Aurora committee advances multiple board appointments and reappointments

The Rules and Procedure Committee of the City of Aurora advanced a package of appointments and reappointments to several city advisory boards during its meeting, moving the items forward to the Council of the Whole for final consideration.

Nicholas Rochard Thompson, deputy chief of staff in the mayor’s office, described the first item — resolution 26-0099 — as a straightforward administrative step to add Lee Katavu and Toby Gill to the Deferred Compensation Administration Committee, which includes the city CFO and human-resources leadership. "This resolution is really just to support the internal, administrative board for deferred compensation and some of our benefits packages," Thompson said. The committee approved that appointment by voice vote.

The committee then considered several reappointments to the Aurora Veterans Advisory Council (AVAC). Thompson said the package had been returned from the Council of the Whole because of concerns and that the mayor’s office plans a meeting with AVAC members "to deal with some of the concerns and grievances." He also said a missing resume for one applicant had been corrected. Members repeatedly asked staff to include clearer transmittal letters listing seats, vacancies, wards and resident status so the committee would not have to ask the same questions at future meetings.

For each AVAC reappointment, the mayor’s office recommended renewal. The committee approved reappointments including Pedro Rodriguez (26-0106), the candidate listed as a nonresident Oscar Ramirez Jr. (26-0109), Curtis Wilson (26-0110), and Jose Jesus Cervantes (26-0113) by voice votes that were recorded as 5-0 on the record. The transcript contains inconsistent spellings for one appointment listed as "Michael Zapata" (26-0107) in the agenda heading and later referred to as "Michael Zepeda" in staff discussion; staff said an application was on file and that DD214 discharge papers or resumes can be provided where required.

Amy Monroe, redevelopment coordinator in the community development division, updated the committee on cultural advisory work tied to appointments. "We had probably in record, we had close to 80 people who signed in, but I think it was probably closer to over a 100 who were able to attend this networking event," Monroe said about the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander advisory board’s inaugural event. The committee approved Ginny Park’s appointment to that board (26-0116).

A set of four appointments to the Aurora LGBTQ Advisory Board (26-0117) was presented together; members asked staff to distinguish which entries are reappointments versus new appointments in the legislation text to avoid future returns for conflicts. Committee members also flagged typographical issues in term dates (items showing March 10 to Jan. 1 in one place), and staff said they would correct dates before the Council of the Whole. To avoid delaying the slate, the committee voted to move those items forward "without a recommendation" so clerical corrections can be made; that motion also carried 5-0.

The committee did not take substantive policy votes on these appointments beyond forwarding them to the Council of the Whole; staff was directed to follow up on residency, missing paperwork and other concerns raised during discussion.

What’s next: The items will appear before the Council of the Whole; staff said it will provide corrected transmittal documents, resumes or DD214s where relevant and will meet with AVAC members to address outstanding concerns.