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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/08/2001 - City Council Special Meeting1 SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING - CITY OF COSTA MESA JULY 9, 2001 The City Council of the City of Costa Mesa, California, met in special session on July 9, 2001, at 8:50 p.m., in the Police Auditorium, 99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. Notice of the special meeting was given as required by law. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Cowan. ROLL CALL Council Members Present: Mayor Libby Cowan Mayor Pro Tem Linda Dixon Council Member Gary Monahan Council Member Karen Robinson Council Member Chris Steel Council Members Absent: None Officials Present: City Manager Allan Roeder Deputy City Clerk Mary Elliott PUBLIC COMMENTS Tom Egan, 1893 Parkview Circle, Costa Mesa, believed that there is a problem in educating people to a level where they can Educating the Public have an informed opinion. As an example, he mentioned the lack of input from Costa Mesa residents on the possible expansion of John Wayne Airport. NEW BUSINESS The Deputy City Clerk presented a request to discuss Procedures for procedures for commissioner appointments. Commissioner Appointments The City Manager reviewed his memorandum dated July 6, 2001, which suggests some changes to be made to simplify the process of selecting commissioners. He referred to the attachments to the memorandum which detail procedures used by seven Orange County cities. The City Manager reported that a press release has been issued soliciting applicants for the vacancy on the Planning Commission. He felt it was important that the process for interviews and selection be spelled out clearly at the outset so all applicants understand how the procedure will unfold. Mayor Cowan described one of the best processes in which she participated two or three years ago where some of the applicants were interviewed, although there was a question on whether all applicants should have been interviewed; and the Council made its decision that evening. She thought a similar procedure would be appropriate. Mayor Pro Tem Dixon stated that she too was involved with the interviews described by Mayor Cowan, and that it worked very well. Council Member Steel suggested interviewing all applicants; taking a vote; giving two points for each Council Member's first choice, and one point for their second choice; adding up the total points and voting on the top two. Council Member Steel commented that this system would eliminate any discussion. Council Member Monahan recommended that the process be kept simple since only one member is being appointed to the Planning Commission at this time. He commented that if he .wanted to interview an applicant, he could talk to them on the phone. Council Member Monahan suggested establishing a procedure after the next election. Council Member Robinson complimented staff on the report because it was very easy to read and she was able to select the methods she liked best. Her preferences were the processes used in the cities of Fountain Valley and Tustin, where all applicants are interviewed by the entire Council. She appreciated Council Member Monahan's comments, but she wanted to ensure that the process is fair to anyone who applies, and that there is a procedure in place on which everyone can rely. Mayor Cowan felt it was important to establish a procedure now, and to follow it whether there is one vacancy or several vacancies. MOTION A motion was made by Mayor Cowan, seconded by Council Adopted a Procedure Member Monahan, to adopt a procedure for selecting for Commissioner commissioners: applications are to be submitted to the City Appointments Clerk's Office for processing; following the deadline, all Council Members shall receive a copy of the letters of application; a date for interviewing and decision shall be set; each Council Member shall submit to the Mayor the names of the top five applicants whom they would like to interview; the Mayor shall list the ten persons to be interviewed (consisting of the two top people chosen by each Council Member), unless there are less applicants; immediately following the interviews, the Council shall vote on filling the vacancies with each Council Member casting one vote more than the number of vacancies (for example, if there is one vacancy, each Council Member casts two votes); the names shall be placed in the order of preference; and the persons receiving the highest number of votes shall fill the vacancies. Council Member Steel agreed with the motion except he asked that after each Council Member makes his/her top choice, the field should be narrowed to the top two applicants, and then all five Council Members would vote on the top two. Mayor Cowan agreed with that suggestion. Discussion ensued as to the time and place of the meeting at which to appoint a new Planning Commissioner to fill the existing vacancy. Council agreed to set a deadline of 5:00 p.m., Monday, July 23, 2001, for receiving applications; to hold a special meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 28, 2001, at the Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Avenue, Costa Mesa. The motion carried 5-0. The City Manager recommended that when the time and opportunity permits, some mechanism should be established for periodic feedback to commission members on performance and direction as outlined on Page 2 of his aforementioned memorandum. MOTION Mayor Pro Tem Dixon mentioned that at one time, there was Appointed Mayor Pro discussion about the Mayor Pro Tem being a liaison to some of Tem as Liaison to the the committees, and she was willing to do that. A motion was Commissions made by Mayor Cowan, seconded by Council Member Steel, and carried 5-0, appointing the Mayor Pro Tem to be the liaison to the commissions and to establish regular communication with them. MOTION — Citizens At the request of the City Manager, a motion was made by Limited to Applying for Mayor Cowan, seconded by Council Member Monahan, and One Commission carried 5-0, limiting citizens to apply for either the Planning or Only Parks Commission during concurrent recruitments. ADJOURNMENT The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned at 9• m. May&Taf the City of Costa Mesa ATTEST: I lia�- - Deputy City C rk of the City of Costa Mesa 1 R11