TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Philippe Eskandar, City Manager
BY: Alison Walker, City Clerk
DATE: May 29, 2026
SUBJECT: APPOINTMENT OF A CITY TREASURER AND MEMBERS TO
CITY OF SAN MARINO ADVISORY BODIES AND
ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION NO. R-26-20, CHANGING
THE LOCATION, FREQUENCY, AND ATTENDANCE POLICY
OF ADVISORY BODY MEETINGS
STRATEGIC PLAN CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
Engaged and Connected Residents
Efficient, Responsive, and Effective City Services
Fiscally Responsible and Transparent City Government
BACKGROUND
The City Council has established a number of advisory bodies which assist the City Council with a variety of issues, needs, and concerns. The City Council appoints Council Members to act as a delegate and alternate (“Council Liaisons”) to each of the advisory bodies. These Council Liaisons determine the application review process and make recommendations to the full City Council for advisory body appointments.
City of San Marino Advisory Bodies:
• Planning Commission
• Design Review Committee
• Library Board of Trustees
• Recreation Commission
• Public Safety Commission
Tony Chou, Mayor
Calvin Lo, Vice Mayor
Hunter Chang, Council Member
John Chou, Council Member
Gretchen Shepherd Romey, Council Member
Separate from the recruitment for the City’s Advisory Bodies, City staff have also been conducting an extensive recruitment to fill the volunteer City Treasurer position. That position is also discussed later in this report.
Additionally, the location, frequency and attendance policy of Advisory Body Meetings are also being updated at this time to reflect modern practices and current needs of the organization as a part of this report.
DISCUSSION
A recruitment was conducted for five advisory bodies which had members with terms ending in 2026; the Planning Commission, the Design Review Committee, the Public Safety Commission, the Recreation Commission, and the Library Board of Trustees. Notice of the vacancies and advertisement of the advisory body recruitment was placed in the San Marino Tribune, in the City Manager’s Weekly Briefing email, on the City’s social media accounts, and on the City’s website. Applicants consisted of both existing members reapplying for another term as well as new applicants. The table below identifies the vacancies on each body and the number of applications received.
Advisory Body Vacancies Number of
Applicants
Planning Commission
Council Member Shepherd Romey – Delegate
Mayor Chou – Alternate
Two (2) regular members
One (1) alternate 4
Design Review Committee
Mayor Chou – Delegate
Council Member Shepherd Romey – Alternate
Three (3) regular members
One (1) alternate
One (1) alternate – partial term
5 Public Safety Commission
Council Member Chang – Delegate
Council Member Shepherd Romey – Alternate
Three (3) regular members 7
Library Board of Trustees
Council Member Chang – Delegate
Council Member Chou – Alternate
One (1) regular member
Two (2) alternates 4
Recreation Commission
Council Member Chou – Delegate
Vice Mayor Lo – Alternate
Two (2) regular members 2
The Council Liaisons have concluded their review of the candidates and are making recommendations for appointment, which are included in the recommended action below.
City Treasurer Appointment
Over the course of the past several months, the City carried out an extensive recruitment process to fill the vacant City Treasurer position. Following outreach across the City’s various communication platforms and the ads in the San Marino Tribune, a total of seven applications were received. The Mayor and Vice Mayor met, reviewed the applications, and invited four of the applicants for an initial interview. Following that initial interview, the four candidates were asked to return to meet with the City Manager, Finance Director, and former City Treasurer.
At the conclusion of this process, Clarice Dai emerged as the candidate being recommended for appointment as the City’s Treasurer. Ms. Dai has been a resident of San Marino for more than ten years and is a graduate of Boston University’s Questrom School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with dual concentrations in Accounting and Finance.
Ms. Dai holds a license as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) from the California Board of Accountancy and also previously held credentials as a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and Chartered Financial Analyst.
Ms. Dai is also fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese.
Ms. Dai is being recommended for appointment to serve as the City’s Treasurer for a four (4) year term pursuant to San Marino Municipal Code Section 2.04.06. The Treasurer serves as a volunteer and is not compensated for their service.
Changing Location, Frequency and Attendance Policy for Advisory Body Meetings
During the COVID-19 pandemic, advisory body meeting locations were temporarily relocated to the Barth Room at the Crowell Public Library to provide additional physical distancing. In late 2025, comprehensive audiovisual (AV) upgrades were completed in the City Hall Council Chambers, making it the ideal venue to host all upcoming advisory body meetings moving forward. All advisory bodies have been meeting in the City Hall Council Chambers for nearly two years now and the time has come to update the meeting location.
Additionally, staff recommends updating the meeting frequencies for the Library Board of Trustees, Recreation Commission, and Public Safety Commission to meet every other month. This adjustment will ensure more substantive agendas, optimize administrative efficiency for each meeting, and streamline the amount of staff resources necessary in preparing for meetings that become cancelled from time to time. By way of example, meetings for some advisory bodies routinely lastly approximately 30 minutes for items that were general department updates. The amount of staff time necessary to prepare the reports, agendas, and physically test/prepare the meeting technology takes dozens of hours of several staff members’ time, resulting in a less than effective use of the limited staff resources the City has. Staff will however, have the ability to call special/additional meetings as City business necessitates.
Finally, in order to ensure the most effective use of the valuable time residents contribute to serve on the various bodies, an updated Attendance Policy is also included as a part of this report.
To support these operational adjustments, Resolution No. R-26-20 will formally designate the City Hall Council Chambers as the official meeting location, establish an every other month schedule for the Recreation Commission, Library Board of Trustees, and Public Safety Commission, and implement an attendance policy to consistently ensure a quorum for all upcoming advisory body meetings.
FISCAL IMPACT & PROCUREMENT REVIEW
None.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's office has reviewed and approved as to form.
RECOMMENDATION
The Council Liaisons for the Planning Commission recommend the Council appointment of two (2) regular members and one (1) alternate member to serve four-year terms, each commencing on June 1, 2026.
The Council Liaisons for the Design Review Committee recommend the Council appointment of three (3) regular members and one (1) alternate member to serve two-year terms, each commencing on June 1, 2026. They also recommend the council to appoint one (1) alternate member to serve a partial one-year term, to commence on June 1, 2026.
The Council Liaisons for the Public Safety Commission recommend the Council appointment of three (3) regular members to serve four-year terms each commencing on June 1, 2026.
The Council Liaisons for the Library Board of Trustees recommend the Council appointment of one (1) regular member and two (2) alternate members to serve three-year terms each commencing on June 1, 2026.
The Council Liaisons for the Recreation Commission recommend the Council appointment of two (2) regular members to serve four-year terms each commencing on June 1, 2026.
The Mayor and Vice Mayor recommend the Council appointment of Clarice Dai as City Treasurer to serve a four-year term to commence on June 1, 2026.
Staff recommends the City Council adopt Resolution No. R-26-20, amending the official meeting location, frequency, and attendance policy for City advisory bodies.
If Council concurs, the appropriate motions would be:
“I move to appoint Rick Chou, and Mark Giles as regular members and Jeff Boozell as an alternate member of the Planning Commission to serve terms ending May 31, 2030.”
“I move to appoint Raymond Cheng, Ted Lee, and Steven Jones as regular members and Ingrid Kolesk as an alternate member of the Design Review Committee to serve terms ending May 31, 2028.”
“I move to appoint Jovanie Arias as a regular member and Gene Chen as an alternate member of the Design Review Committee to serve partial terms ending May 31, 2027.”
“I move to appoint Brian Davis, Timothy Kolesk and Steve Domier as regular members of the Public Safety Commission to serve terms ending May 31, 2030.”
“I move to appoint Marilyn Peck as a regular member and Susan Boegh and Jody Nichols as alternate members of the Library Board of Trustees to serve terms ending May 31, 2029.”
“I move to appoint Stanley Wu and Louie Pascua as regular members of the Recreation Commission to serve terms ending May 31, 2030.” “I move to appoint Clarice Dai as City Treasurer to serve a term ending May 31, 2030.”
“I direct the City Clerk to post the updated Local Appointments List to reflect these appointments.”
“I move to adopt Resolution No. R-26-20, changing location, frequency and attendance policy of advisory body meetings.”
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution No. R-26-20
2. Local Appointments List