Summit County

The Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District board Friday morning sent a positive recommendation to the Summit County Council for a half million dollar grant toward the conservation easement purchase on the 158-acre Osguthorpe Ranch on Old Ranch Road. KPCW’s Leslie Thatcher has more.

Summit County has hired a new director for the Children’s Justice Center.

The county announced in a press statement Thursday that the new director is Christie Hind, who has lived in Park City with her family since 2016.

A large, boisterous crowd gathered at the base of Parley's Summit, Thursday afternoon to celebrate the ground-breaking for the Woodward Park City youth sports complex. 

The audience partied under sunny, but windy conditions on the property, which has been the Gorgoza tubing park for decades. The promotional announcement said that Woodward will connect "sport, progression, community, vibe and youth-inspiring programming."

Woodward is owned by the Powdr. Corp. The founder and chairman of the company, John Cumming, said they acquired the Gorgoza site back in the late 1990's.

Last year, e-bikes became a familiar sight in the Park City area, as an amenity in public transit.

Now there are indications the next wave in individual shared transit may be e-scooters, supplied by private companies.

Given that, Summit County Council member Roger Armstrong says the council approved a Temporary Zoning Ordinance Wednesday. That will allow the county to get a regular handle on this new phenomenon.

Armstrong told KPCW that cities in California are reacting to the new scooters.

  In response to an initiative from the Governor's office, Summit County Council member Roger Armstrong says the council wants to control deadfall in the county's national forest, but they don't want to endorse more development in the High Uintas.

The governor has asked counties in Utah if they want to support a petition to the U.S. Forest Service to revise the so-called Roadless Rule, and allow a Utah-specific policy for forest management.

  The Summit County Council, meeting today, will consider approving a six-month Temporary Zoning Ordinance, in order to set up a regulatory structure for a new generation of personal transportation.

Meeting at the Richins Services Building, the Council at about 5:00 pm. will consider a TZO for "Shared Active Transportation."

County Manager Tom Fisher said they will include items like e-scooters and dockless bikes, which the county expects they're going to see pretty soon.

  The Summit County Council's regular session on Wednesday includes two or three items related to the environment.

The council, meeting at the Richins Services Building, will start a discussion at about 2:45 on management of the forest and of watershed resources. Later, they will also return to discuss a proposal from the governor's office, to petition Washington D.C. for a change to its Roadless Rule.

  The Summit County Council will again be talking trash in their regular meeting Wednesday. They will get an update on their Solid Waste Master Plan.

The council, meeting at the Richins Services Building, will talk about Solid Waste in a work session at about 2:15. County Manager Tom Fisher said they set a Master Plan earlier this year, and directed the staff to come back with an Action Plan.

Among the items is recycling for commercial cardboard, which Fisher said can have an important impact on the landfill.