Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: ACTION TO FILL CITY COUNCIL VACANCY BY
APPOINTMENT
Date: February 18, 2025
Written by: Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a motion to fill the vacant City Councilmember seat by appointment.
Background
Due to the resignation of Councilmember Kathleen Rivers, effective January 20, 2025, a vacancy has been created for the remainder of her term expiring in December of 2026. Pursuant to Government Code Section 36512(b), the Council may appoint or call a special election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. The action must be taken within 60 days of the effective date of the vacancy – by March 21 – to appoint or call a special election.
The term of the Planning Commissioner (Shelley Berman) appointed by Councilmember Rivers would be extended until the Council vacancy is filled, at which time the newly seated Councilmember would make his/her own appointment.
Analysis/Discussion
At their regular meeting on January 28, 2025, the Council voted to fill the vacant seat by appointment. The application period was open from January 30 through 12:00pm February 13, 2025. There were 6 applications received, from the following individuals:
George Barich
John Savage
Ryan Long
Cathleen Tandy
Sarah Sparks
Steven Onines
The redacted applications for each applicant are attached.
Financial Considerations
Appointing a new City Councilmember does not generally incur any direct expenses.
Environmental Issues
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.