Minutes 02-10-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Decision Point: Does the Board want to adopt a formalized process as relates to this issue? Commissioner porosin said he would be in favor of getting rid of all special requirements. He said the Board can take things like geographic diversity or applicant backgrounds into account during the nomination process. He said he thinks it makes no sense to have vacancies when people have applied to be on the Board. Commissioner Rich asked what happens if you find that all of the applicants are from Chapel Hill and no other part of the County. She questioned how you could know that future Commissioners would not stack committees in their favor. She said if you take away requirements, such as geographical location, you could wind up with too many people from one area, and then you do not have diversity. She questioned how to make sure each area of the County gets to participate in advisory board decisions. Commissioner Pelissier asked if this discussion is just about the geographical requirements that are a choice. She said there are a lot of boards where you have to be qualified in a certain way, including some geographical requirements, and some of these are by state statute. Chair McKee said his reading is that this discussion is about geographical requirements only. Commissioner porosin said he would be in favor of getting rid of any of these requirements that are not statutory. Chair McKee said he is not sure that all of the specific types are statutorily required, but they might be necessary. Commissioner Rich asked which boards are having a problem. Chair McKee said the Housing Authority board has had difficulty with achieving quorum. Commissioner Rich said she is trying to figure out the boards with a geographical requirement. Chair McKee said this includes Animal Services, and Agricultural Preservation. Commissioner Jacobs said the Commission for the Environment has very specific limitations. Commissioner Pelissier said these are not geographical limitations. She said if it is focused on geographical, the primary board is the Planning Board. She thinks it is very important for the Planning Board to have people from different parts of the County. She said these people have very different experiences to offer. Commissioner Pelissier said, thinking about non-geographical requirements, it is important for a board such as the Commission for the Environment to have people who know about different aspects of the environment. She wants to see that diversity. She said there has been not much of a problem, and she does not want to see a change because of a few glitches. She does not think this helps with moving forward. Commissioner Price said there have been problems with geographic issues on the Planning Board. She said her spot on this board has changed continuously as a result of this. She said she agrees with Commissioner porosin that flexibility is needed, but she also agrees with Commissioner Rich that there needs to be balance. Commissioner Price said the other issue is that some people are just not interested because they feel it is a waste of time. She said many boards and commissions meet in the evening, which can be difficult for people. She said there have been people on the OUTBoard who have had to leave. She said people have also questioned whether the Commissioners pay attention to what comes out of these advisory board meetings.