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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 10/17/2014 (2) SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL 17 OCTOBER 2014 The South Burlington City Council held a special meeting on Friday, 17 October 2014, at 6:30 p.m. in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. MEMBERS PRESENT -P. Nowak, Acting Chair; H. Riehle, C. Shaw, M. Emery ALSO PRESENT -K. Dorn, City Manager; T. Hubbard, Deputy City Manager; B. Nowak, T. Riehle, S. Dooley, J. Kearns Prior to addressing the agenda, Ms. Nowak thanked departing City Council Chair Pam Mackenzie for her years of service and wished her well in her new venture. 1. Agenda Review: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items: No changes were made to the agenda. 2. Comments and questions from the public not related to the Agenda: No issues were raised. 3. Discuss and possibly decide process to appoint an interim City Council members to serve until such time as the voters elect a permanent replacement to complete the unexpired remainder of the term for the current open seat on the Council: a. Legal requirements from Charter b. Role of Council c. Process Mr. Dorn directed attention to a copy of a section from the City Charter indicating that when a vacancy occurs on the Council, the remaining Council members may fill that vacancy until the next election when the voters shall fill the vacancy. He said the decision on how to proceed is up to the Council Ms. Nowak asked each Councilor how they feel about the situation. Ms. Emery: Felt that there are important issues coming up (e.g., budget, legal action with the City of Burlington, etc.) would benefit from a full Council.. She also felt the replacement should be someone who has previously ~een on the Council and could quickly come up to speed. She also preferred someone who would not be interested in running for the position in the next election. Mr. Shaw: Felt pretty much the same except that he felt he wouldn't discount a State Representative filling the temporary position. Ms. Riehle: Was comfortable with the 4 remaining Councilors going forward but agreed with the opinions of Ms. Emery and Mr. Shaw about any temporary replacement. Ms. Nowak: Felt there are people in the community who would be reliable, credible candidates that the remaining Council members would be comfortable with. She was also not opposed to the 4 remaining Councilors going forward. Ms. Nowak noted that Ms. Mackenzie was also the city's representative to the Regional Planning Commission. She suggested Mr. Shaw, who was pt alternate, assume that role and Ms. Dooley, who was 2nd alternate become pt alternate. Members agreed to this arrangement. Ms. Nowak then suggested that members come to•Monday night's meeting with names that they would consider for the open seat. Mr. Dorn said there is an item on the Agenda that will allow for that. Ms. Nowak stressed that she felt the 4 remaining Councilors all have the best interests of the city at heart and would want someone with the skills, talents, integrity and fairness to fill the open position. Members agreed not to talk with any potential candidate before Monday's meeting. They also agreed to send to Mr. Dorn a list of questions/criteria that any candidate would have to respond to (e.g., willingness not to run in the March election, not being out of town for any significant time during the winter, etc.). The list of questions/criteria decided upon will be shared with the community. Members also said they would decide on Monday whether there would be an interview of the potential candidate by the entire Council. Members then addressed the issue of who would serve as Chair if Ms. Nowak could not attend a meeting. Mr. Dorn will check on this with the City Attorney. 4. Other Business: No issues were raised. As there was no further business to come before the Council, Mr. Shaw moved to adjourn. Ms. Riehle seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. , Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.