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PCMC Newsletter
September, 2010
Welcome to Park City Municipal’s new monthly e-newsletter!
Miners Day 2010
We hope this helps keep you informed about City news, programs, government, services, construction, and more. Expect future newsletters to land in your in-box the second Tuesday of every month. We look forward to keeping you better informed about our special mountain community!
Survey Says…Citizens Give Park City Municipal Valuable Communications Feedback
Many thanks to the 300 full- and part-time residents who completed communications surveys in June and July! We value your input as we make efforts to enhance and modernize the way we communicate. Many of you want to be more informed electronically which will help us reduce costs and paper use. Please tell your friends and colleagues to register their email addresses here. The more email addresses we have, the less we’ll have to rely on postal mailings in the future.
Many respondents indicated that they’d like to hear from us on Facebook, so we’ll let you know when we have a page up and running.
Most respondents rated us in the “good” category for our overall communications efforts. We realize there’s still room for improvement, and we hope these new steps we’re taking will lead to even higher satisfaction levels.
Visit Our New Website and Sign Up for RSS Feeds
Park City has a new website, and we’re excited to show it off! The user-friendly site is your resource for living, recreating, and doing business in Park City in addition to news about City government and services. If you want immediate information, please be sure to sign up for our RSS feeds here.
Park City Rotary Club Honors Park City Transportation
The Park City Rotary Club honored the City's transportation system as the Professional Citizens of the Year at their annual awards luncheon on Tuesday, August 31. Jerry Gibbs, a past president of the Rotary Club and the long-time former Public Works Director for Park City, presented the award to Kent Cashel and Darren Davis on behalf of the Park City Transportation system. Jerry reminded the audience that Park City's free public transportation system is the 2nd largest in Utah and carries up to two million passengers a year. Jerry also stressed how the system now covers the entire Snyderville Basin and operates 24/7, 365 days a year, and most importantly that our bus drivers are usually one of the first locals tourists encounter when they visit Park City. They are some of our very best ambassadors said Jerry, showering visitors with information, smiles and a welcoming attitude.
The Rotary Club was honored to bestow this prestigious award on the Park City Transportation system for all their years of unfailing service and great work. Both Kent and Darren were surprised to receive the award on behalf of our the city's fine employees in the Transportation and Public Works Departments and in accepting spoke about the great team effort it takes to run this vital city service on-time and on schedule.
The Park City Rotary Club honored the city's transportation system as the Professional Citizens of the Year at their annual awards luncheon on Tuesday, August 31. Jerry Gibbs, a past president of the Rotary Club and the long-time former Public Works Director for Park City, presented the award to Kent Cashel and Darren Davis on behalf of the Park City Transportation system. Jerry reminded the audience that Park City's free public transportation system is the 2nd largest in Utah and carries up to two million passengers a year. Jerry also stressed how the system now covers the entire Snyderville Basin and operates 24/7, 365 days a year, and most importantly that our bus drivers are usually one of the first locals tourists encounter when they visit Park City. They are some of our very best ambassadors said Jerry, showering visitors with information, smiles and a welcoming attitude.
The Rotary Club was honored to bestow this prestigious award on the Park City Transportation system for all their years of unfailing service and great work. Both Kent and Darren were surprised to receive the award on behalf of our the city's fine employees in the Transportation and Public Works Departments and in accepting spoke about the great team effort it takes to run this vital city service on-time and on schedule.
REVERSE 911 – In Case of Emergency, the City Will Call You
REVERSE 911 is an emergency notification system that Park City is implementing to easily contact citizens about urgent matters related to crime, safety, health, etc. Because of the prevalence of mobile phones, it’s important that you register your cell phone number with us.
Look for a postal mailing later this month that addresses how you can securely register your cell phone number on our website. Or to register now, click here.
Leadership Park City - Class XVI
Class 16 culminated it’s community service project last weekend with a community Foodprint Festival. 250 local residents turned out to enjoy a menu of locally-grown foods while visiting with farmers and ranchers.
The thirty members of Leadership Class 16 undertook the challenge of encouraging Park City residents to “Rethink your Foodprint” after learning that the food in an average American lunch traveled over 1,500 ingredient-miles to reach the plate. Americans produce more greenhouse gases each year by the choice of food we eat than produced by the cars we drive! For the first time, our children born after the year 2000 will not outlive their parents. And the answer is in the simple choices we make every time we sit down to eat.
In the course of the project, the class conducted the “Grand Experiment” growing vegetables in 200 container gardens to demonstrate that it’s “not too high or dry to try” planting gardens in our community. Four education events in July and August sensitized Parkites to the health issues in our industrial food supply, how to grow at 7,000 feet, where to find local farmers and CSA’s to buy your groceries, and how to cook and store fully ripened local farm-fresh food through the winter months.
Originally seeded by a grant from The Park City Foundation, the project enjoyed tremendous support from the community, raising over $12,000 in cash and in-kind donations to make every one of it’s education events and the Foodprint Festival completely free and open to the public. As one of the more ambitious class projects undertaken, Myles is both thrilled and concerned that the bar has been raised to new heights for future Leadership classes. Dubbed “The Locavores of Leadership,” the class hopes to continue the movement to “Grow Local with an Altitude.”
Class XVII
102 applications were received for next year’s class! Watch for the announcement of Class XVII members in the October newsletter.
Fire Safety
The Park City Fire District reminds us that it’s prime brush fire season. Providing defensible space around your home improves your fire safety and gives your home its best chance for surviving a wildfire. Click here for information on firewise landscape design, installation, and maintenance. Click here for a list of firewise plants.
General Plan Public Outreach Meetings
The Planning Department and Planning Commission members held two General Plan public input sessions at the Eccles Performing Arts Center Lobby on July 20 and July 27. The General Plan is the guiding document which provides direction for the future growth of the City. Park City’s General Plan was last updated ten years ago and is currently scheduled to be rewritten.
The Planning staff prepared and in-depth survey as well as interactive exhibits to enable residents to provide input regarding future land use patterns and development ideas within the City. Approximately 60 people attended the two open houses which were set up in an informal format, with a survey table, interactive mapping exhibits, and an opportunity to rank the proposed goals for the new General Plan.
The written survey included questions regarding appropriate neighborhood development, parking, pedestrian and vehicular accessibility, sustainable initiatives and a matrix of detailed possible uses. A write-in area was also provided to help identify neighborhood ‘special places’.
The next step for the general public at the neighborhood session including providing input for proposed General Plan goals/ideas. Participants were given green stickers to mark goals they agreed with the most and red stickers for goals they disagreed with.
The final step was a “free thinking” idea melting pot which let the public provide written input on any items for further discussion.
The Planning Department is currently on a two year timeline to prepare a new draft of the General Plan with the Planning Commission. Staff expects additional input sessions in the coming year.
Bonanza Bulletin
Curb and gutter installation along Bonanza Drive from Kearns Boulevard to Munchkin continues this week with anticipated completion by Friday, October 8th.
The Prospector Avenue to Iron Horse Drive road section is closed to motorist traffic through Friday, October 15. General hours of construction are 7am-9 pm weekdays. For more information, please visit http://bonanzadrive.com/
Stay Fit on Iron Horse - Park City Racquet Club Relocation
Just a reminder, the aquatics facilities are now closed at the Racquet Club. All fitness classes, cardio, and weight equipment are now at the 1255 Iron Horse location. Come see us there!
Green Your Routine and Banish Junkmail
The piles of catalogues stacked in your mailbox are not only annoying; they’re bad for the environment. To get your name off junk mail lists, Corrin Arasa, the founder of Project GreenHouse, an organization that educates people on living a greener lifestyle, recommends catalogchoice.org, a Web site that stops certain catalogues from being shipped to your house and ultimately ending up in the trash. Another Web site, optoutprescreen.com, specifically stops junk mail offers from credit cards and insurance companies.
News You Can Use
In July, City Council
• Approved the Rail Central Pedestrian Connection Bridge design
• Appointed Greta Church, Bob Peek, Kai Bolger and Bob Kollar to the Public Art Advisory Board
• Supported pursuing a Summit County environmental partnership
In August, City Council
• Awarded a contract for repair of the China Bridge Parking Structure
• Amended the contract for the Quinn’s Junction Water Treatment Plant design
• Agreed to move ahead with an Energy Dynamics Lab partnership to electrify the Main Street trolley through inductive power transfer
Home: Energy Myths
Following are some common home energy myths that may be costing you.
1. Setting the thermostat higher or lower will heat or cool the house faster.
Many a homeowner has come home to an uncomfortable house and set the thermostat higher or lower than necessary, thinking it will warm or cool faster. In reality, a furnace or air-conditioner works at the same speed, no matter what the thermostat setting. A home will warm up to 68ºF just as quickly if the thermostat is set at 68ºF as it would if the thermostat was set at 80ºF. In such instances, energy may be wasted as the heating or cooling system continues to run after it reaches your desired set point.
2. A heating and cooling system "works harder" to reach a comfortable temperature after setback or set forward.Many people do not adjust their thermostat at night or while the home is unoccupied because of the common misconception that the heating or cooling system must "work harder" or use more energy to reheat or re-cool the house. This is not how a thermostat works. The system turns on to reach a set level and then shuts off when that level is reached. It can be likened more to a switch that shuts on and off, rather than a gas pedal that accelerates faster the more you step on it.
3. Energy efficiency and energy conservation are the same thing.
Efficiency refers to using less to perform a specific task. Examples include replacing traditional lighting with LEDs (light emitting diodes), or installing a high performance appliance. Conservation refers to reducing your need for energy through changes in behavior, such as setting the thermostat lower or riding a bike to work.
4. When an appliance is turned off, it is off.
Many appliances and electronic devices—such as coffee makers and cell phone chargers—in the home continue to use power after they have been switched off. Sometimes as much as if they were on! This is known as standby power or “phantom load.” The only way to stop the power usage by these devices is to unplug them.
5. Leaving lights, computers and appliances on uses less energy than turning them on and off.
In most cases, the small surge of power needed to start a device is much less than the power that is wasted by leaving it on when it is not needed.
6. Duct tape is the best choice for sealing ducts.
Duct tape has very low durability when used to seal ducts, according to laboratory research. On new installations duct tape will not last long without extensive surface preparation, especially in dirty or dusty locations. Over time, duct tape will fall off as the adhesive dries out and the tape starts to wrinkle. Mastic or metal-backed tapes—available at your local hardware or do-it-yourself retailer—are better choices for duct sealing.
7. Purchasing an efficient air-conditioner or furnace will automatically reduce energy bills.
This is true to some extent, but optimal savings will not be achieved unless the system is sized and installed correctly. Installing an efficient, but over-sized, system can negate much of the potential savings, while a poorly designed duct system can also have an impact on efficiency and comfort. Windows, doors, and insulation also play a factor in heating and cooling efficiency.
8. Dimming lights by 50% will cut lighting costs in half.
In reality, the relationship is not quite direct and the savings may be less than expected. Dimmed lights do use less power, but when lights are dimmed, the voltage drops and the filament becomes cooler. This causes a loss in overall efficiency.
9. Closing off vents will help to lower heating and cooling costs.
Closing or covering up vents is typically not a good way to save on energy costs. Heating and cooling systems balance their load throughout the duct system. If one vent gets closed off, it throws the system off balance. Pressure can build up in the duct work, causing leakage and less air circulating in your home. This reduces system efficiency and home comfort.