Consent Item 6
Consent Item 6
To: Ava Community Energy Authority
From: Cait Cady, Public Engagement Specialist
Subject: Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Ava Community Energy Authority approving appointments to Ava’s Community Advisory Committee Date: April 15, 2026
__________________________________________________________________ Summary/Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution approving appointments to the Community Advisory Committee (“CAC”) in order to fill all open seats on the CAC.
Financial Impact
No new fiscal impact. Current stipends are $128 per meeting, which amounts to approximately $1,408 per year per member, if members attend all scheduled eleven meetings (i.e., one meeting per month, less the August recess). CAC Members are also offered reimbursements for their parking to attend meetings, which amounts to $30 per meeting, per Member.
Analysis and Context
Section 4.9 of the Joint Powers Agreement called for the Board of Directors to establish a Community Advisory Committee, and set its structure and procedures in a Board-approved Community Advisory Committee Guide (Attachment B). On November 20, 2019, the Board of Directors approved the first Community Advisory Committee Guide and appointment process, which outlined membership qualifications and the process of appointing new Members.
On December 17, 2025, the Board of Directors approved changes to the Community Advisory Committee Guide, which established new regional seat allocations and implemented several administrative improvements. These structural changes included increasing the size of the CAC Consent Item 6
to 13 Members and allocating the newly added seat to the San Joaquin County Region, reflecting the recent inclusion of unincorporated San Joaquin County (see table1).
Table 1: Current CAC Seat Allocations (as of December 2025) Region CAC Seat
Allocation
Alternate Seat
Allocation
North
Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville, and Piedmont 3 1 East
Dublin, Livermore, and Pleasanton 1 1
South
Fremont, Union City and Newark 2 1
Central
Hayward, San Leandro, and Alameda County
Unincorporated
2 1
San Joaquin County
Tracy, Stockton, Lathrop, and San Joaquin County
Unincorporated
3 1
At-large
2 0
Total 13 5
The updated CAC Guide also standardized CAC terms to run from May 1 (year of appointment) to April 30 (two years later) and extended terms for all current Members to April 30, 2026, to achieve alignment among all seats.
To accommodate the new standardized terms and prepare for current Member terms expiring on April 30, 2026, Ava staff launched an open application and reappointment process on January 14, 2026. The deadline for submitting an application was Friday, February 20, 2026.
As part of the reappointment process, Ava staff emailed all current CAC Members and made announcements at CAC meetings to explain the reappointment process and communicate the deadline for requesting reappointment.
The open application period was announced through multiple communication channels, including, but not limited to, the following:
• Emailing all Ava Board Members and Board Alternates draft language, a flyer, and links to the application to disseminate to their constituents; • Creating a banner message on Ava’s website/homepage;
• Including a description and link to the application in the January edition of Ava’s Direct Current Newsletter;
Consent Item 6
• Posting about the opportunity on Ava’s social media channels (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram);
• Announcing the application period to Ava’s municipal staff partners in every JPA member-jurisdiction, and creating outreach materials that cities could use in their newsletters and social media channels;
• Email outreach to Community Based Organizations (CBOs) across Ava’s service area, including Ava Local Sponsorship recipients;
Ava received 22 completed applications by the end of the application period.
For regional seats, Ava staff distributed the completed applications and solicited appointment nominations from the Board Members representing the CAC region of each respective applicant. For the At-large seats, staff solicited volunteers among the Board Members from each of the five regions to convene an ad hoc committee to make nominations for the two At-large seats. All appointment nominations from Board Directors are summarized below:
Ava Service Area Region Appointment Nominations
North
Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville, and
Piedmont
Indira Balkissoon
Katharine Bierce
Emma Riley
Andrew Krulewitz (Alternate)
East
Dublin, Livermore, and Pleasanton
Thomas Edmunds
South
Fremont, Union City and Newark
Shiva Swaminathan
Vijay Lakshman
Central
Hayward, San Leandro, and Alameda County
Unincorporated
Lorraine Mickey Souza
Rachel DiFranco
Christopher Epperson (Alternate)
San Joaquin County
Tracy, Stockton, Lathrop, and San Joaquin
County Unincorporated
Davis Harper Zapata
Gorgina Halaufia
Karl Knodt
At-Large Brodie Roberts
Tanisha Raj
Committee Recommendation
The appointment nominations of the Board Members from each respective Ava service area region and At-large ad hoc committee are summarized in the table above.
Attachments
A. Resolution
B. Community Advisory Committee Guide
Attachment Consent Item 6A
RESOLUTION NO. R-2026-XX
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE AVA COMMUNITY ENERGY AUTHORITY APPROVING
APPOINTMENTS TO AVA’S COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
WHEREAS Ava Community Energy Authority (“Ava”) was formed as a community choice aggregation agency (“CCA”) on December 1, 2016, under the Joint Exercise of Powers Act, California Government Code sections 6500 et seq., among the County of Alameda, and the Cities of Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Piedmont, Oakland, San Leandro, and Union City to study, promote, develop, conduct, operate, and manage energy-related climate change programs in all of the member jurisdictions. The cities of Newark and Pleasanton, located in Alameda County, along with the City of Tracy, located in San Joaquin County, were added as members of Ava and parties to the Joint Powers Agreement (“JPA”) in November of 2019. The city of Stockton was added as a member to Ava in September of 2022. The city of Lathrop was added as a member to Ava in September of 2023. San Joaquin County was added as a member to Ava in July 2024. On October 24, 2023, Ava legally adopted the name Ava Community Energy Authority, where it had previously used the name East Bay Community Energy Authority since its inception.
WHEREAS Section 4.9 of the JPA Agreement established the Community Advisory Committee (“CAC”) to advise the Board of Directors on subjects related Ava’s operations, and Members are appointed by the Board of Directors and will represent diverse cross-sections of the service area.
WHEREAS, current terms for all CAC Members end on April 30, 2026.
WHEREAS, from January 14 to February 20, 2026, Ava hosted an online application where members of the public could apply to be considered for nominations to the CAC and appointed by Ava’s Board of Directors.
WHEREAS twenty-two completed applications were received during the application period, including at least one from every CAC region.
WHEREAS in the months of March and April, the Directors from each of Ava’s CAC regions reviewed the applications from their respective regions and nominated applicants to be appointed by the Board of Directors.
WHEREAS an ad hoc committee of Board Directors, comprised of Directors invited from each CAC region, reviewed applications for At-large positions and nominated applicants to be appointed to the CAC by the Board of Directors.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AVA COMMUNITY ENERGY AUTHORITY DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
Attachment Consent Item 6A
Section 1. The Board of Directors hereby authorizes the appointments of the following Community Advisory Committee Members and Alternate Members:
Ava Service Area Region Appointment Nominations
North
Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville,
and Piedmont
Indira Balkissoon
Katharine Bierce
Emma Riley
Andrew Krulewitz (Alternate)
East
Dublin, Livermore, and Pleasanton
Thomas Edmunds
South
Fremont, Union City and Newark
Shiva Swaminathan
Vijay Lakshman
Central
Hayward, San Leandro, and Alameda
County Unincorporated
Lorraine Mickey Souza
Rachel DiFranco
Christopher Epperson (Alternate)
San Joaquin County
Tracy, Stockton, Lathrop, San Joaquin
County Unincorporated
Davis Harper Zapata
Gorgina Halaufia
Karl Knodt
At-Large Brodie Roberts
Tanisha Raj
ADOPTED AND APPROVED this 15th day of April, 2026.
Betsy Andersen, Chair
ATTEST:
Adrian Bankhead, Clerk of the Board
1 Community Advisory Committee Guide
Purpose
Advise the Board of Directors on subjects related to the operations of the CCA program as set forth in the work plan adopted by the Board of Directors.
Authority
Established by the Board of Directors. See JPA section 4.9 Agency
Ava Community Energy (Ava)
Qualifications
Ava service area resident; or those who have owned and actively operated a business in Ava service area for a period of at least five years prior to appointment and shall do so for the entire period of appointment. Applicants will be considered with an interest in maintaining diversity of representation by geography, population, work experience and community.
If a sitting Member moves out of the service area, they will have six months to reestablish residency before no longer meeting eligibility requirements.
Staff Person
The Clerk of the Board and Ava's Public Engagement team (contact: [email protected]).
Composition
The Advisory Committee consists of 11 regional seats and two at-large seats for a total of 13 seats. Regional seats are allocated by the Board based on JPA Voting Shares in Sec. 4.12.2 and Exhibit C of the JPA. The 11 regional seats each represent the following areas:
Region CAC Seat
Allocation*
Alternate Seat
Allocation
North
Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville, and
Piedmont
3 1
East
Dublin, Livermore, and Pleasanton 1 1
South
Fremont, Union City and Newark 2 1
Central 2 1
Attachment Consent Item 6B
2 Hayward, San Leandro, and Alameda County
Unincorporated
San Joaquin County
Tracy, Stockton, Lathrop, and San Joaquin
County Unincorporated
3 1
At-large 2
*CAC seat allocations are based on the corresponding Voting Shares Vote described in JPA Sec. 4.12.2 Application Process
The application process will occur at least once a year and should be held early in the calendar year. If subsequent, unanticipated vacancies emerge on the Committee that prevent a quorum, additional application and appointment cycles may be held at any time at the discretion of staff or the Board. Any person residing or owning and actively operating a business in the Ava service area interested in serving on the Advisory Committee should complete the Advisory Committee application during the specified application period. Ava will announce the start of the application window via meeting announcements, Ava email distribution list, and the Community Advisory Committee site: https://avaenergy.org/governance/. The application period will last for at least 30 days from the time it is first announced
Sitting CAC Members who are eligible to serve another term can submit a request for reappointment that will affirm their eligibility and interest in seeking reappointment. Staff will share the reappointment form with eligible Members ahead of the upcoming appointment cycle and distribute responses to Board Members for consideration.
Applicants will receive an automated email response to their application submission with the appointment target date. Ava staff will review applications for completeness and qualifications.
Once the applications have been reviewed, applicants will be notified via email if they will or will not advance.
The Executive Committee and/or an ad hoc committee of the Board will review applications and recommend the appointment of members to the full Board for approval. Executive or ad hoc committee members have the option to interview applicants and/or call references as part of their review.
Once the Executive Committee or ad hoc committee has finalized their recommended appointment(s), staff will notify the applicants and confirm their continued interest in the appointment. If a selected applicant declines the appointment invitation, another candidate may be selected from the same pool of applicants. Applications will be retained for 30 days after appointments are made. In the event a vacancy is created during these 30 days, Ava may use the same pool of applicants.
No applications will be retained for future application periods. Applicants not selected may resubmit an application when the next application period opens.
Appointment
Committee Members are appointed by the Board of Directors based on the qualifications outlined above.
Attachment Consent Item 6B
3 Term
Appointments shall be for staggered two year terms, with each term beginning on May 1 and ending on April 30 of their respective appointment years. Members in regionally allocated seats may serve up to four full terms or any combination thereof for a total of eight years, or at the pleasure of the Board, from the date of appointment. No appointee to a regional seat shall serve more than a total of four terms.
In the event of a CAC Member resignation, an Alternate or off-cycle appointee who completes one year (i.e., half the term) of the previous appointee’s term will remain eligible for another seven years of CAC service. Those who complete less than one year of the previous appointee’s term will remain eligible for another eight years of CAC service.
At-large Members may serve up to two consecutive terms and the same CAC region cannot be represented in an At-large seat for more than two consecutive terms. In the event of an At-large Member resignation, an off-cycle appointee who completes one year (i.e., half the term) of the previous appointee’s term will remain eligible for another three years of CAC service. Those who complete less than one year of the previous appointee’s term will remain eligible for another eight years of CAC service.
Chair and Vice-Chair
The Committee shall elect a new Chair and Vice-Chair annually. Members may serve as Chair or Vice-Chair for one year and for no more than two consecutive years.
Ex Officio Board Member
The Committee Chair will serve as a non-voting member of the Board of Directors as described in section 4.2.2 of the Joint Powers Authority Agreement. The Ex Officio Board member may not serve on the Executive Committee or participate in Closed Session Meetings of the Board.
Stipends
Committee members are eligible to receive a stipend per meeting with a maximum of four meetings per month. Stipends are set and adjusted by the Board of Directors, with regular adjustments for inflation.
For Committee members to be eligible for stipends, the Committee must have a quorum and members must arrive no later than 30 minutes after the meeting start time. Please see Board of Directors’ Resolution R-2018-17 for additional information.
Attendance
Members are expected to attend every regular CAC meeting, which occur on a monthly basis.
Members must inform the Clerk of the Board of a planned absence.
Absences may not be communicated solely through the Chair, although the member should include the Chair in any attendance communications with the Clerk. Members are also expected to coordinate directly with the Alternate for their region when they cannot attend a meeting.
Members with excessive absences may potentially be dismissed from the committee. The decision to dismiss a member will be made by the Board of Directors.
Attachment Consent Item 6B
4 Vacancies
Vacant Regional and At-large seats on the Committee will be filled on an annual basis early each calendar year, or more frequently when necessary to achieve quorum. During an application and appointment cycle, Ava will announce the vacancy and the start of the application period via meeting announcements, Ava email distribution list(s), and the Community Advisory Committee site: avaenergy.org/governance/. If the seat vacated is a Regional seat, an Alternate may be appointed immediately following the vacancy announcement to fill the seat and complete the remaining term.
Removal from Committee
A member of the Community Advisory Committee may be removed by the Board of Directors for any reason by majority vote. See JPA section 4.9. A Member’s attendance record may also be taken into account if/when they seek reappointment for additional terms.
Attachment Consent Item 6B