OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City Committee Interviews and Appointments – October 28, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, October 28, 2025
BodyMountain View, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 28, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:11:17
Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

He will join us later.

0:06

So we'll go on to item number three, approval of the minutes.

0:13

Would any member of the public joining us virtually or in person like to provide comment on this item?

0:19

Please.

0:19

If so, please click the raise hand button in Zoom or submit a speaker card to the deputy city clerk.

0:25

We will take in-person public speakers first.

0:28

Each will have three minutes.

0:31

Is there any public speakers?

0:33

Seeing none.

0:34

We'll bring it back to the committee.

0:36

Is there a motion and a second to approve the minutes?

0:39

I move approval of the minutes.

0:41

I will second that.

0:43

All in favor.

0:45

All right, both of us.

0:47

Yay.

0:48

Okay.

0:51

Okay.

0:52

Moving on to item four, oral communications from the public.

0:55

Would any member of the public joining us virtually or in person like to provide comment on this item?

1:01

If so, please click the raise hand button in Zoom or submit a speaker card to the deputy city clerk.

1:07

We will take in-person speakers first.

1:09

Each speaker will have three minutes.

1:14

Any public comment?

1:16

Speakers on.

1:17

I see none in the room.

1:19

I see none online.

1:21

All right, we're moving on to item five.

1:23

Just speeding through.

1:26

New business committee openings.

1:27

Deputy City Clerk Wanda Wong will make brief remarks and then we will proceed with a review and selection of interview questions.

1:36

Welcome to the meeting tonight.

1:38

I want to inform you that Ethan Weissman has withdrawn his application from the Board of Library Trustees.

1:53

And Cassandra Magana and Deanne Wee and the Senior Advisory Committee have withdrawn their applications.

2:02

Could you say that again?

2:03

It's Ethan Weissman from the Board of Library Trustees.

2:07

Jessica Chohan from Parks and Recreation Commission.

2:11

Cassandra McGona and Deanne Wee from the Senior Advisory Committee.

2:16

And I also want to let you know there are.

2:18

Yes, Dean Wee.

2:20

Also, want to let you know that there will be a few applicants who will be attending via Zoom tonight.

2:26

Well, that makes some of the decisions easier.

2:33

Thank you.

2:35

All right.

2:37

So we'll move on to public comment.

2:40

Would any member of the public joining us virtually or in person like to provide comment on this item?

2:46

If so, please click the raise hand button in Zoom or submit a speaker card to the deputy city clerk.

2:53

We will take in-person speakers first.

2:55

Each speaker will have three minutes.

3:02

And I see no hands on Zoom.

3:06

Alright.

3:07

Bringing it back to the committee.

3:10

Per the selection process outlined in council policy number K-2, interviews will be conducted in a panel format.

3:19

Applicants will be interviewed in groups by body.

3:21

Each applicant will receive the same amount of time to answer each question, and the questions selected by the committee will be asked in randomized, randomize round robin order.

3:35

The committee may ask a limited number of clarifying questions in the event that an applicant's answer was unclear or otherwise not understood.

3:45

Clarifying questions should be not used to allow an applicant an additional opportunity to expand on the original response.

3:53

The committee will now review and finalize questions to ask each applicant and a time allocated for each question.

4:01

Questions previously asked of each group of applicants are included in the memo from staff.

4:07

Where there are fewer applicants than open speech and incumbents are the only applicant.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████31%
Community Engagement███████████████████████████27%
Economic Development████████████████████████24%
Arts And Culture█████████9%
Parks and Recreation████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure█1%
Summary of Proceedings

City Committee Interviews and Appointments – October 28, 2025

The Committee on Committees met on October 28, 2025, to interview candidates for several boards and commissions and to make appointment recommendations to the City Council. The meeting proceeded through approval of minutes, oral communications (none), and a series of panel interviews followed by deliberations. Appointments were recommended for the Board of Library Trustees, Parks and Recreation Commission, Downtown Committee, Performing Arts Committee, and Senior Advisory Committee. Two seats remained unfilled due to applicant no-shows; a follow-up meeting will be scheduled.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the meeting minutes was moved and seconded, and passed unanimously (2-0).

Discussion Items

  • New Business – Committee Openings: Deputy City Clerk Wanda Wong announced that several applicants had withdrawn: Ethan Weissman (Board of Library Trustees), Cassandra Magana and Deanne Wee (Senior Advisory Committee).
  • Interview Question Review: The committee reviewed and finalized questions for each board/commission. For the Performing Arts Committee, question two was modified to include: "What policies of the performing arts center are you interested in working on?" For the Senior Advisory Committee, an extra question on conflict of interest was retained for applicants with businesses.
  • Board of Library Trustees (one seat): Incumbent Sharon Sue interviewed. She expressed passion for continuing children’s services, library outreach, and introducing a winter reading program. The committee unanimously moved to reappoint her.
  • Parks and Recreation Commission (two seats): Incumbent Jonathan Davis interviewed. He emphasized civic engagement, objective perspective, and priorities for the strategic plan: equitable resource allocation, operational framework, and open space acquisition. Sarah Donna, a non-incumbent applicant, did not appear. The committee unanimously reappointed Jonathan Davis and discussed possibly rescheduling an interview for Sarah.
  • Downtown Committee: Multiple applicants interviewed for seats in property owner, business at large, community at large, and neighborhood association categories. Marisol, Mike Kasparzak, Peter Katz, Dennis Reitner, and Jamil Sheikh all gave statements on downtown vibrancy, challenges (vacancies, permitting, post-pandemic recovery), and ideas (placemaking, digital infrastructure, business support). The committee later moved to recommend Marisol (downtown property/business seat), Mike Kasparzak and Peter Katz (business at large), Dennis Reitner (community at large), and Jamil Sheikh (neighborhood seat).
  • Performing Arts Committee (one seat): Incumbent Irina Crone interviewed. She focused on diversifying programming (classical music, dance, movie nights) and improving outreach to different age groups. She was recommended unanimously.
  • Senior Advisory Committee (two seats): David Kim interviewed. He stressed representing under-resourced seniors, amplifying their voice, and recusing himself from conflicts of interest due to his in-home care business. A second applicant was unable to attend (on a flight). The committee recommended David Kim and noted they would need to reschedule or find alternative applicants for the second seat.

Key Outcomes

  • Unanimous motions to recommend (all passed):
    • Sharon Sue to Board of Library Trustees
    • Jonathan Davis to Parks and Recreation Commission
    • Marisol, Mike Kasparzak, Peter Katz, Dennis Reitner, and Jamil Sheikh to Downtown Committee (respective seats)
    • Irina Crone to Performing Arts Committee
    • David Kim to Senior Advisory Committee
  • Unfilled seats: Parks and Recreation Commission (second seat – Sarah Donna no-show), Senior Advisory Committee (second seat – applicant unreachable). The committee agreed to hold an additional meeting before the end of the year to interview candidates for these three vacancies (including a possible Downtown Committee applicant).
  • Bylaws discussion: The committee noted that the Downtown Committee bylaws restrict seat categories; staff will explore loosening those restrictions at a future council meeting.
  • Next steps: Recommendations will be forwarded to the City Council for formal appointment at the December 16, 2025 meeting.

Meeting Transcript

He will join us later. So we'll go on to item number three, approval of the minutes. Would any member of the public joining us virtually or in person like to provide comment on this item? Please. If so, please click the raise hand button in Zoom or submit a speaker card to the deputy city clerk. We will take in-person public speakers first. Each will have three minutes. Is there any public speakers? Seeing none. We'll bring it back to the committee. Is there a motion and a second to approve the minutes? I move approval of the minutes. I will second that. All in favor. All right, both of us. Yay. Okay. Okay. Moving on to item four, oral communications from the public. Would any member of the public joining us virtually or in person like to provide comment on this item? If so, please click the raise hand button in Zoom or submit a speaker card to the deputy city clerk. We will take in-person speakers first. Each speaker will have three minutes. Any public comment? Speakers on. I see none in the room. I see none online. All right, we're moving on to item five. Just speeding through. New business committee openings. Deputy City Clerk Wanda Wong will make brief remarks and then we will proceed with a review and selection of interview questions. Welcome to the meeting tonight. I want to inform you that Ethan Weissman has withdrawn his application from the Board of Library Trustees. And Cassandra Magana and Deanne Wee and the Senior Advisory Committee have withdrawn their applications. Could you say that again? It's Ethan Weissman from the Board of Library Trustees. Jessica Chohan from Parks and Recreation Commission. Cassandra McGona and Deanne Wee from the Senior Advisory Committee. And I also want to let you know there are. Yes, Dean Wee. Also, want to let you know that there will be a few applicants who will be attending via Zoom tonight. Well, that makes some of the decisions easier. Thank you. All right. So we'll move on to public comment. Would any member of the public joining us virtually or in person like to provide comment on this item? If so, please click the raise hand button in Zoom or submit a speaker card to the deputy city clerk. We will take in-person speakers first. Each speaker will have three minutes. And I see no hands on Zoom.

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