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Board sets planning‑commission interview pair, asks staff to refine appointment timeline
Summary
Commissioners designated Commissioners Schroeder and Savas to interview applicants for two vacancies on the Planning Commission and asked staff to return with a revised timeline and background‑check plan after receiving comments about speed and due diligence.
Clackamas County commissioners discussed advisory‑board recruitment and a proposed compressed timeline for appointments and directed staff April 8 to revise the schedule after concerns about the proposed review window and background checks.
Staff reported 37 applications received for current vacancies and proposed a condensed timeline: staff eligibility screening the week of April 9, packet distribution to commissioners the week of April 14, public discussion to narrow finalists April 17 and public interviews April 22–24 with an appointment to follow April 24. Commissioners said three days to review dozens of applications was too short and asked staff to allow more time for individual review and to build a systematic background‑check process for finalists.
Commissioner Craig Schroeder volunteered to conduct interviews and, after discussion, Commissioners Schroeder and Ben Savas agreed to serve as the pair who will interview Planning Commission applicants. Staff said background checks for finalists take roughly one week and are conducted on a finalists-only basis; checks typically include public-record searches (criminal records, civil judgments, bankruptcies) but do not include fingerprint-based or routine social-media scrubs unless separately requested.
Staff said they will revise the timeline and return to the board with options that accommodate commissioner schedules, requested background‑check scope and the desire to have all commissioners available for final appointment decisions.
Ending: Staff will re-propose a timeline and describe the proposed background‑check procedures; candidates will be processed under the county’s standard appointment and eligibility procedures.
