Wildfire Committee elects MJ as chair and moves regular meeting to third Thursday at 10 a.m.

The Portola Valley Wildfire Preparedness Committee elected MJ as chair in a voice vote and voted to change its regular meeting time to the third Thursday of each month at 10:00 a.m.

A committee member nominated MJ for chair and members present approved the nomination by voice. The chair thanked members for their support after the vote. Later in the meeting, a committee member moved to change the meeting time to the third Thursday at 10 a.m.; another member seconded the motion and the committee voted unanimously to approve the change.

Committee members discussed recruitment and the committee’s charter. Members noted the committee currently struggles to form a quorum and explored increasing membership to seven (raising quorum to four) to make scheduling and volunteer work more sustainable. Staff reminded the group that any change to chartered membership size or official committee parameters may require town‑council approval and that resignations received before the council’s roster review in January could affect reappointment.

The group asked staff to contact longtime member Jennifer Hammer about whether she intends to resign, because the town’s committee handbook includes an attendance rule that may deem a seat vacated if a member fails to attend a required percentage of meetings. The chair said she would follow up and submit any resignation to the town clerk.

The committee confirmed its next meeting for Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. and the chair adjourned the meeting at 04:51 after wishing members happy holidays.