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Greenbelt council and advisory chairs plan recruitment push, review charters and outreach materials
Summary
Advisory board chairs told Greenbelt City Council they face persistent vacancies and quorum problems; council proposed simplifying applications, using QR codes and Labor Day tabling to recruit members and asked boards to review operating charters annually.
Greenbelt Mayor Emmett Jordan opened a council work session by saying the city relies on volunteer advisory boards and asked each chair to summarize membership and priorities.
Chairs from education, planning, arts, senior services and other bodies described recurring vacancies and uneven turnout. "We're supposed to have nine," said Janet Mirsky, chair of the Advisory Committee on Education, "we have three" (Education Committee). Several chairs and council members called for clearer, consistently published descriptions of each board's purpose, meeting cadence and time commitment so prospective volunteers can decide before applying.
Council and chairs discussed immediate recruitment tactics. Ben Friedman of the Advisory Planning Board and others urged targeted tabling at the Labor Day festival and outreach to school PTAs and SGA groups to recruit younger members. Community Relations chair Rick Ransom recommended promoting an upcoming screening of the national film "Join or Die" and using it as a sign-up opportunity.
Councilmembers supported simplifying the application process and adding a QR code on printed materials that links to an online form. "We could easily do a QR code that would take you back to a form," Mayor Jordan said. Staff will prepare a short, standardized summary sheet for each advisory group (purpose, typical meeting schedule, time commitments, "hard season" and key tasks) for the city website and information tables.
Several chairs said they would update governing documents and operating principles yearly. David Shapiro, chair of the Ethics Commission, asked councils to clarify the commission's boundaries on emerging questions such as reparations and other city initiatives so volunteers understand responsibilities.
The council also announced an advisory-boards dinner on Oct. 20 at Martin's Crosswinds to facilitate cross-board networking.
Next steps: staff will draft the standardized forms and QR-enabled outreach materials for council review; advisory chairs were asked to update their charters and provide concise time-commitment summaries for publication.
