City manager proposes reconstituting Public Art Advisory Committee as community-appointed body

City Manager Jeremy Dennis told the Brisbane City Public Art Advisory Committee on Jan. 26 that City Council has discussed altering the committee's membership to make it a community-appointed body rather than one with ex officio council or departmental seats. "It will be members made up of people who apply from the community," Dennis said, adding that current members would be eligible to apply.

Dennis said staff will draft the necessary ordinance changes and bring the proposal back to council, and that the shift is intended to reduce perceived conflicts and broaden public participation. He estimated recruitment and the ordinance process could take a couple of months.

Committee members raised concerns about transition timing and the need for an onboarding process so new appointees can get up to speed. Staff identified assistant city manager Christina and management analyst Molly as the primary staff contacts who will assume management of the committee when it transitions from Parks & Recreation to the City Manager's Office.

A committee member asked whether legal constraints required council or Parks & Recreation representation; the meeting noted that city attorney Tom McMora had advised any legal risk was minor but recommended cleaning up ordinance language to avoid confusion.

Dennis and multiple committee members stressed that council liaisons would retain an advisory role: liaisons would be expected to attend periodically (suggested quarterly) to share information about funding and citywide opportunities, but would not hold voting seats under the proposed structure.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the restructuring at the Jan. 26 meeting; staff said they would return with ordinance language and a recruitment plan. The committee scheduled tentative follow-up meetings in late February and early March to continue work on selection and other agenda items.