Park City, UT
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Community E-Newsletter February, 2012
10th Anniversary-XIX Olympic Winter Games
The Park City community is in the midst of celebrating the 10th anniversary of hosting the XIX Olympic Winter Games. From February 8-24, 2002, over 500,000 people visited Park City's Main Street Celebrations and over two billion people worldwide watched the Olympic Games on television.
It was widely proclaimed that these were the best Winter Olympic Games ever held, a feat we are still particularly proud of in Park City. Thousands of volunteers helped stage the events, and Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort were major competition venues.
As we look back on those exciting times we also realize that hosting the Olympics bequeathed Park City an amazing legacy. We are now seen as one of a handful of truly world class resort areas. We have incredible training facilities at our resorts. At the Utah Olympic Park, we have the highest percentage of Olympic athletes living and training in our community of any resort. We have new programs for our youth to experience sports. As a community we learned how to come together and provide our guests with a much higher level of service.
In honor of celebrating the 10th anniversary, a number of events are taking place, including the recently completed Visa World Cup Aerial & Mogul Competition at Deer Valley, which kicked off with a street dance and Olympic Torch Run reenactment. An exhibition of Olympic photos and memorabilia is on display at the Kimball Art Center through February.
Enjoy these memories and keep the fire lit within.
Park City Municipal Has Gone Mobile
Get the most up-to-date information on your smartphone at www.parkcity.org.
Popular links are right on the Home page. The ‘Maps’ link offers an easy to view web map. ‘Getting Around’ offers a Google Widget that gives Transit directions including bus routes and times. Recreation, Employment, Calendar Events & News are also a ‘click away’! The Full Website is also easily accessed from each mobile view page.
Contact Kay Lynn via email or call 615-5262 with any questions or problems.
To Ski or Not to Ski
Click here to see what the New York Times has to say about 36 hours in Park City.
Last month, a new state of the art, fully electric ice resurfacer arrived at the Park City Ice Arena. The Olympia Millennium-E can resurface over 20 ice sheets before needing to be charged. The machine has a laser-controlled blade adjustment system that keeps the whole ice sheet level consistent to within the thickness of a credit card! The resurfacer also has a speed controlled water output system that adjusts the water flow based on the speed of the driver, and puts down the same amount of water each time the ice is resurfaced. We are extremely pleased to better serve our guests with an improved and higher quality of ice. For more information, contact Jon Pistey, Arena Operations Manager, via email.
Great Utah Shakeout
Park City Municipal in coordination with Summit County, the State of Utah, surrounding cities and counties and FEMA Region 8 will be participating in the April 17, 2011, regional full scale exercise called the Great Utah Shakeout next April. Are you and your family prepared for a major disaster where you live and/or work? Register here.
News You Can Use
In January, City Council . . .
- Witnessed the swearing-in ceremony for elected Council members Andy Beerman, Dick Peek and Liza Simpson.
- Renewed a three-year contract with Municipal Bond Consulting for financial advisory services
- Amended the professional services agreement with MWH Americas, Inc. for construction management services at the Quinn’s Junction Water Treatment Plant
- Approved a professional services agreement with Stanley Consultants for reconstruction engineering design services of Empire Avenue
- Approved a professional service provider agreement with Alliance Engineering for the Wyatt Earp Way traffic calming project
- Awarded a professional services contract to IBI group for consulting services for the Historic Park City Alliance infrastructure improvements
- Approved an Annexation Agreement as part of the Settlement Agreement between Summit County and Quinns Junction Partnership
- Accepted an Annexation Petition by Quinns Junction Partnership for 29 acres of land at the southwest corner of US40 and SR 248
PC MARC
Come visit the new city-owned state-of-the-art recreation facility open to the public. PC MARC has affordable rates and incredible amenities. Enjoy an indoor track, tennis, cardio & weights, group fitness classes, bouldering, a party room, childcare and seasonal pools. Visit www.parkcityrecreation.org or call 435-615-5400 for more information.
Park City Library
Learn how to get a better refund, how to avoid an audit, and how to choose a tax preparer. There will be a question and answer period following the presentation.
Wednesday, February 22nd (en español) 6-7 pm in the Roger Harlan Meeting Room |
Wednesday, February 29th (English) 6-7 pm in the Roger Harlan Meeting Room |
Quinn’s Water Treatment Plant
The Water Department is excited to be starting up the new Quinn’s Junction Water Treatment Plant in March. The plant is a state of the art membrane filtration facility. Watch for information next month about start-up activities.
Leadership Park City Presents Community Lecture
Jonathan Schechter from Jackson Hole will speak at the 18th Annual Community Leadership Lecture on Monday, March 19, 7:00 p.m. at the Santy Auditorium. The public is invited and it's free! Mr. Schechter will speak on Park Park City's economic prospects in the 21st century.
Green Your Routine
Park City’s Low Carbon Diet program is off and running and you’re invited to participate! This community-based initiative engages households at a grassroots level and encourages them to reduce their carbon footprint by 5,000 – 10,000 pounds CO2 per year. Thus far, participating households have been able to reduce their footprint by an average of 9,557 pounds CO2 each, the equivalent of removing a vehicle from the road. Participate for free, and get more information, at ParkCityGreen.org.
Departments » Sustainability » For Homes
Cleaning Supplies
When looking for natural and non-toxic cleaning products, avoid anything with synthetic ingredients or fragrances, petrochemicals, VOCs, chlorine bleach, phthalates, formaldehydes and more. You should always read the labels of any product, and if a product does not have a label with ingredients then it almost surely has harmful chemicals inside. Look out for words like Caution, Warning, Notice and Danger, which could signal a potential harmful chemical. Learn more about healthy cleaning products here.
When purchasing natural cleaning products make sure they bottle includes a list of ingredients. You should be able to pronounce the names of all of them and should know exactly what each one is. The best kind of natural cleaning product you can buy should be made with simple ingredients that you could find in the store and make yourself.
Exposure to these toxins indoors can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; loss of coordination; nausea; and damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous systems. And we certainly don't want ourselves, our family or our pets to come in contact with these toxins or experience any of these health problems. Children and pets are especially at risk because they experience a higher dose of toxins, not to mention their immune systems are still developing and not able to shed toxins from the bodies as quickly as adults.
There are three categories into which most of the hazardous ingredients in household cleaning products fall are:
1. Carcinogens – Carcinogens cause cancer and/or promote cancer’s growth.
2. Endocrine disruptors – Endocrine disruptors mimic human hormones, confusing the body with false signals. Exposure to endocrine disruptors can lead to numerous health concerns including reproductive, developmental, growth and behavior problems. Endocrine disruptors have been linked to reduced fertility, premature puberty, miscarriage, menstrual problems, challenged immune systems, abnormal prostate size, ADHD, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and certain cancers.
3. Neurotoxins – Neurotoxins alter neurons, affecting brain activity, causing a range of problems from headaches to loss of intellect.
Here are some startling facts about the chemicals found in cleaning products.
- 17,000: the number of petrochemicals available for home use, only 30 percent of which have been tested for exposure to human health and the environment.
- 63: the number of synthetic chemical products found in the average American home, translating to roughly 10 gallons of harmful chemicals.
- 100: the number of times higher that indoor air pollution levels can be above outdoor air pollution levels, according to US EPA estimates.
- 275: the number of active ingredients in antimicrobials that the EPA classifies as pesticides because they are designed to kill microbes.
- 5 billion: the number of pounds of chemicals that the institutional cleaning industry uses each year.
- 23: the average gallons of chemicals (that's 87 liters) that a janitor uses each year, 25 percent of which are hazardous.
- White Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Borax
- Hydrogen Peroxide (3% concentration)
- Club Soda (plain)
- Lemon Juice
- Liquid Castile Soap
- Corn Meal
- Olive Oil or Walnut Oil
- Toothpaste
- Pure Essential Oils - like lavender, lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and tea tree oils
With all of these ingredients you can make your own natural and non-toxic cleaning supplies, which cost a lot less as well.
- All-Purpose Cleaners: This cleaner can be used for just about every surface in your home, from kitchen counters and appliances to bathroom surfaces and walls.
- Carpet Cleaner: To clean and disinfect your carpet, blend 1/2 cup baking soda, 1 cup borax, and 1 cup cornmeal. Sprinkle mixture over rug and rub with a cloth. Let rest for several hours or overnight, then vacuum. An even simpler way to clean your carpet is to sprinkly plain baking soda on your carpet, let rest for an hour and then vacuum up. You can also add dry lavender buds to the baking soda for an extra fresh smell.
- Hard Floor Cleaner: This solution can be used for all hard floors (except when directed by the manufacturer to avoid even mild detergents): Combine 1/4 liquid castile soap, up to 1/2 cup white vinegar or lemon juice, and 2 gallons of warm water in a large plastic bucket. Use with a mop or sponge.
- Glass Cleaner: To make your windows shine, you can simply use club soda in a spray bottle. Add 1 tsp. of lemon juice to increase your window cleaner’s degreasing power. Leftover newspaper works very well to reduce streaks
- Bathroom Surface Cleaners: You can use the all-purpose cleaners recommended above or, for even simpler bathroom cleaning, use baking soda or borax as a scouring powder. For a softer scrub, combine 1/2 cup baking soda with enough liquid soap to achieve a frosting-like consistency. You may want to add 5-10 drops of an essential oil for fragrance. Club soda works wonders on plumbing fixtures.
- Toilet Cleaner: Sprinkle baking soda or borax, or pour white vinegar into the toilet, and let sit for a few minutes. Scrub with a good toilet brush.
- Oven Cleaner: Cover the oven floor with baking soda, spray with water until very damp, and let set overnight. Spray with water every few hours before you go to bed to keep damp. In the morning, clean out the baking soda, and the stuck-on gunk will be loosened and ready to scrub off.
- Drain Cleaner: Put two tablespoons of baking soda into/over the drain of your sink or tub. Then pour one cup of vinegar on the baking soda. This will begin to fizz a lot and is completely normal. Wait a few minutes, and then pour a kettle of boiling water over the soda/vinegar residue.
- Mold Remover: Combe 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar with 1 cup water. Spray on mold and do not rinse. You can also treat mold with a spray mixture of 2 tsp. tea tree oil and 2 cups water.
- Wood Polish: To polish wood furniture, dab olive oil or walnut oil onto a soft cloth and rub.
- Silver Polish: Just put some toothpaste on an old toothbrush or wet cloth and go to town. When you’re done polishing, rinse the item well in warm water and then dry with a soft cloth.