1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: July 18, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Kimberley Clark, City Clerk
BY: Melissa Dekermenji, CMC, Records Manager
SUBJECT: Appointment to Fill One Vacancy on the Sustainable Burbank Commission, Fill One Vacancy on the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission and Fill One Vacancy on the Infrastructure Oversight Board for Unexpired Terms
RECOMMENDATION
Appoint one member to the Sustainable Burbank Commission to fill an unexpired term ending July 31, 202 5; appoint one member to the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission to fill an unexpired term ending July 31, 2025; and appoint one member to the Infrastructure Oversight Board to fill an unexpired term ending July 31, 2025.
BACKGROUND
All Board, Commission, and Committee (BCC) Members shall be appointed by a three - fifths (3/5) vote of all Council Members and serve without compensation from the City. No person shall serve on more than one BCC at the same time. Vacancies on a BCC occurring during the term of office shall be filled within ninety (90) days from the date the vacancy occurs. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term. In addition, all applicants must be electors of, and act ually reside in, the City of Burbank with the exception of three positions on the Burbank Cultural Arts and the Sustainable Burbank Commissions as established in Ordinance No. 16 -3,874 adopted 2/9/2016. (Per BMC Sections 2-1-404, 2-1-405, 2-1-406, and 2-1-407).
Once a vacancy is established, the City Clerk advertises the vacancy for 30 days, accepts applications, and provides applications received to the City Council for consideration.
Applicants have the option of applying for up to two BCCs, indicating their first and second choice.
CITY CLERK’S
OFFICE
2 The voting process established allows for each Council Member to vote as many times as there are vacancies on the BCC being considered , and the applicants receiving a majority of the votes in the first round are either appointed or move into the second round, if necessary. The process continues for as many rounds as are necessary to attain the correct number of applicants to fill the vacancy.
Sustainable Burbank Commission
On October 14, 2008, Council adopted Resolution No. 27,796 establishing the Sustainable Burbank Task Force as a 15 -member body intended to advise and make recommendations to the City Council on matters related to the i mplementation of the Sustainability Action Plan and to help engage the community by participating in various public education, outreach , and promotional activities related to environmental sustainability. Nine (9) members are appointed by Council. The rema ining six (6) members are comprised of one representative each from the Chamber of Commerce , Youth Board , Planning Board , and Burbank Water and Power (BWP) Board; the Superintendent of the Burbank Unified School District (BUSD) or his designee; and the Executive Director of the Burbank -Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority (Airport Authority) or his designee. On August 23, 2011, Council approved Resolution No. 28,392, renaming the Sustainable Burbank Task Force to the Sustainable Burbank Commission and revising the role of the six members who are representatives from voting to non - voting members.
On February 9, 2016, Council adopted Ordinance No. 16 -3,874 which added the Sustainable Burbank Commission to the Burbank Municipal Code Section 2 -1-424. The Sustainable Burbank Commission shall advise and make recommendations to the City Council on matters related to the implementation of the City of Burbank Sustainability Action Plan and help engage the community by participating in various public education, outreach, and promotional activities related to environmental sustainability.
The composition of the Commission changed as followed:
• nine (9) members,
o six (6) Burbank residents;
o three (3) members (may be residents or non -residents) representing the business community at large and engaged in environmental issues, the real estate or development industry, or the faith-based or non-profit community; • Representatives from the following are non -voting liaisons: the Board of the Chamber of Commerce, the Youth Board, the Planning Board, and the Burbank Water and Power Board; the Superintendent of the Burbank Unified School District or his or her designee ; and the Executive Director of the Burbank -Glendale- Pasadena Airport or his or her designee.
Burbank Cultural Arts Commission
On August 31, 2010, the Council adopted Resolution No. 28,203 establishing the Cultural Arts Commission. On October 19, 2010, nine (9) members were appointed to act in an advisory capacity to the City Council on matters relevant to the City’s Cultural Arts Plan.
This includes promoting community engagement by participating in various public education, outreach, and promotional activities related to cultural arts, and other duties as requested by the Council.
3 On February 9, 2016, Council adopted Ordinance No. 16-3,874 which added the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission to the Burbank Municipal Code Section 2-1-425, and changed the composition of the commission as follows:
• nine (9) members,
o six (6) Burbank residents;
o three (3) Burbank residents or non-residents, consisting of representatives of the business community at -large who are engaged in the arts or who represent a diversity of art disciplines such as arts education; art in public places; dance; live theater; film, studio , and recording industry; medi a affiliated resources; music; and the visual arts.
• two (2) Council Members will serve as non-voting liaisons to the Commission.
Infrastructure Oversight Board
In November 2018, Burbank voters passed Measure P - Burbank Infrastructure and Community Services Protection Transactions and Use Tax, a local sales tax ordinance.
Under the Sales Tax Ordinance, Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) Section 2-4-2114 provides for oversight and requires City Council to establish a new board. On April 16, 2019, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 19 -3,914, adding the Infrastructure Oversight Board to Burbank Municipal Code Section 2-1-426. The Infrastructure Oversight Board is comprised of seven (7) members and oversees and make recommendations to the Council regarding the infrastructure of the City (not part of an enterprise fund). The mission of this Board, in part, is to ensure the reliability, maintenance , and safety of the City’ s infrastructure.
Oversight parameters may include safety, funding, planning, construction (i.e., high-level review of scope, schedule, cost, and risk of infrastructure projects), operations, maintenance (reviewing the adequacy of existing maintenance programs), and implementation of best practices related to infrastructure. The Board shall also make recommendations on traffic programs.
DISCUSSION
On June 9, 2023, the City Clerk’s Office advertised and accepted applications for the following three vacancies each for an unexpired term ending July 31, 2025: one resident- required vacancy on the Sustainable Burbank Commission created by the resignation of Chris Weber, one resident-required vacancy on the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission created by the resignation of Rajasri Mallikarjuna, and one vacancy on the Infrastructure Oversight Board created by the resignation of Walter Brennan, Jr.
To obtain qualified candidates, a Notice of Unscheduled Vacancy was advertised through the following:
• The City website
• City Council meeting announcements
• All social media platforms overseen by the City Clerk’s Office • Press release sent to The LA Times, Burbank Leader, and MyBurbank.com • Notices posted on the City Hall Bulletin Board
• Community Groups and Organizations
4 The deadline to submit applications to the City Clerk’s Office was Monday, July 10, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. The City Clerk’s Office received three (3) additional applications including the applications that were carried over from those received by May 30, 2023 which was the deadline for the recruitment for the various scheduled vacancies:
• Ten (10) applications for the Sustainable Burbank Commission : Robin Gemmil, Limor Zimskind, Charles Wilson, Kenzie Bond (second choice), Jenny Deahl (first choice), Jared Cavagnuolo, Adrine Der-Tavitian (second choice), Armen Avazian (second choice) , Nelson Better , Martha Walter , and Colin Hoffmeister (second choice).
• Seven (7) applications for the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission : Jennifer King (second choice), Katherine Zoraster, Mercedes Molina (first choice), Eric Conner, Monica Pa Moye, and Dan Riesser.
• Six (6) applications for the Infrastructure Oversight Board: Jenna Hunter, Jean Schanberger (first choice) , Linda Bessin, Armen Avazian (first choice) , John Bwarie, and Colin Hoffmeister (first choice).
The applications are listed in order received. Individuals who applied for more than one Board and Commission have the priority selection listed next to their name and, should they be appointed during the prior appointment , their name will be removed from consideration for these appointments.
Please note if on July 18, 2023, Council introduces the Ordinance changing the member composition of the Infrastructure Oversight Board from 7 to 5 members, Council will not need to make an appointment to fill the unexpired term.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and, as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
CONCLUSION
The City and the community both realize substantial benefits from civic involvement.
Appointments to the boards, commissions, and committees help to encourage public participation in the governmental process and ensure Burbank residents have a voice.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1 – Applications and Resumes
Attachment 2 – Burbank Municipal Code Sections 2-1-424, 2-1-425, and 2-1-426