Voters living in Silver Creek will have the opportunity to select new representatives to serve on the Summit County Service Area #3 Board of Trustees on Election Day. But what is the service area, and why is it important for voters?
Silver Creek voters will elect two new representatives to the Summit County Service Area #3 Board of Trustees on Nov. 4, but those who don’t know what a service area exactly does — or why it matters — aren’t alone.
The state of Utah considers the service area a political subdivision and governs its actions through seven trustees who are elected to four-year terms. It is not a private water company or homeowners association. Instead, it’s funded through a line item on residents’ taxes, gas and road taxes, water rights administration fees and construction permit fees.
Service Area #3 was created after the original developer turned the East Basin land over to Summit County in the 1960s, dropping the planned construction of a private, gated community. The County Courthouse then established the service area to manage the neighborhood’s roads and water usage in addition to maintaining trails and the Lewis Park Preserve.
Of the seven seats on the Board of Trustees, three are designated as the “upper” district, encompassing plats A, B and C, while the four “lower” district seats represent plats D, E, F, H and I. The upper district has one open seat on the November ballot while there are two available in the lower district.
In the upper district, incumbent Derek Price is facing off against challenger John Nowoslawski.
Price, a 15-year resident of the Park City area, has served on the Board of Trustees since last year when he won a special election. In a candidate profile posted on the state’s elections website, Price touted his involvement in navigating the development of the new water conservation rate and fee schedule in addition to conducting “a top to bottom personnel review.”
“I continue to present the issues confronting Silver Creek residents to the Board as they are brought to me,” Price said. “I feel my background as a Regulatory and Employment attorney, as well as my 20 years (of) public service with the federal government lends itself to fairly and justly representing the needs and welfare of the residents of the Silver Creek community.”
Nowoslawski, meanwhile, said in his profile that he’s running for election in an attempt to shut down the service area.
“After almost 10 years here, we have seen the roads, trails and water system get worse…all while taxes, fees and Service Area staff have ballooned out of control,” Nowoslawski said. “The Service Area has proven through years of mismanagement, constant staff and board/trustee turnover and incompetence that it can’t be trusted to manage or maintain any of our crucial systems.”
He described the distribution system as “held together by bubble gum and duct tape” and said his plan is to have the various responsibilities of the service area be absorbed by relevant nonprofits, such as Mountain Regional Water for water management and the Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District for trail maintenance.
Residents overwhelmingly decried a proposed hike in water overage fees in 2024, alleging that the service area lacked the authority to charge for overages and was selling stolen state water by charging the fee when the service area was not exceeding its water rights. Neighborhood meetings drew dozens of residents, many of whom then voiced their opposition to the increased fees during public comment periods at board meetings.
In Service Area #3’s lower district, five candidates are competing for the two open Board of Trustees seats: Caroline Gleich, Ashley O’Hara, Justin Shea and incumbents John Ball and Rick Parisi.
Gleich, a well-known environmental advocate in Park City and the Democratic Party’s nominee for the 2024 U.S. Senate race, emphasized her commitment to the community and working together to benefit Silver Creek.
“My vision is simple: balance thoughtful progress with preserving the rural character that makes Silver Creek unique,” her candidate profile states. “That means maintaining safe, well-cared-for roads, protecting our trail system, managing water responsibly and ensuring any development honors the values that drew us here in the first place.”
Meanwhile, Shea said he shared many of the neighborhood’s “frustrations with multiple permit processes and fees” and that his goal if elected would be to reduce permit, fine and deposit rates.
“If the costs associated with living in Silver Creek need to go up, then so should the quality of the water and roads,” he wrote.
Parisi, one of the two incumbents hoping for another term, said he has served on the Board of Trustees since last fall. He’s lived in Silver Creek since 2015 and operates a business that he described as “a hockey school for adults.”
“If you are satisfied with the work that our board has been doing over the past year, then please vote for me in November,” Parisi said. “I will continue to serve the best interests of the residents of Silver Creek.”
Ball, as the other incumbent, said he’s worked as a trustee for the service area for almost a year.
“It has been a great experience to work with the current board and staff to better our wonderful community,” he said. “I would like to continue my service on the board to represent all people in Silver Creek. I am always available to discuss constituents’ concerns. Please feel free to contact me at any time.”
More information about Service Area #3 and the upcoming election is available online by visiting summitcountyutah.gov/733/Service-Area-3.
This article has been updated to clarify that Derek Price was elected after winning a special election in 2024, not the general election in 2021.