Employees and board members of nonprofits likely to apply for grant funding from Park City will not be allowed to sit on the advisory committee, under rules adopted by the city council Thursday.
Craig Weakley, who serves on the board of the Park City Senior Center, expressed concern about that restriction during public comment.
“I think there are rightful concerns about conflict of interest, but I would like to think that there are better ways to deal with that issue than excluding what may be a 1,000 people in this community who could be outstanding contributors to this process through participation on this committee,” Weakley said.
Several nonprofit executive directors and employees also asked the council to reconsider the rule. The prohibition only applies to current nonprofit leaders or employees, not those with past involvement with charity organizations.
The city council was split on how to move forward. Council members Bill Ciraco and Ed Parigian were supportive of keeping the restriction on nonprofit employees and board members. Council members Tana Toly and Ryan Dickey said it made sense to remove the provision.
Councilmember Jeremy Rubell was absent. In the case of the tie, the mayor makes the deciding vote.
In the first tiebreaker vote during her tenure, Park City Mayor Nann Worel sided with Ciraco and Parigian, keeping the rule in place.
“I’m optimistic that we’re going to be able to find an amazing committee, and if we’re not, then this certainly can be revisited,” Worel said.
Worel formerly served as the executive director of the nonprofit People’s Health Clinic.
Under the rules established Thursday, the new committee will have five to seven members who will be required to either live, work, volunteer or own property or a business in Park City limits. A majority of members will need to have their primary residence in Park City.
Mayor Worel will be charged with appointing the committee, whose members will serve three-year terms. The city council will have final approval over committee members.
The city hopes to conduct interviews and appoint members no later than October. The goal is to have the committee in place by the start of next year, to make funding recommendations for the city’s next wave of public service contracts.
Park City gives local nonprofits thousands of dollars each year for a variety of services, including child care, trail maintenance and basic needs assistance.
The new committee will make recommendations for how the city should spend taxpayer dollars, but the spending requires final sign off by the city council.
Note: KPCW has been the recipient of grant funding from Park City Municipal. Most recently, the station was awarded $35,000 as part of a 2024 public service contract, for a bilingual reporter to translate news into Spanish.
