Hooper Council agrees to pursue Healthy Utah designation if intern can coordinate effort

Mayor Sherry Bingham described the opportunity to renew Hooper's Healthy Utah community designation, which expires in October, and proposed affiliating with the Western Weber coalition rather than creating an independent coalition. She offered to oversee the effort but said success requires sustained follow-through and suggested recruiting an intern from Weber State University to handle day-to-day tasks.

Council members discussed community engagement ideas (a family bike ride, 5K, a farm-to-table exchange, and partnerships with local businesses), the workload of maintaining a designation, and concerns about imposing programs on residents. Council Member Hancock moved to pursue the Healthy Utah designation on the condition that the city secure an intern or similar coordinator; Council Member Hill seconded. The motion carried.

The council asked staff to explore interns from Weber State or the existing coalition, and to return with a plan that clarifies responsibilities, timelines and resource needs before formal application steps.