Carmel-by-the-Sea commission restarts work on mission, will send public survey in August

Commission member Ashley opened the Community Activities Commission meeting by laying out a staged plan to relaunch the commission and refine its mission, strategic goals and public outreach tools ahead of preparing a budget request to the city. "I will do some editing. I will mash up this survey, these two together, make some of these multiple choice...and then send it out to all of you by the end of the week," Commission member Ashley said.

The commission framed its work against the city council's five strategy categories — financial stability; stewarding the natural environment; preserving village character; public safety and infrastructure; and effective government services — and largely placed the commission in the council's third category, preserving village character, with significant overlap into environmental stewardship. Commissioners said the group’s principal role is organizing and supporting events that foster community connection in public spaces such as Devendorf Park and city streets.

Why it matters: commissioners said a shorter, clearer mission statement and community input are prerequisites to deciding what events to prioritize, what staff or volunteer resources to request, and how the commission should interact with other city commissions and departments.

On surveys, the commission agreed to combine two drafts. One draft asks practical, multiple-choice questions about event type, timing, location and communication preferences; the other asks broader, open-ended questions about the commission’s core purpose and whether it should emphasize tradition, innovation or community connection. Commissioners emphasized the need to gather basic demographic data — ZIP code, resident vs. second-home status, business owner vs. resident, and whether children live in the household — to target programming and interpret survey results.

Commissioners also discussed the limits of local data and suggested using voter registration and other available sources as proxies for residency. The group repeatedly noted the changing local population and the number of second homeowners as a factor affecting block parties, attendance and neighborhood connections.

The commission debated whether the mission statement should explicitly call out safety and inclusiveness. At the meeting, one commissioner said she liked short formulations that use words such as "belonging" and "connection," while others urged keeping the focus on residents without excluding visitors. A public commenter, Michelle (Resident), told the commission she supported the survey approach and asked how the public could follow up; the commission replied it will circulate materials and updates by email and hold additional meetings.

Practical next steps agreed at the meeting: the chair will revise and combine the two survey drafts into a shorter instrument with multiple-choice and limited open-ended questions and circulate that draft to commissioners by the end of the week; the commission will meet next Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. to continue wordsmithing the mission and finalize the survey with a goal of issuing the public survey in August. The chair also said she will distill several mission statement options into three items for the group to consider.

The meeting included a reminder that Brown Act restrictions prevent commissioners from collaborating in a shared Google document between meetings; staff will collect written edits via email. Commissioners also planned follow-up work to review the municipal code language that establishes the commission's duties and to align the commission's goals with council priorities before presenting any budget requests.

Commission member Ashley closed the item by summarizing the homework schedule and next meeting date.