Inside look: Park City Safety Panel shares emergency response strategies

PARK CITY, Utah — A coalition of Park City’s top public safety officials will gather on Monday, March 10, for “Lessons in Leadership – Public Safety Management,” a free event exploring how their interagency partnerships address complex challenges in a community that balances the needs of local residents with those of hundreds of thousands of annual visitors.

The event will run from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Jim Santy Auditorium in the Park City Library and will feature representatives from law enforcement, healthcare, education, and emergency services.

“It started with a conversation with Chief [Wade] Carpenter, and we wanted to do something that focused on that portion of the public service community here in public safety,” said Scott van Hartesvelt, Leadership Park City Director, who will moderate the panel. “He went on to describe pretty quickly that this informal but really interesting coalition that had been formed between all of these different agencies, and how frequently they got together, which surprised me.”

“Park City is a unique community when it comes to our public safety responsibilities,” van Hartesvelt added. “Effective planning and management take extra teamwork, trust, and a focus on coordination across multiple agencies. This event gives residents a rare opportunity to hear directly from the leaders making critical decisions that impact their daily lives.”

The panel will explore how these diverse agencies coordinate their efforts, particularly during major events that strain local resources.

“We have a unique town in that our population is not particularly large, and we have high expectations for our quality of life, for public health and safety. At the same time, we have hundreds of thousands of visitors that come in every year, and that puts an extraordinary strain on those resources,” van Hartesvelt explained.

He cited the closing of Main Street to vehicles during the Sundance Film Festival as an example of the complex coordination required between departments.

“To a casual observer like myself, it seems like an interesting decision. I don’t know that it was black or white, but it didn’t seem particularly complicated,” van Hartesvelt said. “Carpenter told me about how this coalition had to manage that, and the amount of coordination that was required between all of these different departments in order to make that feasible.”

The discussion will cover how these agencies form partnerships, manage disagreements, allocate resources, and build decision-making processes. Additional topics will include emerging threats, technological changes in public safety, mental health challenges, and building trust with underrepresented communities.

Van Hartesvelt emphasized that residents will have direct access to key decision-makers, with plans to dedicate up to half of the event time for audience questions.

“I would love for residents to see a bunch of people from different agencies who each can stand on their own, working together to everybody’s benefit,” he said. “There’s so many questions about public safety that come up on a regular basis, and enforcement strategies, and how things change based on political climate or other things… the people who are on this panel can answer.”

Panelists include Dr. Phil Bondurant, Summit County Health Director; Chief Wade Carpenter, Park City Police Department; Lyndsay Huntsman, Park City School District Superintendent; Dr. Austin Smith, Park City Hospital Emergency Medical Director; Sheriff Frank Smith, Summit County Sheriff’s Office; and Chief Bob Zanetti, Park City Fire District.

No registration is required for the event. To learn more, visit the Park City Municipal website. For ADA accommodations, please contact Paige Galvin at least 24 hours before the event.