When Tom Fisher walked into the County Courthouse as the new Summit County manager in early 2015, he was prepared to tackle the core issues that by then had already challenged officials for years.
There was continued unhappiness with the growth in the Snyderville Basin, the traffic appeared to everyone to be getting worse and there were questions about where the water would come from to support all the development.
As Fisher prepares to depart at the end of the month, though, the key to his legacy involves the County Courthouse’s response to an issue that nobody in 2015 foresaw but one that will define the era. Fisher, as the county manager, was the top staffer as the county government executed a response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. It is the County Courthouse and the state government, rather than the municipal governments, that set public-health policies and, in the case of the pandemic, enacted restrictions that were designed to curb the spread of the sickness.
Fisher showed extraordinary mettle over the past two-plus years as he worked with health officials, the elected officials in Summit County and various municipal leaders in the county, most importantly those in Park City. The Park City area, we must recall, was one of the state’s first hotspots for coronavirus cases, forcing immediate action by both City Hall and the County Courthouse. The public-health restrictions were expectedly controversial as they wore on, but the Fisher-led Summit County staff deserves credit for its fortitude during the pandemic.
It is rarely mentioned, meanwhile, how important the public-health work of the County Courthouse was to the remarkable economic comeback from the early months of the pandemic, when the tourism industry shuttered and unemployment in Summit County soared past 20%.
Had it not been for the efforts of Summit County to protect public health, it would have been highly unlikely the Park City area would have posted such impressive economic numbers starting so quickly after the shutdowns.
Fisher is leaving to become the town manager in Frisco, Colorado, a Rocky Mountain community surrounded by the ski industry. Everyone hopes he never again needs to lead a response to something as terrible as the pandemic. But the people of Frisco should have some comfort in knowing Fisher is capable of doing so if need be.
"difficult" - Google News
July 09, 2022 at 06:25PM
https://ift.tt/QJwdqol
Record editorial: Departing Summit County manager showed extraordinary mettle during difficult era - The Park Record
"difficult" - Google News
https://ift.tt/b8NGnCy
https://ift.tt/a4MeSAB
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Record editorial: Departing Summit County manager showed extraordinary mettle during difficult era - The Park Record"
Post a Comment