Punta Gorda canal committee split over reducing membership; backs loosening of absence rule

Deputy City Clerk Jennifer Faulkner presented two proposed bylaw changes to the Punta Gorda Isles Canal Advisory Committee on Sept. 15: (1) reduce regular board membership to five plus one alternate (standardizing across most city boards) and (2) change the absence-forfeiture rule from three absences in 12 months to four.

Faulkner explained the current process and the proposed changes: "The current absence policy under the bylaws is 3 absences in a 12 month period. On the third absence, your seat is automatically forfeit... The proposed change is basically to add 1 more. So now it would be essentially, 4 absences... and on the fourth absence, that seat would be forfeit," she said. The clerk's office said council has expressed a preference to standardize membership sizes across boards and to address attendance issues; the code enforcement board was excluded because its membership is set by state statute.

Board reaction Several long-serving committee members said they preferred to keep the committee at seven members. Board member Robert Knabe noted that the committee has historically reached quorums and valued the broader membership for diversity of opinion. Jeffrey D'Amico said, "I don't see a reason to change it." Jake Dye, Harry Wahlberg and others also voiced support for retaining a seven-member panel while indicating they had no objection to increasing the absence threshold.

Clerk's office process and next steps Faulkner said the clerk's office will take the committee’s comments and present them to city council along with input from other boards; council will decide whether to adopt a resolution to change bylaws. Faulkner noted that pending appointments have been held while council considers a potential membership change. "If they wished to keep their application valid until such time as a vacancy became available, or if they wanted to resubmit to essentially extend the life of their application, that is an option as well," she said.

No formal vote was taken; the clerk said she would record the committee’s input in the minutes and forward it to council for final action.

Ending The committee asked staff to include the board’s comments in the packet to city council; members were told the clerk's office could provide a list of upcoming term expirations and that the board’s opinions would be documented for council consideration.