How Summit County Council Members Feel About Mountain Accord

We are going to make an attempt to describe where we believe each of our Summit County Council Members stands on Mountain Accord. While we understand opinions are nuanced and we’re sure we won’t get it spot on, here is what we gleaned from watching the members debate the issue on Wednesday.

Kim Carson (Council Chairperson): It appears Ms. Carson learned a lot about Mountain Accord from her trip to Switzerland. She was able to spend time with Laney Jones, the head Mountain Accord consultant, who explained the details of the Accord. She appears to believe growth is coming to the Salt Lake Valley and the Mountain Accord may help slow some of its “spillover” into Park City and Summit County. She says she wants to continue with the Mountain Accord so that we can learn more about what it may be able to offer.

Roger Armstrong: It appears Mr. Armstrong continues to believe that the Mountain Accord will bring more day skiers to Park City and that is not a good thing for our businesses and community. He understands that the Cottonwood Canyons have challenges and hopes they can solve those. However, he does not seem convinced that there is much benefit to Park City or Summit County from the Mountain Accord. He stated he is not completely opposed to spending $150,000 to stay in the Mountain Accord process but wonders if there are better ways to use that money that would directly help Summit County.

Chris Robinson: Mr. Robinson seems to be the Council’s biggest proponent of continuing with the Mountain Accord. Unlike most other council members he could see reasons why we may eventually want to allow a connection between the Cottonwood Canyons and Park City. He appears to believe we should stay part of the process and continue funding the Mountain Accord. He also believes that we should build in “exit-ramps” though just in case we want to leave the Accord at some point.

Claudia McMullin: Ms. McMullin seems most adamantly opposed to a connection between the Cottonwood Canyons and Park City. She appears concerned that by continuing with the Mountain Accord they may assume that Summit County automatically agrees that a connection is fine. She said that if Summit County continues with the Accord that she would like to put in writing that they don’t support a connection. She also stated she is concerned about the amount of time Summit County personnel have spent on the Mountain Accord when they could be using that time to solve our own problems.

Dave Ure: Mr. Ure stated that he believes that the watershed that the Mountain Accord aims to protect will not be as pristine as it is today, even with the Mountain Accord. He stated that he doesn’t believe that growth will be curbed by the Accord. He also seems to share the feeling that this will have little benefit to Summit County residents. Finally, he feels Summit County staff involvement in the Accord has allowed them to educate the county council; however, he too is concerned about the time staff would need to spend going forward.

Note: if we have misunderstood and/or misrepresented an opinion above, or one of the individuals would like to expand on their feelings toward Mountain Accord, we are more than happy to print those opinions.