A Thaynes Canyon business strategy and technology consultant has started a campaign for the Park City Council, indicating the community has changed rapidly even in the six years he has been a full-time Parkite.
Jeremy Rubell, 40, has not served publicly in Park City and said his family had a residence in the community prior to his arrival on a full-time basis.
“I have a real passion for Park City,” he said, describing that he learned to ski in the community and wants to raise his family locally.
He said growth in Park City is “sort of accelerating” and he wants to help shape the city’s future. He noted people have moved to Park City during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily good or bad. … It’s more about how do we manage that change,” Rubell said.
He said the campaign will key on a platform that includes balanced growth, promoting livability, fiscal responsibility and respecting the outdoors.
“Be kind. Be local. Be Park City,” he said.
The platform plank covering fiscal responsibility could be especially intriguing at a time when City Hall spending has drawn attention. Although the municipal government has fiscally weathered the pandemic, there has nonetheless been scattered concern about budgetary matters.
Rubell said spending needs to be evaluated against the goals of the citizenry and that City Hall needs to find a “cost and value sweet spot.” He wants transparency in spending and wants to ensure City Hall’s financial reserves are strong.
He said there are potential threats to the City Hall budget, such as how the return of travel is managed at the financial level with the rise of alternative methods of lodging bookings. The impact of developments in outlying areas on Park City business is another threat, he said.
“I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet,” he said about municipal financial matters.
The window when someone must file campaign paperwork runs from June 1 until June 7. Someone must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 on Election Day and have lived inside the Park City limits for at least 12 consecutive months prior to Election Day to be eligible to run for office in the city. They also must be a registered voter inside the city.