Casey Hopes began the journey to Carbon County Commissioner in late March when he was appointed as the Republican candidate for the commissioner race. Fast forward nearly seven months to a pair of ever shifting numbers, eventually falling in Hopes’ favor, as he was elected to serve as Carbon County Commissioner for another four-year term.
Having already served as commissioner for a term previous to the election, Hopes has already learned several of the ropes surrounding the position. He was also well acquainted with the issues facing the county.
One of the first things mentioned by Hopes in regards to insight for the future includes the energy sphere.
Hoping the economic burden faced by Castle Country will lighten in the future, the recently-elected commissioner remains hopeful that bringing new jobs to the area will help in its growth and development.
“I think some of the big things that we need to keep working on are diversifying our economy,” Hopes said. “I think diversification is still key to our economic prosperity for our future.”
Facing the crippling effect of two floods in his first term, Hopes has his eyes set on plans for improving and fortifying the county against such events in the future and fixing several drainage issues that have left the county in compromising situations.
“As far as what the future holds, I see a lot of good things happening,” Hopes said further in regards to recent investment in the field of carbon fiber technology. The recent investment, gifted to researches at the University of Utah, put aside over $750,000 to be used in studies of carbon fibers, derived from the steel-making process and are used for various products including automobile and airplane parts as well as in various recreational spheres.
Hopes also mentioned the possibility of another company moving to the area dealing with solar energy, which would be able to pay its own way into the area and create jobs without the need of subsidies. Construction for the company will allegedly begin soon.
In speaking off the Carbon County Senior Center and its lunch program, which garnered local attention after having to cut one of the week’s lunches, Hopes was quick to explain what the commission has done to resolve the issue.
In planning for the new fiscal year, commissioners made sure to budget in lunches Monday through Friday, returning the latter day’s meal to the week after being absent.
In order to decrease on costs, however, the lunch option on Friday will be a “cold lunch” option such as salads, sandwiches, a potato bar and other options that can be prepared the day before and served on Friday.
Hopes explained that the solution came from the efforts of the council on aging committee and the response of those involved in fighting to keep Friday’s lunch at the center, which helped the commission arrive at the solution.
The commissioner also explained how he feels in order to help change the general dissatisfaction with public officials pervading the political climate. Officials need to be more informative and talk about the issues facing the public.
Hopes looks forward to making himself available to questioning for various media outlets in the county such as newspapers and possibly the local radio stations.
Always willing to discuss issues with the public, Hopes stressed his availability for answering questions and concerns.
For those who wish to discuss issues with the new commissioner, Hopes may be reached by email at casey.hopes@carbon.utah.gov or by phone at (435) 636-3272 where he would request to, if necessary, leave a message and Hopes will return the call.