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Richland council fills many board and commission liaison slots; formal adoption set for Feb. 17
Summary
City staff circulated a matrix of roughly 30 internal and external boards; council members nominated liaisons for arts, planning, Hanford‑related boards, chambers, ECA and other bodies. The city manager said assignments will be ratified by resolution at the Feb. 17 meeting.
The Richland City Council began filling liaison assignments to internal and external boards and commissions at its Feb. 3 meeting, with staff saying the designations will be formally ratified by resolution on Feb. 17.
City Manager Amundson distributed a spreadsheet and a reference guide showing about 30 internal boards (planning, parks, code enforcement, pension boards) and external organizations (Port of Benton, Port of Kennewick, Energy Communities Alliance, Tri Cities chambers and regional bodies). "You will start to see a number of emails come to your inbox from the different staff liaisons," Amundson said, and noted most assignments run two years.
City Attorney Heather Kinsley reviewed the expectations for council liaisons under Richmond Municipal Code 2.04.125, stressing that a liaison to an internal board is not a voting member and should primarily communicate council policy and carry back information and recommendations. "The member's purpose is primarily to communicate council policy to the board, and to take back to the council recommendations and questions," Kinsley said.
Council members spoke about scheduling and preferences and made nominations for specific seats. Staff summarized the tentative assignments on the record: Arts Commission to Council member Witten; Code Enforcement Board liaison to Council member Samuel; Economic Development Committee to Council member Jones; Planning Commission liaison to Council member Samuel; Utility Advisory Committee to Council member Meyer; Benton Franklin Transit Board to Council member Meyer; and several external posts (Hanford Communities Governing Board to Mayor Pro Tem Van Dyke; Energy Communities Alliance to Mayor Richardson, Mayor Pro Tem Van Dyke and Council member Witten). Several seats — including Hanford Advisory Board positions that require a federal application process — remained to be finalized.
Council member Meyer described leaving several choices open to allow colleagues to take roles aligned with prior experience. Mayor Richardson said staff will draft a resolution formalizing the assignments for the Feb. 17 meeting.
The process reflected scheduling constraints and statutory or charter requirements for some posts (for example, the mayor must serve on the Emergency Operations Board and certain pension boards), which staff noted during the review. The city manager asked members to expect calendar notices and liaison contact from staff.
Next steps: staff will notify outside agencies and complete a resolution for formal council action Feb. 17.
