Summit County mayors adopt revised district map, forward recommendation to county council

Summit County elected municipal leaders voted to adopt a revised five-district map and forward the recommendation to the county council for final approval, after debating precinct population sources, contiguity, and communities of interest. The committee decided the recommendation would use 2020 U.S. Census population numbers and a set of “z-column” corrections the movant provided.

The committee’s discussion centered on balancing population deviation across five districts while keeping communities of interest intact. Deputy county attorney Helen Straughn advised the body that proceeding while some members of the public lacked access to the meeting’s advertised electronic link could expose the decision to an Open Meetings Act challenge. The committee nevertheless debated mapping changes, then voted to recommend the revised map to the county council.

Committee members said the revised plan reduced the population spread among districts compared with the previously published packet. The movant, Mayor Marsh, and several other mayors explained three primary precinct shifts underpinning the smaller deviation: Mountain Resorts precinct MTRS 5 moved into the Park City district; Upper Pine Brook (UPIN 5) was moved into the Pine Brook district; and Kimbell Canyon was reassigned to Jeremy Ranch. The map also grouped Bittner South with Bittner North in the North Summit district. The proposal uses the 2020 Census totals as the official population baseline and includes a set of red-line corrections in the submitted “z column.”

Mayor Marsh moved to amend the county-provided map and numbers with the handout map and 2020 census precinct figures; the motion was seconded and later restated as the committee’s formal recommendation to forward the plan and the cited numbers to the county council. The motion passed on a roll call. Committee staff and the county clerk clarified that the state will use the census-based figures when the plan is submitted.

Other discussion points included whether Pine Brook precincts should remain together as a community of interest and whether overseas voter precincts (Fed 1 and Fed 3) should be shown with zero population; the county clerk and staff explained those overseas precincts may appear with population on the county’s records and that precinct-to-census-block mismatches can produce small numeric differences (the group noted a roughly 158-person difference between two reported totals). Committee members repeatedly referenced the statutory 10% total-deviation allowance and said both plans under consideration met that standard, while the adopted map produced a tighter deviation (reported at roughly 3.1% in the proponents’ materials versus about 9.2% in the earlier packet).

The committee also approved the minutes of the June 16, 2025, meeting with an added clarification that the times listed reference the meeting’s recorded audio/video. That motion passed. The committee then adjourned.

The committee framed its action as a recommendation: the county council retains final approval authority and will receive the map and the 2020-census-based numbers from the clerk’s office for state submission.