Committee converts Parks & Recreation commission references to division, shortens terms and trims membership

The Codification Review Committee voted June 4 to convert references to the Parks and Recreation Commission to the Parks and Recreation Division, reduce the number of future appointed commissioners to five and shorten new appointment terms from five years to three.

Committee members said the changes reflect reality: the parks functions are managed by division staff and many references in Chapter 7 still read like older code. The committee adopted language that existing commissioners will serve the remainder of their current terms while new appointments after the ordinance change will carry three-year terms. "The commission shall consist of five members," the committee agreed in a motion that passed unanimously.

The meeting also included deletion of section 7-24 (position of parks and recreation director) and a vote to replace all instances of "commission" with "division" in the parks sections to reduce confusion between advisory members and staff-managed division operations.

Why it matters: the edits change governance language and the length of future appointments, which affects recruitment and continuity of volunteer members. Committee members discussed whether to allow a range of membership size but settled on five to simplify recruitment and staggered terms.

Next steps: staff will update Chapter 7 text to reflect the new nomenclature and appointment language and will remove obsolete references. Existing members will retain their current terms; the change will apply to new appointments effective on the ordinance adoption date.