CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING NOTICE & AGENDA
FEBRUARY 29, 2024
Meeting Time: 9:00 a.m.
Meeting Location: Hofert Hall, Big Bear Lake Civic Center, 39707 Big Bear Boulevard, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
COUNCILMEMBERS
MAYOR PERRI MELNICK
MAYOR PRO TEM KENDI SEGOVIA
COUNCILMEMBER RICK HERRICK
COUNCILMEMBER RANDALL PUTZ
CITY STAFF
CITY MANAGER ERIK SUND
ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER/CITY CLERK ERICA STEPHENSON
CITY ATTORNEY STEPHEN DEITSCH
__________________________________________________________________________________________
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING
NOTICE & AGENDA
To:
Mayor Perri Melnick
Mayor Pro Tem Kendi Segovia
Councilmember Rick Herrick
Councilmember Randall Putz
City Manager
City Attorney
Division Managers
Local Media
NOTICE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the City Council will conduct a Special Meeting on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., at 39707 Big Bear Blvd, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315; said meeting is being called pursuant to Section 54956 of the Government Code of the State of California for the purpose of considering the following matter:
AGENDA
OPEN SESSION
CALL TO ORDER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ROLL CALL
SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
FEBRUARY 29, 2024 – Page 2
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS NOTICE
If members of the public cannot attend the meeting, the City encourages the public to submit written public communications about any item on this special meeting agenda, to the City Clerk either in person, via mail or by email at [email protected]. Please identify the Agenda item in the header of your letter or the subject line of your email. All written communications received by the City Clerk prior to the meeting will be distributed to the City Council prior to the start of the meeting, however, the public is encouraged to submit comments by 5:00 pm the evening prior to the meeting to ensure adequate time for Council review and consideration.
Public comment is permitted only on items included on the posted special meeting agenda and the public comment period will be held prior to City Council’s deliberation of each item. Please note that there is a three-minute maximum time limit when addressing City Council during that time period. The time limit is subject to adjustment at the discretion of the Presiding Officer. Speakers are limited to their individual maximum time limit and other members of the public cannot cede their speaking time to another person.
1. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEM
1.1 OPTIONS FOR FILLING CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 5 VACANCY City Council Action Options: (1) Allow the District 5 City Council seat to remain vacant until the November 2024 election; or (2) Direct staff to advertise for applicants interested in serving the remainder of the District 5 City Council term that expires in November 2024 and schedule a special meeting for City Council to interview eligible applicants; or (3) Direct staff to schedule a special election to fill the remainder of the District 5 City Council term that expires in November 2024.
ADJOURNMENT
I hereby certify under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of California, that the foregoing agenda was posted in accordance with the applicable legal requirements. Dated this 27th day of February, 2024. _______________________
Erica Stephenson, City Clerk
The City of Big Bear Lake wishes to make all of its public meetings accessible to the public. If you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (909) 866-5831. When possible, notification 72 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting.
MEETING
DATE: February 29, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH: Erik Sund, City Manager
FROM: Erica Stephenson, Assistant City Manager/City Clerk SUBJECT: Options for Filling City Council District 5 Vacancy
BACKGROUND & DISCUSSION
The Big Bear Lake City Council consists of five Councilmembers, each elected by-district to serve a four-year term. General Municipal Elections to elect Councilmembers are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year. The next scheduled election year is this year, 2024.
On February 14, 2024 Councilmember Bynette Mote tendered her resignation from the City Council, District 5. City Charter section 403(c) authorizes the City Council to determine by ordinance the method of filling City Council vacancies. Big Bear Lake’s Municipal Code section
2.08.040 provides that the City Council’s policy is to fill a vacancy on the City Council by any means allowable by law, specifically, by appointment or calling a special election. The City has sixty days from the date of the vacancy to choose and proceed with option 1, option 2 or option 3 below. Because the 60th day falls on Sunday, April 14th, the City Council has until Monday, April 15th to make its determination.
Option 1: Allow the Vacancy to Remain
The City Council can decide to allow the District 5 City Council seat to remain vacant until the November 2024 General Municipal Election, which aligns with when the District 5 City Council seat would have been voted on, if no vacancy had occurred in the 4-year term.
Option 2: Appointment
If the City Council fills the vacancy by appointment, the term of the person appointed to fill the vacancy will run until the end of the vacant seat’s original term, November 2024. This is because Councilmember Mote was elected in 2020, and was serving the second half of her term. Should the Council wish to fill the vacancy by appointment, the City Clerk will advertise the vacancy, establish a City Council interview schedule, and present the eligible candidates to the City Council for consideration and appointment. The selected candidate may be administered the Oath of Office and begin serving immediately.
If the City Council selects this option, staff’s suggested timeline for the appointment process is as follows:
• Monday, March 4 – begin public outreach efforts and start accepting applications for interested candidates
• Friday, March 29 – application submittal deadline at 5:00pm • Thursday, April 4 – post the April 10 Special Meeting Agenda packet including eligible candidates’ applications and interview schedule
• Wednesday, April 10 – hold a Special Meeting beginning at 9:00am, allowing City Council the opportunity to interview eligible candidates and the option to make the District 5 City Council appointment
Option 3: Special Election
If a special election is called, it must be held on the next regularly established election date that is at least 114 days after the call for the special election. The City’s next regularly established election date that falls within this time frame is November 2024, the same date the term would naturally expire. The City does have the option of conducting a special election wholly by mail, and in doing so may choose any date 114 days after the call for special election. In that instance, an election could be held approximately 3 ½ to 4 months after the meeting at which the special election is called, allowing for an elected candidate to serve approximately 3 months before the term ends with the November election. In a special election the City incurs the costs of conducting the election, and as stated above, the term of the person elected to fill the vacancy runs to the end of the vacant seat’s original term. City staff estimates the total expense of a holding this special election could cost the Big Bear Lake taxpayers up to $200,000. Again, an in-person, precinctbased election may only be held on November 5, 2024, negating its effectiveness. To conduct an election to fill the vacant seat, the City Council must adopt a resolution formally calling for a special election. (Elections Code, § 12001.) If the Council proceeds with this option, Councilmember Mote‘s vacant seat would sit open until that election. If the City Council wishes to call a special election, staff will return to the City Council with the appropriate resolution required to call the special election.
With either Option 2 (Appointment) or Option 3 (Special Election), the person selected to serve the remainder of the vacant term must be a resident of District 5 as it was constituted at the time of Councilmember Mote’s election in 2020 (i.e. the 2018 Voting District Map).
FISCAL IMPACT
If the City Council fills the vacancy by appointment or decides to allow the vacancy to remain until the November 2024 General Municipal Election, minimal fiscal impacts are anticipated. If the City Council takes action to fill the vacancy by a Special Election, than the fiscal impact is estimated to be as much as $200,000.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
None requiring review under California Environmental Quality Act.
CONSIDERATION OF STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
1. Enhance community engagement and local advocacy strategies, while bolstering partnerships with residents, businesses and regional partners
2. Ensure fiscal responsibility
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Motion to allow the District 5 City Council seat to remain vacant until the November 2024 election.
OR
Motion to direct City staff to advertise for applicants interested in serving the remainder of the District 5 City Council term that expires in November 2024, and schedule a special meeting for City Council to interview eligible applicants.
OR
Motion to direct City staff to schedule a special election to fill the remainder of the District 5 City Council term that expires in November 2024.
ATTACHMENT
1. 2018 & 2022 Voting District Maps
Item 1.1
Attachment 1
2018 Voting District Map (This Map Was Used In The District 5 – 2020 Election) District 5 is the Orange Sec�on located in the lower right por�on of the 2018 map. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 2022 Voting District Map (This Map Will Be Used In The District 5 – 2024 Election) District 5 is the Green Sec�on located in the lower right por�on of the 2022 map.