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Mayor Andy Beerman and the Park City Council Announce Separation of City Manager, Diane Foster, from Park City Municipal Corporation
Mayor Andy Beerman and the Park City Council Announce Separation of City Manager, Diane Foster, from Park City Municipal Corporation
Park City, UT - On Tuesday, October 1, 2019, Mayor Andy Beerman and the Park City Council announced the separation of the City Manager, Diane Foster, from the organization. The Mayor and City Council thank Ms. Foster for her over 10 years of dedicated service to Park City Municipal Corporation.
During her tenure, Foster brought focus to City Council goals in 2014 by introducing the concept of Critical Priorities and helping to further develop the City’s workforce by introducing the City’s first leadership program for staff. Foster played a key role in the Armstrong, Osguthorpe, Bonanza, Treasure Hill, and Snow Creek Pastures open space acquisitions; led staff in making great progress on our Community Critical Priorities; worked with Sundance to move its festival date from MLK weekend; helped launch the Arts & Culture District; and is well-respected by City staff and community partners. “Fortunately, due to her efforts, we have a resilient and committed organization, and I am confident it will continue to meet upcoming challenges and focus on implementation, efficiency, and accountability,” Mayor Beerman said.
While the Mayor and City Council initiated the move, the separation is amicable. Foster said, “While I will miss working with the amazingly talented City staff, I respect the Mayor and Council’s decision. The opportunity to make a small difference in the lives of my co-workers and in our community is one that I will cherish forever.” Mayor Beerman added, “Park City has been fortunate to have a succession of managers who have prioritized creating a culture of fairness, professionalism, integrity, and inclusion. Diane added to that legacy, and we wish her well.”
Effective immediately, Assistant City Manager Matt Dias will be named Interim City Manager. Dias has the confidence of the Mayor and City Council who plan to discuss with Dias the opportunity to take on the permanent role. External recruitment is not planned at this time.
Foster and Park City’s elected officials will not be making any other verbal or written statements about Foster’s departure.
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Regenerative agriculture
Soils can potentially trap a large amount of carbon away from the atmosphere. One method of driving more carbon into soils is through regenerative agriculture.
For example, in the summer of 2018 Park City decided to initiate regenerative agriculture on the iconic piece of land at McPolin Barn. This piece of land had remained relatively undisturbed since it was set aside under easement in 1991. The lack of disturbance on the land led to the grasses that grow and die each year to thatch together, never properly decomposing into the soil.
In partnership with Bill White Farms, a local non-profit organization, cattle were reintroduced to the former dairy. Rather than allowing them to spread out and graze on their favorite species, the cattle were herded together which forced them to eat down the grasses and weeds indiscriminately. The disturbance by the cows hooves, as well as what comes out of their tail ends, helped to mix dead matter with the soil and facilitate the decomposition process. This accelerated decomposition is key in releasing nutrients, thus creating a healthy environment for microbiota to trap more carbon away from the atmosphere and build up the health of our soils. The healthy soils are also more able to retain water, and allow for better growth of native species instead of noxious weeds.