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Blufftown councilors plan standardized bylaws for advisory committees; keep design review committee intact
Summary
Councilmember Lynn DeSosa opened the Blufftown Council work session June 24 by listing the town’s advisory groups and proposing a council-wide review of their bylaws and membership: “it seemed like this was a good time to do a review of the committees,” she said.
Councilmember Lynn DeSosa opened the Blufftown Council work session June 24 by listing the town’s advisory groups and proposing a council-wide review of their bylaws and membership: “it seemed like this was a good time to do a review of the committees,” she said.
The discussion centered on two goals: (1) standardize bylaws and meeting schedules across committees so the town has a single, consistent process for vacancies and appointments; and (2) preserve small working groups for technical work. Councilmembers agreed the Design Review Committee (DRC) should remain a separate, smaller body that meets with architects rather than folding its agenda into full council meetings. “They would crowd out these meetings with conversations for stuff that's a lot of times only just asking for clarification,” said Jennifer Davila (Councilmember). Several participants said a five-member committee size strikes a good balance — it allows odd-numbered membership for tie avoidance and creates resilience when members miss meetings.
The council asked standing committees to use the Active Transportation Advisory Committee bylaws as a template. Anne Leppinen (Councilmember) said that document covers most operational elements the town needs, such as posting vacancy notices and term language. Staff and council agreed committees should each decide meeting frequency to match workload; committees actively working on projects will meet more often than advisory groups in maintenance mode.
Council members also raised near-term operational issues. The town website shows several advisory appointments as having a September 2022 appointment with a two-year term; the council discussed reappointing current members until bylaws are finalized so the online listings do not appear expired. Malia (town staff member) confirmed she can update the site and that the Active Transportation bylaws allow reappointment at the council’s discretion. Councilmembers requested that each committee report decisions back to the council when the committee reaches consensus so formal approval can occur at a public meeting.
Succession for technical committees drew particular attention. Michael Havocin (roads committee member) has indicated he will step down around Jan. 1, creating a potential knowledge gap for infrastructure work. Councilmembers discussed proactive recruitment — advertising vacancies, contacting regional road and engineering staff, and asking current committee members to nominate candidates — and noted Thomas Hayden (staff) is preparing a roads manual before his July 11 departure to help transfer institutional knowledge.
The council set a schedule for next steps: committees will discuss desired membership counts and meeting schedules, staff will prepare draft standardized bylaws, and the council aims to review drafts at an August work session (target Aug. 12). The meeting ended with a unanimous adjournment at 5:30 p.m.
