling facts about the chemicals found in cleaning products.
- 17,000: the number of petrochemicals available for home use, only 30 percent of which have been tested for exposure to human health and the environment.
- 63: the number of synthetic chemical products found in the average American home, translating to roughly 10 gallons of harmful chemicals.
- 100: the number of times higher that indoor air pollution levels can be above outdoor air pollution levels, according to US EPA estimates.
- 275: the number of active ingredients in antimicrobials that the EPA classifies as pesticides because they are designed to kill microbes.
- 5 billion: the number of pounds of chemicals that the institutional cleaning industry uses each year.
- 23: the average gallons of chemicals (that's 87 liters) that a janitor uses each year, 25 percent of which are hazardous.
- White Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Borax
- Hydrogen Peroxide (3% concentration)
- Club Soda (plain)
- Lemon Juice
- Liquid Castile Soap
- Corn Meal
- Olive Oil or Walnut Oil
- Toothpaste
- Pure Essential Oils - like lavender, lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and tea tree oils
With all of these ingredients you can make your own natural and non-toxic cleaning supplies, which cost a lot less as well.
- All-Purpose Cleaners: This cleaner can be used for just about every surface in your home, from kitchen counters and appliances to bathroom surfaces and walls.
- Carpet Cleaner: To clean and disinfect your carpet, blend 1/2 cup baking soda, 1 cup borax, and 1 cup cornmeal. Sprinkle mixture over rug and rub with a cloth. Let rest for several hours or overnight, then vacuum. An even simpler way to clean your carpet is to sprinkly plain baking soda on your carpet, let rest for an hour and then vacuum up. You can also add dry lavender buds to the baking soda for an extra fresh smell.
- Hard Floor Cleaner: This solution can be used for all hard floors (except when directed by the manufacturer to avoid even mild detergents): Combine 1/4 liquid castile soap, up to 1/2 cup white vinegar or lemon juice, and 2 gallons of warm water in a large plastic bucket. Use with a mop or sponge.
- Glass Cleaner: To make your windows shine, you can simply use club soda in a spray bottle. Add 1 tsp. of lemon juice to increase your window cleaner’s degreasing power. Leftover newspaper works very well to reduce streaks
- Bathroom Surface Cleaners: You can use the all-purpose cleaners recommended above or, for even simpler bathroom cleaning, use baking soda or borax as a scouring powder. For a softer scrub, combine 1/2 cup baking soda with enough liquid soap to achieve a frosting-like consistency. You may want to add 5-10 drops of an essential oil for fragrance. Club soda works wonders on plumbing fixtures.
- Toilet Cleaner: Sprinkle baking soda or borax, or pour white vinegar into the toilet, and let sit for a few minutes. Scrub with a good toilet brush.
- Oven Cleaner: Cover the oven floor with baking soda, spray with water until very damp, and let set overnight. Spray with water every few hours before you go to bed to keep damp. In the morning, clean out the baking soda, and the stuck-on gunk will be loosened and ready to scrub off.
- Drain Cleaner: Put two tablespoons of baking soda into/over the drain of your sink or tub. Then pour one cup of vinegar on the baking soda. This will begin to fizz a lot and is completely normal. Wait a few minutes, and then pour a kettle of boiling water over the soda/vinegar residue.
- Mold Remover: Combe 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar with 1 cup water. Spray on mold and do not rinse. You can also treat mold with a spray mixture of 2 tsp. tea tree oil and 2 cups water.
- Wood Polish: To polish wood furniture, dab olive oil or walnut oil onto a soft cloth and rub.
- Silver Polish: Just put some toothpaste on an old toothbrush or wet cloth and go to town. When you’re done polishing, rinse the item well in warm water and then dry with a soft cloth.