Residents press council on records access, housing authority appointments and youth advisory board age

Several residents used the public-comment period at the Sunnyside City Council meeting on May 27 to press the council on records access, possible conflicts involving housing-authority appointments and the proposed youth advisory board’s minimum age.

Sharon Dolan, a Sunnyside resident, asked why council members must file public-records requests to obtain documents and criticized a public statement by the city manager saying staff needed to close to fulfill a council member’s request. Dolan said the optics of the leadership team not sitting with council at the previous meeting created a perception of disunity and asked for clarity on whether the leadership team had discussed that decision with the mayor beforehand. She also asked where job postings for the public-works director and a request for proposals for a new city attorney could be found.

Bridal Moore, who said she had raised concerns about the housing authority in a March meeting with Mayor Dean Boersma, told the council that board members of the housing authority appeared to be past their five-year terms and said the mayor should recuse himself from appointments because of a potential conflict related to the mayor’s prior service with the housing authority. Moore asked council to remove the mayor as the appointing authority and consider appointing the deputy mayor instead. Mayor Boersma said he had consulted the city attorney and rulemaking committee, and the city manager said the rules committee is working on a policy and that the city would not appoint anyone until the new policy is in place.

Alyciana Aguirre urged the council to lower the minimum age to join the proposed youth advisory board to include mature middle-schoolers (12–14), and recommended interviews, teacher recommendations or a council referral as ways to screen younger candidates. Aguirre said peer voting in schools often selects students by popularity rather than qualifications.

Raquel Isquierdo Lopez introduced herself as a candidate for Sunnyside School Board District 2 and said she will be door-knocking and meeting voters.

Councilors responded during the meeting with procedural clarifications and said the rules committee will draft policy changes on appointment processes and records requests; the manager said he had consulted the city attorney and that staff will prepare a recommendation. No formal council action was taken during the public-comment period; councilors asked staff to follow up and provide documentation where appropriate.