Hey everyone! Welcome back to another week of news here on Summit in Six, back with our newest team member Ammon Teare for his second episode. Today we’ll be talking arts, traffic, dogs and an upcoming course to quit unhealthy habits.

Alright, let’s get into the news!

TOPIC 1: A word from the Park City Summit County Arts Council

At Wednesday’s council meeting, representatives from the Park City/Summit County Arts Council shared their progress on a new arts and culture master plan and more public art coming soon to the Jeremy Ranch roundabouts.

The master plan is a collaboration between public and private organizations focused on promoting creativity and community partnerships. In the last four months, planners have been gathering public input, identifying primary goals, and offering recommendations to advance community engagement with the arts. Five key challenges identified include: funding, visibility and accessibility, community engagement, visitor vs resident priorities, and cost of living. The master plan will identify opportunities to address these challenges and make recommendations to the county, city, and chamber of commerce. 

If you are a local artist or represent a local gallery or community arts organization, you can send an email to jocelyn@pcscarts.org or jasmine@designinglocal.com to participate in their last call for stakeholder interviews. You can offer your insight and help inform the arts master plan before the community engagement period ends in mid-April.

During this week’s council meeting, Jocelyn Scudder, executive director for the Arts Council, said that she will present to council again in June to seek a resolution of support for this draft master plan. This process, initiated as part of the sustainable tourism plan for Summit County, will help the county, city, and chamber of commerce collaborate to support local arts and tourism.

Following discussion of the master plan, the arts board shared an update on two sculptures going in the roundabouts at the Jeremy Ranch/Pinebrook exits in the Snyderville Basin. The Summit County Public Art Advisory Board began seeking quotes from artists in 2023, asking that submissions embody the local landscape, culture, history, or wildlife; that the art celebrates a strong sense of place; engages the viewer and is highly visible while adhering to public safety guidelines.

The winning team, artists Don Kennel and Lisa Adler, were announced in May 2024. They committed to sculpt, assemble, and install two larger-than-life animal statues: a moose on the Pinebrook side and a sandhill crane with two chicks on her back for the Jeremy Ranch side. An artist rendering of the completed statues plus some progress photos are available to view in the show notes.

Starting in late April, members of the artist team will arrive to begin assembly and to present at four schools near the site to explain how the sculptures are made, why they chose these wildlife subjects, and to share about being professional sculpture artists.

Students will get to suggest names for both the moose and crane and then vote on their favorites. Each school’s top submissions will go head-to-head and be put to a community vote. Stay tuned for more details on the community name contest as the project nears completion in this early summer of 2025.

TOPIC 2: Kimball Jct. Road Project Update

Up next, the council heard an update on the Kimball Junction Draft Environmental Impact Statement (or EIS) from county and state transportation officials, including UDOT Project Manager Becky Stromness and Carl Miller, Summit County’s Director of Transportation Planning. 

Let’s go back in time for a moment to 2019, when UDOT identified the intersection of I-80 and SR-224 in Kimball Junction as a potential safety and mobility hazard, especially considering future traffic conditions. Through public input and consultation with community planners, 30 alternative concepts were considered to address travel and safety concerns.

Initial screening eliminated 27 alternatives, leaving just 3 (labeled A, B, and C) to undergo more rigorous screening for environmental impacts and potential benefits. In March of this year, UDOT identified Alternative C as the preferred solution. Its primary benefits over other proposals was that it offers faster travel speeds during peak hours, shorter lines on the I-80 off ramps, and the project would be the least costly to the state. It’s $49 million compared to approximately $124 for Alternative A (the only other proposal to clear all four stages of screening).

The EIS is now in another public comment period. You can learn more about the project and share your input at kimballjunctioneis.udot.utah.gov. Comments can be submitted via phone, mail, email, or online comment forms through April 28, 2025. 

UDOT has scheduled two public hearings in April. There will be ann in-person hearing at Ecker Hill Middle School on April 8 from 5:30-7:30 pm and a virtual hearing on April 10 from 6-7:30 pm. We hope you’ll take the opportunity to get informed and make your voice heard!

TOPIC 3: Licensing your dog

For the month of March, Summit County Animal Control would like to remind residents that all dogs over the age of four months must be licensed within 10 days of acquiring the animal or moving to the county. The license tag must be attached to the collar and worn at all times along with their rabies tag.

Licenses can be renewed annually or every three years. Licensing dogs has several benefits:. Licensed dogs wearing their tags can be easily returned to their owners if they run away or are lost. Licensing also helps remind owners to stay on top of rabies vaccinations, and helps animal control officials to ensure dogs are not overcrowded at individual residences.

Service dogs and dogs working with government agencies must be licensed, but are exempt from the fees. For more information or to register for a license online, visit: summitcountyutah.gov/animalcontrol.



TOPIC 4: Upcoming course to quit Tobacco



Are you interested in quitting or reducing your tobacco use? The Summit County Health Department is offering a free six-week support group to help you quit tobacco. Whether you are ready to stop using tobacco or just thinking about it, you can get the support and knowledge you need to make the right decision for you through the DIMENSIONS: Tobacco Free Group. This six-week group will be hosted at the Summit County Health Department at 650 Round Valley Drive in Park City in the downstairs conference room on Wednesdays beginning April 23. A little bit more about what this groups provides:

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• A supportive and non-judgmental environment to help you through your process of quitting tobacco
  
• Information on how tobacco use affects your health, how to manage cravings, and how to change your habits
  
• A flexible program designed to meet your needs and help you make healthy choices in all areas of your life
  
  
  

To sign up or get more information, please contact Matt Wolbach by email or phone at: mwolbach@summitcountyutah.gov or 435-333-1508.