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Home My WebLink About10.F.1. Consideration of Process to Appoint Interim Council Member �,� General Business 10. F. 1. �i�t��KO1'}rF. TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Mark McNeill, City Administrator DATE: 08/07/2013 SUBJECT: Consideration of Process to Appoint Interim Council Member (F) Action Sought Determine a method of appointing a former Council Member to serve the unexpired portion of the term to be vacated by Councilor Pamela Schurman. Background At its meeting of July 29th, the City Council accepted with the regret the resignation of Councilor Pamela Schurman. Her resignation will become effective after August 31, 2013. See attached information from that meeting regarding more details about the alternatives to fill that position. Because of the relatively brief period of time that an interim council member would be needed to fill the vacancy, the Council gave direction that only former Councilors who have served within the previous "8 to10 years" should be considered. The Council also indicated that it would not consider any of those who would be filing for one of the available two Council seats to be considered at the November Sth election. The City Administrator was directed to determine who would be eligible, and then contact the eligible candidates to gage their individual levels of interest. After reviewing the previous Council records, the individuals who would qualify under those criteria are: Name Left Council Patrick Heitzman 12/31/11 Terry Joos 12/31/09 Steve Menden 12/31/07 ` Joseph Helkamp 12/31/OS I have spoken with all four of the potential candidates. Three indicated a strong willingness to serve. The fourth, Steve Menden, expressed his appreciation to be considered and indicated that he would step forward if there were no other qualified candidates. However, when he was informed that the other three are interested, he graciously declined the offer, citing the press of his work schedule. The Council has been previously informed that the appointment of an advisory board member or commissioner would require that individual to step down from their volunteer position, due to a potential conflict of interest. I checked with the City Attorney regarding any potential issues for Terry Joos and Joe Helkamp, as they both currently serve on SPUC. I was advised that as SPUC is independent and does not report to the City Council, the requirement to resign would not apply. (The City Attorney did note that, by City Code, only one SPU Commissioner may serve on the Ciry Council at any single time). This then means the City Council needs to determine how it will choose one of the three candidates. While they have had multiple years of experience serving on the City Council, not everyone on the current Council may be familiar with each of them. When filling previous vacancies, applicants were sometimes been asked to complete questionnaires detailing their views on various policy questions, and selected candidates were then interviewed by the full Council.. Other times, only interviews were held. One of these procedures might be considered in this case. Recommendation Because of the relatively small number of candidates, I don't believe written answers to a questionnaire are necessary. However, in the interest of educating everyone--newer City Council members, and the general public--who may not be familiar will all three of them, interviews to be held during a Council Workshop meeting would be appropriate. Therefore, I recommend that the Council establish a date in August for a workshop where interviews can be held by the four remaining members of the Council. This would be prior to the September 3rd regular City Council meeting, when the new Council member could be officially appointed, and then seated. The appointee could then participate beginning at that meeting. 1 recommend August 27th as the workshop meeting date. Budget Impact None. Relationship To Visioning This supports Goal F, "Housekeeping Item." Requested Action The Council should give direction to staff as to how it will select from the three interested former Council members for the upcoming City Council vacancy. Attachments: