City Council reviews board and committee assignments, plans Jan. 21 ratification

City Manager Mark Ziegler told the City Council at its Jan. 14 study session that it is the council’s annual opportunity to review board and committee assignments and asked members to confirm their current seats or request changes.

Ziegler said the council typically reviews assignments at the start of the year and that staff would bring the updated list to the Jan. 21 meeting for ratification. “It’s our annual opportunity to review council boards and committee assignments,” he said.

During discussion, the council identified a joint meeting with a transit authority that attendees said was no longer relevant. The mayor said he had spoken with Amy Asher, who “doesn’t even know what that meeting was even for,” and the council agreed to cross that joint meeting off the list. Council members also discussed swapping seats on transit and other advisory boards to accommodate scheduling conflicts.

Council members discussed adding alternate representatives for boards where bylaws permit alternates. Mark Ziegler and others noted that not all outside boards allow alternates; the housing board’s bylaws, for example, may not permit an alternate representative and will require confirmation with each board.

The lodging tax advisory committee remains designated by ordinance to be represented by the mayor, according to Ziegler. Several council members volunteered to swap or cover meetings when scheduling conflicts arise; one member offered to switch to the Mason County Transit Authority Board to resolve a recurring schedule conflict.

The council also agreed to bring the finalized assignments back for a formal vote at the Jan. 21 council meeting. No formal motions or votes were taken during the study session.

The study session adjourned at 6:16 p.m.