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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 2005-01-11 - Special Meeting 12 City Council, Special Meeting Council Chambers 777 Cypress Avenue Redding, California January 11, 2005 6:00 p.m. The meeting was called to ord.er by Mayor Mathena with the following Council Members pres~nt: Dickerson, Kight, and Murray. ' Also pr~sent were City Manager Warren, City Attorp.ey Duvernay, City Clerk Strohmayer, and Assistatlt City Clerk Sherman. . CONTINUATION OF PROCESS TO FILL CITY COUNCIL VACANCY (A-050-060) Mayor Mathena stated that the City Council will continue the process of filUng the City Co~ncil s~at vacated by Mark Cibula when he was elected to the Shasta County Bo~rd of Supervisors. Mayqr Mathena introduced each finalist in order determined by random drawing an9 invited them to si~ at a table in front of the staff dias as follows: Julie Howard, , . Mary Stegall, Les Me1burg, Cheryl Calhoun, and Rick Bosetti. Mayor Mathena explained the selection process th~t will be ll;sed this evening stating that each Council Member will ask finalists questions with e~ch finalist answering at le~st one question first. After the question and answer period, Council Members may ask the finalists specific ,questions. Council Members will then )Vrite their choice on a \Jallot provided and submit it to the City Clerk who will ~ol.lllce the results. I Messrs. Me1burg and Bosetti declined their opportunity for consideration of appointment to the City Council sta,ting that they were troubled over recent negative com.ments circulating throughout the communi~ whiph they perceived as divisive. By withdrawing, they hoped to dispel any perception of a gender bias for appointment to the City Council. : ' Council Members then posed the following questions to the remaining three (3) finalists: Council Member Dickerson: I 1. The City Council has read your application which includes the qualifications and strengths that you would bring to the City Council. Leaving out. tl,1e lack of experience of serving in an elective office, please tell us what you see as your major weakness in fulfilling the duties of a City Coun9il Member. 2. Please tell us your philosophy on the use of citizens advisory committee~ for the City Council, what types of projects or prob~ems should involve citizen committees, and how mUGh weight the City Council should place on to the recommendations of the committees. Council Member Murray: .: , 1) The prim~ job of a City Council Memper is to s~t policy for the City of Redding. As a Council M~mber, you will have the opportunity to propose, amend, or eliminate policies to the Council. At your first opportunity to propose a new policy or amend or eliminate an existing policy, which policy issue would you first choose to place on the CouI?-cil agenda, and why? (2) Complete the following sentence: "I just wish the City would....." I Council Member Kight: .. 1 , 1. To what extent, if any, should the City offer fiQ.ancial incentives to companies looking to relocate to Redding? 2. The new library will most certainly be more expensive than was first thqught, both in terms of construction and operational costs. Should the City increase its financial commitment beyond what it has already committed to the library? If yes, and you were forc,ed to make cuts in other departments to make the 1ibr~ a reality, what " department would you be willing to cut? 1/11/2005 " , I 13 3. What would you do to assist in improving the City's relationship with the County? Mayor Mathena: An important part of the City Council's job is to prioritize and determine which projects will be funded. Do you believe the City Council is moving in the right direction or are there areas the City Council has overlooked which should be given a higher priority? I Each finalist took turns responding to the aforementioned questions first. Mayor Mathena then asked each Council Member to select their choice for appointment on the ballots provided and submit them to the City Clerk. Following comments from Council Member Dickerson regarding his rationale for not. selecting applicant Mary Stegall, Mayor Mathena called for the voted ballots and handed them to City Clerk Strohmayer who announced the following: Council Member Dickerson voted for Julie Howard, Council Member Kight voted for Cheryl Calhoun, Council Member Murray voted for Mary Stegall, and Mayor Mathena voted for Mary Stegall. Mayor Mathena asked his colleagues to reconsider their choices. At this point, each Council Member provided the rationale for his vote. Council Members submitted a second ballot as follows: Council Member Dickerson voted for Julie Howard, Council Member Kight voted for Cheryl Calhoun, Council Member Murray voted for Cheryl Calhoun, and Mayor Mathena voted for Maiy Stegall. At 7:21 p.m., Mayor Mathena called for a short recess. At 7:35 p.m., Mayor Mathena reconvened the meeting. I Finalist Julie Howard expressed displeasure with the deliberation process and withdrew from further consideration. Mayor Mathena expressed disappointment in her decision. At the recommendation of City Attorney Duvernay, City Council Members casta third ballot as follows: Council Member Dickerson voted for Mary Stegall, Council Member Kight voted for Cheryl Calhoun, Council Member Murray voted for Cheryl Calhoun, and Mayor Mathena voted for Mary Stegall. Mayor Mathena called for a motion. MOTION: Made by Council Member Kight, seconded by Council Member Murray to appoint Cheryl Calhoun to the office of City Council to fil~ the remainder of the unexpired term ending December 5,2006. Voting was as follows: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Council Members: Kight and Murray Council Members: Dickerson and Mathena Council Members: None Council Members: None This motion failed. I City Council Members discussed the importance of unanimity on the City Council, and Mayor Mathena invited another motion. MOTION: Made by Mayor Mathena, seconded by Council Member Dickers<;m to appoint Mary Stegall to the office of City Council to fill the remainder of the unexpired term ending December 5, 2006. Voting was as follows: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Council Members: Dickerson, Kight, Murray, and Mathena Council Members: None Council Members: None Council Members: None Motion passed unanimously. 1/11/2005 14 On behalf of the City Council, Mayor Mathen~ thanked the finalists for applying to serve on the City C.ouncil and tp.e professional ;manner in which they participated in ~he selection process. City Coun,cil Members joined Mayor Mathena in welcoming Mary Stegall on the City Coun~il. . . ADJOURNMENT At the hO\lrof7:42 p.m., Mayor Mathena declared the adjourned special meeting adjourned. APPROVED I --.- ATTEST: ~~,~ City Clerk I I 1/11/2005