Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
This is Chris Redgrave for Zions Bank Speaking on Business.
Salt Lake County is the largest county in Utah, representing 40 percent of the state. And since the Wasatch Front is 80 percent of Utah's population, that makes Salt Lake County around 55 percent of the Wasatch Front. They have the largest operation budget to serve the needs of this thriving area.
None of this is lost on our new Salt Lake County Mayor, Ben McAdams. A lawyer by trade, after working in major markets like New York City, he understands the scope of his new responsibilities as mayor, representing around 1.1 million county residents, including those in unincorporated areas, not to mention producing around 40 percent of the state GDP.
To give you an idea of the scope of Salt Lake County's reach, the county runs 19 senior centers, 70 parks and 21 recreation centers. Over 300 kids participate in the county's seven after-school programs. Around 100 families are involved with the three community gardens with a fourth being added this year.
One of the values the mayor brings to the table is the sense of responsibility he feels for ensuring our high quality of our life. He sees this as privilege that should be protected.
The rapid change and challenges that will be facing Salt Lake County as our population is projected to double in the next 20 years are not lost on Mayor McAdams. He has sensitivity to urban space and is cognizant of the few areas of open space left in the county. He knows that in order to address our growth, we need sustainable solutions, with transportation as a major focus. He embraces growth but wants to do it responsibly.
The mayor believes we are shaped by our challenges, but he also likes to reframe it as an opportunity. Education is high on his list because he believes in order to continue growing responsibly, we need an educated workforce. He has a deep understanding of why people seek a better life; however, he's motivated to keep the small-town feel Utah has become known for.
For Zions Bank, I'm Chris Redgrave, speaking on business.
Salt Lake County 2001 S. State, Ste. N2100 Salt Lake City, UT 84114 801 468-3000 www.slco.org
