Councilors ask staff to review commission structure; Transportation and Economic Development merger suggested

Council members discussed a proposal to review and potentially restructure city advisory commissions after councilors said several commissions are struggling with open seats and low participation. One council member proposed looking at combining the Transportation Commission and the Economic Development Commission because of overlapping airport and economic development work.

"I feel like maybe there hasn't been as much participation, and there's definitely a lot of openings that are on the commissions that it's been very difficult to fill," said one council member. The Transportation Commission member present, Greg Larkin, explained the commission hopes to raise awareness of the airport and attract public engagement for aerospace activity, including an open‑house concept the commission has proposed to start locally and expand regionally. Larkin said the commission aims to "start slowly and ramp up" and suggested an open house late in fiscal 2026 as a potential signature event.

Council and staff discussed the commissions' historical purposes, their alignment to the general plan and the difficulty of securing quorum for some bodies. Assistant city management staff said records of attendance and activity are maintained and offered to "come back to council with another recommendation" on restructuring or realignment, as had been done in prior years. Council asked staff to arrange commission presentations in September or October so council can hear each commission's initiatives, challenges and staffing needs before deciding on structural changes.

The transcript records a consensus to solicit feedback from the commissions and to schedule presentations; staff indicated they would review mission statements, attendance records and potential consolidation and return with recommendations. No formal motion to change commission structure was recorded in the transcript.