Mayor Dana Williams later this month plans to travel to China for the third time during his administration, a trip that will provide him the opportunity to tout City Hall’s wide-ranging environmental efforts.
He is scheduled to leave on May 16 and return on May 24. He will travel to the city of Hangzhou, which sits just west of Shanghai. Williams will participate in a conference hosted by a Chinese organization called the World Cultural Forum. He said he will deliver one of the keynote addresses. People from environmental think tanks from across the world will be in the audience.
Williams said his remarks will describe the idea that efforts to conserve land can spur economic development. He said, as an example, that economic opportunities can be created when land is protected from development and then made a part of a trail system. Park City has for years aggressively protected land from development through outright purchases or other methods.
The mayor, meanwhile, said he also intends to speak about reducing emissions through solar energy and using the heat of the Earth, known as geothermal energy. That sort of energy system has been installed on several municipal projects.
City Hall during the mayor’s three terms has made environmentalism and the wider idea of sustainability priorities, and the municipal government has numerous programs meant to reduce emissions.
“On a lot of these projects, there were public-private partnerships,” Williams said.
Williams said he has two speaking slots in China. One will be on his own for 30 minutes while the other will be on a panel lasting approximately 2 1/2 hours.
The mayor said China is progressing in its efforts to reduce emissions, saying the country is advancing its solar and wind-power facilities. He said the Chinese understand the need for cleaner-burning energies as they suffer through periods of poor air quality.
The Chinese government is paying for his flight and his accommodations. City Hall will pay for food and incidental costs while he is in China. Williams estimated the cost to Park City taxpayers will be in the range of $750.
Williams sad he might stop to meet people at Shanghai Normal University. He has met figures from the university before.
Williams traveled to China in 2005 and 2012, and he sees strengthening ties with people and organizations in the world’s most populous country as something that could benefit Park City. Park City is interested in cultural and student exchanges as well as attracting Chinese skiers and summertime tourists.
The mayor accompanied a group from Park City High School in 2005 while visiting a sister school in Beijing. In 2012, meanwhile, Williams traveled to the city of Xian for an environmental conference. The cost of the 2005 trip was split between himself and the Chinese government while the 2012 trip was at the cost of Park City taxpayers.