Heber City’s wildland urban interface map is expanding. 

Municipalities are required to adopt a wildland urban interface map — which shows areas where urban zones meet wildland and open space — under House Bill 48, which the state Legislature passed last year. 

The law is designed to help residents protect their properties by requiring fire-resistant, defensible materials in development, managing vegetation and ensuring water availability. Property owners can still build in high-risk areas, but new construction in such zones must comply with stricter safety and building standards.

H.B. 48 also aimed to help curb potential property insurance impacts. Insurance agencies can only determine high-risk properties as defined by the WUI maps adopted across the state. Heber City adopted its map earlier this year, but voted to expand it on Tuesday.

The Heber City Planning Commission amended the city’s WUI map to add land from the Wasatch Canal west of Valley Hill Boulevard, heading north along U.S. 40.

The change does not affect any of the underlying zoning regulations such as lot sizes or uses, heights or setbacks. Anything built prior to the adoption of the map change would be grandfathered in. 

“The intent here is to really mitigate wildfire and to mitigate the spread of fire through these areas as they bump up against undeveloped areas or hillsides,” Baron said. 

Wasatch Fire District Fire Warden Troy Morgan said the amendment adds requirements to increase structures’ resiliency in wildfire areas. He said essentially, the WUI code has three zones: wildland that’s undeveloped, wildland-urban interface and urban areas. 

“The concern that we have here is when we had initially drawn the map for Heber City and for this area, it followed the canal,” Morgan said. “But with this level of development and the density that we’re seeing, the proximity of houses to one another kind of exacerbates the potential spread of structure to structure.”

There are multiple fuel sources for fires: Grass, shrubs, trees and homes or structures. The WUI amendment would help mitigate the risk of wildfires and wind-event fires. 

Morgan also emphasized that the Wasatch Fire District can complete requested home hazard assessments, which would be submitted to the state. Those assessments could possibly lower fees for homeowners in high-risk areas. 

“We feel like we can take better care of our citizens,” Morgan said. 

That assessment is voluntary. Morgan said, overall, the city and Fire District have to work with the law that was passed. Residents can request an assessment from the Fire District at any time. 

“Unfortunately, we have to go with it, roll with the punches per se,” Morgan said. 

However, Morgan added there are benefits to the WUI. It requires neighborhood accountability. 

“You can do everything that you can to protect your home from a wildfire, but if your neighbors do not do any of that, they are the biggest risk for your structure in the event of a wildfire,” Morgan said. “This gives more bite to make sure everybody is doing what they are supposed to be doing to be more fire resistant.”

Expanding the boundaries of the WUI, Morgan said, helps the city get “ahead of the game” when thinking about upcoming growth and development. 

The Planning Commission adopted the WUI amendment on Tuesday.

The post Heber City shores up wildland urban interface map ahead of future growth appeared first on Park Record.

Eric Mainord, a Summit County sheriff’s deputy who briefly ran for sheriff in Wasatch County, had at least three formal complaints filed against him during his previous employment with the Heber City Police Department, according to documents provided to The Park Record through a public records request.

Outgoing Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby, who lost the primary election this summer to Wasatch County Director of Emergency Services Jeremy Hales, contacted Summit County officials in January to express concerns about Mainord’s involvement in the Kouri Richins trial. Mainord withdrew from the race on May 27.

Mainord announced his candidacy for Wasatch County sheriff on Jan. 7, and Rigby met with Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates the following day. Rigby, now under investigation in Summit County for allegedly interfering with a criminal case, brought a list of 13 claims he said would damage Mainord’s credibility, all of which reportedly stemmed from his employment with the Heber City Police Department from 2013 to 2019.

The Park Record obtained documentation of complaints filed against Mainord while he was employed by Heber City through a Government Records Access and Management Act, which showed he was disciplined and placed on probation at least three times while a member of the Heber City Police Department.

On Tuesday, Mainord declined to comment on the complaints filed against him or the ongoing criminal investigation into Rigby’s actions.

A letter from the Police Department dated Aug. 3, 2015, said Mainord had acted in “an abusive manner” toward a citizen and called his behavior “angry, unprofessional (and) rude.” It also said Mainord threatened to cite or arrest the citizen for an incident “that did not occur” and that he “had insufficient evidence for charges.”

Three supervisors within the department investigated the complaint and determined Mainord had acted inappropriately, according to the letter.

“We are surprised and concerned over the anger you exhibited in the video and concerned with your personal wellbeing and potential stressors that may be aggravating your wellbeing,” the letter said. “We find also that the allegations are sustained and a violation of, or in conflict with, various policies and procedures.”

One policy infraction included a failure to read the citizen their Miranda rights, which inform people of their constitutional rights during a police investigation, the letter said. He also reportedly failed to activate his body camera as required by the department when a situation “becomes adversarial.”

The letter said department supervisors were concerned about Mainord’s behavior because of two previous incidents that caused him to be verbally reprimanded in 2013 and 2014.

Specifically, the document said Mainord cursed at a member of the public at a farmers market in 2013 and was “verbally counseled and warned to correct the behavior.” In 2014, he was again verbally reprimanded for arguing with a Wasatch County employee, according to the letter.

Mainord was asked to comply with a “fitness for duty examination” and follow any recommendations in addition to attending a required anger management class. He was also suspended from participating in special assignments, such as the SWAT team, and barred from receiving overtime unless approved by a supervisor for six months.

He violated the department’s corrective action plan less than two months after the first letter was issued, according to the document.

On Oct. 1, 2015, Mainord was reprimanded for a second time after he allegedly failed to follow orders, “used inappropriate force” and “acted unprofessionally in the presence of the general public by using unnecessary foul language.”

The letter said Mainord was asked to protect an underage girl during an “undercover takedown operation” involving an individual suspected of an inappropriate relationship with the minor. Mainord was ordered to stay with the girl while other officers apprehended the adult individual outside of a restaurant, but Mainord allegedly entered the establishment and contacted the suspect before he left the building.

“You drew your weapon on a suspect who was not posing any threat, whose arms were occupied with a package, and there was no specific information available indicating that there would be a threat,” the letter said. “While your weapon was drawn, you physically engaged the suspect without holstering your weapon while other officers were available to physically take the suspect into custody.”

The document said Mainord also “used foul language in front of uninvolved restaurant patrons and employees.”

Mainord’s supervisors wrote that he violated the city’s personnel policy by refusing to “comply with lawful instruction” and engaging in “insubordination” in addition to violating the Police Department’s procedures surrounding reasonable force and professionalism.

“The violations are further aggravated by recent discipline where mistreatment of another member of the public was addressed,” the letter said. “Because these types of incidents are continuing, a pattern of poor relations between you, the general public and neighboring agencies continues to bring discredit to the Heber City Police Department.”

The second incident led the department to place Mainord on probation for one year, which meant he was ineligible to participate in specialized or out-of-state training, as well as specialized assignments. He was removed from the SWAT team, and the active period for his corrective action plan was extended until May 2016.

Mainord was denied a merit pay increase for the year, too.

The department also mandated Mainord meet with a supervisor “bi-monthly” to “concentrate on (his) attitude and feelings pertaining to the general public, surrounding agencies” and the Heber City Police Department. The supervisor was responsible for documenting Mainord’s work performance and providing him with “coping mechanisms in dealing with stress and deescalating situations.”

Mainord was disciplined for a third time in 2017 after he was involved in a “verbal altercation” with a Utah Highway Patrol trooper, according to another letter in Mainord’s personnel file. The document said the trooper was removing debris from U.S. 40 when Mainord drove by and allegedly passed the trooper “too close,” which caused the trooper to make a rude hand gesture at Mainord.

Mainord then pulled over to talk with the trooper, but the “discussion quickly turned heated and generated a complaint” from the Utah Highway Patrol, the letter said.

Mainord’s supervisors wrote he “unnecessarily” stopped to interact with the trooper “who was obviously hostile” and chose to engage in an argument instead of apologizing, de-escalating the situation or ignoring the trooper. Mainord also cursed at the trooper and reportedly taunted him, based on body camera video the department reviewed.

“The altercation became so heated that (the trooper) called for backup units,” the letter said. “Regardless of our opinion of (the trooper’s) choice, this caused multiple emergency resources to be deployed unnecessarily to a ridiculous situation that you had every opportunity to avoid.”

The letter said Mainord showed a “continuing pattern of conduct” that is “further degrading relations” between Mainord, the public and other law enforcement agencies.

“This discredit has now become so pronounced that when the Wasatch County sheriff was called to testify on a legal action against you, his testimony was damaging,” the letter said, referring to former Wasatch County Sheriff Todd Bonner. “This despite the case being defensible in every other way.”

The document said Mainord was told to take days off with pay and “analyze (his) desire to remain with the department.” He was asked to provide a corrective action plan to his supervisors but failed to do so, which the letter said was “discouraging.”

Mainord was suspended without pay for five days and reassigned as a code enforcement officer and bailiff. He was placed on probation for one year and denied a merit pay increase.

The department also mandated that Mainord meet with a supervisor once a week to discuss his feelings about the job and learn coping strategies. Mainord also received another body camera, which he was directed to activate “anytime a contact becomes ‘adversarial.’”

Mainord appealed the disciplinary actions associated with the Utah Highway Patrol incident, but former Heber City Manager Mark Anderson upheld the department’s findings after reviewing statements from Mainord and the state trooper, body camera footage and internal city reports.

“As I contemplated what a fair outcome would be, the issue that I have to grapple with is the fact that there is a documented pattern of confrontational behavior that has caused harm to the Heber City Police Department’s reputation and enhanced potential liability/risk to the city,” Anderson wrote. “As we discussed, the public is more likely to file suit against the city if the officer involved in an incident has a history of documented aggressive behavior. The risk is increased if other law enforcement agencies view the officer as a problem officer that is difficult to work with.”

Anderson added that he was “confident” Mainord had “the work ethic to be very successful in code enforcement” and encouraged him to view the reassignment as a way to “have a huge positive impact on the appearance of our community.”

“Lastly, Eric, please be aware that the city acknowledges that you have made progress in this area, and that you have solved several high profile crimes through tenacious work effort and … good judgment in many instances,” Anderson said. “The city also appreciates your continued loyalty you have shown. I hope that you will address the issues identified by police leadership, as you have the potential to make a big difference in the department and the city.”

Rigby had not responded to a request for comment as of Thursday afternoon.

The post Heber City Police Department disciplined former Wasatch County sheriff candidate Eric Mainord multiple times, personnel file shows appeared first on Park Record.

An attorney representing Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter and former Summit County Sheriff David Edmunds said Thursday that they are cooperating with a criminal obstruction investigation centered on alleged attempts to cast doubt on a political opponent who ran against incumbent Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby.

Investigators with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office in February submitted a warrant to Verizon to search three phones belonging to Rigby, Carpenter and Edmunds. Law enforcement officials in the warrant said they believe the phones were used to obstruct justice in a criminal investigation.

The warrant focuses on an anonymous letter containing allegations of misconduct against Eric Mainord, a Summit County detective who announced his candidacy for Wasatch County sheriff on Jan. 7 before dropping out of the race on May 27. As a detective, Mainord was a key investigator and potential witness in Kouri Darden Richins’ aggravated murder case.

Greg Skordas, an attorney representing Carpenter and Edmunds, emphasized that warrants are submitted early in an investigation and do not necessarily indicate evidence of any wrongdoing.

“They did not participate in any effort to fabricate or anonymously circulate allegations against Eric Mainord, pressure Mainord to withdraw from the sheriff’s race, or interfere with the prosecution of Kouri Richins,” Skordas said in a statement.

Skordas said his clients “did not write or send the anonymous letter” described in the search warrant, “nor did they direct anyone else to do so.” He also reiterated that Carpenter and Edmunds are unable to speak about specifics regarding their communications with Rigby or the Summit County Sheriff’s Office because of the ongoing investigation.

The search warrant, which was unsealed last week, provides a detailed timeline of events last winter that spurred a criminal investigation into Rigby, who lost the primary election in June to Wasatch County Director of Emergency Services Jeremy Hales. Hales faces an unaffiliated candidate, Paul Moore, who moved to Heber City a year ago, in the upcoming general election on Nov. 3.

The search warrant states Summit County Chief Deputy Jon Evans received a phone call from Carpenter on Dec. 22, 2025, in which Carpenter told Evans that an individual, later identified as Edmunds, was going to submit a public records request for Mainord’s personnel file for the years he was employed with the Heber City Police Department, from 2014 to 2019.

Carpenter reportedly told Evans to ask Mainord to call Rigby. Evans “relayed that request,” but Mainord indicated he had “no intention” of calling Rigby and that Rigby “knew how to get in touch … if he wanted to.”

Rigby called Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates in early January and asked to set up a meeting, telling her that he wanted “to talk campaign.” Bates at the time believed Rigby wanted to discuss an endorsement agreement, according to the search warrant.

Bates suggested meeting the following week, but Rigby “was insistent about an earlier meeting,” and the two agreed to have lunch together at Park City Hospital the next day, Jan. 8.

Rigby brought a manila envelope with him to the hospital and told Bates that he “had some concerns” about Mainord, adding that a public records request had been filed to obtain Mainord’s personnel file from the Heber City Police Department.

He then showed Bates the contents of the manila envelope, which included a “list of 13 ‘allegations’ involving” Mainord. Bates later discovered the allegations were the same as those included in Edmunds’ public records request.

Rigby reportedly told Bates that the list was “going to come out” about Mainord and encouraged her to speak to the Summit County Attorney’s Office because Mainord was a potential witness for the Darden Richins case. He indicated that the allegations would “have an impact on the trial,” according to the search warrant.

Bates allegedly told Rigby that the allegations sounded “slimy and like mudslinging,” with Rigby responding that Mainord’s “side started this.”

“Ms. Bates had the clear impression that Mr. Rigby was intimating that unless Mr. Mainord withdrew his candidacy, this information would become public and either directly or indirectly have a negative impact on the prosecution of Kouri Richins,” the search warrant says.

Thirty minutes after Bates met with Rigby, she received a call from Carpenter and told him that she felt ambushed by the conversation at the hospital. Carpenter again encouraged Bates to speak with the Summit County Attorney’s Office and said it would be “unfortunate” if the findings of the public records request affected the Darden Richins trial.

Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson received an anonymous letter in the mail two weeks later that was “unsigned and had no return address,” according to the search warrant. The letter included allegations against Mainord and “suggested certain incidents” needed to be investigated. It claimed there were “serious concerns as to his credibility and reliability as a witness.”

Olson immediately reported the letter to Bates, who recognized it as the same 13 allegations Rigby had shown her earlier that month.

“A handwriting expert … has preliminarily identified the handwriting on Mr. Edmunds’ (public records) request as the ‘possible’ handwriting of Mr. Rigby, subject to further analysis,” the search warrant says.

The warrant claimed the three phones were likely used by Rigby, Carpenter and Edmunds to coordinate the public records request and conversations with the Sheriff’s Office.

Park City Mayor Ryan Dickey declined to comment on allegations directed toward Carpenter in the search warrant, but he said he has “full confidence” in Carpenter’s performance as the city’s police chief.

“Chief Carpenter’s nearly two-decade track record of excellence as both the chief of our police department and a leader internationally in his profession speaks for itself,” Dickey said in a statement to The Park Record. “I have full confidence in his leadership of our police department.”

Skordas in his statement reiterated that search warrants are a normal part of an investigation, but they do not offer an opportunity to discuss context or provide evidence.

“At this stage, the court hears only from investigators,” Skordas said. “The people discussed in the affidavit do not have an opportunity to respond, provide context or challenge the information presented. The affidavit may therefore include allegations, interpretations and information from third parties that has not been independently confirmed.”

Skordas said the claims against Carpenter and Edmunds “have not been tried in a court proceeding” and that the existence of a search warrant does not mean the included information is “true.”

“Carpenter and Edmunds have cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so,” he said. “They respect the investigative process and believe the complete facts, including the context surrounding the communications described in the affidavit, should be evaluated before conclusions are reached. Chief Carpenter remains committed to the integrity of the Park City Police Department and to (maintaining) the trust of the community it serves.”

Rigby has not responded to a request for comment on the allegations included in the search warrant as of Thursday afternoon. He has previously declared his innocence.

The post Attorney for Park City police chief, ex-Summit County sheriff says they are cooperating with obstruction of justice investigation appeared first on Park Record.

Heber City Americana musician Alicia Stockman was driving home after a horrible house show in Dallas when her engine block cracked and began leaking coolant into the oil, which may as well have been a terminal diagnosis for her car. She “limped” her way to a Kia dealership in Grand Junction, Colorado, where she called her ex-boyfriend and parents, in tears and beside herself. 

“I was 36 at the time. I was not a young kid. I was a full-ass grown adult,” she joked. “My parents came and picked me up, and we towed my car home, and I sold it for salvage. It was this dark window of time when everything was upended, and I didn’t know what to do.”

Stockman had been contemplating a move to Nashville, Tennessee, but at that moment, she realized she wanted nothing more than to be safe at home in Heber City. 

“The whole point of leaving was to run away from my problems. Then, coming home, (I had) no other (option) but to face them head-on and be upset,” she said. 

The experience inspired the title track on her latest album, “Homebound.” The album’s lyrics, which Stockman wrote between 2021 and 2026, explore break-ups, bowling and, most often, place. 

For example, “Jerkwater Town” is an ode to a small town and its residents who refuse to abandon it. Though it mentions a train and “our own Dairy Queen,” bringing local favorites like the Heber Valley Railroad and Dairy Keen to mind, Stockman actually wrote it about an artsy town of 2,000 people in West Texas called Marfa.

“Marfa is a weird word, and no one knew what I was talking about, so I took it out of the song, which, at the end of the day, serves it better. I’ve had people from all over be like, ‘This is my hometown you’re talking about,’” she said.

Meanwhile, “League Night” is indisputably an ode to Heber City’s Holiday Lanes. 

“Growing up in Heber, it was every birthday party, every gathering. … My boyfriend is in the league on Tuesday nights in the winter, which is 34 weeks long. That is almost a human child’s gestation period,” she joked. “I’d spend a lot of time there being like, ‘This is such a vintage vibe. It’s so weird. It’s got so much character.’”

The track’s been a hit at shows, so much so that one family showed up to a concert in Layton in matching bowling shirts. 

“Bowling is like Dolly Parton. It brings everyone together,” Stockman said. 

But “League Night” hasn’t been nearly as much of a crowd-pleaser as the album’s closer, “Crimson Blues.”

“I would not know which song to end a set with, and I’d be like, ‘Do you guys want to hear a song about murder or bowling?’” she said. “You would think there would be more debate, but 98% of the people not requested, screamed the word, ‘Murder!’”

“Crimson Blues,” Stockman explained, is a clapback to bluegrass murder ballads.

“They’re all in major keys, and they’re just fun, upbeat songs about killing women for various reasons that aren’t very compelling,” she said. “This is … my unhinged, slightly psychotic, true crime-loving murder ballad.”

Moving from bowling to a murder ballad in the span of a few tracks is a reflection of Stockman’s growth as a songwriter in the five years since her last album, “These Four Walls.”

“The rule of thumb is you have to write 100 songs before you really have your voice,” she said. 

Stockman feels she finally found that in “September.” She’s particularly proud of the lyric, “The first frost feels like closure, nature’s way of starting over. The woman I’ll be next fall, will I know her?”

Stockman’s voice, she said, is more “pedestrian” than “poetic.” She uses visual imagery to paint scenes of particular moments in her life or conversations she’s had. 

Stockman’s growth in the past five years hasn’t been restricted to her songwriting. She’s also become more comfortable identifying as an artist instead of just “someone who plays music on the weekends.” These days, musicianship is her primary source of income, despite the fact that she doesn’t put too much effort into her social media presence and barely pays attention to her streaming statistics. 

“It’s been a really weird space to navigate, to release a record in this day and age of AI and Ticketmaster and all that stuff,” Stockman said.

Her focus has been playing shows, selling merch and making in-person connections with fans and fellow musicians. 

“(A fan) emailed me to tell me that he had to get an MRI. They asked him what he wanted to listen to, and he picked my music to help calm him while he was there,” she said. “That’s worth all the Spotify streaming numbers.”

Stockman’s work has been especially focused on her hometown. She started a house concert series as an incubator for local and touring musicians and hopes to launch songwriting workshops. 

Stockman’s determination to move to Nashville a few years ago was driven by her desire to be part of its music scene and explore more of the world outside of Utah.

“I live one block from where I went to kindergarten. There were many times when I wrestled with the idea of feeling ashamed about living in my hometown still. It’s a pretty small town, or it was. So, 17-year-old me was really disappointed in mid-30s me for not going anywhere,” she said.

But Stockman has realized she doesn’t need to move to a music mecca; she can create one where she grew up. 

“Once I embraced it, it changed things for me, and I started to build community in a way that I think I had been kind of avoiding,” she said. “I am on a mission to force my friendship any time I meet a new musician in the area. … What those cities have that we don’t have as well is that networking and that cohesiveness.”

Though Stockman has lived in Wasatch and Summit counties her entire life, it wasn’t until the last few years that she finally felt at home.

“The theme that I say about the record is, ‘Home is big enough to hold all the versions of yourself,’” she said. “Coming home, you can be who you were before and who you’ve become now. You don’t have to pick one or the other.”

Stockman’s next local shows are at Heber City Main Street Park on Thursday, and on Aug. 29 and 30, Le Depot Brasserie in Park City on Sept. 4 and St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Heber City on Sept. 12. Learn more at aliciastockman.com.

The post Heber City musician Alicia Stockman finally comes home appeared first on Park Record.

Emily and Phillip Ross have lived in Heber City for three years. Already, they’re certain they want to spend the rest of their lives there. 

“Heber is just perfect. All the parks, the access to the lakes, the camping, hunting, golf, especially, and all the things we have going on in the city center area and city park is just phenomenal,” Phillip said. “We just love it.”

The couple lived in Provo but dreamed of moving to Heber City. They were able to move into an apartment but thought they would be “forever renters,” given the local home prices. 

The Rosses recently put themselves on a track to homeownership through Utah Housing Corporation’s Credits to Own, or CROWN, program. 

CROWN allows qualifying tenants to rent units owned by Utah Housing Corporation for 15 years. After that period, the tenants can buy the home for less than market rate. 

The Utah Housing Corporation on Tuesday celebrated the ribbon-cutting of six new four-bedroom, two-bathroom CROWN townhomes in Heber City. 

Emily and Phillip will pay a little under $1,800 per month. Most of the townhomes of a similar size they had looked at in Heber City were around $2,500 per month.

“You’re not home, poor. You’re able to still live and function because, when you have to pay those astronomical rents or mortgages, you’re eating ramen noodles every day,” Emily said. “Plus, it gives you 15 years to really focus on your credit and your budgeting.”

The tenants of these six townhomes will be able to purchase their home in 2041 for around $300,000, according to CROWN program manager Scott Harmon.

“(When) you think how prices keep going up, $300,000 would be affordable today, but it would be really affordable in 15 years,” he said.

CROWN is available to tenants making 55% of the area median income, which is about $75,000 for a family of four in Wasatch County. 

Much of the funding for these townhomes came from Bank of Utah, which purchased federal low-income housing tax credits from Utah Housing Corporation for about $2.1 million to cover most of the construction costs, Harmon explained. The rest will be repaid by the tenant’s rent.

Utah Housing Corporation has run CROWN since 1993 and built over 500 homes in the program throughout the state. About 75% of tenants purchase their homes after 15 years, according to Harmon. 

As program manager, Harmon has heard plenty of success stories from tenants. For example, a woman was living in her car before renting and eventually bought her home through the CROWN program.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Harmon said. “This is an opportunity for the missing middle, for the people who can’t afford to purchase a home any other way.”

Utah Housing Corporation hopes to build another six CROWN townhomes in Heber City in a few years, Harmon said. The first CROWN homes in Wasatch County were the six Wheeler Park townhomes near the Heber Valley Airport. Those hit the 15-year mark about two years ago, and all six tenants bought their homes for around $110,000, according to Emily, who was the property manager.

She’s also the property manager for three other affordable housing communities in Heber City: Elmbridge Apartments and the Prestige I and II senior apartments.

“What we need here in Heber is more affordable housing, especially for senior citizens, in my opinion, because my wait lists are quite long. Two years long,” she said. 

That’s why Mountainlands Community Housing Trust donated the six lots for the CROWN townhomes to Utah Housing Corporation. They’re part of the 49-lot Parkview Place subdivision that Mountainlands Community Housing Trust established in 2017. There are now 18 lots left.

Executive Director Jason Glidden said Mountainlands Community Housing Trust’s vision for the subdivision was a variety of affordable housing types to meet Heber City residents’ diverse needs.

Other lots have been donated to Self-Help Homes, which allows residents to build their own homes for a lower purchase price, and to the Wasatch County School District to continue its student-run homebuilding program, which houses school district employees.

“Having housing for the local workforce is such an important piece of the community. It helps to build the community, sustain the community, not only just by having folks here long-term and full-time, but also economically,” Glidden said. “I think that the more and more we can continue to provide these opportunities, the better off we’re going to be.”

The post New rent-to-own homes unveiled in Heber City appeared first on Park Record.

Heber City-based nonprofit accountant Carol Sonnenberg was sifting through the finances of an AIDS nonprofit in San Diego on the day of Magic Johnson’s November 1991 press conference. The nonprofit’s staff members and volunteers huddled around a TV in the conference room as the basketball star announced to the world that he’d contracted HIV.

“There were people in the building who were really sick and had lost their jobs and lost their homes,” Sonnenberg said. “He gave a very positive message, and it helped turn the tide on how people looked at (HIV and) AIDS because he publicly owned it.”

That same year, she saw the AIDS-focused nonprofits she was auditing be hit with a “fire hose” of funding as the federal government distributed $220 million in grants through the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act. 

Being a Certified Public Accountant, or CPA, in the nonprofit sector has allowed Sonnenberg to watch life unfold from the unique perspective of a number cruncher. 

Her involvement in nonprofits has also been invaluable in her personal life. For example, when her nephew was born with a heart defect and needed a blood transfusion, she knew how to handle the situation and whom to contact because she had been audit committee chair of the San Diego Blood Bank.

“I knew how to form the family blood bank, and my blood went into my nephew. I would have never been able to do that if I wasn’t on the blood bank board,” she said. “You never know when you’re going to need a nonprofit.”

Sonnenberg’s involvement in nonprofits began with becoming a Girl Scout at 6 years old. It was at a Girl Scout camp where she learned horseback riding, one of her lifelong passions. She later served as the leader of her younger sisters’ and daughter’s troop and audited Girl Scouts San Diego. 

That experience, along with participating in her local Special Olympics with her brother, who has Down syndrome, as a teenager, formed the basis of Sonnenberg’s passion for nonprofit organizations.

Sonnenberg graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1988. She began her studies as an equine science major before realizing just how cutthroat and expensive the industry was. But it turned out that auditing was very similar to wrangling horses. 

“Being not just an accountant, but a consultant and a partner to my clients, you have to be brave, and you have to be kind. So, both at the same time,” she said. “If I’m hard with my clients, they’re not going to want to listen. If I’m hard with the horses, they’re not going to want to listen.”

After graduating college, Sonnenberg began working at her father’s CPA firm, which had “hundreds of homeowners associations” and only five nonprofit organizations as clients. But the nonprofits provided Sonnenberg with a greater sense of purpose in her work.

“I’m like, ‘My people!’ So, I would audit those, and I’m like, ‘Can we get more of these?’” she said. “Within 10 years, we had over 100.”

That’s in large part because Sonnenberg began teaching classes at Nonprofit Solutions in San Diego in 1992. The organization, which had launched a year prior, has now taught over 110,000 practitioners how to more effectively run their nonprofit organizations.

Sonnenberg’s involvement began when she drove to their headquarters and asked to teach a class: “How to Save $1,000 on Your Audit.”

“They said, ‘Sure, but we also need someone to teach nonprofit budgeting and nonprofit tax, and we’re not going to pay you.’ And I’m like, ‘What a good deal!’” she said. 

Teaching was an opportunity for Sonnenberg to provide advice to nonprofits before she audited them. Nonprofits were typically “ill prepared” for audits.

“It’s like movers showing up on moving day and your boxes aren’t even packed,” she said.

Volunteer teaching in the sector she was most interested in was not only a smart business move, allowing her to make connections with potential clients, but enjoyable for the same reasons being a Girl Scout troop leader was. Sonnenberg later taught courses about nonprofit finance at University of San Diego as an adjunct professor between 2004 and 2013. 

Putting together audit reports isn’t all “checklists and forms,” but also involves meetings with the nonprofit’s accountant and CEO, culminating in a brief presentation to the board of directors followed by advice and a Q and A. 

“Now that I’ve already visited 100 other nonprofits and I’ve seen best practices and I’ve seen challenges, I say, ‘You know what I saw somewhere else? I think you guys should try this,’” Sonnenberg said. “Speaking in front of people when you mean it, when you care, when you want them to grow and do better is so easy. People don’t want to look at their audit. I get it. … But this is a tool they use to get bigger.”

Some audit findings, like financial oversights or improper internal controls, require that Sonnenberg create a corrective action plan for the organization to execute by its next audit. 

“Sometimes, I get called in in a crisis. Emergency CFO. I’ve had it where someone’s died and they need a replacement, or someone’s committed fraud and they want a limited investigation,” she said. 

Then, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, Sonnenberg confessed that financial crisis response gigs are the most “fun.” She thinks that’s because her outdoorsy interests have prepared her for all sorts of survival scenarios, even financial ones. 

Sonnenberg now lives in Heber City with her golden retriever, Daphne, and three horses: mama Zeta, her daughter, April — also known as Wink because of her missing eye — and “mean girl” Lucy, short for Lucifer. Whenever Sonnenberg has a bad day or difficult meeting, her solution is to “hug a horse.”

Sonnenberg started her own CPA firm in 2016 and moved to Heber City in 2021 to be closer to her sisters and daughter, who was attending the University of Utah at the time. 

Some Utah nonprofits she’s audited include Wasatch Immigration Project in Park City, Friends of the Bear River Refuge in Brigham City and Utah Nurse Practitioners. She’s also the founding treasurer of Outdoor Access Project, a nonprofit committed to accessible outdoor recreation statewide.

Sonnenberg’s advice to those wanting to start a nonprofit is, in most cases, not to. 

There are about 1.9 million nonprofits in the United States, and over 12,000 of them in Utah, according to Candid, a nonprofit focused on nonprofit data. Chances are, there is already a local nonprofit that meets a particular need, Sonnenberg said.

“I really encourage people before they start one, ‘Do you know one that’s nearby, or now, even remote, that you can join and make better?’” she said. “If you want to start one, then let’s do the accounting right. … If not me, get another accountant. But don’t waste your time on your computer doing your own accounting and finance and banking when you need to do your mission and purpose.”

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Heber City couple Michele and T.C. Thomas’ 9-year-old son, who has Down syndrome, likes to explore, even if he doesn’t have an adult with him.

“One day, I was in the bathroom, and my husband was gone, and my front door camera went off, and it was him. He was walking straight out the front door. He had figured out the childproof door handle and lock and just went on his way,” Michele said. “There’s so much to see, so many people to meet.”

Wandering is common among those with certain developmental disabilities, such as Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorder, but it also affects people with other conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. It refers to situations where someone leaves a safe area or a responsible caregiver, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reuniting the individual with caregivers can be complicated when the individual has communication differences or is nonverbal.

Because of risks like drowning and traffic injury, it’s important for law enforcement to “act fast” in such situations, as Michele put it. That’s why T.C., formerly a Heber City Police Department officer, created a vulnerable persons form about eight years ago. 

The voluntary form allows residents to provide information about themself or a loved one in the case they go missing or have an interaction with law enforcement. It advises police on how best to communicate and interact with the individual and provides emergency contacts and photos of the person.

T.C.’s plans to expand the program “fizzled out” when he left the Police Department last July, according to officer Travis Price. So, Price took up the mantle himself, launching the new Project Safeguard last week.

Project Safeguard published the vulnerable persons form online, which includes sections about an individual’s triggers, calming techniques, likes and dislikes. 

Likes have ranged from soothing music to the flashing lights of police cars, Price explained. Meanwhile, one person’s dislike was “males.”

“In that instance, we may rely on our female officers or deputies or first responders to have a key role in that. Maybe we want them to be the ones to initiate the conversation with the individual once we find them or calm them down,” Price said.

The Police Department is also distributing Project Safeguard stickers at the police station that can be placed on car or home windows to alert officers that a vulnerable person may be present.

The Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office is working on launching a similar Red Dot program, according to public information officer Leo Lucey. Residents can put stickers on their cars to indicate that someone in the vehicle may have special medical needs and provide a letter detailing those needs to law enforcement if pulled over. 

The Police Department can also share information from Project Safeguard with the Sheriff’s Office, Price said.

The goal of Project Safeguard is for vulnerable persons to have “win-win” interactions with law enforcement, according to Cheryl Smith, the former president of the Autism Council of Utah. 

She said her son, who is 28 and autistic, “does a lot of things that look sketchy” but are actually driven by his special interests.

For example, he may look into someone’s car window if he spots some VHS tapes, which he loves to collect. But because he is nonverbal, he would be unable to communicate what he was doing if he were to have a run-in with law enforcement. 

“One of your fears as a parent is that your kid’s going to have an interaction with officers, and it’s going to go wrong,” Smith said. 

That’s exactly what happened to Golda Barton in 2020 when she called 911 for assistance amid her 13-year-old son Linden Cameron’s meltdown. Salt Lake City Police arrived on the scene, and when Cameron, unarmed, ran from the house, officer Matthew Farillas shot him six times, injuring him. The family sued the city and was awarded $3 million in 2022.

Cameron’s shooting by police was part of what inspired Price to launch Project Safeguard.

“It’s very unfortunate what Cameron and his family had to go through. However, we can educate our officers when they see or hear, ‘Hey, this individual may be on the spectrum,’ to take a step back and realize … their boundaries may be different from other individuals and communication,” he said.

The incident also inspired legislation requiring Utah law enforcement training and intervention responses for mental illnesses, autism spectrum disorder and other neurological and developmental disorders at least once every three years. 

In 2024, Crisis Intervention Team Utah trained the Police Department and Sheriff’s Office. The 40-hour program provides education about how to recognize symptoms of various mental illnesses and disorders and walks officers through scenarios, explained Executive Director Dr. Todd Soutor. 

But he said the most valuable part of the training is connecting police officers with community officers who have “lived experience” and having them share their stories.

“Empathy is such an important component of responding in an informed and educated manner,” Soutor said.

The Autism Council of Utah also provides law enforcement training, but its interactions with local law enforcement agencies have been limited to providing autism sensory bags, free of charge, to the Police Department, Sheriff’s Office and Wasatch Fire District. The bags include fidget toys, noise-canceling headphones and Picture Exchange Communication System sheets, which nonverbal individuals can use to communicate by pointing at pictures or writing.

“We’ve had successes with that, where people have been so anxious they have actually gone nonverbal and were able to write out where they came from, so the officers could get them back home safely,” Smith said. 

For example, body cam footage recently released by the Salt Lake City Police Department shows officers using a sensory bag to de-escalate an incident with an autistic child last month.

Soutor said Utah law enforcement’s treatment of vulnerable persons is “moving in a positive direction.” Project Safeguard, he said, is just one example of that. 

To sign up for Project Safeguard, visit tinyurl.com/mrbccxnh. Summit County law enforcement agencies have a similar program. Learn more at tinyurl.com/rs96rb2b.

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Eve Christensen has lived in Heber City since 2021 and, since she’s raising five kids there, wants to be involved in “making Heber as awesome as possible.” 

A freelance structural engineer, she thought maybe the best way to do that would be serving on the Planning Commission. But she quickly realized when she started watching public meetings that she “(didn’t) even have the vocabulary to get involved.” Despite her engineering expertise, she knew very little about the inner workings of city government. 

That changed after a friend told Christensen about the Heber Leadership Academy, a nine-month city program giving residents a behind-the-scenes look at public works, the police and fire departments, Heber Valley Tourism, the Intermountain Health Heber Valley Hospital, the Wasatch County School District and much more.

The program culminates in a project chosen and organized by students. Christensen’s class last year designed an America250-themed geocaching scavenger hunt around town, which is still being implemented before its public launch. Past class projects have included the splash pad outside of the city building and a historic walking tour.

Now that Christensen has participated in the program, she’s attended public meetings and voiced her opinions much more often. She’s also been a more informed voter, in no small part because her Heber Leadership Academy class organized a candidate forum with KPCW. 

The Heber Leadership Academy, Christensen said, bridges the gap between city and county administration and residents.

“There are no conspiracies. Everyone that lives here loves here,” she said. “It makes you proud of Heber and the care and effort that goes into keeping it running by good, down-to-earth people.”

With the Heber Leadership Academy now accepting applications for its sixth class, Christensen has texted all of her friends, urging them to get involved.

“The more informed that people are, the more aware they are of their city leadership and the leaders of the utilities and other public services, the better off we’d be,” she said.

Plus, there’s a lot of fun to be had in the program. In the class devoted to public works, Heber Light & Power Company brings out wire and creates searing electric arcs to cook hot dogs and marshmallows. Meanwhile, the city public works department lets participants operate a backhoe.

“We’ll actually go out into our yard and get a piece of pipe, bury it up with some road base and let the academy attendees get inside the backhoe and experience taking a scoop alongside of a pipe without actually touching the pipe,” said Public Works Director Matthew Kennard. “It’s a real-world demonstration of the skill that’s involved with operators.”

The Heber Leadership Academy, Kennard said, helps participants gain a greater appreciation for the little miracles of electricity, sewer and running water. He’s always impressed by “how much they want to learn and understand about how society actually works.” 

Heber City Police Chief Parker Sever said the same. He said there are always questions about “what we do to keep the officers sane.”

Sever explained that officers can also book therapy through BlomquistHale and are required to see a counselor once per year and after “serious events.”

“At my last agency (in Hanford, California), we had an officer that had to do CPR on a baby that had just had open heart surgery. Imagine doing compressions on a baby that has sutures all the way down its stomach. Horrible,” he said. “So, we made an appointment with him to see a counselor to talk.”

Beyond officers’ mental health, Sever has also taught Heber Leadership Academy students about everything from the Police Department’s SWAT team to youth mentorship opportunities. 

Students kick off the Heber Leadership Academy with an introductory lesson about leadership from former history and politics professor Matthew Heimburger. He focuses on all the various ways one can be a leader in one’s community. 

That’s a lesson he personally learned while lobbying against the construction of Heber City’s 105,000-square-foot Walmart in 2007. The city did not allow retail outlets larger than 60,000 square feet until the City Council changed zoning ordinances to approve the store. 

Seeking to overturn that decision, Heimburger organized a citizen group that put the issue on the ballot. But voters narrowly approved the new zoning, paving the way for the Walmart still standing today.

“There were a lot of weird feelings there,” Heimburger said. “But it was totally worth it for us because we think we helped the community understand that they had a right to be involved in decision-making, whether they’re in office or not in office, that they have a right to go to meetings and to express what they prefer, to be a part of vision boarding for the community.”

Heimburger loves the Heber Leadership Academy for its fostering of civic engagement.

“It seems like a lost art, but it’s not. It’s just that people are crazy busy. They want to leave the politicking to the politicians until the wrong decision gets made,” he said. “Then, they’re up in arms. Well, then it’s too late.”

Heimburger said informing residents about the inner workings of the city empowers them to guide their elected officials, not just react to the decisions they make.

“You’ll have a businesswoman next to a real estate developer next to a stay-at-home mom next to a construction management guy next to an environmentalist,” he said. “The fact that you can bring those people into a room and get them talking about cooperating and the building of a community, I think, is a tremendous concept.”

Applications for the Heber Leadership Academy close Aug. 17. The program runs Aug. 20 through May 20. Program tuition is $275. Learn more at envisionheber.com/leadership.

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The Utah Department of Transportation will delay its decision on the Heber Valley bypass route until the spring of 2027, representatives from the state agency told the Heber City Council on Tuesday.

UDOT had formerly anticipated publishing its final environmental impact statement for the new highway, which will divert through traffic off of Heber City’s Main Street, by the end of this year. It published the draft environmental impact statement in January. That document included a preferred route that cut through the North Fields, a freshwater wetland habitat that has seen agricultural use for generations.

The announcement about the proposed route provoked months of pushback, public comment and protest by residents, farmers and elected officials.

Numerous local and state elected officials jointly signed a letter to UDOT in March rejecting the proposed route. The letter requested the bypass be shifted further east, as close to existing U.S. 40 as possible, to avoid bisecting existing farmlands, protect groundwater quality and preserve open space and conservation easements. 

UDOT is considering shifting the bypass east, but exactly how far is to be determined. That’s one reason why the state delayed publishing the final environmental impact statement.

UDOT is also considering other amendments suggested by the City Council, like moving a section that runs along 1300 South into undeveloped land to minimize impacts to existing homes and businesses, and redesigning an interchange at Midway Lane to be more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly.

UDOT Project Manager Craig Hancock said the group secured $1 million in funding from the Utah Transportation Commission to consider these changes and conduct additional traffic and wetlands analysis.

“We have our wetland experts who are actually on the ground doing the wetland delineations. So, it’s a much more granular look than the general wetland data that’s available (from state and federal agencies),” Hancock said.

UDOT is also collaborating with stakeholders like the North Fields Irrigation Company, which has controlled water use in the area since 1860, to better understand the potential impacts the bypass could have on the North Fields.

This information will help UDOT formulate a plan to preserve at least 2 acres of wetlands, canals, ditches and perennial streams for every acre impacted by the bypass. That’s 54 acres affected by the route UDOT proposed in January. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will approve or deny UDOT’s mitigation plan.

UDOT, in the final environmental impact statement, will also respond to the over 700 comments received during the public comment period between January and March. 

“There were a lot of comments that were very similar, so there will be some aggregation,” Hancock said. “What we’ll be doing is developing a response that could go to several comments. So, when we respond to those comments, it may (refer) back to a similar comment.”

After publishing the final environmental impact statement, UDOT will submit its record of decision to the Federal Highway Administration. Then, it will determine funding sources for the project.

The alignment proposed in January was estimated to cost $760.5 million. UDOT representatives have acknowledged that costs will likely increase by the project’s horizon year of 2050.

Hancock and other UDOT representatives plan to return to the Heber City Council with another update sometime next month.

The post UDOT delays Heber Valley bypass route decision to 2027 appeared first on Park Record.

Tucked away in the Wasatch County Parks and Recreation building during the annual Fair Days event was an array of projects with no common denominator other than that they were made, grown or baked by hand. There were countless cakes, a crocheted, two-foot-tall dragon and a 51,300-piece puzzle laid out on several tables assembled by seniors from the Wasatch County Senior Center.

The 29-by-7 foot masterpiece took five months to assemble and depicts 27 wonders of the world, from the Statue of Liberty to the Taj Mahal. 

The puzzle is far from the only contribution the Senior Center made to the Fair Days exhibition, which showcases and judges community talent in categories ranging from horticulture to arts and crafts. In total, the county’s seniors submitted 109 exhibits, earning 16 first-place ribbons, according to Candie Bonner, activities coordinator for the Senior Center.

Heber City senior citizen Sharon Michael won a first-place ribbon in acrylic painting for her depiction of a hunched-over king vulture. 

“When you get old, you develop some things,” she said — namely, “talent.”

When Michael started painting in a course at the Senior Center last year, she whined through the entire class. She found herself apologizing to the teacher when she realized her wildlife paintings turned out surprisingly well. 

The Senior Center offers a wide array of classes — tap dance, tai chi, watercolor painting and pool, to name a few. It also organizes get-togethers at concerts, plays and restaurants. The seniors even visited Strawberry Reservoir recently to watch a fish hatchery release 10,000 trout.

“(The Senior Center does) a tremendous amount to include all the senior citizens that have varied interests,” Michael said. 

Bonner is the force behind the classes and events. A Fair Days exhibitor herself, Bonner began encouraging seniors to participate a few years ago after noticing how proud they were of what they were making in classes.

“The talent of our senior community is amazing, and sometimes, I feel like they get overlooked. So, it’s been really neat to see them come and share their talent,” she said. 

Heber City resident Nancy Geisler said the Senior Center’s handling of the submission process makes it easy to participate.

Geisler has sewn her entire life. This Fair Days, she won a first-place award for a folding screen. Inside the oak frame, she sewed an intricate pattern using white thread and a technique called net darning. 

“It’s not as tedious as cross-stitching. It’s kind of the same thing because you’re working in squares, but it goes faster,” Geisler explained.

Meanwhile, Midway senior Cheryl Long made quilts with her granddaughters, Evalyn, 7, and Teagan, 9. The girls chose fabrics patterned with ice cream cones and hummingbirds, respectively. 

“I loved it. It was tedious for them at different points,” Long joked.

For Bonner, the appeal of the Fair Days exhibits is their celebration of talents that can be considered “a forgotten art.”

“It’s just awesome to see people remembering how to preserve food, how to hand-make quilts,” she said.

Bonner’s first Fair Days exhibit was a bookmark she submitted when she was 5 years old. This year, she submitted various canned goods, from jams to chicken, and floral arrangements. 

“It’s a good place to gather, to share your talents, to have joy,” she said about the Fair Days exhibition. “(For) the senior community … to remember, ‘I have talents. I can do these things and share them with people.’”

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