Celia Peterson

In the heat of the summer, our August Lunch and Learn focused on one of our community’s most pressing topics- water! The Park City Water Department hosted us at the Three Kings Water Treatment Facility where we discussed the importance of water management, leak detection, landscape incentives, and more!

Key topics covered by our presenters, Jason Christensen, Susan Cordone and Christine Williams from the Park City Water Department included:

Park City’s water rates are structured to incentivize water conservation — the more a customer uses, the more expensive the charge
Commercial customers of Park City have the ability to choose their base rate — businesses should ensure their current base rate is optimal for their operations
Water use in a mountainous community requires lots of pumping which is energy intensive, meaning when you conserve water, you contribute to conserving energy too
Stormwater flows directly into creeks in our community which is why we should always prevent pollutants entering stormwater drains and educate our staff on stormwater best practices

Important takeaways

Identify who receives the water bill for your business and start a conversation about tracking cost and consumption — you would be surprised at how quickly you can start noticing overusage with basic tracking
If your water provider has an online platform to track usage — Park City, Mountain Regional, and Summit Water all do — determine which two people at your business should have access to this portal to enhance day-to-day water management
Take advantage of landscape incentive programs offered by the state or your water provider to replace turf with water efficient landscaping
Minimize stormwater pollution by reducing salt use in the winter, removing turf to reduce pesticide use, and bringing fluorinated ski wax to Recycle Utah

Resources

Landscape incentive programs: Park City , Mountain Regional, and Utah Water Savers
Visit the Conservation Garden Park in South Jordan to get ideas on waterwise landscaping
Sign up for a free tour of the Three Kings Water Treatment Plant here to learn more about the sustainability elements of their building and operations

On February 12^th, the Green Business Program hosted a lunch and learn on the topic of protecting worker health and wellbeing. The discussion included strategies to engage hard-to-reach audiences and for workplaces to support employees navigating political and policy uncertainty at the federal level.

Our panel was moderated by Morgan Mingle, Director of Sustainable Tourism for the Park City Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau.

Bailey Quinn, Multicultural Communication and Outreach Specialist with the Summit County Health Department shared best practices for connecting our Spanish speaking community with health resources. She showcased the Spanish Facebook page Condado de Summit and a recently launched WhatsApp group. Leveraging NextDoor neighborhood groups has been another useful tool to reach Spanish speaking or rural audiences.

Another unique way to connect with community members is by riding the bus! Summit County and Recycle Utah pooled together resources for bilingual communication in January to connect with individuals on public transit in Spanish and English.

Maria Villar, Director of Charity & Social Services with St. Mary’s Catholic Church, shared the importance of employees feeling welcomed and valued in their workplace. She showcased a booklet of available community resources, many pro bono, for community members in need, which can be provided to employees. Last year she helped over 400 families with financial housing and basic needs assessments – many of whom are members of our local workforce. The current increase in scrutiny of Latinx workers’ immigration status is already having real impacts, with many people not showing up at work or school. Maria advised against publicizing events where large numbers of Latinx community members may congregate.

Sarah Myers, VP of Operations for the Park City Chamber, reiterated that things are changing quickly with the new federal administration, and that certain rights around discrimination based on gender, sexuality and race may go away. She encouraged everyone to understand their rights and explained the difference between judicial and administrative warrants. The Chamber has prepared many workforce resources on this topic and more.

The panelists all reiterated the importance of ensuring that employees are seen and valued, which is a form of workplace wellness and the foundation for employees feeling safe and motivated at work.