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Council debates membership, district representation for proposed Cultural Access Review Board
Summary
Council members discussed a draft resolution to create a Cultural Access Review Board. Debate focused on the board’s size, district‑based representation and whether statutory language (RCW) should be built into the resolution to guide eligibility and composition.
San Juan County staff presented a draft resolution on Oct. 20 to establish a Cultural Access Review Board to manage cultural‑access program funds and applications. The council’s discussion centered on board composition, representation and statutory clarity.
Councilmember Paulson said the council has been trying to standardize the makeup of advisory boards to ensure district representation and warned that leaving composition open could put a large pool of discretionary funds in a board without clear geographic balance. “We’ve been…trying to standardize how we create these groups and boards to make sure that we have district‑based representation,” Paulson said.
Several members advocated reducing the size from nine to five or seven members to ease quorum issues and make the advisory body more functional. Staff noted a tension between a desire for district‑based seats (which can be difficult to fill for small islands) and the risk of quorums failing; one compromise proposed was a smaller board with a mix of district seats and at‑large members with language that gives preference to geographic representation.
Councilmembers asked staff to include the relevant RCW language directly in the resolution so the rules are explicit in the adopted document rather than requiring readers to cross‑reference statutes.
Next steps: staff will draft revised resolution language that includes statutory citations and options for a five‑member board with district/at‑large balance for council review.
