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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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Biochar
Although wildfires are a healthy part of many ecosystems in the Intermountain West, the risk from catastrophic wildfires continues to increase in communities like Park City. Years of fire suppression, coupled with a hotter and drier climate and the continued development of subdivisions close to forestlands, presents the difficult challenge of trying to protect communities while also managing fire in a way that does not exacerbate climate change.
In 2019, Park City was among eight communities to recently receive a Leader in Community Resilience Program award from the National League of Cities (NLC). The award will support the city’s work in developing a biochar program to reduce excess forest fire fuels such as brush and wood debris, and return that carbon to Park City's soils.
Biochar is a charcoal-like material that can be used in carbon sequestration efforts. It is made by burning the excess forest fuels in an oxygen-free environment. Biochar is rich in carbon and in this case, will be collected from defensible spaces, that is the natural or landscaped area around a structure that is maintained and designed to reduce fire danger. Park City held a public demonstration in May 2019 to teach the public about how biochar is made, where it can be used on the landscape, and how it can reduce fire danger locally.
The forests surrounding most structures in the community contain a lot of poor-quality lumber that has the potential to be turned into biochar. This biochar, in turn, can be applied to farm fields and open spaces.