Park City’s newly tapped Planning Director, Gretchen Milliken, and her personal connections to the Kimball Arts Center have raised questions about transparency at city hall.
Gretchen Milliken was announced as Park City’s new Planning Director on January 5th. In the press release announcing her hire, the city did not mention that Milliken is married to Aldy Milliken, the executive director of the Kimball Arts Center.
Connections like this are not necessarily uncommon in small communities, but given the Kimball Arts Center is a major player in Park City’s proposed arts and culture district -- a project that heavily involves the city’s planning department -- the Milliken’s connection raised eyebrows.
Park City Mayor Andy Beerman says not disclosing the connection was an unfortunate mistake.
“It’s probably an oversight,” Beerman says. “I don’t think there was any, you know, something that obvious is something we’re trying to hide or marginalize. Perhaps it was an oversight that we should have put into the initial press release.”
Beerman says Milliken will not play a part in any of the financial aspects of the arts and culture district, or be involved in the land purchase negotiations between the city and its partners, the Kimball Arts Center and the Sundance Institute.
He says the conflict was addressed during the hiring process.
“We’re a small town so we deal with conflicts all the time,” says Beerman. “Conflicts between elected officials or staff and ex work relationships or having spouses or partners or relatives that are involved in nonprofits or businesses we deal with. It’s something we thoroughly vetted in the interview process, it’s something we discussed how to address in advance, and Gretchen was very clear on what she might need to recuse herself on, so we though it was a very manageable conflict and not unusual, so we were a little surprised when it got so much attention.”
Beerman pointed to conflicts that were dealt with by the city in the past, like retiring planning director Bruce Erickson’s connections to local ski resorts, or that he was a member of the Park City Planning Commission when his late wife, Candy, was also a city councilmember.
Beerman also noted that the arts and culture district is only one project of several that involve Milliken’s department. In addition to the district, the massive base development projects at Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley will be a huge part of her job going forward.
Park City Deputy City Manager David Everitt says five or six other candidates were seriously considered for the job. He says Milliken’s previous experience as a planner in Louisville, Kentucky, dealing with sustainability, housing, and transportation issues, and to a lesser extent her relocation to Park City, made her stand out.
“The fact that she was already a Park City resident was noted, but that really wasn’t a determining factor,” he says. “What was a determining factor was her experience and skillset and that she was really head and shoulders above other candidates we had in the pool at the time.”
Milliken is set to take over as planning director on February 1st.
