City Council Agenda and Packet 2023 11 06

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City Council Meeting Minutes March 21, 2023 Page 7 of 8 Councilmember Leh stated he has heard that many of the boards would like closer communication with City Council. He noted there seems to be a lack of clarity of the roles of the boards and what Council wants from them. He would like to determine what role expertise plays for those applying to boards; in some boards it is critical but in others it is not. He stated he has heard that people think we don't listen to the boards and that is not our intent. We need to make sure there is no disconnect between the Council and the boards. He stated in some areas term limits could be a problem. Planning Commission for example is hard to learn all you need to know to serve well. He would like to see roles clarified. Councilmember Dickinson stated he would be interested in possibly combining the Recreation Advisory Board and the Parks and Public Landscaping Advisory Board. He stated the Historical Commission and Library Board may be another combination that would work. He would like to find ways to have a more diverse applicant pool. As to term limits he stated the Council always has the opportunity to not reappoint people but Council should look at the membership and decide what mix they want on each board. He prefers that to forced term limits. He agrees the Council needs better communication with the boards. Mayor Maloney stated we get a large number of very qualified applicants each year and he thanked all the members for their service. He stated it is up to Council to make sure it is clear in what it wants from the boards. Each board needs to have a clear mission and exact duties. If we are asking staff and community members to spend time on this we need to know what we want from that. He stated consolidating certain boards might make a lot of sense. Mayor Pro Tern Fahey stated that attending board meetings is a way to learn so much about what they boards are doing and talking about. We need more interaction between the boards and the Council. There may be ways to consolidate boards that makes sense. We do need to fully define the roles of the boards and what we expect them to be doing. She stated she is not a big fan of term limits, the Council can determine what they want in the application process. Councilmember Hoefner stated he would like feedback from the board on how members are participating in meetings when considering reappointments. He agreed more meaningful interaction with Council would be great. Councilmember Hamlington stated consolidating boards may make sense. If there are term limits she would like a clear process on how they are enforced so as not to introduce bias into the process. For those boards that do not require expertise we should not ask about it in the application. 22