Next week, county councilors from Summit and Wasatch counties will discuss possible solutions to issues spurring from 200 South, a road between Kamas and Jordanelle Reservoir along the border of the two jurisdictions.
The publicly accessible road — which provides construction equipment and trucks access to the Tuhaye development on the Wasatch County side — has garnered complaints from Summit County residents who have reported speeding, air pollution, diesel exhaust, and, as Summit County Councilor Christopher Robinson said in a June meeting — “overall disruption to what they were accustomed to, their peaceful way of life.”
A staff report discussed at the meeting showed Wasatch County staff had approved Tuhaye to use the road for primary construction access unbeknownst to their Summit County neighbors.
A study conducted by Summit County between April 30 and May 3 counted more than 2,600 vehicles using the road. The results showed that about 600 of them were large trucks, and that over half of the observed traffic did not adhere to the 35 mph speed limit.
Wasatch County’s portion of the road is paved, but Summit County’s is not.
The Summit County Council strongly considered restricting access to the road to emergency responders with a crash gate.
Wasatch County Manager Dustin Grabau said the meeting will also serve a second purpose for Summit County — who would like to have more joint meetings, he said — to introduce some of the Wasatch council’s newer members.
“I don’t know, since the three of you have been on the council, if we’ve had a meeting with Summit County,” Grabau said, talking to Councilors Erik Rowland, Luke Searle and Karl McMillan. “Not in the last two years.”
The meeting won’t involve any action items, but will instead be an opportunity for the two government groups to discuss potential solutions to issues regarding the bordering road.
“I think that’s kind of the intent of the meeting is to kind of lay out the situation, talk about what Summit County wants to do,” Grabau said.
He said the gathering will take place at the Sheldon Richens Building in Park City. The council, he added, had the option of sending out a public notice that they intended to go to the meeting with a full quorum or just a subcommittee with three Wasatch County representatives.
Grabau said developers from the Wasatch County side of the path have already talked to Summit County councilors about possible actions that could help resolve some of the community’s concerns.
“I think we probably all ought to attend the meeting because we’re going to have some issues down the road that’s going to require action,” Councilor Steve Farrell said.