Local residents Angela Moschetta and Sarah Berry asked questions they collected from the public.
Their organization Future Park City hosted the event, which included a candidate meet and greet before the forum.
Around 100 people attended the question and answer session at the Jim Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library.
Candidate John Greenfield, who lives in Park City Heights, was asked about how local affordable housing could be improved.
“What’s happening now, is it’s broken here in Park City from my experience, from the things I’m seeing. You’ll have people that are getting into these affordable houses and planning to live there for the rest of their lives,” Greenfield said. “People get into affordable housing, and then the idea is that they’re supposed to get out of it, but people aren’t. And so if there was a cycle of people getting out of affordable housing and new people could come in, then I wonder if we’d be talking about constructing more affordable housing in a different way.”
Aspen Springs resident Bill Ciraco, who has advocated for a rail connection between Salt Lake and Park City, was asked about how to manage crowds.
“A large portion of our city budget is funded through tourism tax. So if we kill that, we kill our ability to operate as a city the way we have and enjoy the things that our city provides for our residents,” Ciraco said. “So what’s the answer? The answer is understand what our capacity is - whatever that number is - and then plan around that. And don’t just try to fix what that issue was yesterday… we need to look forward into the future.”
Longtime local Jody Whitesides reiterated his idea of making Main Street pedestrian-only.
“Cities, in other countries, in other states, have done this. They do it well,” Whitesides said of pedestrian zones. “They’re thriving for their Main Street businesses. Why the historical Main Street society is so against it, baffles me. I don’t know the answer to that… For me, growing up in Park City, Main Street didn’t have cars, because there were so few of them in town.”
Park City High School physics teacher Matt Nagie, who used to be a transportation engineer, touched on parking when discussing local development projects.
“I don’t think what’s best for our community is as the developments are happening that are already entitled, I’ve seen parking reduction be acknowledged as a very kind of afterthought. And to me, that’s disappointing,” Nagie said. “If somebody has specific entitlements that are going to get built either way, what specifically are we protecting when we’re forcing them to build just huge amounts of parking in the community?”
Old Town activist Ed Parigian was asked about how he’d prioritize Snyderville Basin residents if he made it on the council.
“We affect them, they affect us. It’s a symbiotic relationship,” Parigian said. “I’d welcome their opinions for sure. Everyone’s got a thought, everyone’s got a passion, but the fact is, they don’t live here. They’re not 84060. They didn’t pay for the Treasure Hill bond that we approved 77%. They get to use it. So I always say ‘go talk to the county first.’”
Former television executive Bob Sertner, who moved to Park City full-time in 2020, was asked about newcomers’ roles on the council.
“I would argue that the vast wealth of life experience that I have coming from before here, is all additive, it’s not subtractive,” Sertner said. “What we learned in LA is essential to what’s happening here, because we’ve learned all the hard lessons of what happens when traffic and housing and all those things got out of control. I would also argue that all organizations need fresh blood and fresh perspective at some point. You get stagnant if you don’t have it.”
Incumbent councilmember Ryan Dickey was asked about the planning process for the Bonanza Park neighborhood.
“I think we’ll find it interesting that we spent a lot of time talking about the arts and culture district for the last couple of years when the big change that we’re going to see in town is this brand new neighborhood that’s going to be bordered by Deer Valley Drive and Kearns and 224 and Bonanza,” Dickey said.
On the city-owned parcel that has been envisioned as an arts district, Dickey said: “This is so fundamental to what we’re going to be, I think it’s important for us to go back, validate what the community wants, and then stop talking and do something, because what it is right now is an eyesore and an embarrassment to drive by.”
Candidate David Dobkin did not attend Tuesday’s forum because he was out of town.
The group is vying for three open seats on the Park City Council.
A primary election in the weeks ahead will cut the candidate list down from eight to six.
Mail-in ballots are scheduled to go out Aug. 15. In-person voting will be an option for Parkites Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.
Former Sundance executive and Park City Institute Executive Director Betsy Wallace, who was the only woman in the race, dropped out last week, citing concerns about work/life balance. However, Summit County Clerk Eve Furse said Wallace will still appear on the primary ballot.
People will have another chance to learn more about the candidates at a meet and greet Monday, Aug. 14, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Blair Education Center at the Park City Hospital. The event is being hosted by the Park City Community Foundation, Park City Chamber of Commerce, The Park Record, and KPCW.
