Summit County Council Votes 3-2 to Continue To Be Part of Mountain Accord

The Summit County Council is visiting about the Mountain Accord and signing an interlocal agreement committing the county to $150,000 over 3 years. Here are some of the item stated during the meeting…

• Utah County request deferral of any actions impacting Utah County
  • 1100 acres that snowbird was giving up to get 400 acres in Utah County (American Fork Canyon) are now in question
• Changes Summit County requested were not controversial
• Chris Robinson hopes to get direction from Council on how to proceed during next Monday’s meeting
• Was to be a 21st July formal signing ceremony but that has been postponed for a few weeks because of Utah County issues
• Chris Robinson says the interlocal agreement has been signed by many people and he would like us to sign that as well
• Carl Fisher Save Our Canyons, wrote email to Summit County Council
  • Fisher says Save Our Canyons is behind Mountain Accord:
  • Fisher says Mountain Accord isn’t perfect but it provides things otherwise hard to obtain
• Sierra Club representative says they hope Summit County will stay involved and hopes the Mountain Accord will come to fruition. They also approve of the Federal Land designation of the open space along the ridgeline between Summit County and Salt Lake County
• Citizen, Vern Greco, says he doesn’t represent any special interest group says that he feelsit is important that the county stays involved:
  • Devil is in the details
  • It’s going to be a long process and has fear that non Summit County interests impact us

Council Members Made Comments on Federal Land Designations:

• Roger Armstrong said he has concerns that the open space lands that may get federal designations, would take an act of congress to change. He wonders how things like climate change that could make skiing at low elevations hard, may make us wish we could allow it to be used differently in the future.
• Claudia McMullin and Kim Carson say they have few concerns with Federal Designations.

Council Members Made Comments on Interlocal Agreement:

• Roger Armstrong says still has concerns about Interlocal agreement. He has concerns about who helms the Mountain Accord.

The Council voted 3-2 to approve the funding agreement.

• Claudia McMullin voted for it. She says it is critical for us to stay at the table. She says it has highlighted transportation issues and she doesn’t want to alienate partners who could help us pay for transportation solutions.
• Dave Ure voted against it. He says he believes we will be disappointed in the Accord when it is finalized. He would prefer us to concentrate on our own issues. He asks if we will be able to address our issues because others don’t care about Summit County. He believes the studies will do nothing more than make the development happen faster. He wants to develop a transportation resolution to solve our problems. He says Mountain Accord puts false hope in our way and confuses us.
• Roger Armstrong voted against it. He says he has wrestled with it for a long time. He says he is not happy with the process. He feels Wasatch front interests are compelling in tapping into Summit County and thinks those interests won’t go away. He feels that the fact tunnel is still going to be studied that it is still in play. He feels having UTA still in driving seat means that transportation will still have focus. He worries that Summit County lands showing up at the end of the discussions, at such a late date, is problematic. He wonders why they showed up. He feels $150,000 spent on Mountain Accord could be better spent on our own transportation plan.
• Chris Robinson voted for it. He says that most people have heard his opinions on the topic. He says this will help us long term by getting partners together. He thinks it will be good for Summit County.
• Kim Carson voted for it for the same reasons as Claudia and Chris.