Council approves advisory committee scope and names inaugural sanitary board appointees

The city presented a proposed scope and regular meeting schedule for the East Palo Alto Sanitary District (EPASD) Advisory Committee and the council voted to appoint the committee's initial members.

Board Secretary James Collin summarized the LAFCO condition requiring an advisory committee and outlined a proposed five-member committee with one Menlo Park seat, staggered three-year terms, and bimonthly meetings on the first Wednesday of even months at 6:30 p.m. "One of these conditions, is condition 6, which requires the city to create an advisory committee within 90 days of the issuance of the certificate of completion," Collin explained, noting Menlo Park had already appointed one member.

Council members questioned whether advisory seats should be compensated and stressed limits on an advisory body's ability to direct staff or authorize expensive consultant work. City staff said compensation was undecided and could be brought back for consideration. After a public comment period and candidate interviews, the council filled four regular seats and one alternate: Grace Poppel, Mario Mendoza and Deborah Lewis Burgess each received majority support in the first round and Stephanie Griffin won the remaining regular seat after subsequent ballots; Tonga Victoria was later elected alternate before withdrawing to accept an appointment to the Public Works & Transportation Commission (creating the alternate opening).

Those appointees will serve initial staggered terms (some ending in 2027, others in 2028) and the committee will advise on administrative and financial matters, annual budgets, capital improvement planning and service rates. The council directed staff to prepare the resolution establishing the committee and to return with any implementation details, including training for new members on the Brown Act and Form 700 requirements.