Council approves employment contract naming Peter J. Emery Park City Fire District chief effective May 1

The Summit County Council on a voice vote approved an employment contract to appoint Peter J. Emery as fire chief of the Park City Fire Service District, effective May 1, 2025.

The council heard a presentation from district leaders who described Emery as a product of the district's mentorship system and the board's preferred candidate after a hiring process. Roger (council member) moved to approve the contract; Candace (council member) seconded the motion, and the chair called the voice vote in favor.

Roger told the council the district's administrative control board and staff had conducted a search and recommended Emery as the best candidate. Chief Zanetti, who has worked with Emery for more than 20 years, described Emery's "passion for the fire service," his role training other firefighters, and his steady progression into leadership. "I was his captain," Zanetti said, recounting years of working together and calling Emery his "right hand man" for the past three years.

Board representatives said they completed a salary survey comparing the 10 highest‑paid fire chiefs in Utah and determined the proposed salary would place Emery sixth in the state. The council was told that, because the chief is required to live inside the district, the contract also includes a housing allowance to account for local cost of living and on‑call responsibilities.

Several council members praised both outgoing leadership and Emery's qualifications during the discussion. Candace said the board's analysis and the process were "very comprehensive," and another member described Emery as "a remarkable human" who had prepared himself to take the role.

Following the presentation and brief discussion, Roger moved to approve "the employment contract for the fire chief of the Park City Fire District as naming Peter J. Emery as the fire chief as contained and impacted." The motion passed on a voice vote. The council did not record a roll‑call tally in the meeting transcript.

The council did not discuss or adopt additional contract details beyond what staff and the district board presented; any further administrative steps or implementation dates in the contract were not specified in the public discussion recorded in the transcript.

Votes at a glance: the meeting transcript records a voice vote approving the employment contract; no roll‑call vote or numeric tally was recorded in the portion of the transcript provided.

Ending: The council recessed later in the meeting and continued other agenda items, including items related to Mountain Regional Water and county business.