This week we cover…

• An update regarding the Dakota Pacific Development Agreement
  
• Exciting energy-related news for Summit County
  
• Info on the Summit County visioning project, “Our Summit.”
  

Ok…let’s get into the news. 

Dakota Pacific Update 

At this week’s County Council meeting, another public hearing took place regarding Dakota Pacific Real Estate’s application to amend their development agreement for the land commonly referred to as the Park City Tech Center. Once again, more than 100 community members showed up to express their opinions about the amendment application to the council. 

What to expect next: on Wednesday, March 15, the Council will meet again with Dakota Pacific representatives and, hopefully, on that date make a final decision regarding the proposal. 

Community Renewable Energy Agency 

Also on the Council agenda this week was an update from Summit County Sustainability Program Manager Emily Quinton on The Community Renewable Energy Agency. This agency is an interlocal cooperative of 18 Utah cities and counties working together and with Rocky Mountain Power to establish the Utah Community Renewable Energy Program.

For a little more background: The goal of the Utah 100 Communities is to acquire renewable energy to serve residents and businesses in participating communities so that by 2030, the amount of electricity participating communities use every year is matched by the same amount of renewable energy delivered to the Rocky Mountain Power system. This “net-100%” goal shared by all the Utah 100 communities sets the Agency on the path to create the Community Renewable Energy Program. 

This is a multistep process….and the step the agency is on now is having each community to review and sign a Utility Agreement with Rocky Mountain Power, hopefully later this month or in April. This will be one agreement, approved by the board of the Community Renewable Energy Agency, and signed by each individual community involved so that the communities continue to be eligible for the Community Renewable Energy Program that will hopefully get approved later this year! The Utility Agreement will address a number of topics, such as how the communities will work with Rocky Mountain Power to cover the costs of mail notices sent to customers once the program launches (potentially towards the end of 2023).

To learn more about the Community Renewable Energy Agency, and what communities are involved visit utah100communities.org. Guess what? Out of the 18 communities involved, five are in Summit County! In addition to the County, there is Coalville, Oakley, Francis, and Park City too. There will be public engagement about the topic later this year, so stay tuned for information on that too!

Energy Burden Study 

Did you know? Energy burden is the proportion of residents’ income that goes toward paying for heat and electricity in their home. Summit County and Park City are concerned about the energy burden of households with lower incomes in our community.

We are seeking input regarding ways that local governments can help decrease utility bills and increase the level of comfort in the homes of our residents through a survey studying residents’ energy burden.

Please visit: bit.ly/energyburdensurvey

Our Summit Promo 

And, last but certainly not least, Summit County is undertaking a community visioning plan to establish a roadmap for the future of our County! Community members have the opportunity to take the “Summit County Talks” survey now through March 31.

The questionnaire is an important opportunity to share how you view Summit County as it is now, what you love about our community, and what opportunities you see for it in the next 10-20 years. The survey is available at oursummitcounty.com. 

We’ll also be at the Summit County and Park City Art Council’s Winter Art Showcase THIS weekend (March 10 and 11). Stop by and support local artists at the Winter Arts Showcase and find Our Summit Project representatives at the event. You’ll have the opportunity to help us visualize what elements make up Summit County to YOU! Together, we’ll create a fun art installation about Summit County that was built for and by the community who calls it home. 

For more information, please visit pcscarts.org.