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Council dissolves Arts and Culture Roundtable, says staff will use project-based outreach instead
Summary
The council voted 5-0 to rescind Resolution 2019-017 and dissolve the Arts and Culture Roundtable. Staff said the city will rely on targeted, project-specific engagement, community conversation sessions for the downtown project and use review panels for public art selections; public participation channels will remain open.
The Thousand Oaks City Council voted 5-0 on Jan. 28 to rescind Resolution 2019-017 and dissolve the Arts and Culture Roundtable, a council-appointed advisory group that staff said had struggled to maintain quorum and a work plan since forming in 2019.
Jonathan Sarat, Cultural and Community Services Director, told the council the roundtable was intended as a convener and advisory body but “the roundtable has not been able to achieve consensus on developing a work plan since its inception.” Sarat said meetings were often canceled for lack of quorum and recruitments routinely required extensions to fill vacancies.
Sarat said the city has completed an update to the general plan that includes an arts and culture element, and in November 2024 adopted an Art in Public Places policy that will guide a new public art program. He said staff will form review committees for specific public art projects and may include former roundtable members on those panels.
The council discussed outreach methods for arts projects and downtown planning. Alexandra South, director of strategic communications, said staff has expanded digital channels and email lists, added Spanish-language content and uses tracking tools (QR codes and short links) to measure engagement. Sarat and South said community conversation sessions on the downtown project have drawn more than 50 participants for at least one meeting, and staff is collecting interested participants’ emails for targeted updates.
Council Member Engler moved to adopt staff recommendations rescinding the earlier resolution and to find the action is not a project under CEQA. The motion passed 5-0.
Staff said the city will continue to seek public input via targeted outreach, downtown community conversations and public art review panels and will return to council with recommendations when specific needs arise.
