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Park City Has 'Fingers Crossed' For Uneventful Remainder Of Legislative Session

Utah State Capitol
KPCW Radio

Members of the Park City Council attended a policy meeting with the Utah League of Cities and Towns Monday. 

The Utah League of Cities and Towns represents hundreds of municipalities at the Utah Legislature. In the league’s last policy meeting of the 2020 general session, staff presented on bills related to homeless services, gambling and education funding. But Park City Manager Matt Dias says there’s nothing that’s setting off alarm bells for the city.

“People are just really exhausted from all of the discussions about taxes over the last year, and so a lot of the bills that are surfacing now in the last week are really going to impact citizens directly, and not necessarily a city, a town, a municipality, a county," Dias said. "So, we’re very fortunate to be in that position, and we have our fingers crossed.”

Park City Councilmember Max Doilney attended the meeting. As the city’s newest councilmember, Doilney says he’s mostly focused on learning processes and procedures for the city’s interactions with the legislature, with Dias, Park City Mayor Andy Beerman and Park City Special Counsel Margaret Plane leading the way.

“I think all of us are really looking to learn from those guys, and we’re taking our cues from them and just keeping abreast of any issues that come up that really concern us,” Doilney.

The city spends around $40,000 for membership with the League of Cities and Towns. This year, Park City isn’t pushing any legislation, like 2019’s House Bill 411 Community Renewable Energy Act. They’re also not playing defense with bills like the ban on plastic bag bans from the two previous years. But Dias says having the league behind Park City is worth it.

“They really, really look out for the individual interests of cities and towns, and that’s a hard enterprise when you have so many different groups and interests and communities that have different wants and needs and goals," Dias said. "But they’re very, very receptive to our individuality, and that’s incredibly important to Park City.”

The 2020 general session of the Utah Legislature ends Thursday at midnight.

Emily Means hadn’t intended to be a journalist, but after two years of studying chemistry at the University of Utah, she found her fit in the school’s communication program. Diving headfirst into student media opportunities, Means worked as a host, producer and programming director for K-UTE Radio as well as a news writer and copy editor at The Daily Utah Chronicle.