Summit County officials hope to lead by example in their efforts to promote sustainability. A former planner in the County Courthouse has been tapped to manage the government’s environmental programs.
Summit County Sustainability Coordinator Ashley Koehler said she will be working on a full-time basis to lessen the impact the county has on the environment.
Light bulbs at county buildings have been replaced with bulbs that are more energy efficient. A recycling program for computer equipment helps ensure that electronics devices the government uses are disposed of properly and some county vehicles operate on cleaner-burning biodiesel fuel.
“All of our county buses run on biodiesel from April through November,” Summit County Public Works Administrator Kevin Callahan said.
On Wednesday, officials were slated to unveil the first county building fully powered by renewable energy. With funding from Rocky Mountain Power, a photovoltaic system was mounted to the roof of the Utah State University Agricultural Extension offices in Coalville.
The building can now run on solar power, Koehler explained.
As sustainability coordinator, Koehler will help the government ramp up its environmental efforts, Summit County Manager Bob Jasper said.
Jasper said he wants her to promote sustainability in the community.
“There is always that educational component because this is an ongoing task The county will become an example for the whole community,” Koehler said. “The impacts are often felt first at the local level.”
One of Koehler’s primary focuses is cutting the county’s energy use. That could begin with identifying how much fuel is used by government vehicles.
“One of the bigger uses of the fleet is the sheriff’s department,” Jasper said.
The sustainability coordinator can help the Summit County Sheriff’s Office make its patrol vehicles more efficient. She can also help implement green features into new county buildings. Such as heating and cooling systems that use less energy.
The county intends to conduct some environmental baseline studies.
“First we need to do a baseline of our county facilities and really get a good understanding of where we are,” Koehler said.
Republican Summit County Councilman David Ure said the sustainability efforts need to produce cost savings or economic growth for him to support the measures.
“What I want is an open and fair dialogue, and if we fail in one part, we recognize that we fail,” Ure said. “I have to have faith that the baseline is accurate.”
Jasper said the possible paybacks from the increased environmental efforts have not been calculated. Koehler’s job description is somewhat open-ended as county officials work to define sustainability.
“It is a controversial area depending on how it gets framed,” Jasper said.
According to Summit County Councilman John Hanrahan, “what we want is the most inclusive, let’s-get-everybody-on-the-same-page-as-much-as-possible language.”
“It’s about creating a community that will endure,” Summit County Councilman Chris Robinson said.
Along with the definition, the government should approve a “sustainability action plan,” Robinson said.
County Councilwoman Sally Elliott has been a champion of the government’s sustainability efforts. The county should conduct environmental baseline studies, she said.
“We have to know who we are before we know where we’re going to go,” Elliott said. “It would be nice within a year to have very reasonable aims for each of the departments.”