Hi everyone and welcome back to another week of news on Summit in Six. We’ve got updates on Restaurant Tax Funding, kitten care tips from Animal Control and two upcoming events you won’t want to miss.

TOPIC 1: Restaurant Tax Awards & Funding

After County Council declined to award the Sundance Film Festival $85,000 in Restaurant Tax funding, the Summit County Restaurant Tax Advisory Committee came to this week’s council meeting with a recommendation to roll those funds into next year’s award rather than redistributing them among the current awarded projects. This plan was approved by County Council.

As a reminder, the Summit County Restaurant Tax Grant is used to promote tourism & local economic growth. The Summit County Council established the Restaurant Tax Advisory Committee to investigate, advise, and recommend the best uses of the funds collected from this tax.

Some of this year’s awards include:

TOPIC 2: Community Planning Lab Presentations

Next week we have the opportunity to hear from the 2025 Community Planning Lab cohort! Come see their presentations Monday night (May 19) from 6 to 8 pm at the Richins Auditorium in Kimball Junction

The planning lab is a 10-week course for locals to deep-dive on zoning, community planning, land use, and more. As the culmination of their learning, each participant makes a detailed proposal tackling local issues.

This year’s cohort presentations include:

There will be two new planning commissioners among those presenting. For more information about the planning lab, visit summitcounty.info/planninglab.

TOPIC 3: Kitten Season Advice

For the month of May, Animal Control has some tips for how best to care for and help kittens found outdoors. Cats commonly give birth to litters of kittens in late spring/early summer, and Summit County has an existing population of both feral and barn/farm cats.

It’s not uncommon for kittens to turn up in residential areas. Here are some things to keep in mind before you consider taking them to Animal Control. 

First and foremost: kittens need their mother’s care for the first 8 weeks of life. Separating a kitten from its mother prematurely is a risk to the kitten’s health. Until the kittens are old enough to be weaned, you can help by:

If there is a serious threat to the kittens, or if 8 weeks have passed, you can try and catch the cats and bring them to the shelter. Please be absolutely sure before taking kittens in as pets or bringing them to your local shelter: young kittens need special care round the clock to survive.

For more tips on how to care for outdoor cats and kittens, check out this link: https://www.alleycat.org/community-cat-care/finding-kittens-outdoors/.

TOPIC 4: Nature Events in late May

Near the end of May, we have two great events addressing how we care for the great outdoors! First on Tuesday May 29: do you have what it takes to be “Weed Wise?” Join the County Lands and Natural Resources Dept. for the second installment of their “Roots of Conservation” series from 5:30 – 7:30 PM at the Richins Building in Kimball Junction.

And finally, don’t forget The Summit County Stormwater Coalition’s upcoming “Trails, Trash and Tunes” event on Saturday, May 31st from 12pm – 4pm at Silver Creek “Loomis” Park (6530 Silver Creek Drive).

Welcome in spring and celebrate the Earth with:

Registration is FREE and encouraged so we know who is coming. Visit: summitcounty.info/trailstrashtunes25.