Agenda - Council - 03/24/1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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DISCUSS APPOINTMENT TO PLANNING COMMISSION VACANCY By: Linda Waite Smith, Administrative Services Manager Background: On February 24, 1998, the City Council received a recommendation from the panel interviewing candidates for two Planning Commission vacancies. As the minutes of the Council meeting state, "The interviewing panel recommended appointing Joe Wivoda for one of the vacancies but to wait to appoint the second person until an interview can be conducted with Mr. Anderson." The Personnel Committee unanimously passed a motion to recommend that the City Council accept the recommendation of the interview committee. Later that evening, the City Council received the Personnel Committee report and approved it. Based on that approval, the Administrative Services Manager notified Mr. Leo Anderson by mail that the interview panel was keeping the second vacancy open until he could be interviewed. She asked that he call her when he returned to town. At a special Planning Commission meeting on March 12, 1998, the Planning Commission passed a motion that the vacancy be readvertised and that an interview date be advertised, but no deadline for applications be established. Instead, anyone who arrived up to and during the time of the interviews would be interviewed. The rationale for the motion was that the Commission had waited long enough and the vacancy should be filled by the April meeting. This information was relayed to the Administrative Services Manager by the Vice-chair of the Planning Commission on Monday, March 16. Coincidentally, Mr. Anderson left a voice mail message the same morning saying he was looking forward to the interview and would wait to be notified about the time. The Planning Commission motion of March 12 directly contradicts the motion made by the Personnel Committee and approved by City Council on February 24. The procedure proposed in the Planning Commission motion of March 12 also conflicts with the procedure established by the City Council to fill vacancies on all City commissions. Interviewing Mr. Anderson would not prevent the vacancy from being filled in April. Four months of the 48-month term of office will have elapsed. The Vice-chair of the Planning Commission wants the City Council to consider the Planning Commission motion before the process continues. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends that the process continue as agreed to by the interview panel, the Personnel Committee and the City Council.