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Council accepts public‑arts resignation, appoints members to commissions and directs outreach to diversify boards
Summary
Council accepted a Public Arts Commission resignation, appointed two members to fill vacancies on Public Arts and Parks & Recreation, and assigned terms to Human Rights Commission appointees; council also directed expanded outreach to improve demographic diversity on boards and asked staff to update application expectations.
The City Council accepted a resignation and made several appointments to city boards and commissions at the Feb. 27 meeting.
Staff asked council to accept Christopher Ramirez’s resignation from the Public Arts Commission and to appoint Michelle Loya to fill that unexpired term. Staff also recommended appointing Von Shands to the Parks & Recreation Commission to fill an unexpired term. Council accepted both actions.
For the Human Rights Commission, staff reported three current vacancies with staggered terms ending June 30 of 2025, 2026 and 2027. Mayor Pro Tem and staff recommended assigning terms as follows: Scott Nevins to a term ending 6/30/2025; Don Soja to a term ending 6/30/2026; and Donna Myro to a term ending 6/30/2027. The mayor pro tem asked council to note that the first two appointments are for short terms with the intention of reappointment if service is satisfactory. The council moved and approved the appointments.
Councilmembers reiterated a priority to expand demographic, cultural and experiential diversity across commissions. Council directed staff to:
- Improve outreach and recruitment (March 1–April 30 application period was reiterated) and provide materials commissioners and councilmembers can use for targeted outreach. - Include applications in staff reports so council has the documents available when appointments are considered. - Modify the application to emphasize that applicants should have attended or watched at least one commission meeting before applying.
Council discussed whether Human Rights Commission vacancies should be vetted by all five councilmembers (a practice used for Planning Commission, Historic Site Preservation and Measure J). Several councilmembers supported bringing that process back for discussion and asked staff to schedule a future agenda item to decide whether to expand the full‑council interview process to the Human Rights Commission.
