County seeks input on $2.3M grant

As federal stimulus dollars continue to trickle into the state, Salt Lake County will seek the help of the public on how to best utilize its share of a $27.7 million energy efficiency grant released late last month.

On Thursday, Ann Ober, intergovernmental relations specialist for Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, said a public meeting has been scheduled for the end of May to gather ideas on how put the $2.3 million in funding to use.

"We're very interested in hearing from the public on how these funds could be used to create new programs," Ober said.

The funds, which come to the county as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment act via the U.S. Department of Energy, are slated for energy efficiency retrofits of buildings and facilities, and to support renewable energy projects, according to the state's energy Web site. Salt Lake County has until June 25 to determine where the money will be spent.

The public input meeting is scheduled for May 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Salt Lake County Government Center, 2001 S. State.

— Arthur Raymond