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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, August 3-6, 2019 A-3 The Park Record City Beat CITY EDITOR: JAY HAMBURGER 649–9014 EXT. 15711 | Citynews@parkrecord.com Look for me online at PropertyShopParkCity FaceBook A changing climate fought Instagram W E L C O M E T O PA R K C I T Y ’ S 5 0 T H A N N UA L K I M B A L L A R T S F E S T I VA L Now in its 50th year, the Park City Kimball Arts Festival is one of the top ranked art festivals in the country. This years three-day event features 225 artists from 33 states and 3 different countries. I hope you enjoy this highly coveted community experience and look forward to hearing from you. M I C H A E L H AT Z G L O B A L R E A L E S TAT E A D V I S O R +1 4 3 5 9 0 1 - 0 7 2 1 w w w . M i c h a e l H a t z . R E A LT O R ©2019 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage independently owned and operated. Engel & Völkers and its independent License Partners are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principals of the Fair Housing Act. If your property is currently represented by a real estate broker, this is not an attempt to solicit your listing. CHRISTOPHER SAMUELS/PARK RECORD Park City Mayor Andy Beerman addresses a crowd at the Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library on Wednesday evening about climate change. The mayor says there is enthusiasm in younger people to address a changing climate. Heber City Mayor Kelleen Potter, left, and Celeste Johnson, the mayor of Midway, also were panelists. Struggle likened to world war and moon mission JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record Park City Mayor Andy Beerman sees the fight against climate change as something that is tantamount to the struggles of a world war, the action needed to combat the worst of the economic downturns or the drive toward the moon. The mayor, speaking on Wednesday evening on a panel that addressed climate change and air quality, told the crowd at the Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library the efforts against a warming planet will be seen in the future as this age’s key struggle. “Every generation has something that defines them, whether it’s a world war, whether it’s a depression, whether it’s putting a man on the moon. I think climate change is going to define this era,” Beerman told a crowd that appeared heavily weighted toward people who hold similar ideals. Beerman appeared alongside the mayors of Heber City and Midway as well as a panel of experts during a town hall organized by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. Beerman, a first-term mayor, has made addressing climate change and the wider idea of sustainability a hallmark of his administration. City Hall sees itself as having some of the most ambitious climate change-fighting goals in the country. The municipal government is striving for a net-zero carbon goal for municipal functions by 2022 and citywide by 2030. A net-zero program typically involves reducing the use of energies that create emissions and pursuing offsets of some sort for emissions that remain. It does not call for the elimination of emissions, though. Park City leaders see a warming climate as someday threatening the ski industry that drives the economy. There is also concern about climate change leading to the increased chance of devastating wildfires and other environmental catastrophes. Beerman spoke about operating the Treasure Mountain Inn on Main Street, describing the green steps it took. He said energy-efficient light bulbs were used, a solar-power system was installed and credits of clean-burning energies were purchased. “It was an old hotel, built in 1964. It also happened to be the first hotel to go carbon neutral in the western U.S.,” Beerman said. He said air conditioners that run on electricity were installed. They are highly efficient and offsets for the energy used are bought, he said, comparing the efficiency of the air conditioning at the Treasure Mountain Inn to the systems used in Europe and Japan. “As far as air conditioning, ironically no one needed air conditioning in Park City 20 years ago. We only put air conditioning in the hotel 10 years ago,” Beerman said. The mayor said there is enthusiasm in younger people to address a changing climate. He said there are only “a few years left to make a difference.” “This next generation — they have not politicized this. This is something that has to be done. And I’m confident they’re going to put the energy into it to make it happen, and we just need to set them up for success and not spoil it in the meantime,” Beerman also said. The mayor of Midway, Celeste Johnson, meanwhile, acknowledged the community she leads has not been at the forefront of the issue. She said protecting open spaces and ensuring agricultural land remains are important to maintaining clean air. Kelleen Potter, the Heber City mayor, also said the issue is not a priority for the elected officials in her community. Potter said the best solutions are crafted through bipartisanship. She also said there are unique opportunities in Heber City to aggressively pursue solar energy. Warming skeptics were not included JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record The Citizens’ Climate Lobby, which organized a town hall on Wednesday centered on climate change and air quality, acknowledged it did not seek a panelist to balance the opinions of a slate of speakers with deep concerns about the impact of a changing climate on the Park City area. The panel at the Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library included government officials like Park City Mayor Andy Beerman and the mayors of Midway and Heber City as well as academics speaking about their concerns. None of the panelists, though, presented an alternative view to climate change, a politically charged topic that some such as the speakers on Wednesday see as a threat even as others remain skeptical. Lauren Barros, a leader of the Wasatch Back chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby and one of the organizers of the event, said in an interview the gathering was designed to highlight the work of the three mayors. She said she did not see the event as promoting one view of the debate about climate change. “It was just what are the solutions,” she said, adding it was an opportunity to brainstorm about the topic. She said the three mayors and the others on the panel provided a variety of viewpoints. Barros described an opposing viewpoint held by some that maintains there are not “problems to solve” regarding climate change and air quality. Some disagree with the need for solutions to the issues, she said. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY Summit County Recreation Arts & Parks Advisory Committee-Cultural The Summit County Council is seeking individuals to fill four vacancies on the Summit County Recreation Arts & Parks Advisory Committee-Cultural (RAP Tax Cultural Committee). The Committee is responsible to review applications submitted for consideration of RAP tax monies, focusing on botanical and cultural organizations, and recreational facilities. The board meets during the months of January, March, April and May. To submit your online application, please visit: http://www.summitcounty.org/321/Volunteer-Boards Deadline for applications is 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 14, 2019. For further information, contact Nancy Hooton at 435-336-3042 CORRECTED NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT AN IMPACT FEE FACILITIES PLAN Mountain Regional Water Special Service District (“MRW”), a special service district of the State of Utah, located in Summit County, Utah intends to adopt an Impact Fee Facilities Plan for culinary water. Pursuant to the provisions of 11-36a-502 of the Utah Code, as amended 2011, notice is hereby provided to you of the intent of MRW to adopt an Impact Fee Facilities Plan. A public hearing is scheduled for August 14th, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. at the Sheldon Richins Building, 1885 West Ute Blvd. Park City, UT 84098. The Impact Fee Facilities Plan is available for review at the MRW office located at 6421 North Business Park Loop Road Suite A, on the MRW website at www.mtregional.org, and at the Summit County Library located at 1885 West Ute Blvd. For additional information or special accommodation please call (435) 940-1916. |