Personnel and Public Employees Committee Special Meeting - February 14, 2023
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Personnel and Public Employees Committee Special Meeting - February 14, 2023
The Sacramento Personnel and Public Employees Committee (PPEC) held a hybrid special meeting on February 14, 2023, at City Hall Council Chamber. The meeting, called to order at 11:02 AM and adjourned at 12:14 PM, focused on interviewing applicants for vacancies on six city boards and commissions. The committee heard public testimony and voted to continue all appointment decisions to a special meeting the following week to allow further discussion.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the Personnel and Public Employees Committee meeting minutes from October 18, 2022 by voice vote (motion by Councilmember Valenzuela, second by Councilmember Loloee).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Brandy Tucson Boyd, a current member of the Sacramento Disability Advisory Commission, expressed support for applicant Alice Mercer. Boyd noted that the commission has not had a full dais (quorum) since June 2020 and that quorum challenges have delayed important discussions. She expressed hope that the newly selected appointees would add geographic depth to the commission.
Discussion Items
Sacramento Disability Advisory Commission
- Interviewed 8 applicants for 4 open seats (C, D, G, H). Applicants included mothers of children with disabilities, a woman with dwarfism, a longtime ADA advocate, and others. Staff noted each applicant was qualified for the open seats.
- Applicant Greg Allen Lim stated he was involved in the early ADA advocacy efforts and had 28 years of public policy experience.
- Item continued to the next week's special meeting for discussion and decision.
Preservation Commission
- Interviewed 2 applicants for 2 open seats: Brian Forrest Burns (District 7) for Seat C (registered structural engineer) and Margot Nayar (District 3) for Seat E (landscape architect/historian). Both expressed their qualifications and interest in historic preservation.
- Item continued.
Active Transportation Commission
- Interviewed applicants for seats J and K (9 applicants on the agenda; some absent or no-show). Applicants expressed passion for cycling safety, professional planning experience, and advocacy. Key applicants included Amy Lee, Susan Hita, Rabbi Matt Friedman, Deborah Banks, Isaac Gonzalez, and Amel Wadwani. Deborah Banks noted her role as executive director of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates. Isaac Gonzalez highlighted a successful effort to secure $6 million for a road diet on Folsom Boulevard and submitted a petition signed by nearly 150 neighbors.
- Item continued.
Measure U Community Advisory Committee
- Interviewed applicants for seats K, L, M, and O (13 applicants on the agenda). Applicants represented housing, education, business, and community organizations. James Michael Molina Eggpollo, age 24, sought seat L but staff noted he would age out within three months; he was moved to seat O consideration. The committee discussed his eligibility.
- Item continued.
Utility Rate Advisory Commission
- One seat (C) open with one applicant, Philip Thomas, who was not present but sent correspondence. Item continued.
Parks and Community Enrichment Commission
- Five applicants for seat K (public member). Applicants included Duke Cooney, Sierra Boone, and Patricia Waite. Roynell Anderson was absent. Discussion covered park equity, volunteerism, and diversity.
- Item continued.
General Committee Discussion
- Councilmember Maple asked about serving on multiple commissions; staff replied there is no general prohibition, but conflicts are referred to the City Attorney.
- Councilmember Valenzuela noted an age restriction for Measure U seat L; staff clarified that for this board, appointees must be within the age range at appointment.
- Chair Kaplan announced the committee will work to strengthen and clarify the pathway for board/commission recommendations to City Council and will elect a vice chair in March.
Key Outcomes
- All consent calendar items were approved.
- All appointments for the six boards/commissions were continued to a special committee meeting the following week for further discussion and recommendations to the Mayor and Council.
- The committee agreed to allow applicants who were absent or did not appear to submit written comments or emails for consideration.
- The meeting was adjourned at 12:14 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome to the personnel and public employees committee meeting. The meeting is now called to order at 1102. Will the clerk please call the roll to establish quorum? Thank you, Chair. Councilmember Leloy. Councilmember Maple. Here. Councilmember Valenzuela. Yeah. And Chair Kaplan. Here. Um we have a quorum. Uh I would like to move to land acknowledgement. Councilmember Maple, would you mind doing the land acknowledgement and pledge for us? All right. All right. Please rise to the opening. And the people of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous people's history, contribution, and lives. Thank you. All right. Salute. And pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Welcome. Um everybody today, please have a little bit of patience. I am two members, two members. Ha! Two months into being a new council member, and this is the first time chairing a committee. So excuse us if there's some little goofs and and gaffs as we go along the way, but I am honored to have been appointed by the mayor. Um having been a school board member for 20 years, process and procedure is uh is my jam, and so we will be getting into that in the in the future months. But for everybody in the audience, I wanted to let you uh know the process. Uh we're gonna go through each of the committees, um, and then you will each have two minutes to speak. We'll have the questions up behind us briefly. Um fellow council members today. I thought since this is we have a lot on our agenda that we would hold the interviews today, we have a special meeting next week for which we could then come back and have discussions and make decisions. Um so today, even though there may be only one applicant, um, there may be further discussion that we wish to have. So I want to just pause everything, have the interviews so that we have time to think about it and then come back next week, have the discussion so we're not feeling rushed and it could be a little bit more robust. Um, but for members who are here um or public joining us online, if you wish to speak, do the raise your hand provided in public comment when we uh confirm that there is time for public comment speaking. Uh if you want to, is there a card that we have that they can submit up up front if you're here uh and wish to speak on a on a um committee commission or board? If you're online, click the raise the hand on the bottom of your screen mobile app. Um you can raise your hand by tapping the raised hand option in the more tab. And if you are calling in via telephone to raise your hand, dial star nine, then to unmute or mute, dial star six speakers will be called on by the last four digits of their phone number, and again uh you will have two minutes to speak when you are called on. So our moving on to our first order of business. Normally, because I am a new council member and was not on with uh the last um committee that was held. I tend to abstain for purposes of quorum and a majority. I will not today, but um there are any members clerk who wish to speak on the consent calendar.
openpublica.com