Organic Waste Disposal

I love all of your ideas and think as a group we can make great things happen. I'd like to throw an idea out, that i believe would benefit the community and leave a lasting legacy. It would be interesting to see if we could organize a campaign to keep organic waste out of the landfill. I know that with recycling and composting i generate less than one trash bag per month. It's pretty amazing to see the difference. There are many progressive ideas for using the organic waste to generate power, fertilize, and provide high quality soils, but it could also be used by the community parks and schools. In some cities the compost is used to generate $$$

In many cases cities have cut their solid waste entering landfills by 50%. it would take a lot more research but i think we could educate people, business, restaurants around town and possible get the city to start a larger facility. We could look into grants both local and federal.

To start we would need to educate residents about the benefits, work with sponsors Government and local business to implement, and train citizens how to keep compostable material out of the land fills.

Maddy

Hi all,

Sorry it has taken  a while for me to jump in and for not being perhaps at my best at our meeting.  As some of you know I have started working full time in Salt Lake at Tracy Aviary as Director of Marketing and Guest Services and I love it but I have been swamped at work and my stress level has been a bit high.  My apologies.

Anyway enough of whining!! Wow, some great ideas.  So many of our classes conversations lean to the environmental side and it what many of us are quite passionate about I lean toward a project in this area.  It is also something I would be so proud to have my kids see us doing.

Ok here goes at the risk of sounding realllllllly stupid I woke up the night of our meeting and thought it's so simple the idea was presented right to us at the meeting.  It is causing a major change in my habits one that I was selfishly and lazily procrastinating on.  Any guesses?
It's all about the water bottle. Alison's water bottle.  I have plenty of REI water bottles that I use for hiking but I love my straight from the fridge indiviudal single serving, environmentally damaging water bottles for everyday drinking.

It has been nagging at me to make the switch but I love the convenience of the single serves and I don't think I am alone. I really think we can make a huge impact into the amount of single serve water bottles used in Park City. We could probably track some of our success through re-cycle Utah and the private recycling centers.  Not sure about the ones that go straight to the landfill.Maybe we could incoroporate this through the school district and get people to sign a pledge or contract to give up the store bought water bottle.

Then interestingly enough right after this I grabbed a single serve and there was a notation on it saying how the new shape of the bottle saves 30% plastic.  My daughter the next day pointed the notation out at the dinner table.  I think there is a buzz about how incredibly wasteful buying water bottles.

OK off my water bottle soapbox.  Go easy on the responses I'm under stress...just kidding.

Wasn't sure if we were e-mailing or posting but right now this will have to do.
Talk to you all soon.

Maddy

FREE! What about the volunteers?

Okay . . .

First, I agree.  Let's go big, or let's go home.

Second, here's and issue that Johanna and I chatted about last week.  Trisha, chime in on this one! In our meeting, we talked about the fact that we value FREE in this town.  The museum is FREE.  The Kimball Art Center is FREE (incidentally, if you don't all show up on Saturday, March 8th for our Gala Arte Latino opening along with the Wasatch Student Back Show, I will be personally broken hearted), the trolley is FREE, the bus is FREE, there is FREE music all over. . .

BUT, it takes volunteers!  What if WE (and by we, I mean Micajah because God knows I can't do it technologically) created a forum/signup/SOMETHING (I don't know) for volunteers.  Here's the deal, we all volunteer.  So, let's figure out a way to spread the word . . . incidentally, if anyone would like to volunteer for the 2008 Park City Kimball Arts Festival please contact event@kimball-art.org --okay, that was a shameless plug.

Do I think this matters in the same way helping kids matters?  I dunno'.  And, I don't know how to go big with it.  But, it's a thought.

One more thing, if anyone wants to come to the Gallery Stroll on Friday night, Feb. 29th, email me at julieannhooker@gmail.com and I'll leave you passes.  

You're all amazing. . .is it okay if I just hang onto your coattails for awhile?

Julie

Kaitlin's response

hanks Johanna for sharing from the summit youth summit.

 

at risk of being redundant - teenage pregnancy, alcohol and drug use, sex and graffiti are NOT activities specific to the latino community, or to any ONE culture. I find this to be a very a dangerous assumption; action based on this biased notion could be detrimental to a community - divisive and perpetuating stereotypes.

kaitlin

 

Let's Go Big!

You know the saying, Go Big or Go Home...

I'm in flavor of a project that would impact all residents and tourists of all ages. Something that would be green, and daring, and problem-solving.

How about light rail into town in the middle of 224? Eventually expanding to 248, Heber, Kamas, Coalville?

The possibilities are endless...

Megan

ps I'm loving all the great ideas and discussion. This class rocks!

The green world and...

No worries re those pesky 2nd/3rd/4th homeowners...I am going to keep throwing stuff out there...I love the concept of sustainability - it can mean or be applied in so many different ways/facets. There is some great energy flowing guys. It seems a little overwhelming to create our legacy because look at all the work that is already being done for kids and amongst our different cultural communities (not to say our gem isn't in these discussions!)...I am hopeful that we will be able to find an untapped niche where there is real need, or an ability to truly add something unique...in the sustainable/green genre (sorry to single you guys out) Kaitlin/Bo/David/Alex/Allison Butz (sorry if I have missed folks working in the green world) can you see any entres/voids where we might have a voice (green building awareness done; wind energy done; trail/open space awareness done - not DONE but you know what I mean - "out there")...Kaitlin I know you are working on an "off the grid" development - this is so cutting edge...my daughter (7) said to me on the way to school today "why can't we have cars that don't use gas" - I was so pleased that she is thinking about these issues - 

How about cracking into the world of (versions of) off the grid and/or water as a precious resource - youth awareness and participatory programs? 

There are a lot of interesting ideas and evolving concepts coming from this illustrious group...we have to dig deep guys! I hope each of us has the chance to share their ideas, it is HARD to put it out there. I don't want to but I am forcing myself. It would be great to create a "safe space" and therefore, Micajah/Katie I am with you on hanging out together socially, pot luck all the way! Our interaction in this process I suppose IS (part of) the product (?) 

Carey, the Museum, Library, Holy Cross Ministries and other have been
working with Jessica and the Rec Dept. on bringing activities to the kids at
different affordable-housing apartment complexes. We had a summer program
last year and also applied for a grant with United Way. We will put a
year-round program in place, with visits to 4 different complexes.  Twice a
month during the school year and once a week during the summer.

To add to what Lisa had said: it seemed to us that many times it wasn't
necessarily a money issue, but more about transportation and whether any of
the parents were available to drop off their kids for activities. Therefore,
it is a goal of ours to also take the kids on the bus and show them how to
use the free bus system so they can learn how to get to the Boys and Girls
Club, how to get to the Library, etc.

It seems to me like there is more programs offered for younger kids, but
maybe we can come up with something for teenagers which seems to be a harder
group to reach out to.



Thanks, Johanna

Just a quick bit of info before you meet with Jessica on rec programs for
the Latino kids: there should be money available for low-income kids (and
there are plenty in town who are not Latino as well)  who want to
participate in recreational sports programs through Park City Rec or Basin
Rec. If you'll pardon me for adding my two bits, I'm up to speed on this one
because the topic was part of our family activities for a few years. As a
personal service project, my older son, who is now 17, spent several years
setting up a youth sports scholarship fund that he arranged for Basin Rec to
manage. He initially raised $5,000 to start the fund, and a year or so ago,
completed a second fundraising effort through corporate and individual
sponsorships, raising $62,000 to sustain the scholarships for a five year
period. He then negotiated with the Summit County Commission and Park City
Manager Tom Bakaly, and they each agreed to fund youth sport scholarships as
a line in their annual budget at $5,000 from each governmental entity for a
total of $10,000 yearly. So, there should be money in that account. If they
are using all of that, of course, that is great news! Then the question
would be whether or not they need additional funds to meet the greater
demand, and that could become a class project if the Flavors decide that's
something they want to focus on. Also, many of the club sports (soccer,
lacrosse, etc.) have some scholarship funds available (though they always
need more), so that's another option for families. Educating families about
these options is a definite need, as is encouraging people to take advantage
of them. 

Just some more info for the ideas and discussions!

Lisa

Carey's post

Hello everyone! (Sorry this is long..)

I first of all just wanted to apologize for not being able to attend what seems to me as the most important meeting...I did not do this intentionally. I have some strange staph infection orbiting around my right eye. As of yesterday morning, the doctor advised me not to be around people because I was contagious...If ONLY today was Monday...Now that I am on antibiotics....

I am really very thankful for all of the feedback and conversations I am reading.

-I am taking all of the subjects in my thoughts, and I think the real estate issue of taxes vs. 2nd and 3rd homes is not something we in Leadership can solve. That seems like something the State of Utah and Board of Realtors need to come to a concensus about.

-The affordable housing is deffinitely a concern of mine because not even the resorts have much if any, housing to offer to their own seasonal/out of the country employees except for a few from Deer Valley. ( if we are talking about employees living in Park City Proper.)

-It would be great to have another dog park in town. Yes, the one at Quinns is coming, but I believe the location beside the library has already been discussed at a City Council meeting, and nothing else was discussed about that location.

-As we all know the Latino Community is a major contribution to this town. I will do some more research on this one, the Recreation Department and the Recreation Advisory Board have been involved with the apartment complexes across the high school with providing arts and crafts and Spanish interpreters being involved as well. Moe Hickey, a member of the RAB Board is also involved heavily with the Latino Community and sports. He is really trying to reach out to the parents about spring/summer soccer that both Basin Recreation and PC Recreation offer. There is also an incentive program for families that cannot afford to play any of the Recreation programs that are offered, as well as a carpool system to the spanish/ non-speaking English families to get more Latino kids to play in the soccer programs and out of the parking lots at the apartment complexes.

I hope this information helps in a way, maybe a lead. Jessica Moran is a Recreation Coordinator at the Recreation Department working with this specific program and she is also a Leadership Alumni...

I am actually meeting with her tomorrow and will speak with her a little about the program...

 

Hope all is well with everyone. It is truly amazing how fragile our lives are and we NEVER know what is going to happen next...Take the time to tell your friends how much you love them!

-Carey

Affordable Housing/Sustainability

Hey Everyone!

There was an affordable housing subcommittee meeting before our regular planning meeting tonight.  It's a HUGE issue as we all know.

I spoke with Nora Shepherd and asked if there was something we could do with it as a class project.  It's so big!

She suggested I speak with Kimber, our planner who has done the most work with the code.  

The reality is that we need it.  The reality is that there is language in the code to BEGIN to ensure that it gets built.  

I believe that the people that work in our town, should be allowed to live here and raise their families.  . .  and, be able to purchase rather than rent.

However, I am at a complete loss as to how to turn this issue into a project. 

Like Sara, I want to leave a legacy.  But, flavors, I'm at a loss.

Another issue that came up in planning commission meeting is SUSTAINABILITY.  Flint Decker explained the "opportunity" to WalMart eloquently.  I know greenbuilding has already been done as a project, but . . .maybe theres something there.

To what Carey said, I need to tell you that I love you all.  I'm grateful to have you in my life!

Hugs,

Julie

Aha, that makes a lot of sense! Yes, that sounds like a great project!
Vielen Dank for explaining :-)

Jo

I will try to be brief here...Vielen Dank (Thanks) for the reply Jo!

What I have seen happen/am seeing happen - is that these somewhat arms
length families are so attracted to "their" experience they become
vested as full time residents OR they bring more people with them.
Example, my father is from Las Vegas (business man) he now owns a home
here...there is a HUGE growing community of Las Vegans in this town
now, high profile people from "Vegas" his peers call PC a "little
Vegas" - this sub sect of our community is used to - in their home
town calling the shots...big tides can shift with these influxes...new
character/influences/impact they begin
working/investing and participating in the political process. The
community evolves as a result - arms length slowly becomes a vocal new
"local".

Sara

I just wanted to share what I learned at the Summit Youth Summit in January: it is not specifically the Latino teenagers that are using drugs or partying excessively, but a lot of the kids of rich parents. Many of the panelists were saying that a lot of kids’ parents are out of town a great deal, leaving their kids at home where they have easy access to alcohol and nobody to keep an eye on them…

 

Johanna

Sara, on the one hand I agree with what you said, since the taxes these
people pay amount to 67% of the pie. On the other hand I wonder whether they
really care enough as they are only here for a short time. And wouldn't it
have more of an impact to work with those parts of the community that are
not too involved but here year-round?
Also, I have to say I don't really know much about the 2nd homeowners'
"attitudes," maybe you can explain some more... :-)

Jo

Annette, your observation is one of the reasons I thought about targeting the Hispanic community.  It's those kids who have no real direction that end up at parties where drugs and alcohol and yes, teenage sex, is served up and the kids go out looking for some excitement.  In addition there are two active gangs in town which is dividing the schools into factions.  Also, the rate of teenage pregnancy in this group is alarming...  Just go over to the People's health clinic and see the number of young girls there who are pregnant.  Sadly, it's so common in groups of this culture that it just accepted... but we bear the societal cost.  HOWEVER, this would be an extremely challenging and large project.

 

Doggie park, good idea.... 

 

Marla Howard

You are right, Marla, and teenagers are such a hard group to reach in general. You might have all heard about Summit Youth Link which is a resources website for teenagers, done by teenagers.http://www.summityouthlink.org/

It was just launched in January. Lindsey was also involved and provided great insights on their panel!

 

Narrowing down our focus to a specific age group might be helpful.

 

Johanna

I have to weigh in here and as I compose this...I bet there will be
another couple of emails that come in - I am trying to type fast and
my heart is beating! Maybe some of you are out in the pow, I wish I was.

I think it is awesome we are "jumping in" this morning with thoughts
already...

I just need to say that whatever we choose, I am going to lobby hard
so that EACH of us "flavors" has the opportunity to share/voice our
thoughts/reactions/hopes etc and that we each get to play a role
somehow...in the ultimate selection. I.e. we are ALL passionate about
a great variety of issue/issues in this town...I thought Lisa's
comments were very astute in that we each have different "approaches"
or perceptions as it pertains to leadership. So, when we finally
arrive at our decision I hope that we can sit in a circle (sorry is
that too touchy feely?) and allow each individual to express their
thoughts on the selection so that we can all really
participate...AND as Lisa said, this is probably 50% about process as
well as product!

Personally, I am inspired by the concept of "recognition" or better
yet having a real impact/legacy - I plan on being here long term,
raising my family etc...I can't help but get seduced by the fact that
we have an incredible opportunity to create a real lasting "legacy" of
our own...My point is that I hope we can mold our ultimate concept into a truly significant "template" that will have deep reaching effects in "our" shared
community/visions...

Throwing my concept out there (but supporting everyones passions!) I
was most affected yesterday by the Pres of Rossignol's statement that
we "bleed the same blood" we are all in this together YIKES, do we/are we?

The fact that our second home owners (and 3rd, 4th, 5th homeowners)
have a tremendous impact and contribution in OUR lives - their taxes
are one of the biggest contributors to our way of life - this is a
powerful position...I am in the real estate business guys in Deer
Valley, I meet A LOT of these individuals on a daily business...and it
does NOT feel as though we are on the same page - how about bridging
the gap between the us and them mentality i.e. some kind of an intro
to Park City: welcoming and communicating a shared vision/sense of
community (allowing space for individuals to define their sense of community) to make sure the void between the apparent "have" and "have nots" doesn't widen so far that we have competing interests and values that do not compliment one another.

I have to stop writing! Sorry for the length...

Look forward to the other responses...

Sara

Annette-

Great thoughts.  There is a dog park planned for Quinns Junction and will be open the end of June.  It will be adjacent to the Ice Rink.  I’m sure there’s a need for others too.

-Alison

HI guys,

 

Just to throw new ideas out there, I wanted to put my two cents in.

 

1)       A growing problem in our community is graffiti. Graffiti can singlehandedly ruin beauty of the city, but also can cause other problems such as higher crime rates, lower housing prices, etc.  There is a program out there called TAG (Teenagers Against Graffiti). Since this is a crime that typically is committed by teenagers, this program targets teenagers in trying to prevent it. In other cities, local home improvement businesses have donate the supplies for removal, and the program has teens “on call” when the police or others report some new graffiti. The teens respond and remove the graffiti, and in the meantime get kudos from property owners and community members for their efforts and a sense of pride in their community that they can portray to peers. Since we have Lindsay and Andrew in the class, and some of you may even have teenagers in the schools, I thought this could be a project worth starting up in our community.

 

2)       Park City needs a leash free DOG PARK! In our meeting last night, nearly everyone brought up hiking with their pooches in their drawing! There has been a long time feud in Park City between the leashers and the non leashers! It is a subject no one wants to address, few want to enforce it and even fewer want it enforced, but everyone wants to put in their two cents when it comes to picking a location for a dog park and why it wouldn’t be a good spot. I have always thought that the lawn area north of the library building would be a great location for a dog park, since everyone treats it as that anyway! Let’s throw up a big fence, set out some poo bag stands and post some rules! It would make our four legged friends very happy and possibly a few two legged ones as well.

Annette ellis

 

Love it! Keep the dialogue going with all these great ideas. Enjoy the
process of considering all the ideas presented, and the merits of each, and
as you do so, please fully consider your part in the discussion:

* What is truly unique about me?
* What are the personal and professional strengths that I have to
offer? Do I have a particular area of expertise that will benefit the
project? Can I practice these strengths during this process?
* As a leader and a contributor, what are the areas that I want to
improve, expand or explore in myself? What can I learn from my classmates?
* Where are my efforts strengthened by partnering with others whose
abilities are stronger than mine in a certain area? How do my abilities and
those of my classmates compliment each other?
* When is the best strategy for me to step back and let others lead in
a particular area?
* When will my stepping forward to take the lead benefit the process,
the group, and the success of our efforts? 
* If I tend to be an observer, or keep my thoughts to myself, what am
I willing to do to take my place as a strong contributor to this project? 
* If I tend to dominate discussion with my brilliant ideas ;-)  , am I
also listening for the voices that are not being heard? Can I sometimes
learn as much from listening as from taking charge? Conversely, when is it
time to set discussion aside and take action to get the job done? 
* What are the issues that I observe in our community that strike a
chord for me? Why do I feel strongly about these issues? What triggers the
emotion, and why am I paying attention?
* When I hear people complaining about issues, do I spend my energy
joining in the complaining, or do I convert those concerns to ideas or
suggestions that might affect change? When am I willing to step up and be
part of that change, or become the leader of that effort?
* Where are the "gaps" that I perceive in our community, and what are
my ideas about how to address those?
* What do I feel truly passionate about, and how can I communicate
that passion to others?
* If someone else's idea is new to me, or even uncomfortable to me, am
I willing to listen to the idea anyway, and consider its merits? Even if I
do not agree with it, am I able to support the idea's importance to someone
else and consider what I might learn from it if I give it a try? 

These are just a few questions to consider as your class project discussion
begins. As we discussed last night, every single one of you has something to
contribute to this project and to the class. The unique perspective of every
voice deserves to be heard and is critical to the dialogue. Keep a list of
the ideas suggested, and note the ones you are especially interested in. 

There are no silly suggestions-- they are all welcome! Enjoy the
brainstorming, dig deep for great ideas, and make sure you are part of the
process!

All the best to every one of the amazing "flavors" in Class 14!
Lisa

That is such a great idea, too. Wow, Lisa was right,  it will be hard to decide on one project….

Johanna

Hey Allison,

 

That is awesome!!! So, I don’t know whether this would be the end for my idea J or whether there is a possibility for us to be involved in this process or to form focus groups, etc.

 

Johanna

Wow,
It is certainly going to be tough deciding on what project to take on this year. I have a feeling that this class will come up with many.
I am proposing a project around affordable housing. The project would be education and awareness for the need for affordable housing and changing the mis-perceptions of many of those opposed to it. With affordable housing I mean units that are sold to working locals and are deed-restricted (not the mess that Mountain Lands put up across from the high school), not seasonal rentals for resort workers. 
Our town and surrounding areas are loosing their sense of community without full-time, working residents (look at Old Town).
If anyone would like to join me in putting together a proposal for this to be the Flavor's project, please let me know.
Thanks,
Katie

I love Julie’s idea and maybe the two can be combined by broadening our focus to include not only the people who live in PC proper but also those in Summit County who are a part of and affected by what is happening here. This will naturally include the Latino community and overall reach out to “those whose voices aren’t always the strongest.”

 

Johanna

Johanna-

Great thoughts.  The Community Visioning will include the Hispanic community and the City anticipates holding a few of the meetings in Spanish to hopefully draw more people to participate.

-Alison

Hi Everyone!

I wholeheartedly agree with working on Johanna's idea.

My other thoughts included . . .

Last year, on City Tour, the point was made that we need to increase communication between the two sides of the county, PC Proper, and Wasatch County.   Perhaps a project could parallel the visioning that Alison is leading at the City.

I feel very lucky to be a flavor!

Julie

I agree with Johanna about including the Latino community, but I see a real need for a modified Jump In for those kids agest 10 through 16.  There are a select few that work through the cultural issues and graduate from high school and go on to college, but I see so many who don't want to be here, cause trouble and never take advantage of improving their lives or the lives of their families - ie, they can't get out of their cultural warp...

 

Marla Howard

project idea

Good morning Flavors!

 

I really enjoyed Allison’s exercise yesterday which made us think about what it is we value about Park City, what we think is important and what we would like to see in the future.

 

On my long drive home, I started thinking about the class project, and I was wondering whether the Latino community will be involved in what the Sustainability Team is planning over the next 15 months. Maybe Allison can comment on this. But my idea was that if there is no plan yet on how to involve them, it would be great to work on that and figure out what they like about Park City, etc. They are a big part of this community and it is their home. It would be a real step towards better integration I think.

Let me know what you think.

 

Thanks, Johanna