Minutes 03-18-2025-Business Meeting

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21 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked to look at item B — Composition, under Section III, Membership. She asked what steps the Board will take to make sure that they are appointing members to advisory boards that are representative of the community. Tara May said that they can have a conversation about that at a future date. She said she has worked with Community Relations in the past, and she can continue working with them for advertising and reaching out. Chair Bedford said it would not go under a policy document, but they could have a general discussion about different methods of reaching out to new groups. Vice-Chair Hamilton said it is important to look across all the advisory boards when considering representation. Commissioner Fowler brought up keeping members who have extensive experience as ex-officio members, thereby opening positions for new applicants. She said ex-officio members could keep working on projects they'd been involved in, but they couldn't be a voting member. Chair Bedford said she felt people should roll off boards and then reapply in the future. Commissioner Greene said she did not recall having ex-officio members. Chair Bedford said that they've let people have an extra year two or three times, once for the Economic Development Advisory Board. Commissioner Greene said she liked Commissioner Fowler's idea. Commissioner Carter said she supported the idea of having ex-officio members to keep continuity on the board. Chair Bedford asked if it is needed. She said they've done it three times and they've said they won't do it again. She said she has concerns about undoing their efforts to improve representation on boards. Commissioner Portie-Ascott mentioned Section III, Membership, item E, "Terms," which describes the number of terms an advisory board member can serve. She said that they've discussed not allowing people to serve on the Board of Adjustment and the Planning Board at the same time. She asked if this was the appropriate time to discuss the issue. Tara May said the way this has been applied was that of the boards listed in the BOCC Advisory Board Policy, an applicant couldn't serve on more than two of those. She said typically they haven't included a quasi-judicial board or a town board, for example. Commissioner Carter asked if they should have language for specific boards. Chair Bedford suggested that John Roberts and Tara May bring back an amendment to the BOCC if there was consensus to add language to the advisory board policy stating that applicants could not serve on both the Board of Adjustment and the Planning Board at the same time. She noted the majority of commissioners were nodding their heads in affirmation. John Roberts said that policies and procedures for individual advisory boards take precedence over the advisory board policy approved by the Board of Commissioners. He suggested putting that requirement in the Planning Board policy or rules of procedure. Commissioner Fowler said she thought there used to be a requirement that one person serve on both Planning and the Board of Adjustment. Chair Bedford said that was a misunderstanding. Vice-Chair Hamilton said there is an understanding that not serving on two boards only applies to boards under the BOCC Advisory Board Policy. She asked if that could be changed to apply to other boards as well, such as quasi-judicial boards. Tara May said yes, it is the Board's policy, and they can make that change. Chair Bedford asked what other quasi-judicial boards this could apply to. John Roberts said the other quasi-judicial board is the Animal Services Hearing Panel. Vice-Chair Hamilton said even the Planning Board was not created by the county and operates according to state statutes. She said there are other similar boards, such as the Board of Health and the DSS Board.