Fairview staff propose replacing Community Engagement Committee with volunteer program

Fairview recreation staff on Wednesday proposed phasing out the Community Engagement Committee and replacing its function with a volunteer-focused program to support city events and outreach. Recreation Director Cairo told the City Council that the CEC has met only four times this year and that attendance shortfalls have left the panel unable to perform some duties. Staff asked for general direction to develop an implementation plan and return with formal ordinance language.

The recommendation matters because the CEC has been a staff resource for event planning and community input; staff said low membership and irregular attendance have limited the committee’s usefulness. Cairo said the city currently has four CEC members, two longtime and two sporadic attendees, and that “not having a full committee makes it really tough” for staff to rely on the panel for timely event decisions.

Annie, the recreation program coordinator and staff liaison to the CEC, described a volunteer model she used previously: “We had just two paid staff and a volunteer force of around 40 different people that we used to run our programming,” she said. Under the proposal, the city’s recreation office would recruit and coordinate volunteers through PlayEast and similar channels so that volunteers provide “boots on the ground” at events while staff retain authority to make timely operational decisions.

Councilors who spoke during the discussion repeatedly supported the idea as more practical than recruiting long-term committee members. One councilor noted that asking residents to commit to a monthly standing meeting is a growing barrier and that short-term volunteer shifts are easier for many people to accommodate. Council members asked staff to return with proposed ordinance language or a broader review of all city committees at a future work session in November.

No formal action was taken Wednesday. Staff said next steps would include drafting ordinance language (if council wishes), developing volunteer recruitment and communications plans, and presenting options on committee structure and staff support at the upcoming committee-review work session.

Details and next steps: staff will prepare draft ordinance or policy changes and return for Council consideration; PlayEast and the recreation department will be listed as the primary volunteer recruitment channels; council requested a broader committee review at a November work session to consider whether other standing committees should be restructured.