People's Health Clinic and Jacky's Recovery Support Services are competing for 1,200 square feet of clinic space at the Round Valley health building, a squeeze triggered by the county's new PEAK Center opening at Kimball Junction in September.

People's Health Clinic Executive Director Mairi Leining and former director John Hanrahan presented their case to the Summit County Council on Wednesday, July 29, asking for a vacated suite formerly used by the federal Women, Infants and Children program. The clinic, which has shared the Round Valley building at 650 Round Valley Drive with the county health department since 2009, currently occupies about 5,000 square feet but is contractually allowed up to 12,500.

"We have about 11,000 individuals who consider us their medical home, and these are the people who keep our town running," Leining told the council.

The space opened up because some Summit County Department of Health administrators are relocating to the PEAK Center, the 49,000-square-foot former Skullcandy headquarters at 6301 N. Landmark Drive that the county purchased for $17.5 million and is remodeling for approximately $4 million. The building's September grand opening will house the Kimball Junction library branch, a DMV office, and county council chambers.

But the PEAK Center replaces the nearby Sheldon Richins Building at 1885 W. Ute Blvd., which is slated for demolition in spring 2027 as part of the county's partnership with Dakota Pacific Real Estate, now rebranded as Altus/Six Ridge Partners, to redevelop western Kimball Junction with housing, a plaza, a transit center, and a parking garage. That demolition will displace Jacky's Recovery Support Services, formerly known as Latino Behavioral Health Services, which operates out of the Richins Building now.

Jacky's Executive Director Javier Alegre told KPCW his organization is experiencing high demand and needs to expand. He described the Richins Building space as small but critical to the clients his staff serves, most of whom are Latino immigrants.

County Manager Shayne Scott said on KPCW's "Local News Hour" on Tuesday, July 28, that the county has an existing agreement with Jacky's and is obligated to find it replacement space. Round Valley is one of several options under consideration.

"We can get out of that agreement if we so choose, but we currently have an agreement with them," Scott said.

County staff have already given People's Health Clinic full-time access to two additional exam rooms and a conference room it formerly shared with the health department. The clinic provides over $7 million in annual medical services at no cost to patients, operating on a $3.8 million donor-funded budget with support from Intermountain Health.

Leining told the council she didn't want the situation framed as a turf battle, calling it a broader conversation about what the county needs in terms of healthcare expansion.

The decision on the 1,200-square-foot WIC space rests with county staff, but Intermountain Health, which leases the Round Valley land to the county, must approve any new tenants before they can move in. No public hearing date or formal timeline for the decision has been announced.