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Show A-6 Wed/Thurs/Fri, November 6-8, 2019 The Park Record Continued from A-1 Fire seen as a threat ing, the County Council approved the Summit County Wildfire Preparedness Plan, a 40-page document that Fire Warden Bryce Boyer described as a “50,000-foot look” at fire mitigation in the county. Counties are newly required to have such a plan in place to receive state funding to fight catastrophic fires. It was approved unanimously, but councilors asked for more work to be done to identify, prioritize and estimate the cost of specific projects that would lessen the risk of a catastrophic fire in Summit County. County Council Chair Roger Armstrong said the Wildfire Preparedness Plan is adequate if its goal is to satisfy a state requirement, but did not provide a sufficient roadmap for making the county safer with specific projects. “It feels like we escaped wonderfully this year,” Armstrong said, referring to the mild wildfire season. “I’m not sure we’re going to escape next year the same way, and I don’t know what we took a lot of steps this year - on this down year.” Boyer said the county’s plan is a guiding document for area municipalities to follow, and that the localized plans would have the specifics the county asked for. He added that good work has been done this year in fire mitigation like education programs to teach homeowners how to harden their properties against fire and the expansion of the wood-chipping program to help clear vegetation. But Armstrong questioned the smaller jurisdictions’ ability to craft fire preparedness plans with limited resources. He said he wanted to see a multi-jurisdictional effort — including groups outside municipal governments like home-owners associations — to create a plan with specific initiatives ranked by importance with estimated costs and possible funding sources. “We need to ... establish for 2020 some sort of program that we’re going to start reducing fuels, or mitigation — all of these things you’ve identified,” Armstrong said. “We need to come up with a 2020 plan with some measurable metrics so we can understand if we’re actually accomplishing something.” Later that evening, in a packed conference room at the Summit County Health Department, dozens of people came to discuss a proposed new groundwater protection ordinance, including representatives from large and small water utilities, subject-matter experts like engineers and hy- drogeologists and many East Side agriculturalists. The proposed ordinance would impose new rules on how development is evaluated in areas that surround public water sources like wells. The farmers and ranchers said they supported the goal of protecting water sources, but that the proposed ordinance threatens their operations and adds another regulation that has the potential to stifle growth. Mike Brown, who said he is one of the last dairy farmers in the county, said he was told the ordinance targeted developers and new development, but the way it reads, it seems to target agriculture. “As I read this, it was an ordinance proposed specifically for ag,” Brown said. “It talks about the storage of manure — I don’t know any developers talking about storage of manure.” The rule would add another step in the planning process for new or expanding development. It would require written consent from water suppliers for a project that would affect groundwater near a well at much more stringent standards than are currently applied. The Board of Health recommended the formation of a subcommittee with representatives from different sides of the issue — ranchers, water suppliers, Health Department staff and subject-matter experts — to report back at December’s meeting with proposed changes. Your future Mountain Home is calling Check out the Park Record’s Real Estate Monthly for listings in Park City and the surrounding areas Post your best shots on Instagram with the hashtag: #ParkCityPics and we’ll put the best ones in The Park Record! Looking to sell a home, condo, property, or townhome? Call 435-649-9014 to get your listing seen by over 10,000 people. You Forgot to book the holiday party?? HOME DECOR • FINE ART • ACCESSORIES • CHILDRENS CLOTHING • FAIR TRADE GIFTS • CBD SWEETS • TREATS • COLOR STREET GIVEAWAYS • FINE JEWELRY • PAPARRAZZI • HANDMADE BAGS • BATH GOODS • USBOURNE • HAND CARVED & HANDMADE GOODS *NOW BOOKING* HOLIDAY PARTIES Open to Non-Members for all types of parties... office party, corporate party, small dinner party, family holiday party! did we mention we have a bar offering mulled cider & wine for purchase? Jeremy Ranch Golf & Country Club 8770 N. Jeremy Rd. Park City, UT 84098 JEREMY RANCH GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB 8770 N. JEREMY RD. PARK CITY, UT 84098 (435) 649-2700 Contact us today! Alecia Overman aoverman@thejeremy.com (435) 649-2700 x207 |