Summit County Council interviews three applicants for High Valley Transit board; decision to follow closed session

The Summit County Council interviewed three applicants on the record for two openings on the High Valley Transit board and said it would make a decision after a closed session later in the meeting.

Deborah Risenfield, an applicant, described growing up in Summit County and pursuing hospitality and transit-related studies abroad. “My name is Deborah Risenfield. I grew up my whole life almost my whole life in Summit County … I ended up going to university in Switzerland to study hospitality and business management,” she said. Risenfield told the council she relied on transit in Switzerland and Park City and currently works at Brighton as manager of Lyft operations; she said those experiences shaped her perspective on frequency, connectivity to rural neighborhoods and improving the rider experience.

Retiree Robert (Bob) Zanetti said he has lived and worked in Summit County for decades and expressed interest in contributing on budgeting, hiring and policy. “I’ve spent most of my life in Summit County, Park City, and, just recently retired,” he said. Zanetti said his background running large organizations left him comfortable reviewing audits and budgets and supporting staff.

Peter (Peter Tome) described longstanding local involvement in parks and recreation and civic committees and said he would bring strategic vision, consensus-building and a finance-oriented operating perspective. “I’ve lived, kinda most of my life, most of my life here, in Park City Summit County area,” he said, adding he sees the board’s near-term work as including the bus rapid transit project and multimodal connections to reduce vehicle miles traveled.

Council members pressed each applicant on time availability and board workload. Council member Roger asked about the regular time commitment and committee work; multiple council members emphasized that board service can include frequent and multi-hour meetings. The applicants answered questions about priorities such as microtransit wait times, frequency on rural connectors, capital equipment and regional connectivity to the Salt Lake City International Airport.

Council members said there are two openings and three applicants. “There are 2 openings on this board. There are 3 applicants. Mhmm. So we will be making a decision today,” a council member said, and officials told applicants they would be notified of the outcome.

Technical problems delayed portions of the meeting and the council limited in-person participation earlier in the session; the council interviewed applicants in the boardroom after resolving some audiovisual issues.

The council moved into closed session later in the meeting to discuss personnel matters; the transcript ends as the closed session begins and does not record the appointments.