OCR Text |
Show A-8 The Park Record Meetings and agendas Wed/Thurs/Fri, April 18-20, 2018 CoRe saMples By Jay Meehan TO PUBLISH YOUR PUBLIC NOTICES AND AGENDAS, PLEASE EMAIL CLASSIFIEDS@PARKRECORD.COM A woke in the woods AGENDA SUMMIT COUNTY COUNCIL Wednesday, April 18, 2018 NOTICE is hereby given that the Summit County Council will meet in session Wednesday, April 18, 2018, at the Summit County Courthouse, 60 North Main Street, Coalville, UT 84017 (All times listed are general in nature, and are subject to change by the Council Chair) 12:40 PM Closed Session – Personnel (15 min); Property acquisition (45 min); Litigation (60 min) 2:40 PM - Move to Council Chambers 2:50 PM Work Session 1) Pledge of Allegiance 2) 2:55 PM - Discussion regarding closing on LV6; Dave Thomas (60 min) 3) 3:55 PM – Review Notice of Certification of Annexation Petition for parcels CD-619-A from Kamas City, and Boyden Petition from Coalville City; Kent Jones (10 min) 4:05 PM Convene as the Governing Board of Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District 1) Discussion and possible approval of Public Recreation Trail Easement and Access Agreement between Park City Municipal Corporation and Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District, for the Iron Man and Mid Mountain trails; Bob Radke (15 min) Dismiss as the Governing Board of Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District 4:20 PM Consideration of Approval 1) Consideration and possible approval of May Tax Sale proposed payment plans for Parcels SUM-20, BSR-5- 76, HG-1 and PI-G-94; Kathryn Rockhill (20 min) 2) 4:40 PM - Continued discussion and possible adoption of Ordinance No. 877, an Ordinance Amending the Eastern Summit County Development Code, Title 11, Chapter 3: Zoning Districts and Requirements; Chapter 4: Master Planned Developments-Applicability; Appendix A: Definitions; and the Zone District Map; Pat Putt (60 min) 3) Council Comments 4) Manager Comments 5) Council Minutes dated April 4, 2018 6:00 PM Public Input One or more members of the County Council may attend by electronic means, including telephonically or by Skype. Such members may fully participate in the proceedings as if physically present. The anchor location for purposes of the electronic meeting is the Council Chambers and Conference room, Summit County Courthouse, 60 N. Main, Coalville, Utah Individuals with questions, comments, or needing special accommodations pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act regarding this meeting may contact Annette Singleton at (435) 336-3025, (435) 615-3025 or (435) 783-4351 ext. 3025 Posted: April 13, 2018 A quick look at Utah news Associated Press Governor hails education plan that could triple funding BOUNTIFUL – Gov. Gary Herbert is praising a compromise plan that could nearly triple state education funding in five years. The Republican governor gave his remarks on Monday during a signing ceremony for the measure at an elementary school in suburban Salt Lake City. The measure will ask voters to decide in November whether they want to approve a 10 cent increase in the state’s gas tax. Combined with other funds and a freeze on state property tax rates, that tax would increase education funding by $386 million in 2023. The compromise was reached by lawmakers and the Our Schools Now initiative, which had previously pushed for a ballot initiative that would have increased education funding by $715 million through a hike in state sales and income taxes. Alta Ski Area plan for tram, 2 lifts gets federal approval SALT LAKE CITY – Federal officials are giving the go-ahead to a new master plan for a Utah ski area that includes a small tram, but environmentalists worry the changes will negatively impact local wetlands. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the U.S. Forest Service decision posted on Tuesday claims the new plan for the Alta Ski Area would not significantly impact the local environment. But the environmental group Save Our Canyons disagrees. Executive director Carl Fisher worries that the proposed tram will lead to more development around Little Cottonwood Canyon, 30 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. The new ski area plan would replace two ski lifts, expand a pair of restaurants and replace machinery to trigger controlled avalanches. It would not expand the size of the 1,800-acre resort. Former U2 stage to be centerpiece of Utah aquarium expansion SALT LAKE CITY – A giant metal structure that spent two years touring the world with rock band U2 is finding a new home at an aquarium in suburban Salt Lake City. The massive, four-legged structure towered above the rock behemoths during a world tour from 2009 to 2011. Now, the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Draper says it will be the centerpiece of a new expansion project. Aquarium founder and CEO Brent Andersen says the expansion will continue the facility’s mission and help keep up with growth in attendance. Construction of the expansion is expected to begin this year. The outdoor plaza featuring the former rock stage is expected to be open for visitors next summer. A new science learning center will be finished in 2021. Utah treasurer: Residents have $38.4M in unclaimed property SALT LAKE CITY – Officials say Utah residents have more than $38 million in unclaimed property. The Deseret News reports the Utah State Treasurer’s Office recently announced the Utah Unclaimed Property Division received more than $38.4 million in lost property at the end of 2017. Utah Treasurer David Damschen says the property is from a variety of sources, including dormant bank accounts, stock certificates and uncollected insurance payouts. A release says property is by law considered abandoned and must be turned over to the state if the holder of the property has not had contact with the owner for at least three years. Damschen says residents should check mycash.utah.gov as they file their taxes to see if they have lost property to claim. Trump administration loosens Utah prairie dog protections SALT LAKE CITY – Wildlife managers under the Trump administration are loosening contentious endangered-species protections for Utah prairie dogs in a plan that’s worrying for animal advocates but cheered by people in southern Utah who said their town was overrun. The new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan makes it easier to develop private land, even it means prairie dogs are removed or killed. The agency said Friday the 10-year plan will preserve the threatened species while allowing for economic development. The group Friends of Ani- mals says they’re examining the new plan. They’ve previously warned that loosening the protections could be a death warrant for the animals considered key to the ecosystem. The changes come after Cedar City property owners said in a lawsuit that regulations allowed the burrowing creatures to overrun their playgrounds, cemeteries and backyards. Records: 7 Utah jail deaths in 2017, down from 25 in 2016 OGDEN – Figures from sheriff’s offices around the state show seven people died at county jails in Utah last year, down from a record 25 the year before. The Standard-Examiner reports last year it requested 2016’s jail death records from Utah’s 29 counties. Twenty-three deaths were reported. Two more jail-related deaths were discovered with additional record requests to the Weber and Davis county sheriff’s offices. Those two deaths had not been counted because the inmates died later at hospitals, not in the jails. A similar survey for 2017 deaths yielded answers from 20 counties. Nine others did not respond to emailed and mailed record requests from the Standard-Examiner. Ogden courthouse evacuated by bomb threats twice in 2 weeks SALT LAKE CITY – A northern Utah courthouse has been evacuated due to a bomb threat for the second time in eight days. Utah state courts spokesman Geoff Fattah said Thursday that the courthouse in Ogden was cleared for roughly two hours on Thursday afternoon after authorities received a threat called in to the county dispatch. Police say that bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in to search the area, but didn’t find anything. After the search, the courthouse was reopened and business returned to usual. The same courthouse was evacuated the previous Thursday due to a similar threat. Ogden police searched the building at the time but concluded that there was no danger. Operations later returned to normal. Fattah says police are continuing an investigation into the threats. “I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.” ~ Walt Whitman I’m pretty much ignorant when it comes to the natural world. My learning curve is such that if a marble were to find itself the topside, there would be little gravitational impetus for it to roll off. Not to say that I don’t stay in touch with rock strata and plant communities and the critters that dart between them. Take, for instance, the two deciduous trees that are part and parcel to the paddock and pen and corral system out back. There comes a time each year when communiqués between us begin to flow at an accelerated rate. Overnight, buds will appear, informing me it’s once again time to monitor their thirst requirements. History would show that prior to the appearance of buds at the end of each twig, however, their automatic intake valves remain rusted shut and it matters not whether the surrounding ground achieves periodic saturation. Meaning that, no matter how much I flood the plain, libation-wise, they are on the wagon. Of course, not being one for moderation on any level, my initial reaction is to drown them. To hear them tell it, you’d think they were getting waterboarded at Gitmo. But, soon enough, a sort of balance is achieved. Over the years I’ve instituted a color-coding system whereby perfect pitch is achieved by a specific shade of green. Now, in the wider neighborhood hereabouts, it’s a totally different story. From the sagebrush – Gambels Oak transition to the Pinion--Juniper pygmy forest communities, I listen rather than react. They are the locals and over time have got the moisture drill down to a, excuse the expression, science. Could you imagine watering the sagebrush steppe parcels associated with the Wasatch Range on a semi-regular basis? As mundane as they appear from the trails, however, embedding oneself in the microcosm of it all is a liberating proposition. These zones are where epiphanies transpire, where one can become “woke” in the flash of an Alder cone. For a longer period than any- For a longer period than anywhere else on this planet that I have called home, the Heber Valley foothills have served as my ‘place,’ my stompin’ grounds.” where else on this planet that I have called home, the Heber Valley foothills have served as my “place,” my stompin’ grounds. Its perch above the valley floor and directly opposite the rock massif that is Timpanogos has served me well, both practically and aesthetically. Even the fruits of the gritty desert wind that sucks moisture from the land prove tasty. Although I continue to answer queries of geographical origin with where I’m “from,” the sense of having alighted in space-time is profound. And much of that is punctuated by the ongoing sense of a “woke” in the woods. And, in these parts, that comes with just stepping out one’s backdoor, as good a spot as any to initiate the “mosey” in question. You can catch squalls cutting in on whirling dust devils for some Samba time or a Quaking Aspen grove going off in a color-ritual totally unrelated to those around it. Although my biggest “woke” moment ever took place quite a ways south of here alongside a precarious hiking path when I stumbled upon a fragile thinleaf Manzanita shrub completely overshadowing and outshining the featured act of a Grand Canyon sunset from the North Rim Trail. What a showoff! When referring to the “woods” hereabouts, what I’m actually singling out are the various Sagebrush components that make up the groundcover nearly as far as the eye can see. Serving as a reminder that all living things are different from all other living things, they sing in harmony of a diversity only wisdom can translate. It’s a haunted landscape, to be sure. A shimmering of the ghost of mountain man Etienne Provost can still be sensed skirting these same foothills not unlike he had during the fall of 1824 after escaping the wrath of Chief Bad Gocha and his Shoshone down at Utah Lake. The valley has long served as a crossroads, sometimes in a hasty retreat. So if you want to get “woke,” get down on all fours and roam the sagebrush from ground level. And when dark arrives, just flop over on your back and check out the night sky. All is one when you get woke in the woods. Jay Meehan is a culture junkie and has been an observer, participant, and chronicler of the Park City and Wasatch County social and political scenes for more than 40 years. Red CaRd RobeRts By Amy Roberts Out of Africa Driving back to Park City after an event in Salt Lake last weekend, the car I was in was filled with five people and what seemed like 105 different conversations. Our topics varied greatly — from politics, to what books each passenger was reading ,to what we thought our dogs had been up to while we were all out. (Mine were voted mostly likely to be eating the butter I’d left on the counter.) Despite the vast range of subject matter and response, there was one underlying theme to it all — travel. Political statements easily transitioned into what other countries think of ours right now, and how someone missed the simplicity of Bali. When we spoke of our latest Kindle download, the books we intend to read on an upcoming beach vacation were suddenly the focal point. Traveling even went to the dogs, as there was some debate over the best place to board our mutts while away. My fellow passengers and I did some pretty extreme globetrotting in that 40-minute commute. At some point during the drive home, a friend posed a question to the rest of us: “If you had to leave America and live in another country for the rest of your life, which one would you pick?” An affinity for warm weather, or fine wine, or the English language all topped the reasons why a specific country was chosen. Except mine. Tanzania was my choice, and my reasoning had nothing to do with vineyards or beaches or my native tongue. Quite simply, I’m addicted. If travel is a drug, then Tanzania is pure heroin. My first visit was in 1999, right after college. My plane hadn’t even touched the ground — we had to circle for a bit until the zebras were shooed off the runway. From 10,000 feet above, I knew that place was going to change me. Tanzania was my first international solo trip; chosen with very little thought while scanning books at a Barnes and Noble. I was 22 at the time and terrified my life was boring. In order to become someone interesting, I needed to go somewhere interesting, I thought. So I decided I Long before travel websites and apps and live check-ins from the Serengeti were an option, the best way to learn about a destination was in the international travel section of a bookstore.” was going to start invading far off places. And long before travel websites and apps and live check-ins from the Serengeti were an option, the best way to learn about a destination was in the international travel section of a bookstore. I distinctly recall holding two Frommer’s guides, trying to decide where I should go to become interesting. One of the book covers featured a statue. And I remember thinking, Mi- chelangelo’s David is not the most interesting thing about Italy. Why didn’t the publisher put a picture of a mob boss eating spaghetti on the cover? Twist his fork to look like a revolver. Make me wonder if the red stuff on his bib is blood or pasta sauce. Now that would make me want to go to Italy. The other book’s cover pictured the tripod of a giraffe bent to water, its young calf nervously taking shelter under the mother’s hind legs. The tall grass behind them camouflaged a pride of lions. In the water’s reflection, several cape buffalo could be seen drinking in the distance — vulnerable and unaware. That photo has stuck with me since. I have long wondered if the lions went for the cape buffalo or the giraffe; if their ambush was successful or they went hungry that night. Long after that trip to Africa, and the many more I’ve taken since, I have thought of that photo on the cover of a travel guide. How it birthed my wanderlust, and shifted my viewpoints, and molded my heart. And perhaps, even made me a little more interesting. As I described to my friends in the car why I would gladly settle in Tanzania if kicked out of America, I thought again of that picture. All those years ago, I disobeyed a universal proverb — I judged a book by its cover. And I’ve never regretted it. Amy Roberts is a freelance writer, longtime Park City resident and the proud owner of two rescued Dalmatians, Stanley and Willis. Follow her on Twitter @amycroberts. |