November 10, 2022 – Veterans Day, 2022 General Election, Wasatch Back Rural Planning Organization, Mental Wellness Strategic Plan, & more!

2022 General Election The 2022 General Election took place this past Tuesday, November 8 and we just wanted to take a moment to review some key local preliminary outcomes.  To clarify, we’re reporting these as of Thursday, November 10. The canvass to certify the official results is not until November 22.  Okay so…  Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson, Summit County Sheriff Justin Martinez, and Summit County Clerk Eve Furse are positioned to remain in office.   Cindy Keyes, former Finance Director for the Summit County Health Department, will become the new County Auditor.  It also looks like Chris Robinson is positioned to maintain Seat D on the Summit County Council, and Canice Hart currently is in the lead for Seat E on the Council.  As for the School Board seats… There were two races for North Summit School Board seats 4 and 5, which Kevin Orgill and Vern Williams are in the lead to win those.  Matthew Weller and Olivia Gunnerson are in the lead for the open South Summit School Board seats.  And Meredith Reed and Nick Hill look like they’ll take the Park City School Board’s two open seats.  Again, we’ll circle back on these in a couple weeks after the canvass has taken place.  RPO Designation  Ok, moving onto this week’s County Council meeting. First, the Council approved the designation for a Wasatch Back Rural Planning Organization.  You may be wondering what a Rural Planning Organization is, and you’re not alone! It’s a new concept to me too. bridget, you want to explain a bit more?  Sure. So, in 2016 Congress elevated the role of local officials in statewide planning so that states (in this scenario, state entities like UDOT) must “cooperate” rather than “consult” with local governments.  An RPO will do a number of things including: develop regional long-range multimodal transportation plans; prioritize transportation projects they believe should be considered for funding in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan process, and in local transportation improvement programs; foster the coordination of local planning, land use, and economic development plans with State, regional, and local transportation plans and programs; and provide technical assistance to local officials. The Wasatch Back RPO that Council approved this week will consist of  Summit County, Wasatch County, and the cities within them. Each community will appoint one representative as a member of the board, and Mountainland Association of Governments will act as the administrative and technical staff to the Board, provide coordinating consultant services, and prepare and administer the annual work program and budget. At the end of the day, the most important thing our listeners should take away from this is that by establishing an RPO, Summit County’s transportation priorities will be elevated with UDOT because we’ll have a seat at the ta