Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2023 07 19

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Historical Commission Agenda May 17, 2023 Page 2 of 2 City and that it highlights people's achievements that the general community may not be aware of — "It is very educational." 3. How is your process to develop your annual work plan? How does it align with Council's work plan?: Being a board that provides feedback and acts as a sounding board, the Commission does not typically have an annual work plan. This year, when a work plan was asked for, City staff drafted one and then the Commission approved it at its next meeting. It was noted that thought was put into making sure that the Commission's work plan aligned with the Museum's work plan and also connected to and supported the City Council's work plan. 4. If Council will be considering changes, what changes would you recommend?: The one recommended change that was brought up has to do with absenteeism and this causing the Commission to sometimes struggle to have a quorum for a meeting. There are currently 6 members, and a majority of 4 members need to be in attendance. Although members are supposed to be allowed to miss only a few meetings per year, a few miss many more than that and don't necessarily communicate that they will be absent. However, there do not appear to be any real consequences for chronic absenteeism. The impacts on the remaining members are very real in terms of their perceiving pressure to always show up so that there will be a quorum. 5. Do you feel that your body has been effective or ineffective? Why?: The Commission members agreed that this board is very effective. They feel that they do a good job of providing thoughtful feedback to the Museum staff. Some members also make a point of regularly attending Museum events. It was noted that the Commission and the Museum staff have a very good relationship. 6. City Council has an informal policy of managing meeting time and canceling or reducing meeting times when agendas are light. What are the practices of your body in regards to agenda development, meeting duration, and meeting tempo?: The Commission members observed that the fact that they are already set up to meet every other month has been very helpful with respect to this. With two months between meetings, there are inevitably things that have come up in the meantime that need to be on the next meeting agenda. Also, the Chair moves through the agenda quickly and efficiently. He gives everyone a chance to talk while also being respectful of people's time. Most recent Commission meetings have been kept to between 45 and 60 minutes. The Commission members do not feel that there is wasted time. 7. Thoughts on term limits and ideal board size: Commission members expressed a mix of views on term limits. One member was in favor of term limits so that new people can bring energy and new ideas. Another expressed concern about the impacts of term limits if a board like the Commission is already on the small size. He indicated that it would not be